As a Customer how do you feel about OTOs on WSO?

69 replies
Hello Guys,

Manny here, I hope you guys are doing great.

Basically I wanted to ask you as a customer how do you feel about OTOs on WSO offers?

Here is the thing I have never believed on them not because they are a bad marketing strategy because they are good but because every day I see more and more sellers using OTOs as a way of squeezing more money out of customers with out offering great value.

Some guys offers you a really low Front End (FE) product like "Make $100 a Day Method" with a price tag of $7.95 but I have found that many times when you see something like this basically the FE product has some info but the key information that makes the whole thing works great is behind a $27 OTO

Others offers you a great FE product with real value for $9.95 and then they have an OTO for $27 but that is not actually worth even $4.00

And last you have the honest sellers that offers you a great FE product at a fair price tag lets say $17 and the OTO is just a fair upgrade of the product that doesn't affect the FE product in any way, shape, or form meaning that the FE works great with out the OTO and the OTO while related, it just offer more value and is absolutely optional.

So the question is as a customer when you find out that the offer has an OTO does that turn you off? Yes ? No? Why?

I have being talking with top sellers as of late and they all tell me that OTOs is the way to go. That I am wrong by no offering OTOs on my offers and that I am losing money. So that got me to think if I need to start doing OTOs but of course I will not do that with out asking first.

I wanna see what do you guys think of it.

Now if you are a seller and want to comment on this thread please do NOT offer your opinion as a Seller put on your customer shoes on and then talk and if you do not know how to put yourself in the shoes of a customer (specially a noob customer) then please to not talk as we want to know what honest customers looking for real value think about this subject not what other sellers think about it.

As sellers what do you think we can do to improve the way we serve products to you.

Will you be willing to buy a product if is all in a FE product but with the real value on it lets say $37, $47 or $57 price tags or do you prefer the $9.95 price tag and be sucked in to buying OTOs at a higher price once you paid the first amount?

You do not need to answer all the questions on this thread we are just looking for the general feeling of when you see an OTO on a WSO.

Thanks for you time,

Manny
#customer #feel #otos #wso
  • Profile picture of the author MartinPlatt
    It depends on what it is. If the FE product gives you a long and drawn out process, and an OTO gives you an automated version of it, through software, then it's okay. If it was a service that did a lot of it for you, that might also be okay.

    A lot of the stuff that is upsold is not so well thought out, or is something a bit left of field that often has me questioning the quality of the main offer if this extra thing is really that useful. It really does depend upon how it is pitched as well - some of the stuff sounds great but actually is just a poor add on.

    I think thought it's like main offers and WSOs - if they're crap, they're crap. If they're good, and have the customers' interests at heart, then there's nothing wrong with them.

    I think the price point completely depends upon the value and effort that has gone into it. If it's someone you don't know, then I wouldn't buy straight away at anything over $20. I think that it's better to have a lower entry price point in that case, then upsell with something USEFUL and HIGH QUALITY!
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Honestly, I'm tired of seeing all this OTO talk.

    Do you complain at McDonalds when they try to get you to upsize your chips?

    If you don't want to buy them, don't buy them. If you do, then do.

    You are a consenting adult. It is up to you to make your own buying decisions. No one is forcing you to buy anything. Nothing will be achieved by complaining about them.

    Do you honestly think upsells are only used in this market? Hell no. You come across them every single day in your normal life. It's up to you as to what you buy and want you don't buy.

    There are plenty of rubbish products being sold both online and in the offline world. This market is no different to any other in that respect. Buyer beware. Do your own research. If you are buying products that suck or you feel you are getting ripped off, I would be looking more closely at your own buying research and decisions because no matter how bad a product is, it won't affect you unless you are silly enough to buy it.
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    • Profile picture of the author manny2513
      Originally Posted by MartinPlatt View Post

      It depends on what it is. If the FE product gives you a long and drawn out process, and an OTO gives you an automated version of it, through software, then it's okay. If it was a service that did a lot of it for you, that might also be okay.

      A lot of the stuff that is upsold is not so well thought out, or is something a bit left of field that often has me questioning the quality of the main offer if this extra thing is really that useful. It really does depend upon how it is pitched as well - some of the stuff sounds great but actually is just a poor add on.

      I think thought it's like main offers and WSOs - if they're crap, they're crap. If they're good, and have the customers' interests at heart, then there's nothing wrong with them.

      I think the price point completely depends upon the value and effort that has gone into it. If it's someone you don't know, then I wouldn't buy straight away at anything over $20. I think that it's better to have a lower entry price point in that case, then upsell with something USEFUL and HIGH QUALITY!
      Thanks a lot for your valuable input. This is something I got in mind for my next product as I got a great method to make decent money but the actuall method involves lots of tedious work. So I have developed a software that automates most of the tedious work for you. So I was thinking on doing method for FE and software for OTO but not sure if your guys prefer all bundled in one package with one price.

      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Honestly, I'm tired of seeing all this OTO talk.

      Do you complain at McDonalds when they try to get you to upsize your chips?

      If you don't want to buy them, don't buy them. If you do, then do.

      You are a consenting adult. It is up to you to make your own buying decisions. No one is forcing you to buy anything. Nothing will be achieved by complaining about them.

      Do you honestly think upsells are only used in this market? Hell no. You come across them every single day in your normal life. It's up to you as to what you buy and want you don't buy.

      There are plenty of rubbish products being sold both online and in the offline world. This market is no different to any other. Buyer beware. Do your own research. If you are buying products that suck or you feel you are getting ripped off, I would be looking more closely at your buying research and decisions because no matter how bad a product is, it won't affect you unless you buy it.
      Man like I said if you are coming here with the vendors mentality then you can just stay out man. I understand when the Admins and Mods list on their rules Buyers Beware to protect their shop but when I see a vendor saying that is basically telling me "beware or I will be the first to ripp you off". No offense bud but it sounds like that. Yes, when I go to McDonald's they try to upsale me Big Soda and Fries but here is 2 things first this is NOT McDonald's and second when you go to McDonald's the next time instead of ordering the Big Mac right away take the time to actually LOOK at the Menu because the Upgrade offer is usually right there in front of you "Get Big Fries and Big Soda for $1.29 More" The guy is just reminding you about the offer that has already been advertised to you nothing wrong about that. The OTOs are usually not advertised to you on the sales page you find out once you already invested money reason why they are a big deal and reason why is IMPORTANT to listen how customers feel about this because in the end the customer is always right.
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      • Profile picture of the author LexiB
        Originally Posted by manny2513 View Post

        Man like I said if you are coming here with the vendors mentality then you can just stay out man. I understand when the Admins and Mods list on their rules Buyers Beware to protect their shop but when I see a vendor saying that is basically telling me "beware or I will be the first to ripp you off". No offense bud but it sounds like that. Yes, when I go to McDonald's they try to upsale me Big Soda and Fries but here is 2 things first this is NOT McDonald's and second when you go to McDonald's the next time instead of ordering the Big Mac right away take the time to actually LOOK at the Menu because the Upgrade offer is usually right there in front of you "Get Big Fries and Big Soda for $1.29 More" The guy is just reminding you about the offer that has already been advertised to you nothing wrong about that. The OTOs are usually not advertised to you on the sales page you find out once you already invested money reason why they are a big deal and reason why is IMPORTANT to listen how customers feel about this because in the end the customer is always right.
        When you buy a car do you get pissed when they ask you if you'd like an extended warranty?

        When you go to the movies and they say "For 25 cents more you could get a large" do you refuse to buy the soda?

        When you buy something off Amazon and they ask if you'd like faster shipping to do X out of the page and not buy the item?

        People here are confusing a sales funnel which adds value but is completely separate from the original offer and is not required for the original offer to work with people taking out important parts of something just to have upsells.

        If you are taking important parts out of your product just so that you can sell them as upsells, then I agree, that's bad!

        But if you are offering people optional upgrades that they can buy if they want (or say no to if they want) after the sale, then that's just business.
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        • Profile picture of the author WillR
          Originally Posted by LexiB View Post

          If you are taking important parts out of your product just so that you can sell them as upsells, then I agree, that's bad!

          But if you are offering people optional upgrades that they can buy if they want (or say no to if they want) after the sale, then that's just business.
          Spot on!

          I hate those types of OTO's as well. But that's not the standard practice of OTO's. That's just a few bad marketers taking advantage of people. If you come across those people then refund your purchase and don't buy from them again. But that is the minority. A OTO or upsell done correctly should not be something you need to take into account in your purchase of the front end offer. If it is then they are just dodgy marketers.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
        He didn't imply this whatsoever, he made a perfectly valid point that you should always research before you buy and if you don't then its probably your own fault. If you put something up for discussion on a forum you can't expect to control the thread, especially by being abusive to those who post in it with their own opinion, after all we all have them.
        Originally Posted by manny2513 View Post

        Man like I said if you are coming here with the vendors mentality then you can just stay out man. I understand when the Admins and Mods list on their rules Buyers Beware to protect their shop but when I see a vendor saying that is basically telling me "beware or I will be the first to ripp you off".
        As for your upsells question, you do what works best for you. You need to test and track for yourself and not listen to what a lot of other people out there are saying. What works for one product doesn't always work for another, personally as a buyer I've wanted to scream at the amount of upsells I've been presented with because they've looked so poor, yet on a recent purchase (which was $67), I bought the upsell which was $500 (and didn't regret it one bit).

        I would suggest quality of your upsell is the biggest factor.

        Kim
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    • Profile picture of the author ejullya
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Honestly, I'm tired of seeing all this OTO talk.

      Do you complain at McDonalds when they try to get you to upsize your chips?

      If you don't want to buy them, don't buy them. If you do, then do.

      You are a consenting adult. It is up to you to make your own buying decisions. No one is forcing you to buy anything. Nothing will be achieved by complaining about them.

      Do you honestly think upsells are only used in this market? Hell no. You come across them every single day in your normal life. It's up to you as to what you buy and want you don't buy.

      There are plenty of rubbish products being sold both online and in the offline world. This market is no different to any other. Buyer beware. Do your own research. If you are buying products that suck or you feel you are getting ripped off, I would be looking more closely at your buying research and decisions because no matter how bad a product is, it won't affect you unless you buy it.
      Hey Will,

      That is a poor comparison. At McDonalds you can clearly see what you are buying and to boot they are not trying to upsize you to large fries either. And I don't see your point about consenting adults here.

      The reason a lot of people talk about OTOs is because customers are getting tired of them since many times they are just ripoffs. So if you are going to have an OTO make sure it is a value product.

      People don't mind paying for value but they mind being cheated. In the long run it is not the customer but it is the seller who is going to suffer the consequences.

      A while ago a scenario tried several times had many people riled. It was something like this: WSO offered personal license and OTO offered developers license. That was done by a few IMers (couple of pretty well known) and I honestly believe that some lost their customers because of that.

      People felt they had to pay twice for the same product. They really felt cheated and there was a lot of unhappy discussion on the forum about this. One of the sellers eventually realized his mistake and was apologetic, but the whole incident left a bad taste in people mouths.

      So a seller has to offer a value front end product and a real value OTO otherwise he will have a lot of unhappy customers who will not buy from him again. I certainly would not trust anyone who will cheat me once.

      I am speaking from customer's point of view.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    I am responding to your thread. If you can't handle it then don't post a thread in a public forum.

    Just like if you can't handle simple marketing such as upsells and OTO's then don't bother hanging around a marketing forum and complaining about it. It's a part of marketing.

    I agree there are both good and bad ways of doing OTO's and upsells. But it's not the point. The point is no one is forcing you to buy anything. Make your own decisions and you will be fine. You're an adult, right?

    A OTO does NOT have to be advertised to you. If I or any other seller has a OTO or upsell they have no need to tell you about that. In fact this forum is one of the only places I have ever seen this practice of people asking what the OTO is before they buy the front end product. It's ridiculous and I'm not sure why the mods allow it to be honest.

    All someone needs to show you is the front end offer. You see the product. You see the price. If you want that product at that price then buy it. If you do not want that product at that price then do not buy it. If you make logical buying decisions like that then it will not matter what upsell or OTO follows. Treat the front end product as it's own offer and make your decision about that product and that product only. If it doesn't represent value to you then don't buy it. If it does represent value to it and you do buy it, then don't complain if they also offer you additional things after that -- you don't have to buy them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Andre Slater
      I agree with WillR

      My opinion is that yes they are frustrating sometimes, but if I don't need them I don't buy them. The thing I like about WF and these days of marketing is that marketer's know not to have an OTO that is necessary to make the original product work... The OTO's are usually extensions and if the marketer is reputable then they will give you opportunity to purchase later.

      The old days of IM they would sell you a half a** product and sell you OTO's that you would need to make the program work... I am glad those days are behind us and now marketers are smarter with their OTO's

      and if you sell anything than you absolutely love OTO's because nowaday's you are missing money if you are not using them and they are almost completely necessary because they give you options as marketer.
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    • Profile picture of the author ejullya
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      I am responding to your thread. If you can't handle it then don't post a thread in a public forum.


      A OTO does NOT have to be advertised to you. If I or any other seller has a OTO or upsell they have no need to tell you about that. In fact this forum is one of the only places I have ever seen this practice of people asking what the OTO is before they buy the front end product. It's ridiculous and I'm not sure why the mods allow it to be honest.
      It's funny Will that perhaps you are not realizing that on this forum we have buyers and sellers.

      I am truly surprised by your answer particularly the sentence "It's ridiculous and I'm not sure why the mods allow it to be honest. "

      I can't believe that as an avid seller, as you are, you would say something like that. Trust me the first thing I am going to do after I am finished here, I am going to open my email box and unsubscribe from your list, so I will never receive an offer from you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Andre Slater
        Originally Posted by ejullya View Post

        It's funny Will that perhaps you are not realizing that on this forum we have buyers and sellers.

        I am truly surprised by your answer particularly the sentence "It's ridiculous and I'm not sure why the mods allow it to be honest. "

        I can't believe that as an avid seller, as you are, you would say something like that. Trust me the first thing I am going to do after I am finished here, I am going to open my email box and unsubscribe from your list, so I will never receive an offer from you.
        Your right... I do agree with Will saying you don't have to buy, but when I am buying I do like to know all of my options. Even though I love the WF there are some sneaky marketers selling crap on here...

        The WF when I joined a long time ago to me felt like a secret society of Internet Marketers who helped each other out... Nowaday's you have people on WF who read in some WSO, that you can make a killing on WF selling WSO's so they put out crappy products and a bunch of OTO's

        So you do need to know your options...

        If you sell a product here you should tell people.

        1. What exactly they are getting.
        2. Tell what OTO's you have and what they are.

        I don't necessarily think that everyone who ask about OTO's are cheap and mooches... When I ask are their any OTO's I am asking because I need to know how much money I would need to get all of what they are selling.

        It's easy to make a crappy $2.00 product and then get people to buy and then smack them with $100 upsell 1, $50 upsell 2, $75 downsell, $20 whole shabang! downsell program...

        But on WF it will get you a bad name super quick...

        There once was a time that people did that and put out crappy products and scammed people out of their money... It was called "old ClickBank" but now they are realizing you can't expect people to keep falling for crap and marketers are seeing those killer refunds that they have to pay back...

        So if you have a great product then you wouldn't be worried about someone asking what is the OTO's? if your scamming you would...

        No offense to WILL he puts out great products hands down... But from a buyers standpoint they want to know their options and from a sellers standpoint I would want to keep selling while they are buying and keep pitching until they stop... So this topic can go both ways.

        You just have to be careful about it. You can't put out crap in today's time because your rep can go in an instant.
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by ejullya View Post

        It's funny Will that perhaps you are not realizing that on this forum we have buyers and sellers.

        I am truly surprised by your answer particularly the sentence "It's ridiculous and I'm not sure why the mods allow it to be honest. "

        I can't believe that as an avid seller, as you are, you would say something like that. Trust me the first thing I am going to do after I am finished here, I am going to open my email box and unsubscribe from your list, so I will never receive an offer from you.
        That's fine by me. I don't need people on my list who are going to complain about things like voluntary upsells or OTO's that are done correctly.

        I am a buyer AND a seller so I am talking from both perspectives.

        You are talking about two very different things though.

        Options are something to do with the front end offer.

        If I buy a car, sure, I would like to know what options there are for that car before I purchase. What type of wheels can I get. What type of interior can I get, etc. They are all relevant to my initial purchase as they are all features of the car I am buying. I don't want to purchase and then find out I could have had better wheels.

        But what you guys are talking about here are OTO's and if done correctly, they are things that should not be required to use the front end product you are purchasing. To use my car example again, they might be things like extended warranties, getting a special formula sprayed over the exterior that prolongs the life of your paint job, things like that. They are not things that are a part of your initial purchase, they are additional upsell items. They shouldn't have any bearing on whether or not you buy the car (front end product). So I do not see why those things need to be disclosed to you first and the fact is a seller does not have to disclose those things to you. Optional items like that are irrelevant to the front end offer you are considering.

        Once again, weigh up the value of the front end offer by itself. If you think its good value then buy it. If you don't then do not buy it. But that decision should not be swayed by other possible products I might try and sell you later on -- they are irrelevant to this offer.

        My comment about you being a consenting adult means that you are capable of making your own buying decisions. No one is forcing you to buy anything. So look at the value of the offer being presented and decide whether or not you want to buy that product.

        Do you complain when you go and buy a domain and on the next page they offer you the ability to add a hosting package to your purchase? No, why would you. The hosting package is not required to use your domain. It's something that might help you use the domain if you choose to purchase it but you may not need it. Same thing. So you buy the domain based on whether or not you think that domain is of value or not. The hosting package should not be relevant to whether or not you purchase that domain name.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wedding
    The market evolved, in the true sense of the word "evolution". The mass of WSO buyers has been conditioned to buy $7 magic bullets.

    News flash!

    You're not going to get the keys to the kingdom for $7.

    As it is now, we've got to give the entire $7 to the freakin affiliates anyway, just to get them to mail for us. So if there's no OTO, guess what... There's no gravy for the product creator. This is the state of the market and the buyers are just as much to blame as the sellers.

    If I put a product up for its TRUE value, I'll make jack squat for sales because everyone's looking for $7 products.

    So you get what you get... just like voters in a democracy.

    And you'll never know what you miss. I've got a $497 product that could benefit thousands of "shiny object chasing" WSO buyers. But if you think I'm going to spill the beans for $7... No thanks. I'll keep it to myself.

    You don't like OTOs, don't buy them. And if the sales letter doesn't live up to the hype, ask for a refund. But quit posting in every WSO thread, "Is there an OTO?"

    Makes me want to bitch slap someone.
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  • Profile picture of the author LexiB
    WILLR For Prez! 2016!

    Selling a product without a funnel is foolish regardless of what industry you are in. I really don't know of a successful company that doesn't do it. You can always upgrade your shipping, get a bigger size, get that warranty on the TV you bought from Wal Mart...or whatever!

    From a customers standpoint, and I'm being HONEST here, I wouldn't buy from a seller that didn't have an upsell (and I'm talking about the IM market). A person selling a product without an upsell, in my opinion, doesn't know the business model well enough to teach. That's just my opinion from a buyers standpoint.
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by LexiB View Post

      You can always upgrade your shipping, get a bigger size, get that warranty on the TV you bought from Wal Mart...or whatever!
      Yes, they are all perfect examples of upsells... and none of them effect the value of the front end product. So why on earth should they be a part of the decision to buy the front end product?!

      Buyers should not be asking this question in the WSO forum. It's a really silly practice that someone started and now everyone does.

      Honestly... :rolleyes::rolleyes:

      If you don't like the value in the front end product then don't buy it. It's that simple.

      "Excuse me, before I buy this car I would just like to know if you are going to be offering any upsells?"

      "Yes, we will be offering you the option of an extended warranty should you want it."

      "Really?! That's just wrong. I don't want to buy this car anymore."

      See how silly it sounds in the REAL world.
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      • Profile picture of the author Andre Slater
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post


        "Excuse me, before I buy this car I would just like to know if you are going to be offering any upsells?"

        "Yes, we will be offering you the option of an extended warranty should you want it."

        "Really?! That's just wrong. I don't want to buy this car anymore."

        See how silly it sounds in the REAL world.
        Haha as crazy as it sounds yes... That's exactly what they would do... Sad to say... They wouldn't say upsells but they would say "how much is all this going to cost me?" "I mean after everything the interest the warranty the bogus addon's?" They would only say this because they read somewhere from some cheapskate or some consumer report that they are scams or something...

        Then they would add up the all the months with the payment and compare that to the price of the car, when the extended warranty, the interest, and the other upsells has ZERO to do with the price of the car are not from us anyway and a bunch would say they don't want to buy.

        purely emotional not logical. So the car example might be bad example since its soo much money to people and they get emotional not logical.

        People know for 7 bucks they are not getting the world, but they want to know how much it will cost to get the world, cause if they are anything like me they may want the world.

        But you can't promise people the world for 7 bucks and then tell them. "Hey I know I told you that your getting the world, but for 7 bucks you only get the city and for another 1 million buck you can get the world" That is what people are mad about on OTO's. Now on WF there are great products and not that many scammers and people like Will do sell GREAT products and do things the right way, but people are still going to ask just to make sure...
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    • Profile picture of the author Andre Slater
      I think pretty much everyone is pretty much saying the same thing...

      I went to the gas station the other day to buy gas and the clerk ask me "Do you want a drink to go along with that?" now that's good selling.

      and for your car reference I use to sell cars for over 13 years. I know your right about warranties and paint coverage as back ends or upsells. The car business waits until you are about to sign all of your paperwork to tell you about them... People use to pre-print the paper work with the extended warranty already on it, but now they have to disclose it before printing.

      And all the years of me putting people in the finance office there was always a big portion of them mad that they were being upsold. Even though having warranty on something you can't fix is a good idea, they still were mad about it.

      Now as a salesman I don't have to disclose that they are going to be upsold in the finance office very true... I agree, but if you were to ask me are there any additional fee's or anything else I can purchase after I buy the car, then I would not run from you and be silent. I would say absolutely and tell you why I think it is of value and what it covers. I use to tell people that they were going to be pitched on warranties before they went in to finance. I told them why they should get it and why it made a difference.

      The bad part of life is that people hate salesman for some reason when everyone on the planet is selling something... You are either selling or being sold, not only money but relationships, kids, jobs, etc... Everything is sales. It just has a bad name for some reason.

      Even when I sold cars I had people up front ask me "how much is warranty" before I even sold them the cars... and would get mad if I couldn't tell them right off even though I didn't know the cost.

      so if your product is great quality be proud of your upsells and don't worry if someone ask how much an OTO is? YES You don't have to disclose it, but if someone ask, then tell them how much and why they should get it and move on. It's their loss if they don't get it.

      Me personally I buy upsells when they make sense and when I sold cars I bought extended warranties... When someone asked me about extended warranty I would show them I bought too.

      and the people who I sold cars to who gave me the most resistance were usually the people who bought all the upsells and paid all the money.

      people are just scared of being scammed and they listen to others who say they have been scammed. Most of the time they are scared or mad because they don't know.

      Transparency is the best
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      • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
        Originally Posted by Andre Slater View Post

        people are just scared of being scammed and they listen to others who say they have been scammed. Most of the time they are scared or mad because they don't know.

        Transparency is the best
        Bingo!

        Many buyers are afraid of being taken advantage of.

        Your job as a salesperson is to reassure them and let
        them know the range of what you have to offer and
        how it could be in their best interests to get it.

        Part of the problem is that there are a lot of unskilled
        and inexperienced WSO pitchers who don't know how
        to sell effectively - so they end up making a complete
        balls-up of the upselling process and give it a bad name.

        OTOs, upsells, etc are proven strategies that can either
        be executed well or bad.

        Dedicated to mutual success,

        Shaun
        Signature

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      • Profile picture of the author koreancowboy
        Originally Posted by Andre Slater View Post

        I think pretty much everyone is pretty much saying the same thing...

        I went to the gas station the other day to buy gas and the clerk ask me "Do you want a drink to go along with that?" now that's good selling.

        and for your car reference I use to sell cars for over 13 years. I know your right about warranties and paint coverage as back ends or upsells. The car business waits until you are about to sign all of your paperwork to tell you about them... People use to pre-print the paper work with the extended warranty already on it, but now they have to disclose it before printing.

        And all the years of me putting people in the finance office there was always a big portion of them mad that they were being upsold. Even though having warranty on something you can't fix is a good idea, they still were mad about it.

        Now as a salesman I don't have to disclose that they are going to be upsold in the finance office very true... I agree, but if you were to ask me are there any additional fee's or anything else I can purchase after I buy the car, then I would not run from you and be silent. I would say absolutely and tell you why I think it is of value and what it covers. I use to tell people that they were going to be pitched on warranties before they went in to finance. I told them why they should get it and why it made a difference.

        The bad part of life is that people hate salesman for some reason when everyone on the planet is selling something... You are either selling or being sold, not only money but relationships, kids, jobs, etc... Everything is sales. It just has a bad name for some reason.

        Even when I sold cars I had people up front ask me "how much is warranty" before I even sold them the cars... and would get mad if I couldn't tell them right off even though I didn't know the cost.

        so if your product is great quality be proud of your upsells and don't worry if someone ask how much an OTO is? YES You don't have to disclose it, but if someone ask, then tell them how much and why they should get it and move on. It's their loss if they don't get it.

        Me personally I buy upsells when they make sense and when I sold cars I bought extended warranties... When someone asked me about extended warranty I would show them I bought too.

        and the people who I sold cars to who gave me the most resistance were usually the people who bought all the upsells and paid all the money.

        people are just scared of being scammed and they listen to others who say they have been scammed. Most of the time they are scared or mad because they don't know.

        Transparency is the best
        As a fellow ex-auto salesperson, I completely agree with you on this one...I understand why auto sales gets such a bad rap (there's still "snakes in the grass" out there), but it sucked for guys like you and I.

        We're all being sold something...whether or not you buy something is up to you. I personally don't buy OTOs unless I see the value in them, just like I have to see the value in everything that I buy.
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        • Profile picture of the author Walter Parrish
          I have mixed feelings on OTO's so I'm going to elaborate a bit on it.

          If the sales page and faq are done correctly people know basically what they are getting. Like I've always said regarding sales "People know how much they are going to spend and basically what they want, what you are doing is making a friend and once you make that friend you can sell to them."

          The problem is when the seller isn't really upfront with people and they don't know what they are getting and I see this a lot in IM and AM marketing.

          I see sellers asking me and others to review a product based on watching a video and never having used the product. How do you do that??? Don't ask me to review a product unless you send me a review copy.

          Bottom line be upfront and no one will have any problems with your OTOs . And that means no bogus reviews either.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Andre,

    I totally get what you are saying.

    I often forget that we are dealing in a marketplace that is unlike any other.
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  • Profile picture of the author raffman999
    As long as the OTO isn't critical in making the core product work I really don't see the problem with them. If they're optional, then it's up to the product creator to decide how much value to attribute to the portions of work they've put into creating their product.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    This topic is sooooooooo worn out. No one is forcing anyone to do anything. The value of anything in any market is subjective so when you say a $27 product is actually worth $4, that's your opinion. If you're going to complain about standard marketing practices [upsells] maybe you should resign yourself to getting a job.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      If you're going to complain about standard marketing practices [upsells] maybe you should resign yourself to getting a job.
      And at that job you'll probably get a chance to be upsold if there's insurance involved. You know - choose a $100 deductible and $x a year for $75 a month or a $200 deductible and $x a year for $50 a month OR ...

      Mark
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      • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
        Will,
        In fact this forum is one of the only places I have ever seen this practice of people asking what the OTO is before they buy the front end product. It's ridiculous and I'm not sure why the mods allow it to be honest.
        It's common here for a couple of reasons. The first is simple: People have the option of discussing an offer, rather than just seeing the sales page and having to make an immediate yes/no decision. The second is that the practice has been pushed so hard that many people don't trust that what's being offered is what's actually being delivered.

        Add in the occasional unskippable videos in the middle, forcing someone to let 45 minutes worth of OTO sales pitch run before they can get what they already paid for. Then mix in the sometimes 4 or 5 follow-on offers, and I think asking those questions is a smart thing.

        I understand it's frustrating for folks like you, who put out solid products and advertise them in clear terms. I really do get that. But you're not the only person selling here, and we need to leave as much room as reasonably possible for the members to make informed decisions.

        That's why the mods allow it. And why we will continue to allow it.

        By the way... If you go back and re-read the OP, you'll find that it's actually the most reasonably phrased question on this topic in a very long time. We've had so many flame wars on it, though, that it's easy to read in the tone from past threads...


        Paul
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        • Profile picture of the author manny2513
          Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

          Will,It's common here for a couple of reasons. The first is simple: People have the option of discussing an offer, rather than just seeing the sales page and having to make an immediate yes/no decision. The second is that the practice has been pushed so hard that many people don't trust that what's being offered is what's actually being delivered.

          Add in the occasional unskippable videos in the middle, forcing someone to let 45 minutes worth of OTO sales pitch run before they can get what they already paid for. Then mix in the sometimes 4 or 5 follow-on offers, and I think asking those questions is a smart thing.

          I understand it's frustrating for folks like you, who put out solid products and advertise them in clear terms. I really do get that. But you're not the only person selling here, and we need to leave as much room as reasonably possible for the members to make informed decisions.

          That's why the mods allow it. And why we will continue to allow it.

          By the way... If you go back and re-read the OP, you'll find that it's actually the most reasonably phrased question on this topic in a very long time. We've had so many flame wars on it, though, that it's easy to read in the tone from past threads...


          Paul
          Thanks Paul I am glad to see that you took the time to read and analyze what I am trying to bring up here which is not about bashing OTOs but gathering more information. I have being learning a lot from this thread and I am sure many other are learning too Customers and Sellers.

          My point is this there is nothing wrong with OTOs and in fact I might change the way I used to do thins and start using it on my offers but what I do not get is why some sellers will get so mad when a customer ask about OTOs on the sales thread.

          If as a seller, you in fact created an excellent product the should have nothing to worry about. When a customer ask about the OTO you should be able to answer them right away with details about what is waiting for them once the purchase.

          Here is the other dilemma with OTOs and why I have never implemented them.

          Most of us use PayPal as our payment processor either via JVZoo, Warrior+ or others the transaction goes thru PayPal so when the customer buys the FE that is one transaction and when you buy the OTO that is a separate transaction from the same person within minutes and if there is a 2nd OTO (popular now) then there is a 3rd transaction from the same person again which raises a big red flag on PayPal as that is not normal behavior. A regular customer do not buy 3 items from you back to back within minutes if they will buy multiple transactions they are put on a cart and once they are done shopping they you pay for all at once. So when you are doing a mega launch and have hundreds of transactions come in that way then you are screaming for problems.
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          • Profile picture of the author luane
            I don't mind the OTOS at all, especially if they enhance the product but I would highly suggest that the Product Creator just goes ahead and puts what the OTO IS, the benefits and the price (even if it is a dimesale which makes people act quickly). Just my 2 cents! Kristie from Georgia
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            • Profile picture of the author manny2513
              Originally Posted by luane View Post

              I don't mind the OTOS at all, especially if they enhance the product but I would highly suggest that the Product Creator just goes ahead and puts what the OTO IS, the benefits and the price (even if it is a dimesale which makes people act quickly). Just my 2 cents! Kristie from Georgia
              Thanks a lot for your honest input on my thread.
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          • Profile picture of the author WillR
            Originally Posted by manny2513 View Post

            Here is the other dilemma with OTOs and why I have never implemented them.

            Most of us use PayPal as our payment processor either via JVZoo, Warrior+ or others the transaction goes thru PayPal so when the customer buys the FE that is one transaction and when you buy the OTO that is a separate transaction from the same person within minutes and if there is a 2nd OTO (popular now) then there is a 3rd transaction from the same person again which raises a big red flag on PayPal as that is not normal behavior. A regular customer do not buy 3 items from you back to back within minutes if they will buy multiple transactions they are put on a cart and once they are done shopping they you pay for all at once. So when you are doing a mega launch and have hundreds of transactions come in that way then you are screaming for problems.
            I do not see the dilemma here at all? Clearly Paypal have no issue with this because myself and plenty of other marketers who use upsells correctly have no problem with Paypal. I have talked to their risk department a couple of times where they have gone through exactly what I sell and how I sell it and they had no issue with it. So don't make your decisions based on things that 'might' happen or rumor you might hear around the place. Base your decisions on fact.

            The fact is Paypal are a big company and they know how selling works. They also understand the concept of upsells and upgrades. If they truly had an issue with this type of selling then they would allow a function such as one click upsells. But it's actually much safer for Paypal to have the transactions go through separately rather than one large transaction. It also makes them more money the more transactions they have.

            My opinion is, if you really did have something worthwhile to offer as a OTO that you felt would really help your customers, you would already be offering it. I wouldn't let a payment processor worry get in the way of me helping people change their lives. But do not just make OTO offers for the sake of making them -- which is what so many people do.

            Originally Posted by manny2513 View Post

            A regular customer do not buy 3 items from you back to back within minutes
            Ahh, yes they do. I have thousands of 'regular' customers that do this exact same thing every year through Paypal. So that statement is simply untrue. It's exactly what thousands and thousands of regular customers are doing each and every single day. Paypal understand that and have no issue with it. Why would they?
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            • Profile picture of the author manny2513
              Originally Posted by WillR View Post

              I do not see the dilemma here at all? Clearly Paypal have no issue with this because myself and plenty of other marketers who use upsells correctly have no problem with Paypal. I have talked to their risk department a couple of times where they have gone through exactly what I sell and how I sell it and they had no issue with it. So don't make your decisions based on things that 'might' happen or rumor you might hear around the place. Base your decisions on fact.

              The fact is Paypal are a big company and they know how selling works. They also understand the concept of upsells and upgrades. If they truly had an issue with this type of selling then they would allow a function such as one click upsells. But it's actually much safer for Paypal to have the transactions go through separately rather than one large transaction. It also makes them more money the more transactions they have.

              My opinion is, if you really did have something worthwhile to offer as a OTO that you felt would really help your customers, you would already be offering it. I wouldn't let a payment processor worry get in the way of me helping people change their lives. But do not just make OTO offers for the sake of making them -- which is what so many people do.



              Ahh, yes they do. I have thousands of 'regular' customers that do this exact same thing every year through Paypal. So that statement is simply untrue. It's exactly what thousands and thousands of regular customers are doing each and every single day. Paypal understand that and have no issue with it. Why would they?
              Thanks for bringing light to this issue. I have heard guys who got their PayPals limited for this issue and that is why I asked but again PayPal may have limited their accounts for more than just multiple transactions from the same person in a row.
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              • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
                There's nothing wrong with "OTOs".

                There should only ever be an issue if the OTO is an essential component of the original purchased product. i.e a "splt product".

                It's not unethical to go onto offer additional products. It's simply a business seizing an opportunity to present products of potential interest striking when the iron is hot.

                "Any OTOs?" has evolved to be a hearsay question rather than one that makes sense.

                The question should be:

                "If there are additional offers after purchase, in what way do they compliment the original product / service?"


                Daniel
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  • Profile picture of the author Henri Lind
    Upsells and OTO's are part of a sales funnel and part of marketing.

    If these provide additional great value, then whats the problem?

    Tho some upsells and otos are pure crap.

    I dont mind them at all, because you always have a choice to say no.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I expect them. But I don't expect the front end product to rely on having the OTO to work. If that turned out to be the case, I'd ask for a refund.

    I rarely ever buy the OTO. I buy it most often when the OTO is the developer license version of software or a plugin.
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    • Profile picture of the author glennshep
      There's absolutely nothing wrong with OTOs or upsells. They are a good and sensible marketing strategy. However, it's the way in which they are presented which is the real issue.

      When people complain about OTOs or upsells, really the objection they have is, no so much the upsell itself, but rather the lack of value given in the initial front end offer.

      A front end offer should be enough to stand on its own, full stop. It should contain enough inherent value that makes it totally unnecessary to purchase any upsells.

      An upsell should be an added bonus that is related to the front end offer and enhances it, rather than making the customer feel that they've had a vital component left out of their front end purchase.

      To use Will's McDonald's analogy, it would be like purchasing a Big Mac and fries, only to find out after purchase that in order to have them in packaging you need to pay for it, which wasn't advertised before purchase. That would be totally unreasonable and the customer would rightly feel cheated.

      However, if you purchased a Big Mac and fries, didn't need anything else and wasn't expecting anything else but the seller said, "Hey, you know that we also sell soft drinks, right? Well today only, we're doing a special offer where you can get a large soft drink to go with your meal at the reduced price of (x-amount). No? Okay, can I interest you in a regular soft drink at an even lower price?", then you're likely not going to mind that.

      The upsell should be something that enhances and compliments the original front end purchase, not something that only brings out the true value of it and leaves the buyer feeling that their purchase is incomplete without it
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
    There is nothing at all wrong with having OTOs, but there is also nothing at all wrong with asking about them up front. McDonalds is a bit different; nobody asks about upsells because they understand the product completely (well, except they perhaps don't realize they are slowly dying from the "food").

    I think probably the most pre-sale questions about OTOs are in threads with "blind copy", and people are trying to figure out what the heck they are getting into before they buy. It is ridiculous to complain about the concept of upselling in a marketing forum, but it's also ridiculous to fault a buyer for wanting to know the total cost including upsells upfront.

    I believe part of the problem with OTOs lies in the name "one time offer", and the fact that it is presented before the customer has a chance to see the main product; "buy now or miss out on this unknown forever, which will supercharge the performance of the other unknown you just picked up".

    Usually it's a misnomer though; the offer will be available later, when the customer can make a more informed decision, but there is understandable resistance triggered by any perceived or actual pressure to add on to a product which one doesn't even understand yet.

    This is an odd marketplace, full of products that are incredible for just $10, but that have whiners in the thread complaining about the fact that they might be asked to spend another $20 on some incredible software that helps make the system even better. And other products that are total garbage, and have several rave reviews. Buyers should be careful, but you can't really call them silly if they got an impression from the sales copy that didn't match the delivered product.

    There are two sides to the research question; it is easy to agree in principle with "do your research first", but if your time is worth $100 an hour, or even $30, then how much time does it make sense to devote to researching a $10-17 product? Obviously not much, unless you think the research is fun. That is one reason guarantees are so important.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

      I believe part of the problem with OTOs lies in the name "one time offer", and the fact that it is presented before the customer has a chance to see the main product; "buy now or miss out on this unknown forever...
      Savvy buyers also know that the OTO as in a one time offer is complete BS and if you decline it, you most often can get it at any other time. It's rare that I've seen the offer actually disappear forever after declining it.
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  • Profile picture of the author troy23
    I it looks like it is good value I am happy to buy them.
    A lot depends on the front end offer though.
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  • I can see a postin 10 years from now something like, "hi I'm new and I need to make 10,000 per month, I need a free WSO and free coaching that is guaranteed to work and I don't have time so I need an automated way and if there is sofware or VA's that I need for this system, it needs to be free and proven (I don't want junk)"

    It's amazing how we are slowly heading into this destruction.
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  • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Magic Mike IM
      I am both a seller and a buyer. My sense is (I've never taken a poll), that a significant number of people do not like OTO's, generally. I am one of them. Now, how I "feel" about something is not always technically the right answer, but it is how "I feel" and anyone doing business with me, should take that into consideration if they want my money...

      BUT...

      To me, it matters less who is right or wrong in the argument of "OTO's"... as a professional marketer, what matters to me is what do my potential customers think and believe... right or wrong, it is still their perception and I need to deal with it; In fact, more than deal with it... I want to make my customers happy...

      It is absolutely true that OTO's and upsells are part of a good sales funnel and done "correctly", can certainly be valuable... or not. I also believe that this is a forum of "IM'ers" who have a higher level of knowledge about things than many people and because of that, they may feel like they are being "sucked" into a sales funnel for the sole purpose of increasing the sellers average sale... our job as sellers is to provide a sales funnel here in the WF that provides great value, makes sense with the FE product and of course, increases the average sale as well.

      Anyway, lots of good points on both sides of the discussion... but, as I said, for me, I don't want to solve the issue, I want to recognize it and deal with it as a savvy marketer who wants to 1. Have Happy Customers (always #1 to me), 2. Provide great products, 3. Enjoy Myself, 4. Make money in the process...
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  • Profile picture of the author manny2513
    Thanks a lot guys for your input I really value and appreciate the time that you all take to come here and express your opinion about this matter.

    I may not agree with some of you specially those that express themselves with the right to put up a crap OTOs and that is up to the Buyer to see if he falls for it or not.

    Somebody even mentioned that he would like to "bitch slap" prospects when they ask if there is an OTO

    For that I have to say WOW mate that is not professional at all. If you were in fact selling a valuable OTO I do not see why would you mind letting them now about all the value they would get the opportunity to get their hands on if they buy your FE but again when you say that you want to bitch slap prospects I really doubt you offer any value on any of your OTOs and that is why you are so afraid of being honest before hand.

    Do not get me wrong guys I am not saying that you MUST list the OTO on the original sales letter but if somebody ask on the thread about it hey if I am offering real value sure why not letting him know about it?

    I hope customers are reading this thread and taking notes as I see some sellers showing their true colors.

    In the other hand I appreciate those truly professional sellers who are always looking to help.

    In my case I might end up doing the software portion of my product as an OTO as I know the great value that it has to automate tedious work that can help you speed up the things when performing a money making method.

    This thread wasn't intended to be controversial I was just looking to get feedback from the customers standpoint about OTOs as I am strong believer that we should give customers what they want and not the other way around.
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      If you are required to buy the OTO in order to get full value from the FE product, then that is against the forum rules and should be reported to the moderators.

      The only way to get bad sellers to fly right sometimes is to hit them where it hurts, when the mod shuts down their offers.


      Originally Posted by manny2513 View Post

      For that I have to say WOW mate that is not professional at all. If you were in fact selling a valuable OTO I do not see why would you mind letting them now about all the value they would get the opportunity to get their hands on if they buy your FE but again when you say that you want to bitch slap prospects I really doubt you offer any value on any of your OTOs and that is why you are so afraid of being honest before hand.

      The reason why we would not necessarily want to talk about the Up-sell offer in the main thread is because we don't want to distract the buyer, when they are considering the FE product.

      That is Selling 101... Focus on only one offer at a time... Don't distract the buyer... The more we distract the potential buyer from the FE offer, the less likely we are to sell that offer.

      The Up-sell is usually a related product, and in most cases, it is something that the buyer will want, but only if they buy the FE offer too.

      So the deal is, "Here is the FE offer. If you want it, get it. If you don't want it, don't get it."

      The BE offer is simply a distraction at this point, and remember, as marketers, we want to reduce distractions.

      Once the FE offer has been purchased, then we can offer the BE offer, with full sales copy.

      When you are demanding to know about the BE offer, before you buy the FE offer, we are caught between a rock and a hard place:

      1. We don't want to distract people from the main offer; and

      2. Anything we say on the Front End offer about the Back End, diminishes the value of the BE in the mind of people who might have otherwise purchased it, b/c when we drop a quick description of the BE in the main thread, we are unable to tell the real story of that product accurately.


      I don't get mad when people ask me about up-sells, but as a seller, I know that I don't want to talk about it much, based on the two points I just made.



      As a consumer, it doesn't bother me at all, because as Big Mike said, I don't necessarily want to pay for all of the features that a software might offer me. And, I don't necessarily think that I should have to pay more on the FE to get the part of the training I do want.

      I have personally purchased about 6 WSO's in the last week, and on two of them, I also purchased the up-sell, and I was really glad that the seller made them available to me.

      And on the four offers where I did not buy the up-sell offer, the value might have been there for others, but it was not there for me.

      The existence of an Up-sell or OTO should not be a death sentence for any product purchase.

      The only thing that should kill a product is a bad product.

      The up-sell or OTO is simply an additional item to purchase, and maybe I want it, and maybe I don't. But the availability of the up-sell or OTO is not going to sway my decision to buy the FE offer or not, and if it does for you, I am sorry that you are willing to shoot yourself in the foot like that, but it is your choice to buy or not to buy.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    People have the right to put out crap products all day long. And we all have the right to ignore them. Simple as it can be.
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  • Profile picture of the author WordpressManiac
    As a buyer I have to say most of the time I'm just curious what the oto is about. But I don't like to buy an upsell before I even got a chance to check the actual product. That's why I like offers where you have the option to jump on the oto later - or not! ;-)
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    • Profile picture of the author Regional Warrior
      Originally Posted by WordpressManiac View Post

      As a buyer I have to say most of the time I'm just curious what the oto is about. But I don't like to buy an upsell before I even got a chance to check the actual product. That's why I like offers where you have the option to jump on the oto later - or not! ;-)
      This here is why there is a problem with OTOs , you don't get the chance to see what you have purchased, because of the OTO pop up ! hence the questions in the WSO about OTOs.

      I have also fallen into the trap at the start of my IM and I was very much the noob and the product was crap and so was the OTO nothing worked , and was very Bluefart!! ( this was not explained on the sales copy it was ) some of the vendors have come on here with there own agenda which in mho is not the way to look at it but to find the solution so everyone is happy.
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      • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
        Originally Posted by Regional Warrior View Post

        This here is why there is a problem with OTOs , you don't get the chance to see what you have purchased, because of the OTO pop up ! hence the questions in the WSO about OTOs.

        I have also fallen into the trap at the start of my IM and I was very much the noob and the product was crap and so was the OTO nothing worked , and was very Bluefart!! ( this was not explained on the sales copy it was ) some of the vendors have come on here with there own agenda which in mho is not the way to look at it but to find the solution so everyone is happy.
        Here's a little tip. If the OTO looks interesting but you want to see the main product first, then Bookmark the OTO page. Then after you've looked at the main deal you can go back and buy the upsell. I'm sure the vendor won't mind.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        I may not agree with some of you specially those that express themselves with the right to put up a crap OTOs and that is up to the Buyer to see if he falls for it or not.
        The biggest problem in this thread is you are looking at it strictly from the perspective of a customer who doesn't understand the sales process. A good OTO adds value in some way to the product you just bought or downloaded. It makes the process easier or faster or takes it to another level.

        You also say you have talked to top sellers but want more opinions. Who would understand the process and the value of OTOs better than a top seller? Experience trumps opinion every time.

        In IM, OTO's are often so clumsily used they've generated controversy and I acknowledge that. IM buyers are often afraid they'll be "had" or convinced to buy something they didn't mean to buy (who controls your finger on the 'buy now' button???).

        But you also have a lot of marketers who don't know HOW to sell products and services. They focus on "more money for me" and have no clue about the psychological aspect of the sales process. They load you up with multiple OTO's as if buyers are a fish on the hook.

        Another problem with IM OTO's is a level of disappointment in the buyer. IMers will advertise a low cost product as "the answer to your money problems" but then you see to make it work REALLY well you need to join something or buy more stuff. You are let down because you thought you just bought "the answer" and find there might be more to it.


        In a retail store I might buy a skirt and have the salesperson tell me "did you know there's a sale today on the matching jacket". The jacket may cost twice as much as my initial purchase but it MATCHES and it's ON SALE and I might buy it.

        In IM I buy a low cost product and the seller asks "are you interested in an upgrade that makes this work faster" or "are you interested in taking this to the next level"? I can say yes or no - my choice.

        Too often what we see in OTOs is the equivalent of buying a skirt and having the salesperson ask "did you also want a chain saw?"
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    One problem with the McDonald's analogy is that they don't say "but WAIT - if you don't want fries do you want an apple pie? No? WAIT what about a biggie Coke? No? Okay what about a strawberry milkshake? No? WAIT! What about an extra hamburger for half price? No? WAIT! What about adding a fish sandwich? No? WAIT! What about a Kid's meal? No? WAIT! ...

    Nor do they, as you are walking out the door because you decided you wanted to eat steak instead of a hamburger yell, HEY! WAIT! If you order now I'll take 80% off your order.

    Those types of funnels I hate.

    I also don't think that a lot of customers or sales people ask a bunch of questions about the upsell offline. They just know it's going to happen and have their "No Thank Yous" ready.

    From a vendor standpoint - if you're going to give in to telling all about your upgrade/upsell process on the forum thread before anyone has bought, why don't you just list it along with all the sales material as part of the base offer. I think by giving in to this particular request, you hurt the upsell process which has always been reserved for BUYERS not LOOKERS.

    I mean just have an option A for $6.55 and an option B for $37.77 with full explanation right on the sales letter.

    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author LexiB
    My opinion (again) from a buyer and sellers standpoint is that no product creator should ever pull out a portion of the product just for the sole purpose of making an upsell. The product MUST WORK if only the front end offer is purchased!

    The only funnel I'd ever engage in is one that adds value and optional upgrades to the front end offer.
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  • Profile picture of the author RanD
    The problem is not oto's in concept, but how some marketers use them. The reason people ask what the oto's are is because they want to know if what they are getting is a complete product, or just a piece.

    Many times you will see a WSO for a product for a product, process, or app, that is demonstrated with certain functionality, then when you get to the oto offer, you find out that to get the fully functionality of what you bought you need to buy something else. Those are the ones people hate. The WSO should be a complete, standalone offer, and not need anything else. The oto should be something related to the original purchase, but that is not needed to get full functionality of it.

    One good example would be buying a premium Wordpress theme, for a certain price. If the oto is for three completely different premium themes, that is great. Then it is a matter of whether I want those additional themes. If I don't, I still have the one, fully functional theme.

    Having an upsell that unlocks features that the original purchase should have had, sucks. Those are the ones that people want the sellers to be upfront about.
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    • Profile picture of the author manny2513
      Originally Posted by RanD View Post

      The problem is not oto's in concept, but how some marketers use them. The reason people ask what the oto's are is because they want to know if what they are getting is a complete product, or just a piece.

      Many times you will see a WSO for a product for a product, process, or app, that is demonstrated with certain functionality, then when you get to the oto offer, you find out that to get the fully functionality of what you bought you need to buy something else. Those are the ones people hate. The WSO should be a complete, standalone offer, and not need anything else. The oto should be something related to the original purchase, but that is not needed to get full functionality of it.

      One good example would be buying a premium Wordpress theme, for a certain price. If the oto is for three completely different premium themes, that is great. Then it is a matter of whether I want those additional themes. If I don't, I still have the one, fully functional theme.

      Having an upsell that unlocks features that the original purchase should have had, sucks. Those are the ones that people want the sellers to be upfront about.
      Thanks for you input and I find it very interesting so let me ask you this.

      What about if the FE product is a money making method. A great way to make money online and something very unique. So the method itself is great and can stand alone but the fact is that it involves some tedious work that none of us want to do. I have developed a software that automates the majority of the method and I left out of the software some key portions to make sure that nobody is doing the same thing to avoid saturation but with the software the amount of had work is minimum. What would you prefer the method as a FE for 9.95 and the software as an OTO for $37 or would you prefer both in a package as a FE product for $47 both?
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  • Profile picture of the author CapVenture
    I think you've asked a very interesting question!!

    I have bought quite a few products on WF in the past 3 months, and I can tell you that I nowadays I-

    (1) Check the FAQ post for OTOs
    (2) Skip the sales post and watch the videos;
    (3) I scroll to the bottom of the post to check the price;
    (4) ...and if it's not $10 or less, I'm usually not as interested.

    I think the draw is, "can I make at least a $100 a week with a WSO, or other offer for the intro price of $10 or less?" :confused:

    As for the OTOs, I'm feel more inclined to buy OTOs that could be of great help AND cost $10 or less.

    If the initial product is $10 or less, and the OTO(s) are $10 or less, but are USEFUL, I may buy them.

    However, if they are optional, I tend to think that they arent needed; but I like having the option after having only spent a $10 bill...or less.


    Another thing that I would be ok with is purchasing a $10 product, signing up for your list, and having you pitch the value of upgrades or compliments to a product you've sold me on a later date, but only after I have had time to apply the new product-- say, a 1-3 days later.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ralph Malph
    The thing I hate is when they hide the fact that there are oto or upsells. As long as everything is disclosed up front and you know what they are and why they are there than I really don't have a problem with them. I have a conscious choice going in. When you buy a product and then you are hit with an upsell to make that product better, than I get upset. Sometimes you would just like to see the basic product and don't want all the bells and whistles that go with them. It is like buying a car, do you want the extras or not? I want to know what the extras are first so I can make an intelligent decision before I go to the car dealer, not have to make a snap decision while I am signing the papers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Romeo90
    Couple of things here:

    I don't mind OTOs as long as they are:

    1) Not essential to make the front end product work. (and if they are, they are CLEARLY defined)
    2) Reasonably priced (in last WSO I bought was a $47 OTO - too much for a $7 FE product)

    I also prefer that the OTO is declared, at least what it is.

    MY BIGGEST HATE: been directed to an OTO, then having to jump through hoops to get my product (some even make you watch a video before your download link appears).
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason_V
    How do you feel about asses on dogs?

    I guess the reality is, the dog could care less whether you complain about its ass or not. It has the ass. The dog likes his ass (and other dog's asses too for that matter.) Lastly, the dog definitely uses its ass.

    This whole thread is as silly as asking people how they feel about asses on dogs.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    I honestly couldn't care less and wonder why it annoys people so much. You can choose not to buy it. Most OTO's are not essential they just make things easier for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMSince2003
    I like OTOs. Usually, they are a complementary offer that helps implement the WSO. I do NOT like OTOs when they are necessary to implement the WSO. That is dishonest and leaves me cold.
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    • Profile picture of the author manny2513
      Originally Posted by Jason_V View Post

      How do you feel about asses on dogs?

      I guess the reality is, the dog could care less whether you complain about its ass or not. It has the ass. The dog likes his ass (and other dog's asses too for that matter.) Lastly, the dog definitely uses its ass.

      This whole thread is as silly as asking people how they feel about asses on dogs.
      The only one silly here is you with such unprofessional response.

      Originally Posted by RockingLastsForever View Post

      I honestly couldn't care less and wonder why it annoys people so much. You can choose not to buy it. Most OTO's are not essential they just make things easier for you.
      Thanks for your input much appreciated.

      Originally Posted by IMSince2003 View Post

      I like OTOs. Usually, they are a complementary offer that helps implement the WSO. I do NOT like OTOs when they are necessary to implement the WSO. That is dishonest and leaves me cold.
      I think the same is dishonest.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jason_V
        Originally Posted by manny2513 View Post

        The only one silly here is you with such unprofessional response. .
        Demonstrating the absurd with the absurd then the absurd reply you get never ceases to amuse me.
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        • Profile picture of the author manny2513
          Originally Posted by Jason_V View Post

          Demonstrating the absurd with the absurd then the absurd reply you get never ceases to amuse me.
          If you think that is absurd is your opinion man but if you take the time to actually read the thread you will the that the vast majority of customers DO NOT think like you do. Ask your customers.

          Like I said in the OP if you can't put yourselve in the shoes of your customers then do not waste your time reeling to this thread. In fact if you can't do this then you should not be selling nothing online or offline at all any marketer will know this.
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          • Profile picture of the author Jason_V
            Originally Posted by manny2513 View Post

            If you think that is absurd is your opinion man but if you take the time to actually read the thread you will the that the vast majority of customers DO NOT think like you do. Ask your customers.

            Like I said in the OP if you can't put yourselve in the shoes of your customers then do not waste your time reeling to this thread. In fact if you can't do this then you should not be selling nothing online or offline at all any marketer will know this.
            I guess if I have a 3 year old who says they want to eat only chocolate for every meal, despite numerous experts in the field telling me otherwise, I better listen.

            Oh, wait, you're right, your process was a little more scientific, I should go to a daycare and get a group of 3 year olds together and ask them if they would like to eat only chocolate at every meal. Then by that information deduce that's the best course of action for every 3 year old.

            You really seriously don't understand how ridiculous you sound and overall how ridiculous this thread is?

            Also, I don't sell anything here, haven't in years. Whereas, I do often buy WSO's.

            I could care less if the product owner has an OTO or the better term upsell. Because even if they did have one, complaining about it is like complaining about an ass on a dog.

            I actually do want to thank you though. Because this thread has benefited me in one way. That is, I find the term "like complaining about an ass on a dog" quite hysterical. It will now be used in my daily conversations.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    It doesn't matter what customers say, it's what they do that counts and they buy OTOs and it doesn't affect subscribe rates.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
    OTO's convert way better than the first product, so it can't be that bad. I was talking to another warrior named Matthew Barnett and he told me " It would be criminal not to have an OTO "


    I think the main reason some hate OTO's is because they want it to be part of the original wso for free. It's no different when you buy an electronic and they ask you if you want an extended warranty for $100
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by Alex Blades View Post

      It's no different when you buy an electronic and they ask you if you want an extended warranty
      The problem is a lot of marketers will sell you the electronic without you knowing batteries are needed to make it work. Then they try and sell you the batteries as an upsell. So without the upsell the product is virtually useless. That's not good selling and that is when the bad taste is left.

      But normal OTO's or upsells are fine and in most cases customers are actually getting access to a product for much cheaper than they would if the OTO or upsell was not in place.

      That's what customers seem to forget.
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      • Profile picture of the author tpw
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        The problem is a lot of marketers will sell you the electronic without you knowing batteries are needed to make it work. Then they try and sell you the batteries as an upsell. So without the upsell the product is virtually useless. That's not good selling and that is when the bad taste is left.

        Bad example. Most electronic products do not ship with batteries. :p
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      • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        The problem is a lot of marketers will sell you the electronic without you knowing batteries are needed to make it work. Then they try and sell you the batteries as an upsell. So without the upsell the product is virtually useless. That's not good selling and that is when the bad taste is left.

        But normal OTO's or upsells are fine and in most cases customers are actually getting access to a product for much cheaper than they would if the OTO or upsell was not in place.

        That's what customers seem to forget.
        Honestly I haven't seen an upsell that is needed to work the original, although I don't buy shiny bright objects anymore. I am sure some do, but I am aware of shady marketers who do it, and try to stay away from them.

        In most cases the OTO, is something that will help the original work faster, like a pre-made theme for example. Liz Tomey sells PLR products, and as an OTO she offers to set up the sites and what ever is needed as a OTO.
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