NP is known as a clever chap who has helped a number of tech companies grow. So I was eager to listen to his webinar yesterday to learn few marketing tips. He didn’t disappoint me. He came up with 5 points with new jargon, only an American would, but putting the terminology aside, they were good. Here goes:
- Lead magnate, e.g give them a white paper
- Trip wire, e.g. micro commitments
- Core offer
- Profit maximiser, e.g. upsell, cross sell, etc
- Automation
All makes perfect sense. He sent a pre-video before the event, which spoke of the same, but during the webinar, the same points were stretched to 60 minutes, which included highlighting his own successes, and not taking on $100,000 monthly contracts for expertise. That’s all fine. Yeap, we bought into NP wanting to help us, the poor marketers and make us great.
But instead of saying how much his special programme will cost, he was going to spend the next 45 minutes telling why we will be doomed without it. I gave up after 20 minutes as I could not take it any further, and I could see some of the 900+ attendees were dropping off.
Just after the first session, most people were hooked and some of them showed signs of paying whatever NP demanded. So given that the sale was closed at minute 60, I could not understand why waste another 45 minutes to get to the point.
Finally, just now I got his long email, which I could not bare read. It was selling the same thing again. Remember, we were all sold. Why try to sell more? No price on the email, but got a link to his web page with tracking code (InfusionSoft).
Once I got to the page, to find the cost, I had to scroll down reams and reams of space (it’s probably 20 page book). So he was selling again and again. Remember I was sold. I had no intention of buying, but nevertheless I was sold. Finally at the bottom, I could see the price. Not once, but three times.
I’m sorry whilst there is no dispute about NP’s cleverness, I lost a bit of respect I had of him!
I have a lot to learn to be a better marketer and a salesman. I’ve also oversold many times, and every time I did it, I immediately realised the damage. Selling is an art. You need to know when to stop.
Do let me know if you know anyone who has written about this aspect of selling, i.e. Stop selling after you sold it.