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Launch Tree - How Far Do You Go?

by Ron Douglas
14 replies
I've been watching some of Mike and Anik's Launch Tree prelaunch videos and it made me think about my own marketing process.

While I've made lots of money on upsells and some on downsells, I don't really feel comfortable taking it too much further than that. Maybe I'm cheating myself by projecting my own opinion unto the process instead of letting the customer decide.

Here's what I mean, I'm comfortable with this process:

Option 1. Customer says Yes to the initial offer, then gets presented an upsell for about a 50% increase over the initial price.

Option 2. Customer says No to the initial offer, then gets presented a downsell for about a 50% reduction off the initial offer or some type of free trial / bill me later option.

That's as far as I take it. It's a tree with not too many branches, but I'm comfortable with getting the customer on my list and selling to them again in the future.

Now the advice that I'm reading says that this is a more effective strategy:

Option 1. Customer says Yes to the initial offer, then gets presented an upsell offer

Option 1.B. Customer buys the initial offer but says No to the upsell - then present them with a downsell after the upsell offer

Option 2. Customer says No to the initial offer, then gets presented a downsell reduced price off the initial offer.

Option 2.B. Customer says No to the initial offer, but Yes to the downsell - then give them an upsell after the downsell

I'm curious to know, how far do you take the upsell, downsell process? Am I being naive by not feeling comfortable taking it a step further?
#launch #tree
  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    Yeah, I agree. As a customer, I don't care for it. After a certain point, I think it gives the perception of trying to squeeze every dime out of me instead of acting in my best interest. That's why I'm not comfortable with that process on my sites.

    They say that there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. I like how Amazon does it, but I can't stand the process at GoDaddy. They make you feel like you're hostage to their process while waiting to complete your order.

    Then again, I can't say that I make enough money per year to do Superbowl commercials either.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
      Ron,

      Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post


      Then again, I can't say that I make enough money per year to do Superbowl commercials either.
      Even with that being said...Everyone has to operate in a way that they are comfortable with themselves that they are treating their customers correctly. Also, It's important for us as individuals to do business in a manner that we feel is ethical and with integrity.
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      • Profile picture of the author yoshiko
        From the perspective of a customer, I would not mind one downsell, ie. if i reject the first offer, a second one flashes up at a cheaper rate. This is as natural as it gets, not to give the customer a feeling that you are actually after their money with too many down- or up-sells.

        I guess everyone has his own tolerance levels on this issue. That said, this is my personal opinion only.
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  • Profile picture of the author SeanIM
    I think one OTO is acceptible...when you go beyond that it's like a virtual beat down...sure it probably juices some extra money but my gutt tells me it's scaring off the retention of core customers as they have a dirty taste in their mouth from the get go.

    I've seen refund requests in some big IM guru products based on a little 'too much' pitching....gotta walk a fine line. Then again it depends on your business model and philosophy.
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  • Profile picture of the author TMJonsson
    I think perhaps the exception here may be if your OTO is an upgrade to your initial offering, but then the OTO UPSELL is something such as personal coaching or mentoring, something with VERY high perceived value.

    You will probably have a very low conversion rate on the coaching upsell, because it will be highly priced. But having it there will net you additional longterm revenue and trust since you are now a marketer who coaches and mentors others.

    Just my 2c.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Well I think the launch tree offers something even better for your customers if you are already offering upsells...

    The launch tree offers what I refer to as intelligent upsells.

    Let's say you offer 2 payment options for one of your products. The first option is a "Pay in full" option and the other is a payment plan...

    Now, if the buyer chose the "Pay in full" option then you could offer them a related upgrade and only have the Pay in Full Option available...

    For the buyer who chose the payment plan, you could offer them the same upgrade but in a payment plan...

    It gets more complex than this but that is just one benefit. Mike Filsaime eludes this to giving the customer what they want - How They Like It...

    This information was in the video with Brian Johnson

    Mike Hill
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  • Profile picture of the author Igor Kheifets
    Personaly,

    I think the launchtree concept is very cool.
    I mean, you can keep selling to your customers untill
    they log off your website. And if the customer keeps saying yes,
    or will say yes eventually-then nothing wrong with that.

    Igor
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    I think more then a few people have made comments here without watching the video
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    • Profile picture of the author montero
      What I got out of the video is that the word "upsell" may be a wrong way to frame the process. What Amazon does, for example, is to allow you to customize and enhance your purchase. That seems to be the underlying framework for what we call "upsells." The downsell is a little trickier, since the client may think, "why didn't you say so in the first place?"
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  • Profile picture of the author J. Barry Mandel
    My $0.02 is that it worked for the Stompernet guys so why not do it?

    Personally I only took one other offer after the initial offer, but I actually enjoyed the process...

    Which leads into the idea of endorphins and the rush that someone gets after making a purchase. Everyone enjoys that natural high and excitement so why not keep it going?

    Its like being a kid in a candy store so why not give them what they want?

    Of course not everyone will like it, but as in one of the videos we are now accustomed to the upsell at McDonalds so why not "train" your customers as well?
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary_The_Ace
    Here's the only answer that matters ...

    If you're continuing to provide your clients products that provide them with both a value for the price, and a service/information/good that is going to help them more easily achieve whatever it is they're looking for ... why would you ever stop making offers?

    They win, and you win in that scenario ...

    Most marketers don't have enough time, a large enough stable of quality products, or the support staff to handle a full launch tree ... which is why I said you need to provide a quality product, with value, that solves the original issue. Few marketers have that ... and even those who do, don't have a never-ending stream of them.

    I'm not sure why it still surprises me to see people who are "afraid to sell" in a marketing forum ... eventually I'll get used to it I guess.

    Gary Ambrose
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    • Profile picture of the author Mario Brown
      I saw a presentation from Mike 2 weeks ago in San Diego where he had some slides showing the upsell strategy that GoDaddy uses. My god, seeing that in detail is absolutely ridiculous, they show no mercy.
      Then he compared that to Namecheap. They use 1 or 2 upsells if I remember right.

      Now who's leaving more money on the table. According to Mike, Namecheap obviously. And that was his point, you leave a lot of money on the table not using upsells, downsells and if you don't cross sell your other products. Mike is known to be an aggressive marketer, that's his style.

      But let's see it from another perspective, where do I buy my domains? I always buy them from Namecheap, and exactly because of the fact that it's an aboslute pain to buy a domain with Godaddy, it's their back end sale strategy is too agressive in my opinion and It's too much for me. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

      I think Gary is right on the money, if you have something to up- and downsell that helps your customer reach their goal faster or more efficiently, it's okay. I personally would not up- downsell them forever, but that's just me.

      I also like Amazon's style.

      My 2 cents.

      Cheers,
      Mario
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      • Profile picture of the author Nigel Greaves
        Originally Posted by yellowboy View Post

        I saw a presentation from Mike 2 weeks ago in San Diego where he had some slides showing the upsell strategy that GoDaddy uses. My god, seeing that in detail is absolutely ridiculous, they show no mercy.
        Then he compared that to Namecheap. They use 1 or 2 upsells if I remember right.

        Now who's leaving more money on the table. According to Mike, Namecheap obviously. And that was his point, you leave a lot of money on the table not using upsells, downsells and if you don't cross sell your other products. Mike is known to be an aggressive marketer, that's his style.

        But let's see it from another perspective, where do I buy my domains? I always buy them from Namecheap, and exactly because of the fact that it's an aboslute pain to buy a domain with Godaddy, it's their back end sale strategy is too agressive in my opinion and It's too much for me. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

        I think Gary is right on the money, if you have something to up- and downsell that helps your customer reach their goal faster or more efficiently, it's okay. I personally would not up- downsell them forever, but that's just me.

        I also like Amazon's style.

        My 2 cents.

        Cheers,
        Mario
        I totally agree with you Mario. Godaddy have lost virtually all my business now because of the constant bombardment of aggressive pitching.

        It's one thing to try to maximise earnings but some marketers take it way too far in my opinion. I agree with SeanIM further up this thread that a single OTO is the limit. Of course as others on here have pointed out it's down to individual taste/preference.

        Personally someone hitting me with the upsell/downsell/sell yer granny type of pitch is very quickly going to find I've stopped being their customer. I think it was with Rosalind Gardner that I read a comment about pitching customers until they bought or left. I left within seconds. If that's how someone views my business they just lost it.

        Just my opinion.

        Nigel
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  • Profile picture of the author Armaan.Zafar
    I'd go as far as my market allows me to.

    It's not always that people don't want to buy, when you've got someone in a buying mode, you can always push one. Some people are happy to buy more. I won't leave money on the table in that case.

    Mario's point about Namecheap and Godaddy is right on the spot. If they don't want to buy, they won't. Some may buy, and hence you get more money. Simple.
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