Make Money From Your Prospect's Progress
Recently I made an entry about "end result" being all that really mattered in marketing. That end result is usually a solution to a problem or a solution to a desire. Now let me tell you how you can get paid from another angle of providing solutions...
HELPING THEM TRACK THEIR PROGRESS.
Let's take an example...
Someone (your prospect) wants to lose weight and get into shape. So you sell them a workout guide for building muscle and burning fat, and you could also provide them with a cookbook of healthy recipes.
This would be enough as a solid solution to that problem (losing weight). But now let's talk about how you can make more money from that same prospect...
You can sell them a "progress tracker" of somekind. Such as a web-based application that tracks their daily diet, their weight by day, when and how many exercises they've done, etc. This "tracker" has tremendous value and can help that customer succeed with the problem/desire you are helping them solve. This tracker, for this example, could also be software that runs on their PC. (Personally, I would prefer doing something web-based and charging an ongoing subscription fee.)
Let's take another example...
Your prospect wants to improve their garden. So you sell them a guide on having an amazing garden and you teach them all the secret methods for quickly and easily growing their favorite vegetables.
But it doesn't have to stop there. You can also sell them a tracker of somekind. Like a web-based service that would track how many seeds they've planted. What dates they planted the seeds. What the measurements were of their plants on any given day. What the effects were when using certain fertilizers or plant supplements, etc. How big their tomatoes were. And so on and so forth.
People that are interested in a solution will not only buy the expertise from you but they will also buy a way to track their progress in most cases. So get busy and sell it to them.
Comments
John,
I see the value in this as an upsell or backend product. What are your thoughts on using a tracker as a front end product?
I understand that pricing would be determined by that markets spending habits, but as an average, what would you charge for a basic web based tracking service?
Take care,
Keith
Posted by: Keith Baxter | February 9, 2004 10:47 PM
Hey Keith,
You certainly can sell a "tracker" type product as a front-end. For some markets it will make more sense than others. The diet market would be a great one -- because many people try different diets and exercise routines and just need a single place to track their progress.
As far as pricing is concerned, it usually comes down to the same factors as for other products -- how much is the end result worth? Worth not so much in financial terms, but in value for the prospect; i.e. how much it will impact their life. For something like a diet tracker, it could be like $19/month. For something like a real estate investment tracker, it could be more like $200/month. It all depends on the market, how much time the tracker saves them, and the benefits of using it would be for the prospect.
Posted by: John Reese | February 9, 2004 10:59 PM
Hi John, Getting all reved up and psyched for your conference.
# 1. Who do you refer this kind of work out to? Scriptlance? What does this kind of software cost?
# 2. What kind of bells and whistles can be added on to this product for more value (higher price?)
Posted by: Harlan Kilstein | February 10, 2004 01:07 AM
Hi Harlan,
Yes, any capable web applications programmer can make such a program. It would be great for a golf market like you involved with to track scores, putts per round, fairways hit, average drive, etc.
The bells and whistles just have to do with however creative you want to get with it. To charge higher prices you must be able to deliver higher value or a more valuable end result. Such as also providing them with information that is not readily available to go along with whatever they are using the tracker for.
Posted by: John Reese | February 10, 2004 01:26 AM
Harlan,
Here are some great resources I've used:
www.rentacoder.com (cheap)
www.ecodegenie.com (cheap)
www.scriptlance.com (cheap to moderate)
www.projectspool.com (moderate)
www.contractedwork.com (expensive)
www.elance.com (way too expensive)
Keith
Posted by: Keith Baxter | February 10, 2004 10:12 AM
Harlan,
One more thing...
I've posted over 100 projects through these services and must warn you to:
1. Do not choose the lowest bidder. In my experience, the lowest bidder is also the most inexperienced. I always look for a bid right in the middle. There are exeptions... I've had great luck with programmers from eastern block countries and Russia that were very low in price. I've also been ripped off the most by programmers in India.
2. Have them show you MANY expamples of their work and even contact their previous clients to get real feedback. I've found that many people post very generic and not realistic feedback.
Keith
Posted by: Keith Baxter | February 10, 2004 10:23 AM
http://www.golfhelp.com/golf-help-html/News_and_Views/Statistics/
John, there are at least 20 sites selling golf tracking software.
How do I not get lost in the sauce?
Similar, I still have a weight loss business.
This program would compete with Ediets, South Beach, etc which offer the same thing.
How does a little guy compete?
Is this for an upsell?
What your guess on what this will cost?
Posted by: Harlan Kilstein | February 10, 2004 06:59 PM
Harlan,
There's no exact science to it, unfortunately. You'll have to test it for your market and see how people respond to it. However it's a "good" thing that your competitors are already offering it. I would price it like they have.
Hard to say how much it would cost to have developed, it all depends on the features you want it to have. I would imagine it can be done for less than $2,500 or so even if you wanted it to be pretty complicated.
Posted by: John Reese | February 10, 2004 07:36 PM
John,
On the Halbert tapes, you also mentioned you like Eastern Bloc countries. Which ones in particular have you had good success with?
Thanks,
Matt
Posted by: Matt Gallant | February 10, 2004 07:41 PM
Matt,
I prefer Russia and its old territories -- Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, etc.
Posted by: John Reese | February 10, 2004 08:13 PM
Hardcore bodybuilders that use steroids.
There are several VERY active forums in this niche. Words like 'Hardcore' and 'Extreme' always play into how the sites where these guys hang out. While steroids are a schedule III drug, you can create an anonymous service which allows these guys to track their hardcore workouts, nutritional (including supplement) intakes, and STEROID cycles.
While I by no means fit into this niche (I'm a bit on the heavy side), this is a market that is hungry for new things like a tracker.
There are a few big personalities that if you JV with them, will certainly guarantee your success.
Just a thought...
Keith
Posted by: Keith Baxter | February 11, 2004 08:02 AM
I had a wild idea this morning. With 'Health' being the second largest market (next to porn), here's an idea for a tracker for a much niched segment.
Hardcore bodybuilders that use steroids. There are several VERY active forums in this niche. Words like 'Hardcore' and 'Extreme' always play into how the sites where these guys hang out. While steroids are a schedule III drug, you can create an anonymous service which allows these guys to track their hardcore workouts, nutritional (including supplement) intakes, and STEROID cycles.
While I by no means fit into this niche (I'm a bit on the heavy side), this is a market that is hungry for new things like a tracker.
There are a few big personalities that if you JV with them, will certainly guarantee your success.
Just a thought...
Keith
Posted by: Keith Baxter | February 11, 2004 08:03 AM
Ketih,
That guy before you just posted the same idea. He's using your name too - better watch it. I think identity theft is afoot in the Reese blog!
Posted by: Jack Humphrey | April 8, 2004 06:52 AM
Thanks Keith for the coding resource list, I had just known of elance before .. agree w/your rankings..
ken
Posted by: Ken Calhoun | April 10, 2004 09:24 PM
Agree re ads, I've spent 20K in ppc ads during multiple-month timeframes to get 200K in sales, that's smart money spent.
ken
Posted by: Ken Calhoun | April 10, 2004 09:26 PM
Did anyone tried
http://www.totalitsolution.info is same looks like http://www.ecodegenie.com but they give price lower then ecodegenie and got my solution first.
Posted by: Shaon | October 21, 2004 12:51 PM
I offer to take a baseball bat to the knees of data entry firm owners from India who spam blogs. Free service, just pay my travel expenses.
One can of mace will be emptied in the face of said spammer as a bonus.
Jack
Posted by: Jack Humphrey | May 4, 2005 05:33 AM