How to tap into a little-used sales trigger for fun and profit...

7 replies
You know all about sales triggers. And you probably use some of them fairly regularly, such as scarcity, reciprocity, selling hope, etc.

But here's one that some beginning marketers overlook: The desire to collect.

Obviously, if you're selling collectibles (like baseball cards, for instance), then you're effortlessly triggering that desire. But what about people who sell information products?

First off, your consumers are, well... consumers. If you find the rabid consumers in your niche, they'll "collect" all the info they can get their hands on. Look in the WSO forum and you'll see lots of collectors making themselves known. But these folks are in every niche. (I'm that way with dog stuff, as I have lots of dog books on my shelves.)

Secondly, once you get established in your niche, some folks will "collect" everything you put out. Basically, they've become your fan. If it has your name on it, they want it.



So, those two points cover your consumers and you. But what about your product?

Yes -- you can trigger the desire to collect, even if you're a no-name newbie in your niche!

There are lots of ways to do it. Let me share a few (and you can feel free to chip in with your own favorite methods)...



Triggering the desire to collect, method 1

Create a sequential series of paid products.

Example -- {name of product} Volume/Part 1, {name of product} Volume/Part 2.

People who buy Volume 1 will feel compelled to complete their collection and buy all subsequent volumes.




Triggering the desire to collect, method 2

Let's take the previous idea and kick it up a notch.

You create Volume 1 and give it away for free. Then create Volume 2 as a paid product.







NOTE: If you only read one thing in this post, read method 3 below.




Triggering the desire to collect, method 3


Here's my favorite. Here again we take the previous idea and kick it into high gear...

You create Volume 1 and give it away for free.
You create Volume 3 -- yes, #3 -- and give it away for free.
You create Volume 2 and offer it as a paid product.


You see what happens? Now you have all these prospects who have Volume #1 and #3, but they're missing the middle one. That causes a little psychological discomfort, especially for the Adrian Monks in your niche. And so they have to buy Volume #2 just to complete their "collection."

Naturally, you can make these even more powerful by:

-- Whetting people's appetite for Volume 2 from within the pages of Volume 1. For example, you'll say things like "In Volume 2 you'll discover how to [insert benefit].

-- Mentioning Volume 2 from within the pages of Volume 3. For example, you'll say things like, "Refer back to page 15 in Volume 2 for complete instructions..."

In other words, you assume the reader already has Volume 2. So you tell people to refer back to it for specific tips, hints and tricks.

Let me give you a more specific example. Let's suppose you have a weight loss guide with three volumes. In Volume 3 you might say things like:

"Use the meal plan and recipes in Volume 2..."

-- Or --

"Remember that secret fat-burning drink I told you about on page 22 of Volume 2? For best results, you need to drink it with the first two meals of the day."



---

Enjoy flipping the trigger.

Cheers,
Becky
#fun #little green men #littleused #profit #sales #tap #trigger #whiskey with an e
  • Profile picture of the author ritaj
    great info. You are right, how many times do you see on this very forum that
    someone buying a WSO states that they already have the sellers other/past
    offerings? Also stating that they will look for future offerings too.

    Something to definitely keep in mind.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1588381].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Tyler Pratt
      This is great info.

      Is this not the same thing you do in your sales letter?

      The sales letter could be volume 1, volume 2 will be your free product and volume 3 will be the paid product.
      Signature

      Get the Top 11 Millionaire Tools and 7 Of them are FREE
      >> Yes Get Instant Access <<

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1588406].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
        Originally Posted by Tyler Pratt View Post

        This is great info.

        Is this not the same thing you do in your sales letter?

        The sales letter could be volume 1, volume 2 will be your free product and volume 3 will be the paid product.
        I like that idea better, at least then you are not using psychological trickery to force people to buy from using their compulsions against them.
        Signature
        “Thinking is easy, Acting is difficult
        And to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world ~ Goethe”
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1588416].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
          As a newbie you have to build a reputation as someone who knows what he is talking about and you don't do that by answering every other question with another order to buy the other books that you happen to have in your car-boot or under your overcoat.
          Of course not.

          I should add that Volumes 1 and 3 (the ones you're giving away) should be solid standalone products that are useful on their own. That is, the reader can get some benefit without purchasing a thing. However, there's nothing wrong with occasionally mentioning a tip from a paid product inside of a free product. That's straightforward backend marketing / upselling.

          As Tyler said, this is indeed how a lead-generation funnel works. People post something on Ezine Articles (or on their blog) which leads to a free report (must join newsletter) which leads to a paid product.

          What I'm saying is that you can make this even more powerful by actually labeling these steps as "Volume 1" or "Part 2." Thus you're solidifying the connection -- and the collection.

          Cheers,
          Becky
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1588443].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
            Nice twist on making Vol2 the paid filling between the Vol1 - Vol3 bread...

            For those susceptible to the collectible bug, that empty hole could drive you crazy. Joe Sugarman has a story in his Triggers book about this.

            A company wanted people to sign up for a continuity program that sold little replica airplane tails with the logos of the different airlines. As a premium, they offered a nice display case free with the initial order.

            It was a really nice case, made with multiple drawers with little padded compartments to hold the little airplane tails.

            Each month you stayed in the program, you got another tail. Even more important, you got one less empty space in the display case.

            Sugarman talked about how he had little interest in little replica airplane tails, thought they were about the most useless thing he could think of. He only ordered the first one to study the company's sales process. Yet month by month, the thought of leaving empty spots in that display case drove him to keep buying.

            He said that once the collection was complete, he lost interest in little replica airplane tails, put the filled case away, and never looked at it again.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1589375].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
              Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

              For those susceptible to the collectible bug, that empty hole could drive you crazy. Joe Sugarman has a story in his Triggers book about this.

              A company wanted people to sign up for a continuity program that sold little replica airplane tails with the logos of the different airlines. As a premium, they offered a nice display case free with the initial order.
              Great story, John!

              Actually, that gave me an idea...

              A marketer with a continuity program who is shipping CDs could give away a multi-CD case with the first CD (the first "volume"). If the continuity program included a year of content -- 12 CDs -- then the case would have room for 12 CDs. Each CD holder/"slot" would be labeled with the title of it's respective CD.

              I'd think labeling the slots would decrease the chance that someone would use the case to hold other CDs, and increase the chance that they'd want to stay in the program to fill in each labeled and numbered "slot" in their CD case.

              Thanks again for the story. My mind is whirling around a bit now.

              cheers,
              Becky
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1589437].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    This is a nice idea and definitely one that bears consideration but I have always tended to avoid simply filling answers by telling people to look at previous answers...you don't build a reputation that way but annoyance.

    As a newbie you have to build a reputation as someone who knows what he is talking about and you don't do that by answering every other question with another order to buy the other books that you happen to have in your car-boot or under your overcoat.

    This reminds me of that trick we used to get told to do in computer sales where we show someone a cheap computer that can barely do anything, then the most expensive and THEN show them a middle priced computer we could fix up to do what they wanted better than the high priced one...

    I always disliked trickery of any kind :p
    Signature
    “Thinking is easy, Acting is difficult
    And to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world ~ Goethe”
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1588405].message }}

Trending Topics