Most entrepreneurs create tons of one-off products, programs and services that NEVER really turn into a thriving business…
If you’re stuck in this cycle, everything feels A LOT harder than it needs to be…
But things become so much easier when you take the approach I’m about to share…
In this post, I’m going to debunk something that SO many business and marketing experts teach… and then I’ll reveal HOW to scale your business while making the impact AND income you desire.
So, let’s dive in!
The “Traffic” Myth
You may have heard that THE BEST way to increase your revenue is more leads and more traffic…
Because that’s what everyone is saying, right?
The problem with this thinking is that your existing customers are 12 times more likely to buy from you than someone who hasn’t bought from you before.
Yep, 12 times!
This means that once you GET a student, client or customer — you want to keep them for life!
The MOST successful business owners understand this…
AND make up to 80% of their revenue from back-end sales.
Back-end sales are the second, third or fourth thing someone buys from you. They’re what happens next after someone completes their initial engagement with you.
If you’re not thinking about this — and planning for this — and you’re only focused on getting more leads and more traffic — you’re working 1200 percent harder than you need to be.
I see A LOT of people make this mistake and find themselves on this endless marketing treadmill of constantly building their list, generating traffic or trying to get new customers.
They end up exhausting themselves… burning out long before they make any real progress in their business.
It’s also way less fulfilling to build your business based on what’s essentially the marketing equivalent of one-night stands…
When you could — instead — build your business around long-term relationships with your customers by creating new offers that move them one step closer to the Ultimate Result they desire…
If they see progress with your first program, they’ll imagine what’s possible with your next program… and your next… and onwards and upwards.
Think of the businesses you’re loyal to — I’m guessing they deliver on their promises and treat you like a real human being and not just a number… right?
You’ve probably seen this before…
This is the traditional sales funnel — where you dump a bunch of leads into the top of the funnel… then offer them a low-ticket product — usually less than $100.
Then, once they’ve consumed that, you offer them a higher-priced product. And onwards and upwards.
With a traditional sales funnel, you’ve done your job really well if 10% of your customers move on to the next step… then 10% of those move on to the next step… and so on… and so on…
But that model depends on more and more leads and more and more traffic…
Let’s just do the math for a moment: You need over 1,000 sales at $97 to make $100,000 and that’s NOT the easiest thing to do — especially when you’re first getting started.
That’s why, in most cases, I recommend starting at higher price points so you need fewer leads…
Because paying for traffic usually isn’t the best strategy when you’re still fine-tuning your value and message.
You need more direct feedback to nail your offers before you can get paid traffic to actually pay off. So, if you’ve blown money on paid traffic before, this may be why.
Take a Customer-First Approach
That’s why I recommend taking what I call a “customer-first approach” where you focus on understanding your students, clients and customers — in the deepest way possible — and REALLY designing your offers to connect with them.
This starts with the 2 sides of your offer…
You have the front-facing side… this is what your customers receive or the experience they have from the moment they meet you…
And then there’s the back-facing side — this is what YOU offer or the exact sequence of offers you want to make.
Now, most people make the mistake of starting with the back-facing side… what they want to give, sell or offer.
The problem with this approach is that you may make the huge mistake of creating an offer that no one wants…
Or an offer that may sell but will never become the Blockbuster Hit you imagined…
I’ve seen a LOT of people say, “Yay! I hear I can make $100K this year by creating an online course… let me just go and build something and the customers will come… right?”
And because they’re creating their offer without talking to their potential customers first — they end up creating something that doesn’t get the response they were hoping for.
The result?
They’re left with dozens of boxes of books sitting in their storage unit or a membership site with no one in it… wondering, “What went wrong?”
If you’ve done this, keep in mind that there is no failure, only feedback. No effort is EVER wasted… It’s all learning that has gotten you exactly where you are today, poised and ready to take off!
I always ask my students: If it’s your third or fourth product, program or course that becomes that Blockbuster Hit product that puts you on the map would you be willing to create Product #1 and Product #2 — even if they’re kinda duds — if it gets you to your Blockbuster Hit Product?
I’m guessing that’s a yes!
Never judge yourself on your first effort… because how can you judge a puzzle without seeing the picture on the box?
And life most definitely doesn’t come with a picture on the box.
Lesson Learned the Hard Way
When I first got started in this industry, before I had really established my business or had any real confidence, I created a group coaching and training program called “Build Your Site, Launch Your Business”.
Believe it or not, I created this bad boy here…
I had 8 paying students, which isn’t bad for a first offer… but I was disappointed.
I poured EVERYTHING I had into teaching that 8-week program to those 8 students.
But I made a BIG mistake… and this is a mistake I see coaches, consultants and course creators make all the time…
I was SO focused on delivering my program that I didn’t think about the critical question, “What’s next?”
I didn’t have ANYWHERE for them to go after completing the program… no way for them to stay involved with me.
No way to keep them in the game…
And that’s the real secret to success…
It’s staying in the game no matter what happens.
It’s being the kind of person who says… “I’m doing it! I’m going to make this happen, I’m so 100% committed to my message that I’m going to keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward.”
But, when I created the Build Your Site, Launch Your Business program, I didn’t think about how I could continue to support these 8 students…
So 7 of my 8 students finished the program and then they lost momentum because I didn’t have a way for them to stay in the game…
So their businesses didn’t become as successful as I know they could have been…
Here’s the thing: There’s ONLY SO MUCH you can do in 4 weeks or 8 weeks or 12 weeks… and building a successful and fulfilling business takes more support and a longer commitment.
So those 7 students… they haunt me to this day because I feel like I failed them… I didn’t think far enough ahead.
All I knew was that I HAD to create an online course to scale my business… because that’s what everyone was telling me.
I understood my perspective, but I didn’t fully understand theirs.
And if your customers don’t stay in the game with you, chances are they WON’T see the level of success and transformation that’s possible — for them.
So, if you’re committed to making consistent sales while changing lives… you need to focus on BOTH sides of your business…
What your customers receive or the experience they have from the moment they meet you…
And what you offer or the exact sequence of offers you want to make…
You’re not just offering your students, clients or customers a product or a service — you’re guiding them on a transformative journey, a clear and compelling path that leads them to their ultimate goal.
Each offer you create builds upon the last, creating unstoppable momentum toward what they ultimately want — in their lives, relationships, businesses, whatever you help them with!
Remember: Back-end sales — the follow-on sales that come after someone’s initial purchase — are 12 times easier and more profitable than constantly scouting for new customers.
Why? Because once your students, clients or customers experience REAL VALUE from your first offer, they’re primed and ready for more.
They trust you.
They believe in you.
And most importantly, they want to continue their journey with you.
So, before you create your first or next product, ask yourself: What’s next?
Your Next Step
Speaking of what’s next, our journey together doesn’t end here…
Before you go…
Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!
Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…
Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.
If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…
You need to do things differently.
Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.
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