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How nice would it be to earn commissions of $2,000, $5,000 even $10,000 or more?
A few months ago I was fortunate enough to meet Kim Willis, a fantastic marketer and entrepreneur who focuses on selling big ticket products.
This is an area I personally have very little experience in, so I asked Kim for the privilege of interviewing him to find out more about his business, and the strategies he uses to succeed.
Without any further ado, here is the interview!
The Interview
Could you introduce yourself and your business to us? What’s your story?
My latest business is called Persuasion Pursuit which is about giving coaches, trainers, consultants etc the sales tools and skills necessary to attract clients. Most skilled people are not sales oriented. In fact it’s probably true to say that the mere thought of doing sales work gives them the heebie jeebies! So my focus is to help these highly skilled folk attract high paying clients to them WITHOUT selling, hustling or pitching anyone.
How has your business strategy changed over the years?
I started online in 2006 selling products as an affiliate marketer for a big ticket company. I did very well and was able to quit the rat race in less than 60 days. Although I continued with my affiliate marketing activities, a few years ago I started to create my own content by writing articles for my new blog. Then, 2 years ago I wrote my first ebook. From there I started to develop my own marketing courses as well as a couple of membership based training platforms.
What made you decide to sell big ticket products?
I started selling big ticket products in the offline world 20 years ago. It was a live course for small business owners. The package I developed included the course plus some consultations with me and other value added inclusions (eg copywriting support to re-write their Yellow Pages ad, their quoting formats etc). I think I sold that package sold for around $5,000.
The reason I do it is because it can add a lot of extra income in a short space of time. Many bloggers, consultants, experts and coaches etc can develop a big ticket package and offer it to their ‘A’ class customers. Done properly some will buy it – so a big boost to cash flow within a month or two is very possible.
What does your typical sales process look like?
It’s pretty simple:
- Generate a lead
- Nurture the lead with email follow up
- Include an offer for a Free Consultation
- Schedule appointments with people who show interest
- Do the consultation (by phone)
- Make the sale
A variation on this is to sell low ticket product to the new lead first. Then, make the offer of a free consultation after they become (small ticket) buyers.
How does the sales process differ from selling low to mid-ticket products?
Small ticket sales are made automatically by your system – it’s 100% online – whereas to get people to spend a lot more money (ie at least $1,000), it is more productive to talk to them on the phone. This is not to say you CAN’T make a big ticket sale without any phone contact, it’s just that the conversion rates will be much higher when you add this one extra step. This assumes of course that you are reasonably effective on the phone.
What sorts of people are best suited for selling high-ticket products? What skills are necessary?
Good communication skills. That’s about it. It’s a myth that you need sales skills. I teach people to embrace the idea that all they need to do is to be genuine, authentic, and helpful. Take the pressure off yourself and just focus on giving great value in the interview.
An example…….
Let’s say you’re a blogger. You’re doing ok –you’re building your list and selling affiliate products etc, but you’re still not making enough money to (finally) quit your job. So what you could do is create a consulting package to help others solve a problem that you know they have. Include some extra features such as email support for 90 days, then price it up so it’s worth your while to sell it. Then simply market it to your list. And you do that by leading with a free consult offer first.
What piece of advice would you give for somebody looking to enter this space?
Hang in there and keep your spirits up! It’s very easy to lose motivation, particularly in the early stages of our home business. Many people get discouraged and lose the internal battle, and just quit. One of the reasons why I’ve done well is that I had a mentor/coach in the early stages of my online career. Without her help I probably would have quit (due to self doubt) and become just another statistic.
Conclusion
I’d like to thank Kim for taking the time to share his knowledge with us. I think you can all agree that what he provided was incredibly valuable and insightful.
If you have any questions for Kim, leave a comment below and I’m sure he’ll be here ready to help you out.
And of course, be sure to head on over to Persuasion Pursuit for more!
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