In the previous lesson we talked about upsells and One Time Offers. If you’re not using upsells, then you’re leaving money on the table.
Today we’re going to talk about downselling…
(Watch this video…)
Main points:
(See video for several examples of downselling)
– Email marketing
– On-site product positioning
– Exit Pops/Chats
– Shopping cart abandonment prevention
– One Time Offers
-Often results in closing 15-50% of the prospects who turn down the first OTO.
(See video for details)
Action steps:
1) Determine whether one or more downsells can be integrated into your business.
2) If you decide to use a downsell, implement it.
In the next lesson we’re going to talk about testing your sales copy.
As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.
Have a great day!
This is a great lesson Eric and a very effective strategy that will make sure you are not leaving money on the table.
Thanks
Mark Edward Sansom
How effective is putting the downsell product on the first sales page(eg full product & “lite” verison)? For me, it sounds like a good idea but I have trouble envisioning an OTO if they decline both offers.
Good question. The only way to fully know is to test it, which we’ll cover in the next lesson.
On the one hand… people like options. In some cases you will make more sales if you give them some options to choose from.
On the other hand, it could cause you to lose out on sales of the higher priced product. And in worst case scenario, it could cause people to become confused and buy nothing.
So it really comes back to testing strategies such as…
1) Sell only the Lite version on sales page, then upsell into the full version.
2) Sell only the Full version on sales page, and downsell the Lite version on an exit pop.
3) Offer both on the sales page
Etc…
I will say if you have a VERY GOOD sales letter (particularly if it’s a long copy sales letter) then it’s best to focus on ONE action. Therefore you would need to only offer one or the other on the sales page.
Hi Eric and Staff,
Another great lesson, thankyou.
We have no problems with ‘haggle-ing’.
Many auction sites now cater for best offers.
Some sites drive us crazy with pop ups, however, if you don’t want the product click out. On the other hand, you could miss a bargain. It’s choice.
In our bike hire business, we offer extra family bikes at 50%. Works real good. If you don’t offer, you don’t get.
Another aspect is some people expect a better deal. They don’t like seeing people make healthy profits and will buy at a reduced price to satisfy themselves that they got one over you.
And as always, a ‘no’ sometimes means ‘yes’, but not just yet.
Hanging out for NASCAR to start!!!
Go Marcos Ambrose.
All the best,
The Robbo’s
Fantastic definitions of downsell and upsell. I have never really known much about it before so hopefully with the knowledge you have given us, we can make more sales
its also similar to bargaining…
Cool!
That’s a good point. Haggling or bargaining is an ancient sales tactic. This sort of emulates the concept in an online manner… It would be even more like it if you were to somehow enable your customer to choose the price 🙂
Thank you. You made some very good points. I will be waiting for the next lesson.
God Bless..
Hi Eric,
I was wondering about shopping cart abandonment. What are the top reasons for it occurring and what is the best way to get your prospect to stick and see the process through? Thanks.
Thanks Eric…that makes a lot of sense 🙂
I think the main reasons are due to the prospect having certain expectations, and then not having those expectations met when they are in the cart.
For example, one of the big reasons for abandonment is high shipping prices. In those cases, the prospect did not expect the shipping to be so expensive.
Other times the prospect simply gets “cold feet”.
Other reasons include the process taking too long, becoming confusing, or not working properly.
So it’s important to set the expectation properly in the order box of your sales page.
Then it’s vital that the checkout process be SIMPLE, SECURE, and SMOOTH.
If you’re using a merchant account and processing orders on your site, then that’s a situation where you might implement an exit chat technology to try to save abandoned sales.
Thank you for the wake-up call.
I traveled and worked in the middle-east for five years. During that time I met some real masters of the downsell.
Between returning to the U.S. and going into IM I forgot the lessons that I had learned. Thanks to you, it all came back.
Down selling does work. Your example from India. I have lived there. Sellers start high and they start down selling or bargaining. The customers start getting used to the lower price and think they have bought a bargain.
Great lesson, Eric. Keep up the good work. 🙂
Neil.
Thanks for this eye opener. I would try this on my website and see how it goes.
Hi Eric as usual spot on, Im an affiliate marketer with just three downloadable products for sale. I never employed this tactic and will try to implement it as some date.
However I am very interested in the product “My Traffic Business” that you are promoting, does this actually work Eric and how much extra are we expected to spend after our initial purchase?
Hi Eric,
Again great lesson I learmed today. I would try that some time soon because i see lot of avantages to it.
Thanks
Thanks Neil!
Like any business opportunity, there are no guarantees, and in spite of it being an “autopilot” business, work is required. In this case, since they do set it up for you, the work would primarily be marketing the site. If you can get enough initial traffic and then motivate the members to participate, it could truly grow on autopilot for a very long time (it’s basically an MLM concept).
While I have not done one of these traffic sites, I have had some membership sites that have grown on autopilot (See lesson #32) and I know that this particular business model works because of my involvement with Perfect Traffic Storm.
It’s a win-win… For my involvement in PTS, I have received hundreds of extra visitors to my sites (via the ads I implemented through their system). I also have made over $1000 already from emailing my downline a few times.
But the person who wins the most is the OWNER of the site, because they get ALL the subscribers.
Regarding much you would need to spend running it… As far as I know the only cost would be hosting (See lesson #24)
Beyond that, you might want to spend some money on prizes to give incentives to your initial members and affiliates to promote your site.
Hi,
Nice lesson.
How would this work if I’m an affiliate for a non-IM niche? What can I offer to sell these people? How can I keep track of who buys on the spot, so as to offer something cheaper?
This method is mainly for those who sell products, rather than affiliates. However, it could be employed by affiliates with a bit of effort and technology.
The best way to do this is if you are marketing to an email opt-in list…
If you are using an affiliate program which gives you access to your referral’s information (such as name and email address), you can then create a suppression list based on everyone who buys the product.
In other words… if someone DOES buy the product, they will not receive an email from you offering them a downsell the next day.
If you’re hosting your own list, you could probably automate this task using a script such as Clickbank Bonus Dominator
Another method would be to implement some technology such as Magic List Bot
This script allows you to display a pop-up on the site that you’re sending traffic to (or at least it appears that way to the visitor).
You could use that pop-up to display a downsell. A nifty trick if you could figure it out would be to use such as script to display only an EXIT pop. Then you’re only displaying the downsell to those visitors who aren’t buying the product.
Hi Eric,
I just accidentally deleted all of your tips and I am quite upset about it! Is there a possibility you could resend all of them to me?
Or, should I rejoin? Thank you so much!
Just re-join if you want all the emails. Otherwise you can view the lessons here: http://www.ericstips.com/tips/category/lessons/
Hi Eric and all,
Another excellent lesson on an important topic.
Let us all take caution when doing the downsell on the main product. Recently, I was on a sales page where original price I think was $67, went all the way down to $17 after special VIP discount, friends and family discount, etc, etc. I wasn’t really going to buy it but got me curious as to how low it would go.
Now, here are couple of things.
I feel bad for people who bought it for asking price. This seller was willing to go all the way down to $17, this raises a ‘red flag’ with me saying how come he’s willing to go so low? Is the product only really worth 17?
I would’ve thrown in additional enticement to buy instead of cheapen my main product to 75% discount….is cheapen even a word???
Well, everyone’s different and this is just my 2 cents.
To all of us a bright 2010!
Cheers,
Ryan
Eric:
Thanks for all the great lessons posted so far. I was wondering…is there any way to be notified by email when you post a new lesson?
Thanks,
Terry
Those things, outside of the OTO, are highly annoying techniques. People are getting much smarter to these things and are complaining more and more about them. Selling internet marketing is an incestuous cycle, but people still buy for some reason. Just some thoughts.
If you have a ‘Deleted Items’ folder, they may still be there.
Hi Eric , thanks your information the lesson 56
Hi Eric
I have just purchased your just7days product and have only downloaded half of the files and I can not get back to the website page to download the rest. Can you please email me and let me know how to get access before the deadline runs out.
Peter
Eric, I wanted you to know that I have learned much from you and took a chance and purchased the traffic generator site you recommended. Check me out at Web Traffic Propulsion
thanks your information about downselling…
Hi Eric,
I am interested in Trading Pro System but I havent got a website yet.
I am still looking for a profitable niche in UK for a start.
There is so much info on Internet, I am a bit confused now and dont know where to start…
The thing is, between work and family, I havent got much time to make a good website and I cant afford outsourcing it.
I would like to quit my job and do this on a regular basis but time will tell…
If I buy this product, with your tutorial; will I be able to use it in my website (when I get one) without problem?
Thank you
Regards
Jennie
Hi there eric,
Not sure if this is the place to ask but…..
We have both commented upon Tellmans Jesus vs Obama webpage survey and although I put my (soon to be up and running) website address http://www.allbellspalsy.info in teh registration, it hasn’t shown up HOWEVER, your actual NAME has your website address and therefore backlink WITHIN IT – very cool indeed – How did you do that? Is this the way to do it on other sites?
Thanks for any help you may be able to give me.
God Bless You and all that you do.
Robert.
Hi Eric, I just got an e-mail for your 7 day sale and that’s how I found your tips. I am fairly new and I’m on the earlier lessons where you tell us not to buy anything else until we get up and running. But this 7 day sale sounds too good to pass up… so since you’re the one who advises not to buy anything I was wondering what your advice is for this!
I have greatly enjoyed all the videos. Just lost my product (a DVD I produced on plant propagation – long story) and am working up a new product now. I do need to know if there is a reseller or affiliate program for URL registration that you like I would like to add this to my resale of web hosting. (I resell through a link you gave here). If you covered this in a previous video it escapes me, let me know which one please.
Hi Eric,
I would like to know that the video you are sellig, which will end today actully,is it based on Technical Analysis or Fundamental Analysis?
Thanks for all your help.
(Note: not related to this lesson) It is based on technical analysis. Thanks
Yes there is a domain reseller program here:
http://www.domainbusinessowner.com/
I talk about it in lesson 23:
My advice has always been not to buy something “unless you know what you’re doing with it”. So if you know what to do with it, my advice is to turn around and start making money with it. If you don’t know, then my advice is simply to learn quickly 🙂 I’ll be sending out a special tutorial to customers of that product soon, to help you get started. Thanks!
Hi Robert
I think all I did was put my name and website address in the blanks when I left the comment. Similar to yours in this comment 🙂
Yes you could sell it on any website. I’ll be releasing an extra tutorial for customers soon.
Cool, thanks!
No problem, we’ll make sure you get the files. Please submit a ticket at http://www.ericsupport.com for the download link
thanks
Thanks. If you’re a subscriber you should receive an email when it’s posted.
Awesome Tips Eric! Down-sell is a good idea, and one other “Flavor” if you will is when selling membership sites – different subscription levels, and even “try it for a dollar for 30 days” which then reverts to the normal monthly subscription price if the customer does not cancel.
Hi Eric, been with you since lesson 1# , truly great stuff. I purchased your reseller package “Trading Pro System” and im more than pleased with the product. Can i ask you this, how do you create the exit popup that you have on your own sales letter for this product? I know there is lots of info on the net but going through all the rubbish is endless. Could you recommend a free script or something. Thank you Eric.
Hi Eric, Just to let you know that I have now got my website online. I am just waiting for sales. At 73 years old I have never tried a project like this, but after a struggle the “lightbulb” went off and it all fell in place. So a message to all who just give up, try harder next time. I did it, and I am excited. (Whoops, mind the heart!!) Mike.
I’ve read recently that over use of this is both annoying customers (too many upsells and down sells before free or purchased products is FINALLY delivered) and one of the 2010 ‘deadly sins of Internet Marketers. What is your take on this Eric?
Thanks for your advice reguarding upsells and downsells, it is all fine and good, but what holds back most marketers is the lack of enough targeted traffic to even make sales, let alone downsells. this is an essential topic to any internet marketer.