Epiphany: What I learnt from a WSO

Hi Aith,

You're correct. Think of it like building a product around it's own U.S.P.

The problem is that if ALL of your products are only built around one technique, and the rest of it is basically low value fluff, then your buyers will see through this (as you have done), will experience buyer's remorse, and will attach that feeling to the seller.

This is fine if you're into 'hit and run' where you have a 'revolving door' effect going on with your customer base, but if you wanted to leverage your customer base, keep them satisfied and sell truly useful products to them over and over while also gaining from word of mouth from those satisfied customers, this technique has it's flaws and often people find themselves struggling to come up with new fluff and filler.

The worst case scenario is where the product only has one truly useful tactic, and the sales process is structured in such a way that the buyers are misled into thinking that this main tactic will be something that they can use, whereas in truth it is not something they would be likely to use - by doing this, the buyer ends up with absolutely nothing of use.

The whole philosophy of underdelivering tends to show itself in the way those sellers approach their business. If they know that their product is 'dressed up' to be much more useful than it actually is but they are still happy to put it out there, this attitude becomes apparent through everything that the person does - the sales page becomes borderline BS, the bonuses are often worthless junk thrown in there to create a false image of overdelivering etc.

These things are rampant in WSOs unfortunately, not least because there are so many people rushing to make a handful of $7 sales when in truth they should really slow down, gain more experience and build more value into each product (if they are in it for the long term). That way, their buyers will come back for the second and third product, and will often skim the sales letter because they *know* the seller will not let them down, as their reputation is built upon overdelivering.

Paul Myers is a great example of someone who (in my opinion) would rather starve than release a below par product. He even applies this philosophy to his forum posts. In my opinion, everyone could learn from studying the way that he does these things.

But again - that depends on whether someone is happy to be a flash in the pan, or whether they are in it for the long haul and want to build a great reputation so that they can enjoy the benefits of leverage.

My main point relates to this -

Yes, you have learnt from this. But don't think that because these tactics are prevalent, that they are the *best* way to do things. How difficult is it to produce a product that is FULL of great techniques/tips? How much more can be gained by doing things a better way? How much does the prevalence of lame products make the ones that are packed with value stand out?

Aith, Never, ever count on that. It's a prescription for despair.

The only thing people know about a product before buying it is what they're told. Online, that usually amounts to the salesletter. Maybe an affiliate promotion. Neither of those is proof of a product's quality.

Having a good product does help, a lot. It makes it more likely that you'll get good comments when people ask about it. It increases the likelihood that your customers will buy from you again, which is a huge chunk of succeeding in almost any business. But it won't be enough, by itself.

To achieve any real level of success in this business, you need an effective sales process. I couldn't begin to tell you how many people I've seen over the years who put all their time into creating solid products, only to find themselves desperate and confused when they couldn't get anyone to buy them.


Paul