How I Used Groupon To Make $9k for A Weeks Work As A Small Business Consultant

by Neil V
230 replies
This thread is all about how to become a small business 'Groupon' consultant to local businesses and get paid to make your clients happy.

This strategy will definitely bring you money and kick start your business in the short term irrespective of whether you are struggling or never really made money online as yet.

Groupon is a daily deal site that promotes local business. They have millions of potential customer names in a database and they will promote your business for you. As a small business owner this is the hottest marketing strategy you can use to promote your business if done correctly.

Here is the story...

A friend of mine has an offline business in Chicago. It is literally two weeks old and he planned on opening three brand new locations in Chicago.

He wanted to run a Groupon promotion to get clients, but wanted to knock the ball out of the park and really explode his offline business.

He asked for my help.

Now before I tell you how we crushed it for him online, I wanted to say this. I did this as a favor to one friend. My primary focus for making money online is selling amazon and other affiliate marketing products. Now I have a ton of clients asking for my help.

The point I want to make here is that if you follow what I share with you, you can literally start making and earning a good living consulting with small business owners.

I am going to show you how.

Before we go any further, here is what we accomplished for my friend.

He runs a series of offline fitness boot camps. We filled up all his boot camps with paying clients.

When we ran the Groupon promotion for him we ended up with 905 people who bought the deal. It is not the highest number, but certainly in the top 5% in this market segment.

Here are the results:



See the red circle above? 905 people paid $40 for the deal. There were some refunds and not everyone will take the deal. Groupon is paying him 50% of the 905 deals sold. We have currently converted around 300 people from this deal that are paying $97 a month for a 12 month contract. You do the math on how profitable this could be.

My friend was ecstatic with the results. He graciously paid me $9,000 for my help.

Now he is sending me a ton of clients to do the same for them and getting referrals on a consistent basis.

I am not even looking for more work; now I only take on clients that have high margins and are willing to pay me 50% of their Groupon commissions. I will consult with them for a week and set up everything if I know I will make at least $10000 for my efforts.

Here is how we did it:

Groupon is a traffic and conversion machine. They have their own traffic and will promote most offline businesses for you and your clients. Also they are the best at conversions. The way the site is designed allows these great conversions to occur.

Here is how I consulted with my friend and helped him crush it-

1. I ran Facebook and Google ads to the Groupon page to drive a ton of traffic. I did not rely only Groupon itself.

2. A week before the campaign, we started promoting heavily on Facebook. We sent messages and told people on his fan page that were about to run this special promotion. Hint...If you are a consultant, this is what you can do for the client to help them become successful.

3. We built a ton of online buzz for this Groupon deal.

Now, here is where I really helped my client turn this into real hard cash-

Once a client bought the Groupon voucher, we sent them to a special website which we set up. We gave them instructions on how to claim their voucher and more importantly collected all their information immediately. This is where most small business owners drop the ball on this.

We also ran a free trial offer and asked people to sign up for a $1 for an upsell package. In this way, we collected their credit card information and we automatically rebilled them after the first month was over.

Finally a week after the Groupon promotion, we ran another special promotion to all those who bought the service. We offered a voucher of slightly higher value for their friends and family and we had a 9% conversion rate.

Right now we have database of hundreds of new clients as well as the ability to promote them and their family on a monthly basis.

So I literally took my entire online skills and knowledge and applied this with an offline business using Groupon.

My client is set to earn over $333,000 for his new locations this year alone in recurring billings.

Now you may be wondering how this applies to you and how you can make money from it.

It is really simple actually. I am helping a friend build a consulting business with this right now.

Here is how you do it-

Step 1. Look at the Groupon promotions run in your local city every day. Just sign up to Groupon and check for the companies that are not receiving a lot of clients from it.

Either send them a message or call them up and tell them you can help them crush it online with Groupon. You live in their city so it will be easy to contact them. If not, hire someone to make calls for you or write postcards or direct mail pieces to this business.

You can also tell them that they only pay you when they make money from with Groupon.

I would suggest calling them up, if not send them an email. If you want to make money you need to be aggressive and contact these companies.

Step 2. For those companies that are making money with Groupon call them up and congratulate them and tell them they doing an awesome job. But then go on to say that you can help upsell these clients to remain loyal customers and also make their Groupon campaigns profitable for them.

This is what small business owners struggle with; they do not know how to make these Groupon campaigns profitable.

This is so hot right now that most businesses are willing to listen to you. Also, once you are successful in your first campaign you will start to see referrals without the need to actually seek out new clients.

I know this is a very long post, but I wanted to share this latest innovative marketing strategy with you. Small businesses need help to get clients and turn this into a profitable lead generation system.

I just shared with you my high level strategies that I applied. There are a ton more tips and tools that you need to implement to get real results.

Being a Groupon consultant to small businesses positions you uniquely, allows you to get results immediately so you can show proof to clients. You get paid for your work and end up building long term business relationships.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find one client planning to run a Groupon promotion and help them.

You will never look back....

Now I have created an entire system of how to help the client crush it with Groupon, the tools, upsells, emails etc. Everything I used to help my client build an awesome sales funnel and get results.

Post your questions below and I will do my best to help share these resources and tips with you.

Oh and if you like this kind of content just let me know by hitting the like button.

Thanks and I look forward to sharing more with you soon.
#business #consultant #groupon #local business #small business
  • Profile picture of the author Boston Joe
    Wow, awesome tips. Thanks a lot, I may have to look into this.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jayden Rivers
    Woah, awesome man, this is a really different new spin on local business!
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  • Profile picture of the author Boston Joe
    Quick question: Is the $1 upsell the same upsell that you are charging the $97/mo?
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      Joe

      when you do a groupon promotion, groupon does not give you the list of people who bought your vouchers or their contact information. You have to wait for the client to initiate contact first

      So what we did was a $1 upsell after the bought the voucher to capture their information and then immediately we had three levels of immediate upsells after that.

      The $1 was a requirement for them to claim and use their voucher. We had to do this to build our own database but more importantly a list of buyers

      If you have more questions i can explain the psycology behind it. Thanks for the question
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      • Profile picture of the author Tsnyder
        Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

        Joe

        when you do a groupon promotion, groupon does not give you the list of people who bought your vouchers or their contact information. You have to wait for the client to initiate contact first

        So what we did was a $1 upsell after the bought the voucher to capture their information and then immediately we had three levels of immediate upsells after that.

        The $1 was a requirement for them to claim and use their voucher. We had to do this to build our own database but more importantly a list of buyers

        If you have more questions i can explain the psycology behind it. Thanks for the question
        How did the upsell process work? Does Groupon allow you to link to
        the upsell page from the ad... or from the thank you page? How did
        you get the buyers from the Groupon sale to your upsell page?

        Thanks...

        Tsnyder
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        • Profile picture of the author sociallid
          wow! Thanks alot for all the info!
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      • Profile picture of the author cybernet
        Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

        Joe

        when you do a groupon promotion, groupon does not give you the list of people who bought your vouchers or their contact information.

        So what we did was a $1 upsell after the bought the voucher to capture their information and then immediately we had three levels of immediate upsells after that.

        The $1 was a requirement for them to claim and use their voucher. We had to do this to build our own database but more importantly a list of buyers

        If you have more questions i can explain the psycology behind it. Thanks for the question
        Could you provide more details on $1 upsell? Can you really REQUIRE people to pay $1 to "claim and use the voucher" they've just purchased from Groupon. What am I missing?
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      • Profile picture of the author freeburd
        Neil, this is absolutely brilliant!

        Question: did you have to negotiate $1.00 upsell with Groupon?

        Thank you very much.



        Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

        Joe

        when you do a groupon promotion, groupon does not give you the list of people who bought your vouchers or their contact information. You have to wait for the client to initiate contact first

        So what we did was a $1 upsell after the bought the voucher to capture their information and then immediately we had three levels of immediate upsells after that.

        The $1 was a requirement for them to claim and use their voucher. We had to do this to build our own database but more importantly a list of buyers

        If you have more questions i can explain the psycology behind it. Thanks for the question
        Signature



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  • Profile picture of the author jr1228
    This is an amazing strategy, Neil! I have sent you a PM.
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    • Profile picture of the author andrewpgpg
      This is amazing! It never comes to my mind that Groupon is taking a whopping 50% of the sale price for every coupon sold. But hey you did a very well job in turning those one time customers into recurring ones!

      Thanks for sharing this.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
        Originally Posted by andrewpgpg View Post

        This is amazing! It never comes to my mind that Groupon is taking a whopping 50% of the sale price for every coupon sold. But hey you did a very well job in turning those one time customers into recurring ones!

        Thanks for sharing this.
        Its important to look at GroupOn and similar sites as a lead generation tool. Between the reduced selling price and GroupOn's cut there's not much profit in the initial sale.

        Companies that offer multiple lessons/sessions can really benefit.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steve Faber
        Originally Posted by andrewpgpg View Post

        This is amazing! It never comes to my mind that Groupon is taking a whopping 50% of the sale price for every coupon sold. But hey you did a very well job in turning those one time customers into recurring ones!

        Thanks for sharing this.
        Great post! There is always a new way to make money, isn't there?

        That 50% Groupon fee one reason I would target moderately expensive (and up) service businesses for this. Their hard costs are lower because they don't have to buy product. That means they can afford to pay your consulting fee. They will also want to get recurring customers and will pay for them.

        Other businesses, such as restaurants or even expensive retailers, have fairly thin margins, so they can't really justify paying you 50% of their after Groupon money. Many such businesses are already complaining they're losing money on Groupon promotions because of the company's 50% fee.
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        • Profile picture of the author Oggyoi
          Thanks for the info.
          I guess this would also workwith any Groupon clones such as Social Living etc.
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          • Profile picture of the author safe as houses
            Would this work in the UK.
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            • Profile picture of the author jimbo13
              If you are going to create a ton of traffic via Facebook etc you may as well direct it straight to your customers site for a discount coupon and not Groupon.

              Because you are like a dream to Groupon in what you have done for them and they aren't going to pay you a penny for it.

              I really don't understand why you would create a buzz on his Fanbook page about a promotion and then tell them to go to Groupon site. If you create a buzz on his Fanpage about a promotion just put the promotion on that Fanpage and he wouldn't be giving Groupon any money at all.

              I don't see the point in that.

              Clearly I have missed something here which is easily done I'm afraid.

              Dan
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              • Profile picture of the author somacorellc
                Groupon is immediate 'social proof' that the business is real, the deal is solid and you can immediately see how many people bought other than you. It's a great tool to 'force' people into buying something either because they're into it or they see how many other people have bought and are convinced it's a good deal.

                Sending traffic to the website does not accomplish these things, since something like bootcampchicago.com (I just made that up) is going to have MUCH lower conversion rates than groupon.com.




                Originally Posted by jimbo13 View Post

                If you are going to create a ton of traffic via Facebook etc you may as well direct it straight to your customers site for a discount coupon and not Groupon.

                Because you are like a dream to Groupon in what you have done for them and they aren't going to pay you a penny for it.

                I really don't understand why you would create a buzz on his Fanbook page about a promotion and then tell them to go to Groupon site. If you create a buzz on his Fanpage about a promotion just put the promotion on that Fanpage and he wouldn't be giving Groupon any money at all.

                I don't see the point in that.

                Clearly I have missed something here which is easily done I'm afraid.

                Dan
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              • Profile picture of the author Michael Clough
                Originally Posted by jimbo13 View Post

                If you are going to create a ton of traffic via Facebook etc you may as well direct it straight to your customers site for a discount coupon and not Groupon.

                Because you are like a dream to Groupon in what you have done for them and they aren't going to pay you a penny for it.

                I really don't understand why you would create a buzz on his Fanbook page about a promotion and then tell them to go to Groupon site. If you create a buzz on his Fanpage about a promotion just put the promotion on that Fanpage and he wouldn't be giving Groupon any money at all.

                I don't see the point in that.

                Clearly I have missed something here which is easily done I'm afraid.

                Dan
                I agree, but thank the OP for this thread I spoke to a ton of local businesses that used Groupon and other coupons, and they said they lost money and will never do it again.

                They are more interested in giving deals to their customer base, through Mobile Text Marketing.....and that starts to go viral, as well. This, of course is permission based only!

                You text your customers (Restaurant Example) at 4:00 and tell them to come down and get a free glass of merlot, and 20% off their bill and they will be right down! And maybe will bring a friend, who did not get the text!

                Bang! More business and a new customer!
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                • Profile picture of the author sprks79
                  Originally Posted by Rowdy Yates View Post


                  They are more interested in giving deals to their customer base, through Mobile Text Marketing.....and that starts to go viral, as well. This, of course is permission based only!

                  You text your customers (Restaurant Example) at 4:00 and tell them to come down and get a free glass of merlot, and 20% off their bill and they will be right down! And maybe will bring a friend, who did not get the text!

                  Bang! More business and a new customer!


                  I 100000000% agree with this. Most businesses would rather spend the money on sms marketing than anything in my area. Its also easier for them to figure out what the cost point is and if its working or not. No guesswork. ALL of my coupon customers are SMS clients. Its so much easier to handle. Great job with this post.
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              • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
                Originally Posted by jimbo13 View Post

                If you are going to create a ton of traffic via Facebook etc you may as well direct it straight to your customers site for a discount coupon and not Groupon.

                Because you are like a dream to Groupon in what you have done for them and they aren't going to pay you a penny for it.

                I really don't understand why you would create a buzz on his Fanbook page about a promotion and then tell them to go to Groupon site. If you create a buzz on his Fanpage about a promotion just put the promotion on that Fanpage and he wouldn't be giving Groupon any money at all.

                I don't see the point in that.

                Clearly I have missed something here which is easily done I'm afraid.

                Dan

                I've seen a local chiro/massage biz create their own groupon clone type page. Looks like a groupon format and is ranked up there in search. They sell a discounted massage but don't have to pay groupon. Obviously they have to seo and build their own traffic and don't get groupon traffic but I bet their conversion is higher than a regular site offer. They converted me!
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                • Profile picture of the author rackemup
                  Originally Posted by NewParadigm View Post

                  I've seen a local chiro/massage biz create their own groupon clone type page. Looks like a groupon format and is ranked up there in search. They sell a discounted massage but don't have to pay groupon. Obviously they have to seo and build their own traffic and don't get groupon traffic but I bet their conversion is higher than a regular site offer. They converted me!
                  Good info. Any chance you could PM me a link to this chiro/massage biz? I have a friend who's a masseuse and she's struggling a little bit right now and I'd love to help her set something up. Thanks in advance!
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    • Profile picture of the author One Smart Click
      Its awesome dude something buzzing
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  • Profile picture of the author RajaRajan
    excellent post! i like this and i know a few people who could benefit. would you care to make a WSO or something with more details on stuff that you will be doing or that you are doing already?

    thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Now that was an informative post. Thanks for sharing that.
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  • Profile picture of the author dark witness
    great idea and thanks for sharing this info and idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author clnrdr64
    Thanks Neil,That was great info and I appreciate it. I know one person using Groupon but I didn't realize it could be such a valuable tool. I will definitely be looking into it.

    good stuff
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  • Profile picture of the author Kal Sallam
    Valuable information here and a sound offline/online marketing strategy.Highly appreciate it!
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  • Profile picture of the author jaybaker
    Take note everyone... This is war room style info being shared here... Props to ya Neil for the killer info!
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  • Profile picture of the author somacorellc
    Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

    A friend of mine has an offline business in Chicago. It is literally two weeks old and he planned on opening three brand new locations in Chicago.

    Great stuff and I can't wait to try this out.

    I'd like to know how you deal with this new business not having any testimonials - did you proivide them, did the client have some already? This is one of the things Groupon looks for when you set up your business on their site.

    Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author greenovni
    Neil! I have to congratulate you, the "assessment" video with "just pay $1.00 for the assessment and when you come in, we give you $2.00 back!" is genius, not to mention the jedi mind tricks that the video uses to get the people to sign up to the recurring billing!!!

    You MADE EACH AND EVERY GROUPON BUYER SIGN UP FOR THE RECURRING BILLING!!!

    That, my friend, was IM at its finest!!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author Riz
      Yes, genius indeed

      But, where did you get this info? It is not in the original post

      Riz

      Originally Posted by greenovni View Post

      Neil! I have to congratulate you, the "assessment" video with "just pay $1.00 for the assessment and when you come in, we give you $2.00 back!" is genius, not to mention the jedi mind tricks that the video uses to get the people to sign up to the recurring billing!!!

      You MADE EACH AND EVERY GROUPON BUYER SIGN UP FOR THE RECURRING BILLING!!!

      That, my friend, was IM at its finest!!!!
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      • Profile picture of the author greenovni
        Originally Posted by Riz View Post

        Yes, genius indeed

        But, where did you get this info? It is not in the original post

        Riz
        Remember Riz, we are internet marketers which means that our RESEARCH skills have to be sharp also

        There was enough information on the OP to easily reverse engineer the meat and potatoes of how the campaign was put together - Not every single trick but enough to take it, twist it and make it your own...
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        • Profile picture of the author Gunedat
          Originally Posted by greenovni View Post

          Remember Riz, we are internet marketers which means that our RESEARCH skills have to be sharp also

          There was enough information on the OP to easily reverse engineer the meat and potatoes of how the campaign was put together - Not every single trick but enough to take it, twist it and make it your own...
          Ah-ha, the $1 upsell is stated in the picture!
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          • Profile picture of the author Neil V
            Tsnyder - I got buyers from the groupon page to my home page on the site. I created a special groupon banner on the home page and asked them to click on that to take advantage of the appointment or deal.

            Hope it makes sense. i will do a quick video at some point to explain the mechanics if there is more interest in it.

            Steve Faber - You are right most small businesses cannot afford to pay the consulting fee. My insight into this is that they do not understand what is the outcome you are giving them.

            Let me give you an example, If i tell you that you are going to break even on the groupon promotion, how much would they pay? Probably nothing. But if i can show them a path of upsells and new customers what would you think they would pay? An absolute fortune

            The problem is most business marketing experts are tacticians. They know how to execute. But the real value is showing them a total business strategy, If you can show them that they will pay you all day every day. The key is to learn this kind of thinking to always add value and get paid for what you deserve.

            Do not limit your ability or make excuses for your client that their margins are low. Solve the problem for them and you will make money all day. Do not short change your fees



            Pribs - it is actually quite simple. on the groupon voucher we told client they need to pay $1 assessment to activate their voucher. we took them to a web banner and then to shopping cart page

            I will see what i can do to have a call or video to explain this in detail


            Oggyoi - you are correct. Now think about running multiple campaigns for your clients accross different networks. you can get paid multiple times for each campaign you run


            Safe as houses - if you have groupon in UK then sure. I will even guess that you will have less competition and will take a while before anyone latches on to this 6 figure strategy i just shared


            Jimbo 13 - you missed the whole point. Groupon is a conversion machine. somoacorellc is right and spot on with the comments

            Now the entire point of groupon is not to make a profit. it is to break even to get new customers into your sales funnel for immediate upsells and continuity income.



            somoacorellc - we got them. my friend owns another training facility way out in the suburbs and not focusing on this right now. but got testimonials from them.

            testimonials are important. Do whatever you can to get them, if a business cannot get them or does not want to get them then there is something wrong. i would run far away from that business


            greenovni - thanks for all your comments and responding i really appreciate and value what you have to say


            Zig 08 = start now. do not wait. the worse thing that may happen is that you could end up with a few customers


            By the way if you want to see the website...it is really bad, still working on it. go to Chicago Boot Camp - Reach Your Weight Loss Goals In 30 Days and start going through the sales funnel yourself

            you will begin to see something done at 50% without being perfect can make you money

            Thanks again for all your comment. Keep them coming in and i will do what i can to help

            Neil
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            • Profile picture of the author greenovni
              Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

              Tsnyder - I got buyers from the groupon page to my home page on the site. I created a special groupon banner on the home page and asked them to click on that to take advantage of the appointment or deal.

              Hope it makes sense. i will do a quick video at some point to explain the mechanics if there is more interest in it.

              Steve Faber - You are right most small businesses cannot afford to pay the consulting fee. My insight into this is that they do not understand what is the outcome you are giving them.

              Let me give you an example, If i tell you that you are going to break even on the groupon promotion, how much would they pay? Probably nothing. But if i can show them a path of upsells and new customers what would you think they would pay? An absolute fortune

              The problem is most business marketing experts are tacticians. They know how to execute. But the real value is showing them a total business strategy, If you can show them that they will pay you all day every day. The key is to learn this kind of thinking to always add value and get paid for what you deserve.

              Do not limit your ability or make excuses for your client that their margins are low. Solve the problem for them and you will make money all day. Do not short change your fees



              Pribs - it is actually quite simple. on the groupon voucher we told client they need to pay $1 assessment to activate their voucher. we took them to a web banner and then to shopping cart page

              I will see what i can do to have a call or video to explain this in detail


              Oggyoi - you are correct. Now think about running multiple campaigns for your clients accross different networks. you can get paid multiple times for each campaign you run


              Safe as houses - if you have groupon in UK then sure. I will even guess that you will have less competition and will take a while before anyone latches on to this 6 figure strategy i just shared


              Jimbo 13 - you missed the whole point. Groupon is a conversion machine. somoacorellc is right and spot on with the comments

              Now the entire point of groupon is not to make a profit. it is to break even to get new customers into your sales funnel for immediate upsells and continuity income.



              somoacorellc - we got them. my friend owns another training facility way out in the suburbs and not focusing on this right now. but got testimonials from them.

              testimonials are important. Do whatever you can to get them, if a business cannot get them or does not want to get them then there is something wrong. i would run far away from that business


              greenovni - thanks for all your comments and responding i really appreciate and value what you have to say


              Zig 08 = start now. do not wait. the worse thing that may happen is that you could end up with a few customers


              By the way if you want to see the website...it is really bad, still working on it. go to Chicago Boot Camp - Reach Your Weight Loss Goals In 30 Days and start going through the sales funnel yourself

              you will begin to see something done at 50% without being perfect can make you money

              Thanks again for all your comment. Keep them coming in and i will do what i can to help

              Neil
              No Problem, I just didn't want to put your sales funnel on the thread, not sure if you were cool with it...

              I see that this idea of yours can be spun into a whole business for those that take action, it might even become a new offering on my main website if you are cool with that
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  • Profile picture of the author jiantastic
    this is a very fresh idea. Groupon is indeed social proof for others to buy. People trust Groupon and are more reluctant to hit the buy button because of it, but what you should have done is signed up for their affiliate program, then start pushing people to it. haha but nevertheless this is a brillant idea, while everyone is chasing the same old Boring SEO, Fan Page, Mobile Page, and other pages up their alley stuff, Neil V goes on the opposite direction and leverages platforms that are just as powerful for business owners.
    Great Job Neil!
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    • Profile picture of the author cybernet
      Originally Posted by jiantastic View Post

      ...what you should have done is signed up for their affiliate program, then start pushing people to it. haha
      Great Job Neil!
      Do they pay affiliate commissions on consumers' purchases or on business brought in by merchants or both? Anyone knows ?
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  • Profile picture of the author Always-A-Warrior
    aw yeah another cha-ching moment. great job guy. I don't like Groupon after hearing too many bad stories but maybe I'll try them this time and get my local community into it. We'll see. Thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zigo8
    Amazing marketing strategy. I am an athlete who also wants to put up my own small business. Perhaps, I might try Groupon one of these days.
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  • Profile picture of the author Riz
    Neil,

    Wow! I am super impressed with this info. Thanks for sharing. It is amazing how many spins can be put onto offline marketing.

    This info alone has made my head spin with ideas. After running an offer on Groupon for an offline business i also own i know just how lucrative this can be.

    With a little imagination this info you have provided can be taken to so many different levels and anyone in the offline marketing arena should have ideas flowing through their minds on how they can monetize this info.

    Riz
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  • Profile picture of the author BlogDiva
    WOW! This is some amazing information here. This will really help me out with getting some new offline clients. I really need to ramp up this business.
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  • Profile picture of the author BlogDiva
    Neil, I sent you a PM with a few questions. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author fionasdesigns
    Great information it would be awesome if this idea does really work!
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  • Profile picture of the author sprks79
    Great post.

    I started out doing the exact same thing and within a few months moved on to a "Local coupon" site like groupon. Same premise. Buy online, split purchase. I have found that most of my local businesses actually prefer me over Groupon mainly because of the split. With groupon they take 50% off the top. Then the business has to pay for the credit card charges of 100% eating into their profit. With me its a better deal. We take the CC fees off the top and then split 70-30 in favor of the business. Our first month life accounted for almost $180,000 in total earnings with 9 local businesses. Groupon is going to run themselves into the dirt if they dont watch it, but on a local level you will find more businesses willing to stay "in-house" (local). Keep it up, it only gets better.
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    • Profile picture of the author want2knowhow
      Awesome, Awesome post & reply! Thanks for replying!

      Originally Posted by sprks79 View Post

      Great post.

      I started out doing the exact same thing and within a few months moved on to a "Local coupon" site like groupon. Same premise. Buy online, split purchase. I have found that most of my local businesses actually prefer me over Groupon mainly because of the split. With groupon they take 50% off the top. Then the business has to pay for the credit card charges of 100% eating into their profit. With me its a better deal. We take the CC fees off the top and then split 70-30 in favor of the business. Our first month life accounted for almost $180,000 in total earnings with 9 local businesses. Groupon is going to run themselves into the dirt if they dont watch it, but on a local level you will find more businesses willing to stay "in-house" (local). Keep it up, it only gets better.
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      • Profile picture of the author want2knowhow
        The one *glaring* thing that stands out is that this was done as a team effort, not a one man band, so to speak. How can one person duplicate a team effort? Or did I miss something...?
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        • Profile picture of the author sprks79
          It could, in theory, be done by a one man band. It isn't all that difficult once you know what is needed. Outsourcing can be done for dirt cheap as well. As far as having a team, if you can find some others who have the same passion and sight then make a team. You don't have to be solo. I have the programming and social skills that i was able to do most of the work from coding to contacts myself and just outsource the tedious stuff. Its possible. Just have to go out there and do it.
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          • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
            Originally Posted by somacorellc View Post

            Great stuff and I can't wait to try this out.

            I'd like to know how you deal with this new business not having any testimonials - did you proivide them, did the client have some already? This is one of the things Groupon looks for when you set up your business on their site.

            Thanks!
            Originally Posted by pribs View Post

            Thank you for the very, very good information! I too am a little confused about how you referred customers to a website after purchase, collected information, and signed them up for a $1 trial with auto-rebill. Could you please detail that process from the consumers perspective a little bit more clearly? Thank you!!
            Originally Posted by jimbo13 View Post

            If you are going to create a ton of traffic via Facebook etc you may as well direct it straight to your customers site for a discount coupon and not Groupon.

            Because you are like a dream to Groupon in what you have done for them and they aren't going to pay you a penny for it.

            I really don't understand why you would create a buzz on his Fanbook page about a promotion and then tell them to go to Groupon site. If you create a buzz on his Fanpage about a promotion just put the promotion on that Fanpage and he wouldn't be giving Groupon any money at all.

            I don't see the point in that.

            Clearly I have missed something here which is easily done I'm afraid.

            Originally Posted by Riz View Post

            Neil,

            Wow! I am super impressed with this info. Thanks for sharing. It is amazing how many spins can be put onto offline marketing.

            This info alone has made my head spin with ideas. After running an offer on Groupon for an offline business i also own i know just how lucrative this can be.

            With a little imagination this info you have provided can be taken to so many different levels and anyone in the offline marketing arena should have ideas flowing through their minds on how they can monetize this info.


            Riz
            Originally Posted by BlogDiva View Post

            WOW! This is some amazing information here. This will really help me out with getting some new offline clients. I really need to ramp up this business.
            Originally Posted by greenovni View Post

            No Problem, I just didn't want to put your sales funnel on the thread, not sure if you were cool with it...

            I see that this idea of yours can be spun into a whole business for those that take action, it might even become a new offering on my main website if you are cool with that

            Originally Posted by want2knowhow View Post

            The one *glaring* thing that stands out is that this was done as a team effort, not a one man band, so to speak. How can one person duplicate a team effort? Or did I miss something...?


            Team effort is the key. No amount of WSO training, videos or case studies will help anyone without team effort. The ideas that did NOT appear in this thread are the ones you bounce off your team and that's how you make money. You can't do something like this with a website or wordpress blogs either.

            You need credibility, team effort and a data-driven interactive design that converts your clients 24-7. And when I say "your" clients, I mean your clients are yours. Team members are there for you to collaborate with by choice, not obligation. Every client and every deal is different. Some members might be good at landing big clients and need help from other members who are better at something else so you work out an agreement.

            That just means you are in business for yourself but not by yourself. You can get your own business platform, pay the $2,000 yourself or divide the cost between 10 members who seriously want to own their own business and quit stalling. $200 one-time payment for your own admin login - the same access and full control as all other members.

            I am not selling or promoting this to profit on other Warriors or members. It is an equal division between 10 members who want to run their own business for profit and still have team member support available for the asking. You won't find anything remotely close to this business platform anywhere and $2,000 is a steal but without the team members, it's useless unless you hire employees instead.

            What would you rather have? Another WSO to study OR, a real business to make money with right NOW? How about BOTH??
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  • Profile picture of the author Stephen Gilbert
    I do a lot of transcription work for a company that interviews people who've done Groupon blasts. I was just trying to think of way to monetize it. Thanks for the info!
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    • Profile picture of the author Ray Erdmann
      Neil,

      Great share and can't thank you enough for taking the time to write/type all that info up! ;-)

      One issue I have w/Groupon is that my small a$$ city isn't listed...just the two bigger surrounding cities (Spokane & CDL, Idaho)...And both are well over 90 miles away!

      Any thoughts on how I could still take advantage of Groupon?

      Ray
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      • Profile picture of the author Riz
        Unless you are willing to travel to visit the clients in the surrounding cities where Groupon is operational it might be difficult to take advantage of Groupon.

        If you get a few clients initially a lot of your business will come from referals so you won't need to travel as much. Also, once you have testimonials you will be able to close without face to face meetings.

        Another option for you is to use commission based sales reps.

        Alternatively, you could copy Groupons model in your own city and really take advantage before Groupon or other 'deal sites' move into your city.

        Riz

        Originally Posted by Ray Erdmann View Post

        Neil,

        Great share and can't thank you enough for taking the time to write/type all that info up! ;-)

        One issue I have w/Groupon is that my small a$$ city isn't listed...just the two bigger surrounding cities (Spokane & CDL, Idaho)...And both are well over 90 miles away!

        Any thoughts on how I could still take advantage of Groupon?

        Ray
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        • Profile picture of the author Ray Erdmann
          Originally Posted by Riz View Post

          Unless you are willing to travel to visit the clients in the surrounding cities where Groupon is operational it might be difficult to take advantage of Groupon.

          If you get a few clients initially a lot of your business will come from referals so you won't need to travel as much. Also, once you have testimonials you will be able to close without face to face meetings.

          Another option for you is to use commission based sales reps.

          Alternatively, you could copy Groupons model in your own city and really take advantage before Groupon or other 'deal sites' move into your city.

          Riz
          Riz...

          Now that's some great ideas right there! Thanks for the reply!

          Now all I gotta start doing is thinking about ways to fully utilize this here where I live! I feel a long night ahead of me! ;-)



          Ray
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  • Profile picture of the author George Pitts
    I have to put my 2 cents in on this one. This is a process that can be huge. This is just the tip of the iceberg right here. I agree with Jay Baker this is war room type stuff. You can really push this hard and use other sites like living social and other sites that promote deals like groupon.

    You can assemble a sales team to make these calls all day long by subscribing to multiple surrounding cities in your areas deals that you dont mind driving to. For instance in Texas you could do Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Arlington just to name a few that are not bad of a drive and have your sales team contact these companies via email or phone with how you can explode their sales by doing something like this.

    I gotta say with some tweaks here and their you can make this a six figure process alone in conjunction with what you are already doing. I gotta say I love when fresh ideas come to surface cause it allows your business to evolve with the ever changing marketing world

    Oh and by the way the facebook promotion idea was genius. This is a great way to build client lists for your client and those that dont convert to the 12 month subscription or whatever when your ready to have another deal you can send it to your list first and keep 100% of the profits without going through Groupon the second time and splitting the commision with them for those who only purchased the groupon deal and $1 upsell but not the 12 month contract. You got alot to work with here
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    • Profile picture of the author bjallen
      Question: Did you come out of pocket for the Facebook and Google ads promoting the Groupon deal?

      Thanks for this great share!

      BJ
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      • Profile picture of the author Tracy411
        Neil,

        Thanks so much for the share. This is phenomenal, brand new information with a twist. What a great way to help local businesses and explode your own profits.

        I second what another person said here in the thread and would not only love it if you did a WSO teaching people how to use this method in offline marketing, but would be grateful if you would. I think you'd seriously crush it with a WSO like that because it is something original and not something that has been rehashed hundreds of times in other WSOs. I would love to learn the process, how-tos of setting it up, and hear about more of those awesome resources you use to do this.

        I would love to be able to do this for clients. Thanks for planting the seed, Neil.
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      • Profile picture of the author BlogDiva
        Originally Posted by bjallen View Post

        Question: Did you come out of pocket for the Facebook and Google ads promoting the Groupon deal?

        Thanks for this great share!

        BJ
        Neil advised me that that client paid for the ads.
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  • Profile picture of the author eyesocialize
    I will pay for the entire blueprint of your strategy. Bring on a WSO.
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    • Profile picture of the author want2knowhow
      Originally Posted by eyesocialize View Post

      I will pay for the entire blueprint of your strategy. Bring on a WSO.
      And I second that emotion!
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Hi everyone

    I just wanted to give you a quick update. Please note that i am not trying to ignore any one of you


    I have been slammed with questions and everyone sending me pm's.

    All i ask is please give me some time. I will make sure i respond to every single one of your pm's plus your questions on the thread

    i have over 47 messages still left to go right now but will respond by tomorrow.

    Also i am getting a ton of requests to share this in the form of a WSO.

    If i do that then i will not put anything out unless it is of the highest quality and will want to help you make sure you have all the tools to reach your goal so it may add some follow up sessions to that.,

    However before i even consider doing something like this (which will be a huge investment on my part) i want to make sure there is sufficient demand for this.

    So if you are interested just let me know. If there is enough people then i will try my best to do something like this

    But irrespective of what happens, if you have questions please post them here on the thread first i will work on getting back responses to you and helping you as much as possible. If you send me a private message i may take a day or two to respond but i will get back to you i promise

    Neil
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    • Profile picture of the author Tracy411
      Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

      Hi everyone

      I just wanted to give you a quick update. Please note that i am not trying to ignore any one of you


      I have been slammed with questions and everyone sending me pm's.

      All i ask is please give me some time. I will make sure i respond to every single one of your pm's plus your questions on the thread

      i have over 47 messages still left to go right now but will respond by tomorrow.

      Also i am getting a ton of requests to share this in the form of a WSO.

      If i do that then i will not put anything out unless it is of the highest quality and will want to help you make sure you have all the tools to reach your goal so it may add some follow up sessions to that.,

      However before i even consider doing something like this (which will be a huge investment on my part) i want to make sure there is sufficient demand for this.

      So if you are interested just let me know. If there is enough people then i will try my best to do something like this

      But irrespective of what happens, if you have questions please post them here on the thread first i will work on getting back responses to you and helping you as much as possible. If you send me a private message i may take a day or two to respond but i will get back to you i promise

      Neil

      Hi Neil,

      Thanks alot for all of your information sharing. As I said, I would love to see a WSO from you on how to do this for offline clients.

      Can I make a suggestion? If you want to gauge interest in if offliners would be interested in learning this method, I would say to take much of the first post you made, making a new thread and titling it something like "Hot New Lucrative Offline Method-Anyone Want A WSO?" That'll give those who missed this thread a general idea of what the method is about and give it more visibility with a thread title like that. See what I mean?

      Thanks for keeping up with the thread. Look forward to hearing more from you.

      Tracy
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      • Profile picture of the author JerrickYeoh
        Groupon now become a trend. It giving choice in most of people what they going to do , what they going to eat for next. It change the behaviours of customer that they actually look for Groupon everyday and whatever have offer they will go to have a try. Groupon do have in own policies which they know what the market looking for them, that why they only sell coupon for, relax, foods and entertainment to maintain their customer base.
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    • Profile picture of the author bsvoboda
      Great work Neil.

      I'm a founding member of The Customer Advantage but they have moved the launch date so many times I've lost interest. Plus, there is a network marketing element to TCA that I'm not into.

      Now, showing a business how to really leverage their Groupon experience is right up my alley. I'd certainly buy this WSO!

      Cheers,

      Brenda
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      • Profile picture of the author Izesta
        Originally Posted by bsvoboda View Post

        Great work Neil.

        I'm a founding member of The Customer Advantage but they have moved the launch date so many times I've lost interest. Plus, there is a network marketing element to TCA that I'm not into.

        Now, showing a business how to really leverage their Groupon experience is right up my alley. I'd certainly buy this WSO!

        Cheers,

        Brenda


        Same here Brenda. I also lost interest in TCA. I get the feeling John is mostly trying to work this with a very limited support group & that's impossible.

        I can't figure how they expect people to stay motivated and keep recruiting when we can see nothing going on. They should be sending email updates and info every day. Instead we hear nothing. The weekly webinars are useless. John keeps giving endless excuses why nothing is happening. Glad I didn't pay anything.
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        • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
          Originally Posted by Izesta View Post

          Same here Brenda. I also lost interest in TCA. I get the feeling John is mostly trying to work this with a very limited support group & that's impossible.

          I can't figure how they expect people to stay motivated and keep recruiting when we can see nothing going on. They should be sending email updates and info every day. Instead we hear nothing. The weekly webinars are useless. John keeps giving endless excuses why nothing is happening. Glad I didn't pay anything.
          Someone just sent me a link to that so I joined free but that's it. From what you've said the problem sounds like they're under capitalized. Most people probably joined free and never returned if there are no email reminders - attention spans are shorter than a fuse nowadays - they're probably trying to raise capital and that never comes through as promised so the buck gets passed.
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    • Profile picture of the author tjbooker
      Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

      Hi everyone

      I just wanted to give you a quick update. Please note that i am not trying to ignore any one of you


      I have been slammed with questions and everyone sending me pm's.

      All i ask is please give me some time. I will make sure i respond to every single one of your pm's plus your questions on the thread

      i have over 47 messages still left to go right now but will respond by tomorrow.

      Also i am getting a ton of requests to share this in the form of a WSO.

      If i do that then i will not put anything out unless it is of the highest quality and will want to help you make sure you have all the tools to reach your goal so it may add some follow up sessions to that.,

      However before i even consider doing something like this (which will be a huge investment on my part) i want to make sure there is sufficient demand for this.

      So if you are interested just let me know. If there is enough people then i will try my best to do something like this

      But irrespective of what happens, if you have questions please post them here on the thread first i will work on getting back responses to you and helping you as much as possible. If you send me a private message i may take a day or two to respond but i will get back to you i promise

      Neil

      Definitly would be a WSO to buy, make it limited though ou dont want the competition or put together a email list from here (i think you already are) and offer it to them. Great info!!

      TJ
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  • Profile picture of the author Russell Hall
    Very interesting post and valuable info being shared.

    So to be clear,... the value is in the conversions to the upsell right?

    Because if your friend sold 905 at $40 ($36,200) and paid Groupon 50% ($18.100) then he shared 50% with you ($9,050) doesn't leave much profit.

    I believe the Groupon sales model is actually flawed for a lot of businesses in that it's not sustainable or the leads generated are difficult to cultivate and upsell for many business categories (such as restaurants for example) but in this case it seems your friend has a perfect business model for an upsell/conversion.

    Well done... and thanks for the great share!

    Best Regards,
    Russell Hall
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    • Profile picture of the author escribe
      This is brilliant stuff Neil. A really unique twist on marketing to small businesses. If you would produce a blueprint that would be great.

      So, with this you don't have to ever have to "physically" go out to meet clients it seems. That's why this works so well for those limited by location... travelling consultants... and for those of us who love to travel the world.

      A very interesting twist on how to market to local businesses. BTW: How long did it take you to come up with this concept? How did you come up with this? Just curious...
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      sprks79 - Keep up the good work, that is awesome. seems like you are killing it with your strategy. good for you

      greenovni - feel free to use whatever you need. i have no intention of holding anything back.

      s1wg4u - you are best positioned to crush it in your city. do not lose that opportunity. you have a golden opportunity


      Ray Erdmann - see Riz's response below. he has some great ideas, i would seriously use them

      Also the beauty of this system in order to make it work is that you do not have to do the work at the clients place or be in front of the client

      Once you made contact and sold the client you can work from your home.

      Also, try going bigger in your city. call up local museums, look for bigger business and see if you can make contact with them

      You may want to line up a few business in the big city on the same day. set up 4-5 appointments and approach them the same day. this way you maximize your time

      But saying all of that do not let location stop you. Get these clients, phone, direct mail, etc set up webinars with them, show them what you can do
      Then meet them at least once. execute from your home office. nothing should stand in your way

      I have taken on a second client who was referred by a friend who lives on the west coast, i am here in chicago. the only reason i am doing this is that it could turn out to be a huge payday since this guy has a multimillion dollar business. So there you go
      your mission. figure out how to make it work


      gmoney38 thanks. i appreciate the comments and ideas


      bjallen - i never come out of pocket for anything it is all how about how you position it with client. make the client pay for everything

      also you really need to figure out your value to the deal. your value is that you are doing the strategy (thinking for them) and executing. That is worth a lot of money and they should be thankful for it


      Tracy411 Thanks for your comments and ideas. much appreciated


      Russell - you are correct. they money is not in the groupon deal. there is not money to be made there

      however by running groupon you get profitable in three ways

      1. new client acquistion (keep marketing to them every month)
      2. immediate upsells
      3. Referrals from clients - running your own mini groupon to get referrals and your client keeps all the money and then upsells


      let me say this in another way. you use groupon to get a list of buying customers at break even. then you use multiple strategies to promote to list of buyers to be profitable

      then rinse and repeat these groupon promotions every three to 4 months, where you get new clients and follow the process.




      want2knowhow - i am not sure i understand your question. what do you mean by team effort?
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  • Profile picture of the author vduplessie
    This is a brilliant post and something that can be added to any marketer's toolbox. I will be looking at implementing this technique and appreciate the time you took to outline the post details.
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  • Profile picture of the author TEC
    That sounds like an awesome deal!! Thank you so much for sharing that information with us!
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    • Profile picture of the author oogyboogawa
      That's a great idea and sounds like it was very well executed.

      Unfortunately for me, I live in a very rural area (i.e. it's probably 2-3 hours of driving to any city big enough to be on Groupon)

      I wonder how hard it would be to land a customer without meeting face to face? Might need to make the trip.

      If I were to do something like this, how hard is it for companies to get approved on Groupon and what are the requirements?
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  • Profile picture of the author Luis Gabriel
    Thanks bro. This is Awesome. I could really see potential using this!

    Luis Gabriel
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Richards
    I am not a regular Groupon user, but I'm wondering about the initial sales funnel process.

    After the clients buys the discounted, break even product, they are taken to an upsell page where they are required to purchase the $1 continuity upsell in order to redeem their coupon?

    What about those who don't, where/how do they get their $40 product?

    Thanks

    Rob
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    • Profile picture of the author oogyboogawa
      Originally Posted by Rob Richards View Post

      I am not a regular Groupon user, but I'm wondering about the initial sales funnel process.

      After the clients buys the discounted, break even product, they are taken to an upsell page where they are required to purchase the $1 continuity upsell in order to redeem their coupon?

      What about those who don't, where/how do they get their $40 product?

      Thanks

      Rob

      Based on the image provided, it was stated in the coupon description that to use the services, they would need to pay for a consultation (I forget the wording but if you look at it you'll see) and they even state that they'll reimburse you afterward, but it was stated clearly upfront that they had to do that before they could utilize the coupon.
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  • Profile picture of the author charliedg
    This is pretty useful stuff...thanks man
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  • Profile picture of the author Jimian
    Awesome post...and last night on NBC they showed the pro & cons of Groupon...
    You can show people this video... The key point they mentioned; It's up to the
    business to do some kind of of follow-up promotion to bring the 'trial' customers
    back!

    msnbc.com Video Player
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    • Profile picture of the author bsvoboda
      Originally Posted by Jimian View Post

      Awesome post...and last night on NBC they showed the pro & cons of Groupon...
      You can show people this video... The key point they mentioned; It's up to the
      business to do some kind of of follow-up promotion to bring the 'trial' customers
      back!

      msnbc.com Video Player
      Jim,

      As usual, thanks for always sending me cool stuff - like this.

      Brenda
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  • Profile picture of the author TommyB
    Thanks Neil and everybody else for there imput.

    This is the reason I joined the War Room, sharing freash ideas, thats what forums are all about. It seems that WF has turned into it's own wso marketing machine, not a free exchange of ideas that will help everyone who puts in the work !
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  • Profile picture of the author Ask Michael Paul
    Awesome Post Neil and some incredibly Valuable Ideas. This is what makes Warrior Forum one of the best.

    The ideas that you have expressed are priceless and a great addition to an already existing offline business model.
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    Skype: mhponline
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  • Profile picture of the author pcloadletter
    Amazing, Thank You!
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  • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
    I would venture to say that the majority of the businesses that have lost money with Groupon:

    1) had no idea what their current lifetime customer value is
    2) had no idea what their current cost of customer acquisition is
    3) didn't promote a loss-leader strategy that was priced within the first two parameters
    4) had no back-end to drive additional sales volume with upsells or return visit offers

    At least that's what I see with 99.6% of the businesses I hear groaning about deal of the day sites. They launch their offer thinking they're going to get mad rich off the groupon sale without having any earthly idea about the true numbers going on in their own business.

    The fact of the matter is, groupon is a superior way to market your business for this reason alone:

    it allows you to amortize your marketing costs out of operations across a period of time vs. spending all the cash at once.

    That means... if you never once make a single penny of profit from the groupon deal, you've already improved your cash flow.

    How?

    Because otherwise you'd be writing a check to the local newspaper or tv station, val-pak, etc... for all the cost of the campaign on the front-end with no "pay as you go performance". You only "spend" the groupon deal money when someone comes in and redeems, which is about 20% in the first month, 15% in the month before your deal expires, and evenly divided across the rest of the months in the middle (at least from my experience of running over 700 groupon campaigns nationally, some for national chains).

    So you get your first 3 checks from groupon for nothing... just selling the deals. The first is 5 days after the deal closes. The second is 30 days following, the 3rd is 60 days following.. minus chargebacks, refunds and the 2.5% CC processing fee.

    Then, the business can amortize the actual shortfall out of the loss leader deal over a period of time as people redeem their vouchers. For businesses that are not operating at "peak capacity" (which is most of them), it's sort of a wash. You're not really losing anything at all as long as you're smart enough to price your groupon deal to cover your raw material costs (food in the case of a restaurant, etc....) Otherwise, the overhead you're paying is already being paid whether that person is redeeming a groupon voucher or not. So in lieu of not getting any business vs. taking a deal from a groupon buyer, you still have the fixed overhead of facility cost, labor, etc... just paying to keep the lights on.

    The point is... it really takes an especially dense businessperson to really lose money with a groupon.
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  • Profile picture of the author jackheape
    Great post. Thanks for sharing this. I would say that you wouldn't even have to charge a fee. Just arrange this for the client and then upsell them on your services on how to keep these new customers coming back.
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    • Profile picture of the author Pestew
      Neil,
      Terrific thread here! I have been somewhat skeptical on Groupon and my intuition tells me most B&M's are even more so. Thanks for your imput!

      Put my vote in for a WSO on this!!
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      • Profile picture of the author Luke Bishop
        I'm down, hurry with the WSO! HeheZ

        Question, how do you find potential clients, do you ring them up when they have launched their deal and quickly implement the upsell method?

        Or ring around, asking if they are considering groupon?
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  • Profile picture of the author BarbaraP
    Awesome original post, NeilV! Even in smaller communities like ours, Groupon and LivingSocial ads are being seen via cable and satellite. Local business owners see these and are always impressed with a local biz marketing consultant's knowledge of the "latest". Why not use Neil's strategies on a groupon-like directory of offers set up through a local chamber? Sell the Chamber your services to set up the special page, sell setup services to local businesses with a % return to you. (This may be the door to sell small biz sites!) Helps the Chamber show value to membership, helps local business and you make money! A free seminar to explain Groupon or LivingSocial measures interest, put prospects in the room, and could seal your $$ deal. There's always a way to translate fresh ideas to your local market. Thanks to all who've posted on this thread ... inspired great value for all, Neil! Cheers!
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  • Profile picture of the author HeyAdMan
    Neil thanks for sharing this awesome information my friend. We are implimenting something along these same lines so it was good to see a working model presented.

    I'm down for the WSO when completed.
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    • Profile picture of the author want2knowhow
      Team effort= not doing it alone. which you basically answered that this is better handled with a like-minded group.

      thanks for all your help!
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  • Profile picture of the author joa
    HI fantastic i want your first copy i here you are overloaded please respond as quik as you can i also have a twist to add Thanks Joa
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    • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
      From: Jeff Pearlman <jpearlman at groupon dot com>
      Date: May 24, 2011 9:33:32 AM PDT
      To: Ez1brand at gmail dot com
      Subject: Groupon Business

      Hello,

      I'm very interested in featuring your business on Groupon. Please take a look at the features below as I feel that they speak for themselves.

      Check out this website to get a better understanding of how Groupon works: Grouponworks

      We reach over 95,000 opt in subscribers every day!

      There are no out of pocket costs to work with us!

      We have been featured on Good Morning America, the Today Show and Oprah.

      Here are some great deals we have run:

      American Mobile Detailing Deal of the Day | Groupon Denver

      Get M.A.D. Mobile Auto Detailing Deal of the Day | Groupon Nashville

      Autoscope Motorsports Deal of the Day | Groupon Dallas



      Feel free to call me at 312-662-7360 or email me at Jpearlman at groupon dot com I look forward to the opportunity of featuring your business on Groupon!

      Take care,

      --
      Jeff Pearlman
      GROUPON Stockton and Modesto
      Account Representative
      Email: Jpearlman at groupon dot com
      Chat: 312.662.7360
      Apparently Groupon is contacting businesses directly to find more deals and offers. They will set everything up for the business at no charge but I seriously doubt the $1 upsells and list building benefits are included.

      They contacted us after seeing this Video on YouTube. Non-professional and simply homemade costs nothing to produce but look, they like it. Go figure!?

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      • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
        Originally Posted by Rowdy Yates View Post

        I agree, but thank the OP for this thread I spoke to a ton of local businesses that used Groupon and other coupons, and they said they lost money and will never do it again.

        They are more interested in giving deals to their customer base, through Mobile Text Marketing.....and that starts to go viral, as well. This, of course is permission based only!

        You text your customers (Restaurant Example) at 4:00 and tell them to come down and get a free glass of merlot, and 20% off their bill and they will be right down! And maybe will bring a friend, who did not get the text!

        Bang! More business and a new customer!
        Originally Posted by sprks79 View Post

        I 100000000% agree with this. Most businesses would rather spend the money on sms marketing than anything in my area. Its also easier for them to figure out what the cost point is and if its working or not. No guesswork. ALL of my coupon customers are SMS clients. Its so much easier to handle. Great job with this post.
        That's exactly why I posted this but it seems like there are only a few who even understand the magnitude of SMS and your own phone app. that allows you to broadcast different messages to subscribers on your lists.

        http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...ml#post4012876
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  • Profile picture of the author jillpower
    I'm a new member to this group and stumbled upon it as I've been brainstorming a similar business model in my area for Groupon and Living Social. Neil -- thank you for outlining your approach in such great detail. I'm not sure what a "WSO" is but I'm assuming it's a white paper outlining the specific elements or a plan/approach. If that's the case, I'm very interested. thank you again for leading me to this forum and for the great info.
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  • Profile picture of the author visimedia
    nice tip. Keep it up on sharing good things. =)
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  • Profile picture of the author Intermission
    What a great post, Neil. My wheels are turning ... I actually have a couple local businesses in mind for this right now. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    oogyboogawa - see response from Riz and my earlier ideas. You can do this despite where you are. Just need some creativity so do not let location stop you. call up a friend, find associates in another city and JV with them

    For groupon the big requirements are that you able to give a discount exclusive to them, have a good website. There is not much really. However they are a bit strict so you want to make sure you get a good rep from groupon who are able to support you and your requests. this helps when running your campaign. Remeber they want to promote businesses and make money



    Rob Richards - for the promotion we ran, they could no claim their voucher without the $1 purchase. However you do not have to use this exact same model. depending on your client there are many ways you can apply this idea

    so take this idea, brainstorm and let me know how you can apply it

    By the way almost 95% of the people who bought signed up for the $1 assessment. SO it worked


    Rowdy Yates - one of our referral strategies was the use of mobile coupons to new groupon customers and it worked. SO yes this is definately something we added to the upsell process to get more referrals but was not our only strategy



    MichaelHiles - i could not have said it better myself. thanks for the specific insight with the numbers and thinking. that was awesome


    bsvoboda - Thanks and little suggestion. Start now. Go out and get your first customers and you will never look back on this strategy

    jackheape - that is another great idea to price your services differently. there could be multiple pricing models

    Luke Bishop - If somebody is already running the groupon, wait till that promotion is over. usually it runs 2 days or most 3 days. If there gropuon was not successful you do not want to get blamed for that.

    But once their groupon is over give them a few days and call them. I am helping a friend set up this bsuiness and we found that the best way to do this is call the client, tell them you are a small business groupon consultant and you want to do a free consultation and tell them how to improve their next groupon feature and how to make it profitable
    this is on top of their mind and they will be opening to listen to you because this is top of mind

    and when you run the groupon you are the hero. This is the easiest way and gives you a REASON to call and connect with them. you are out to help

    More on client acquisition later
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Hi all

    Firstly thanks for the awesome responses. I really appreciate it and i am glad i can help

    If i did not respond to you directly as yet, i will get to you. PLease give me some time. I think my inbox is full so if you have questions, please post on this thread


    Okay, so the response is overwhelming yes for a WSO of some sort.


    I need your help. Please can you answer this question for me.

    If i do create a WSO on this topic and share the strategy, blueprint and tools, what would you like to see in this. What topics and areas would you like to get more information on, what interests you the most or what else should i be covering so that i can help you and hopefully motivate you and give you the tools to set up a successful consulting business.

    Any specific questions/thoughts would help me create a really valuable tool for you to be successful

    I really appreciate your comments

    Thanks
    Neil
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    • Profile picture of the author Luke Bishop
      How do you explain to the groupon user that when they do apply for the upsell their subscription goes up $97 after the initial month is up?

      Do you find groupon users becoming disgruntled due to the client asking for their bank details because of the upsell?

      How easy is it for groupon users to opt out of the monthly fee? is there a termination fee?

      What payment system do you use?
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    • Profile picture of the author xichabodx
      Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

      Hi all
      I need your help. Please can you answer this question for me.

      If i do create a WSO on this topic and share the strategy, blueprint and tools, what would you like to see in this. What topics and areas would you like to get more information on, what interests you the most or what else should i be covering so that i can help you and hopefully motivate you and give you the tools to set up a successful consulting business.

      Any specific questions/thoughts would help me create a really valuable tool for you to be successful

      I really appreciate your comments

      Thanks
      Neil
      • Which businesses to approach, meaning, which are best (if not all).
      • How to "pitch" them on what you have to offer, more specifically, what to say.
      • Once you've created your JV, how do you promote it to the masses?
      • I LOVE actual case studies...1-3 actual deals, from start to finish would help.

      I am wondering, and may have missed it, but when are you approaching these businesses? Do they already have a Groupon campaign set up, then you're approaching them? If not, this wouldn't be as effective as how I THINK you're doing this...and that's you're JV'ing 1st, THEN proposing and setting up a Groupon campaign, yes?

      As a mobile marketer, I'm finding that those involving themselves in "daily deal promotions (Groupon and all their copycats) are a PERFECT match.

      Thanks for your contributions!
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    • Profile picture of the author cybernet
      Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

      I need your help. Please can you answer this question for me.

      If i do create a WSO on this topic and share the strategy, blueprint and tools, what would you like to see in this. What topics and areas would you like to get more information on, what interests you the most or what else should i be covering so that i can help you and hopefully motivate you and give you the tools to set up a successful consulting business.

      Any specific questions/thoughts would help me create a really valuable tool for you to be successful

      I really appreciate your comments

      Thanks
      Neil
      Neil, I'd be interested in WSO if it was "done for you" type of deal. I do not want to be bothered with logistics (hiring outsourcers, working on designs, programming, script installation, merchant accounts, creating content, banners, follow up emails, presentations, contracts, etc.). I just want to concentrate my efforts on selling this to local owners. Nothing else

      Perhaps even some sort of hosted "done for you" service (don't mind paying a reasonable fee for each "deal done for you")

      This would be a lot more valuable to me than just a bunch of videos and a pdf file.
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  • Profile picture of the author TommyB
    I'm lost, how do you get the people's email that are buying the groupon offer if they are getting the offer from an email sent from groupon?
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  • Nice little post here. I wouldn't be able to use it in what I do, but it is valuable information for those that are looking to start up an offline business.

    Not for the faint of heart though. You will not be able to hide behind a computer if you want to make this work.
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  • Profile picture of the author xichabodx
    Going back over your initial post, it appears that you're partnering up with a business and creating a Groupon campaign together, and not prospecting those that have already started their campaign. (correct?).

    If so, this makes MUCH more sense than trying to convince a business after they've already started with their promotion. It's not a before & after, rather, it's combining Groupon & SMS simultaneously...Groupon to get the massive flood of traffic (using Groupons promotion power & our SMS/mobile client retention system). Brilliant.
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    • Profile picture of the author want2knowhow
      Originally Posted by xichabodx View Post

      Going back over your initial post, it appears that you're partnering up with a business and creating a Groupon campaign together, and not prospecting those that have already started their campaign. (correct?).

      If so, this makes MUCH more sense than trying to convince a business after they've already started with their promotion. It's not a before & after, rather, it's combining Groupon & SMS simultaneously...Groupon to get the massive flood of traffic (using Groupons promotion power & our SMS/mobile client retention system). Brilliant.
      Yep! It surrrrre rizzzzzzz!
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      • Profile picture of the author Neil V
        Luke - The principle here is that once they bought the voucher they will be charged at the end of the month at the regular price. In our case we slightly discounted the regular pricing and told them it could be three levels once level is $97. i will explain all of this in the WSO when done


        Now there is two ways of doing this. Immediate and post strategy
        We have immediate upsell in shopping cart. Maybe 1-2% may take the upsell. we had about 3% conversion


        Now when customer comes in to claim their groupon voucher here is where the real upsell begins. We had an 60% conversion rate. We hand staff a script. They need to deliver an awesome experience and immediately upsell live in front of person. we had assistant following up, etc, etc. so i was a combination of online and offline. We left nothing to chance


        No need to charge termination fee. This prevents people from taking action in our case.

        We used one shopping cart and other tools.



        TommyB - everyone who bought voucher needs to claim the voucher from you or your client right? so before they claim the voucher give them instructions to go to your site give you name and email and how to claim the voucher. i will show you the system we built for that in a wso when done.



        xichabodx - Thanks for your list of this to add. i appreciate this. The best way is to approach businesses before they do a groupon. In this way they are set for success. or approach new businesses and tell them how to run a groupon successfuly and demonstrate what is in it for them.

        Alternatively you can approach businesses a week or two after they did a groupon. I will not touch a client who is in the middle of running a groupon. That will cause all kinds of problems.

        You could buy a voucher or two from potential clients and approach them later claim the voucher talk to the owner and now you can close them on using you for another groupon promotion. which business owner would not want to talk to a customer. it gets your foot in the door.'


        By the way mobile marketing is a good tool as well for follow up


        By the way to be clear. I never prospect for business and do not plan to do this. I have a few clients, who initially started out as friends and did this strategy for them. i get a ton of referrals from that. so i have been extremely fortunate in this regard as well.

        If you are good and execute the strategy well and get results for your clients as part of doing business you should tell your clients upfront that you expect referrals from them. This is the best way to get clients

        But we will cover some basic client acquisition strategies later on
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  • Profile picture of the author Jake Toney
    You really did provide some helpful information in your post, you could have easily sold this as a case study in the WSO forum...but I'm glad you shared your results, and the details to boot.

    Thank you
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    Digital Product Creator

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  • Profile picture of the author danwardrope
    Hi Neil,

    Awesome post.

    I have just signed a contract with an up and coming coffee roaster in the UK... I get 25% of all future sales. Already been in contact with Groupon and Living social.

    What I need help on is creating the 'buzz' beforehand. I dont have any social media buying experience at all... But the company does have twitter and FB which I plan to help them with - various tools I can use to grow their followers.

    What would you propose here, and could you help me?

    And the next stage is getting the 'upsell' slick and making sure it is almost irresistable to the buyers. I am smart enough to see that this is where we will make the money - in future subscriptions.

    I am in the process of sorting out their e-commerce site with them - and it should be ready in 4 weeks. But preparation here is going to be key. It needs to be able to run flawlessly on launch day. I have to say I am pretty pumped.

    Email me on dan@bigfishseo.co.uk or PM me if thats cool. I would greatly appreciate a hand!

    Dan
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      danwardrope

      Capitalize on the buzz with what you have. If you have fb and twitter you have plenty

      here is what i would do. Drive some facebook ads to page to create buzz

      Here is how i would do it. Just one step in many

      1. Create specific facebook fan page for this promotion
      2. Buy ads and drive to fan page. here is the deal. Get people to like this page and offer them something of value in return. it is incentivising people to opt in and like the page


      here is how you do this. Do some basic research first to find best performing f/b ads

      Find out the demographic of your audience
      open the fan page or a facebook profile based on your specific demographic
      then let it run for two weeks

      everyday go in and see what ads are showing from your competitors

      if ads are showing for more than 4 days then you can assume they are performing well. They start to model these facebook ads and look at landing pages as well

      In this way you can find good performing ads and landing pages and you can sort of model this and create social buzz with top performing ads, rather than figuring this out yourself

      essentially you are doing some research on facebook to see what is working for your niche and applying this to get some traffic and buzz fast


      As for the upsells there are two important keys here
      1. you need to have an irresistible offer. i will show you how to create these but go look at similar products and try to craft irresistible offers. Now make sure you have an upsell offer as well as a downsell offer

      2. The main up sells come directly from the client not when the client buys the initial coupon, you see when people take advantage of the groupon coupon and actually buy the product and then use it they are excited, This is where the upsell really works. you need to have a script for the clients staff or if ecommerce after they buy the product and use it you need to have a well crafted auto responder series for upsells, continuity and downsells as well. Depending on the type of business it is a combination play between online and offline upsell process

      Hopefully this is some quick food for though. Keep posting here and i will do my best to help share some ideas to make this successful for you
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  • Profile picture of the author sidejobdotcom
    Good to see you're helping businesses. We have to do something to get them out of the red and bring the dollar back to the usa. Good post.
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    • Profile picture of the author want2knowhow
      Originally Posted by sidejobdotcom View Post

      Good to see you're helping businesses. We have to do something to get them out of the red and bring the dollar back to the usa. Good post.
      Amen to that! Amen to THAT!
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  • Profile picture of the author Ruby Rynne
    This sounds great, I am having trouble believing that businesses don't know how to follow up and turn deal-seekers into return customers, but having read something on Social Media Examiner (http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/w...ocal-business/) recently about businesses complaining that it's impossible to make money with Groupon, I guess it must be true.

    Could you set up an optin list so that I can subscribe and get instant notification when your WSO goes live? I want to make sure I don't miss it (or the best price). Would let you gauge interest pretty well too, don't you think?
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    • Profile picture of the author zenyatta
      Thanks for the great posts Neil!!!

      I would definitely be interested in a WSO. Especially if it included the scripts and code for the upsells and routing/connection with the fanpage. A plug-n-play setup that we just minimally edit to personalize for our clients would be fantastic.

      I work with offline businesses and have been putting together a similar strategy of helping them capture clients for resell, but my system uses a combination of QR Codes connected to fanpages with mobile coupons and utilizes sms short codes to capture the mobile numbers to resell clients. Most of my clients are restaurants but your ideas with the service companies has me thinking...

      Looking forward to your future posts. Sell Away!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jayden Rivers
    Neil,

    I would also be very interested in this WSO, when will it be launching and what will the cost be?

    How can I find out more information, do you have a website or opt-in form?

    Really looking forward to this!!
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      Jayden

      Okay i made the decision this weekend to do a WSO.

      I am probably trying to get this launched by 7/1. However there is so much to do so please be flexible on this date. Trying to squeeze in some vacation time as well.

      I am not sure on the cost as yet. This is going to be a comprehensive WSO to really get people to take action and be successful. I will have detailed step by step instructions and blueprints.


      If you could suggest pricing that would be great start for me to consider one the WSO is done

      If you need more information or like to be notified just click on signature link and enter your email address. i will be sending some communication to keep you updated over the next weeks





      Originally Posted by Jayden Rivers View Post

      Neil,

      I would also be very interested in this WSO, when will it be launching and what will the cost be?

      How can I find out more information, do you have a website or opt-in form?

      Really looking forward to this!!
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      • Profile picture of the author Jayden Rivers
        Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

        Jayden

        Okay i made the decision this weekend to do a WSO.

        I am probably trying to get this launched by 7/1. However there is so much to do so please be flexible on this date. Trying to squeeze in some vacation time as well.

        I am not sure on the cost as yet. This is going to be a comprehensive WSO to really get people to take action and be successful. I will have detailed step by step instructions and blueprints.


        If you could suggest pricing that would be great start for me to consider one the WSO is done

        If you need more information or like to be notified just click on signature link and enter your email address. i will be sending some communication to keep you updated over the next weeks
        It sounds to me like some seriously awesome content and ideas are coming our way. I mean the information you have already provided is fantastic, I am excited about implementing the main course.

        How big is the course likely to be?

        Maybe then I can gauge the sort of price I would be willing to spend.
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  • Profile picture of the author Martin Bauer
    This is one of the successful way of making money via Groupon.

    There are a lot of ways to make money from Groupon. It's all about finding "right price" to list on Groupon and offer more than they can find normally.

    Groupon cuts %50 of the sales. This is a huge amount, if you are providing one-time service like restaurant, bars, etc. you may make money via additional foods/drinks ordered but it's not really likely that people comes to your place again and again. Therefore what I believe is best working ones are subscription based sales. E.g: Gym club. Offering 1 week access to Gym club may convert really well.

    Let's be honest, people always plan to go Gym club, somehow they make it and go for 1-2 weeks, then they become lazy and goes 1-2 times in a month but they still pay monthly/annually fee.

    Of course it's more detailed but I just wanted to give the breakdown point with an example
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  • Profile picture of the author jcruz
    Great post, can't wait til you make that wso. Looking forward to it.
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    • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62


      Anybody use the dailydealbuilder.com Might be okay if they didn't charge a $397 up front fee plus these subscriptions. If they waive the fee, anyone interested in running one of these sites with me?
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  • Profile picture of the author rideotm
    Great thread Neil. I am in line for your WSO but honestly, you have already provided the tools. I am sure there is a card or two up your sleeve we will see though. Getting the WSO will be a small way for all of us to thank you for your contribution.
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      Originally Posted by rideotm View Post

      Great thread Neil. I am in line for your WSO but honestly, you have already provided the tools. I am sure there is a card or two up your sleeve we will see though. Getting the WSO will be a small way for all of us to thank you for your contribution.


      You are right. you have enough information to run with it and make it profitable. If you have questions and need help just keep posting and i will do my best to help.


      My WSO that i framed out this weekend is extremely detailed. The most important part is the thinking behind it (why i did what i did), the sequence in which i done it and the specific tools and how i used that in the right sequence to get results.
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Cybernet - We used the $1 upsell to collect credit card names and to follow up. We did it, groupon accepted it so yes it can be done. The big question is whether you should do it all the time. That is something you need to consider on each project.

    I will detail this more in a WSO. But for now let me know your client situation and i will help brainstorm with you on the upsell process

    I believe they pay affiliate commissions for customers. you may want to check this on their site. i never used this in my promotion with my client as he was not comfortable me earning commissions on his project


    Cybernet - i like your idea about a done for you service for the technical part. i will give that some consideration and see if it is possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author rideotm
    Excellent, can't wait to read it...got a possible release date in mind?
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  • Profile picture of the author Adaptise
    Man, this info is GOLD. Like jaybaker mentioned, this is War Room type info right here....
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  • Profile picture of the author TommyB
    Would a facebook app work or enhance the promotion for the client?
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Remer
      While we are waiting for Neil's upcoming WSO, It seems to me there more info already on this thread than 90% of the WSO's that are out there. If I can get one good idea from a WSO I am happy to pay for it, and I got about 10 so far from this thread.

      Here is what I got so far:
      1. Possible market/ Low hanging fruit: Client just ran a Groupon and results were not so hot. This individual already understands the deal strategy, but did not execute it well.
      2. How to find these people: Subscribe to Groupon and other deal sites, google "daily deal aggregators" and subscribe to their sites, watch for deals that fit the criteria of Neil's gym that maybe did not do so well. Other possible markets: anyone who offers recurring services, could be gym or similar, or health related services that need repeat visits. Just ask "Is there a recurring long term customer value for this business." (How many times to women go to a hair salon after they first try it out)
      3. Neil has added value by
      1. devising a way to capture the coupon buyer's information, which is not a service that Groupon offers.
      a. any business that is using Groupon deal type offers and then schedules the customer can certainly ask them to visit a special page when they first call to provide their information. If you know how to set up an autoresponder optin then use that so the new customer can get their "new customer welcome pack". I don't see the $1 rebill as a necessity for this to work.
      b. or set up an unattended appointment scheduling system for the new deal site leads at TimeTrade.com when they schedule their appointment they of course capture their information. Another benefit to this type of service is that the business that uses appointment slots, can block out "non peak" time on TimeTrade.com and let the new customers schedule their own appointments there. Once their contact info is captured, they can be sent that "new customer appreciation/kit" email. (then regular email content you manage for the business)
      2. Using Social Media to Amplify the effectiveness of the campaign. There is no doubt that there is a psychological conversion factor in these deal sites, some are daily deals, some or more careful to deliver a controlled number to the business by limiting the number available per month instead of per day, but in any case the potential deal buyer will see a scarcity offer when they arrive at the deal page. So any services you already know how to do that can send more deal buyers to the page will benefit your customer. And if you know how to target your customer's demographics with social media, you can justify the value of this part of your service as sites like Groupon have a very specific demographic, and currently do not allow the business to select their demographic (just google "groupon demographics" and you will see that women dominate the list and so do those under 34 or so) --- this may not be the ideal demographic for your client, but you can help him change this, especially with Facebook ads as Neil suggests.

      3. Educating your prospect about how to better monitize their customer list. Small business owners have no clue about marketing to their customers in most cases. Just giving them simple tools to opt their customers into an email list, that you manage and then content regularly pays a huge benefit to the business owner.
      4. Mobile marketing: Do you provide sms optin services yet? if you do, then offer this to your "Deal Consulting Client". Their deal customer arrive on the page you send them to when they to claim their deal, or perhaps they call the business, either way, you give them a slightly better deal if they 1. opt in to the sms list with special keyword, and then forward the special "gift coupon" that they get back as a text message to a friend. Guess what? the coupon the friend gets is the same deal, but you structure things so the business gets 100% of that deal price (know how to set up a paypal buy now button?, then you can do this). Now the business has the coupon deal customer on his text list, and a second (or more, as you can make this viral) customer at full coupon deal value.

      jackheape is absolutely right you can monitize all this with the back end services you already know how to deliver. Deal sites are a magnet to get new customers. But it is just one tactic to get new customers. It is a great concept if executed right. Groupon horror stories prove that business owners need help avoiding pitfalls. Groupon wants the highest discount possible and wants to sell the most possible coupons all in a day or 2. Their goals may not be aligned with those of your prospect.

      So you can wait for Neil's WSO, which is going to be amazing and I hope I can get in early and grab it cheap ... but in the mean time, think of one back end offline service you are confident in delivering, and then contact folks who are in the businesses that will work for this strategy and offer a free "deal of the day marketing analysis for them".

      Mike
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      • Profile picture of the author cybernet
        Originally Posted by Mike Remer View Post

        jackheape is absolutely right you can monitize all this with the back end services you already know how to deliver. Mike
        I would not mind paying EXTRA if Neil (or his people, or someone else) could provide these back end services. This way I could concentrate on selling only.

        Is anybody else thinks along the same lines?
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        • Profile picture of the author want2knowhow
          Originally Posted by cybernet View Post

          I would not mind paying EXTRA if Neil (or his people, or someone else) could provide these back end services. This way I could concentrate on selling only.

          Is anybody else thinks along the same lines?
          yup! Me, too!
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  • Profile picture of the author WDM
    man thats a great strategy! Thanks for sharing. If you do this with businesses that are mainly local with no website, you could also sell them website services to keep a steady stream of leads after the groupon campaign & make a better relationship with that business.
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  • Profile picture of the author tjbooker
    Awesome idea! Great way to take it to the next level

    Tj
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  • Profile picture of the author warriorsam
    Amazing post Neil and Mike

    I would definitely buy a WSO based on this post alone
    Been toying with the groupon idea for awhile
    Was thinking more of creating a groupon clone to help cater to my small town
    am more of a coder

    Did not think of the $1 upsell. great idea really
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  • Profile picture of the author Big Gee
    WOW, mind is blown. Bring on the WSO.....Please forgive my ignorance as I am new to everything IM. Can you (us warriors) utilize GROUPON the same way. I get Neils WSO, become an expert, and sell my IM services specifically dealing with this topic. Turning a failed GP campaign into a profitable one. Now I would be promoted on GP and have my phone ringing off the hook ! ...or did I just make an ass out of myself LOL. keep in mind at one point in my younger life while eating cold pudding I thought I had a great original idea of freezing it into a ice cream....nevermind jello pudding pops had been around forever.
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    rideotm - Possible release date - first week in July. I am going to do my best to get it out barring any delays

    TommyB - What type of facebok appl did you have in mind?



    Mike - Thanks. That was awesome post. I really appreciate that you took the time to add so much value


    Jayden - What i will do is try and post and outline of the course over the weekend. Keep an eye out for that. And let me know your thoughts


    Cybernet - As for back end services, great idea. Even if i cannot provide them what i will try and do is provide a community of some sort and try to connect others with warrior forum members who may be in a position to provide some sort of back end or partner with each other

    Let me think more about this one in terms of scope of a WSO


    Big Gee - I bet you are a good storyteller and writer

    freeburd - i am not sure i understand the question fully but we did not negotiate the $1 upsell. We made this part of the deal of activating the coupon. Groupon accepted this so there was no real negotiation.

    However if you are using living social i do not think they will allow it. you need to use another method
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    • Profile picture of the author cybernet
      Originally Posted by Neil V View Post


      Cybernet - As for back end services, great idea. Even if i cannot provide them what i will try and do is provide a community of some sort and try to connect others with warrior forum members who may be in a position to provide some sort of back end or partner with each other

      Let me think more about this one in terms of scope of a WSO
      In a PERFECT world I'd like to fill out a form with my client's requrements and have somebody else set up the whole campaign for me. Include even hosting; the less "busy" work for me the more money i can make selling my services.
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    • Profile picture of the author TommyB
      Neil, a FB app that rotates weekly,daily coupons for local businesses, what are your thoughts?
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  • Profile picture of the author Big Gee
    I know you said it took a week, but then later on said take a week for research, then a week to implement ? What Im asking is how many clients do you think can be handled per week providing I have the system down. Or how many hours would you estimate you had in a week for a client ? Am I looking at a "4 hour work week" haha ..but serious though, just an estimate
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  • Profile picture of the author yoyo
    awsome, helpful stuff
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  • Profile picture of the author mikemcghee
    Wow..never really posted here before but this information is pure gold. Thank you for sharing!
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  • Profile picture of the author ehawkmarketer
    Hi Neil,

    That is quite an interesting spin for offline marketing.

    Perhaps you can brainstorm and think of other nifty ways that don't cost as much as groupon? How about a competitor

    Thanks, and keep up the good work!
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    Thanks for the post, there are some good points here if you want to hitch your wagon to the Groupon star. We used to aspire to that, but too many businesses we're now encountering are regretting their decision to promote using the deep discount daily deal methodology. The potential to ruin a business is far too high a risk to undertake for most. Our best advice to our clients these days is that when it comes to the Groupon model: "run away as fast as you can".

    Here's a good thread on the subject:
    http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...-collapse.html

    Still, if you want to help a business turn daily deal lemons into lemonade, do your best to help them capture everything they can from any Groupon-type promotion they run.
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  • Profile picture of the author anwar001
    Nice tips you shared with us. I am now thinking of how this could work out in India where I live. I think it should work with any deal kind of site, is it?
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Andrews
      Banned
      Hello Neil

      Would it be possible please to receive more information from you by email?

      SmokingHotCopy@gmail.com

      Email sent a couple of days ago and a PM message too, I understand you've probably had a deluge of inquiries so at your earliest convenience please.

      A WSO, I'd love to see it.

      Many thanks,


      Pete Walker
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  • Profile picture of the author dremora
    What software did you use to collect /store/rebill credit cards?

    Did you use a payment processor or shopping cart software to do this?
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Big Gee - There is two answers to your questions. if getting started out i would focus on one client, make them a success and then you have the system down

    now if you have a team in place (2-3 people) then you can do about 3 clients a week comfortably.

    If you are doing all the work yourself, i think you can easily handle a client a week. 4 clients a month to start off could be the start of a 6 figure consulting fee a year and more.


    here is the deal -----the technical work needs to get done, This system requires thinking something only you can do. I will explain the thinking process in the wso. this is going to make this different than everyone else and will set you apart from your competition


    SD Internet Marketer - Are you referring to mobile marketing aspect. Please confirm.
    If you are i did say we used mobile messages as part of the follow up process. So yes, we focus on that. But that was only one of many steps we did. Mobile marketing was just a distribution channel. we had many others. I did not have time to go into every step. but i will cover this more later. If you have some ideas i would definatley like to hear more of that



    ehawkmarketer - this process i revealed we originally used for groupon, we have taken the exact same thing and used for other daily deals site. There is one site that give you client 70/30 split commission and could be an awesome site to add to your arsenal of marketing. More on that after i have tested it.

    You can literally take this and use for any site and of course you have to make tweaks to it. Living social will not allow $1 upsell so we tweaked for that


    anwar001 - yes it could work with any daily deal site. i just used groupon since we have been through it and the 400 pound gorilla in the marketplace


    Pete - any additional information i have will be in the form of a wso i am working on right now.

    however if you have specific questions i would be more than happy to share as many tips and help you out in the meanwhile.


    Dremora - you need shopping cart and payment processor and merchant account. i used one shopping cart. we built sales pages and upsells into it with .net programmer. I believe you can use php to build the pages but am checking into it



    TommyB - sounds like a good idea. But add this to your idea, The key is giving a good deal and a deadline to it. if you rotate the same deal every day or week and people see the same thing over and over again it loses it's effectiveness. Therefore groupon is a conversion machine since that deal does not run for months again

    so your idea is a good one but that is just the technology. How would you structure the daily, weekly coupons so that it has a deadline and people take action.

    But your idea is awesome one. Look forward to hearing more
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    • Profile picture of the author dlink
      Originally Posted by Neil V View Post


      Dremora - you need shopping cart and payment processor and merchant account. i used one shopping cart. we built sales pages and upsells into it with .net programmer. I believe you can use php to build the pages but am checking into it
      Which one shopping cart plan is best for this? I've personally never used one shopping cart, (only ever used Paypal) so I don't know if it's possible to use the Starter plan + Aweber, or if it's possible to use the autoresponder I already have and get the Basic plan at minimum to use shopping cart + autoresponder.
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      • Profile picture of the author Neil V
        Originally Posted by dlink View Post

        Which one shopping cart plan is best for this? I've personally never used one shopping cart, (only ever used Paypal) so I don't know if it's possible to use the Starter plan + Aweber, or if it's possible to use the autoresponder I already have and get the Basic plan at minimum to use shopping cart + autoresponder.

        i am not sure what you have. In the course i am going to reveal how to use one shopping cart

        I will be open and tell you that i have not used another shopping cart except for 1SC for the purpose of this groupon promotion. The reason is that i can create videos within the shopping cart itself and this has increased conversions for me

        If you post more details of what you are using or plan to use i will do my best to get my team to find out how it could work for you
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    I have created a quick video for you mind mapping the small business Groupon process for you.

    This is my first draft of it.

    Here is the link:

    http://youtu.be/H1vT39FRIOI

    Please do me a favor if you feel that you need more information or ideas in specific areas or more clarity please let me know.

    I am going to use this framework to create a high quality step by step cheat sheets and a video course so you can literally follow along and get results when you apply it.

    And also I look forward to any comments you may have.
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    • Profile picture of the author Oggyoi
      Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

      I have created a quick video for you mind mapping the small business Groupon process for you.

      This is my first draft of it.

      Here is the link:

      YouTube - &#x202a;The Groupon Strategy&#x202c;&rlm;

      Please do me a favor if you feel that you need more information or ideas in specific areas or more clarity please let me know.

      I am going to use this framework to create a high quality step by step cheat sheets and a video course so you can literally follow along and get results when you apply it.

      And also I look forward to any comments you may have.
      Looking good, I have this bookmarked
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  • Profile picture of the author zenyatta
    Hi Neil,

    I watched the mind map video and it sure looks like a definite winning strategy. Looking forward to your future WSO.
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  • Profile picture of the author tapont71
    Wow..this is some good information here. I have an offline business and a painting company as well. I just signed up with groupon yesterday...still in the works to getting everything done. This really shed some light on how to make my campaign profitable. I'll definitely be looking forward to your wso.

    Thanks again for the value.
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Quick Update

    I am currently working on creating the WSO. So much more work than i anticipated but it is going to really help you get the results you need

    I anticipate a first week in July Launch, still sticking to 7/1 if i can pull this off.


    By the way i had some major thoughts about pricing but more importantly about how many units i plan on selling


    RIght now i plan on restricting the first release of the WSO to a limited number of units.

    I am thinking only about 200 units first. Then once i help these clients and give them the tools i could sell more later in the year or next year.

    I have a list of thousands of past clients and customers so i am little unsure about restricting availability of the WSO

    I suppose the main reason is that i want to give the first group a slight advantage in the market place first and make this truly distinct and valuable offering where they can get real results rather than competing with everyone


    Anyway i would like to get some thoughts and feedback from you on limiting the number of units sold.

    If i do this then this WSO may only be opened for a few days and i would close this down

    If you have not yet done so and would be interested in this, please make sure your name is on my list for advance notification.

    But i would really appreciate your thoughts and like to get feedback as to what you think about this idea.

    Thanks again
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  • Profile picture of the author CRTrainer
    Very clever. And a much needed service. I have talked to a lot of business owners who have lost money with Groupon because they didn't plan in advance. Plus, marketing is not something they want to personally get involved in. A service like this would be very attractive to them. Thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author superdevo
    Do you think they got Groupon by combining "Grey Poupon"? ; ->
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  • Profile picture of the author AmyKay
    Wow, just checked for my city, and there are only four offers running? Is that possible? I thought groupon was more popular than that. I need to start a list of businesses that charge monthly fees. Great thread!
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    • Profile picture of the author baker58
      I'm looking forward to seeing your WSO on this. Great ideas listed in this entire thread!
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  • Profile picture of the author mobetman
    Neil,

    Thanks for the quality information. I can't wait to try this method and I'm looking forward to your WSO.

    I have one question I'm not sure about even after reading the entire thread. It's about your revenue model.

    From what I read you:
    - Don't charge the client up front
    - Do require the client to pay all expenses (ads, shopping cart, autoresponder, etc.)
    - Take 50% of clients portion of Groupon revenue (25% of total receipt)

    Here are my questions:
    - Do you ever ask for any upfront fee?
    - Don't you get major pushback from asking for 50% of the client's post Groupon take? This is a huge loss leader for them - they are only getting 25% of a already hugely discounted fee.
    - Since Groupon doesn't get any of the upsell or continuity cash, do you still get 50% of that or do you stay at the 25% rate?
    - How do you track the upsells and ensure you get paid by the client? I understand the $1 upsell is easy to track via the cart system but what if you're not using that model (as required by some coupon services) or if the upsell is done offline at the place of business?

    Sorry for the all the questions but I'm going to try this model begin this week and just wanted some clarity. Thanks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      wow great questions

      I will go more into this in my WSO, but here is how i look at it

      There are three types of fee structures to charge
      1. contingency fee based on performace
      2. fixed fee
      3, variation of 1 and 2 above

      depending on your past experience and how comfortable you are you can go with one of these three fee structures

      right now i command at least $10k per assignment minimum irrespective of whether the client makes money or not

      the reason is that it is not all about Gropoun. i use Groupon to build a sales funnel and then build a back end for the client and can make them money

      if you are starting out you may chose a different fee structure. I go through this in quite of depth in WSO so if you have any specific questions let me know and i will do my best to answer them for you


      yes i track upsells all of them. Whether it is one shopping cart or any other system you need to know how to use google analytics and conversion testing code. you can install on any shopping cart and track this

      not only is this important to show the client but also important for you to know results

      without tracking you should never run a campaign

      now very few people know how to do this but in the wso i am going to share tutorials on google analytics and tracking and will reveal a script or two how i track accross domains and shopping carts. This will help you with your campaigns

      Thanks for the great questions and keep them coming

      Originally Posted by mobetman View Post

      Neil,

      Thanks for the quality information. I can't wait to try this method and I'm looking forward to your WSO.

      I have one question I'm not sure about even after reading the entire thread. It's about your revenue model.

      From what I read you:
      - Don't charge the client up front
      - Do require the client to pay all expenses (ads, shopping cart, autoresponder, etc.)
      - Take 50% of clients portion of Groupon revenue (25% of total receipt)

      Here are my questions:
      - Do you ever ask for any upfront fee?
      - Don't you get major pushback from asking for 50% of the client's post Groupon take? This is a huge loss leader for them - they are only getting 25% of a already hugely discounted fee.
      - Since Groupon doesn't get any of the upsell or continuity cash, do you still get 50% of that or do you stay at the 25% rate?
      - How do you track the upsells and ensure you get paid by the client? I understand the $1 upsell is easy to track via the cart system but what if you're not using that model (as required by some coupon services) or if the upsell is done offline at the place of business?

      Sorry for the all the questions but I'm going to try this model begin this week and just wanted some clarity. Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Good News Bad News Situation

    Lets get the bad news situation out of the way first

    The WSO requires more time than i originally estimated. In order for me to make this comprehensive and for you to get results i had to add and redo a lot of the modules.

    That said i will have to move the launch date a few weeks back. The new launch date for the WSO is 7/16

    I apologize if this has caused some inconvenience as i know some warriors are looking to use this a guide to launch campaigns with their clients

    The good news is that this is going to be a good starting platform. In addition to the guide i will hold some live calls to make it up to you and stack on the value to really help you with this niche marketing strategy

    In the meanwhile if you have any questions please let me know and i will do my best to share as much information to you

    thanks for your understanding
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  • Profile picture of the author blacklisttom07
    Hi,I'm new here.
    This forum is very interesting that I like it very much.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Rivers
    Hey Neil,

    In my experience, the biggest challenge I had at first was creating a effective upsell campaign. I was just making it too complicated and too cumbersome.

    Honestly, I messed this up the first few times I tried it. Then one day, I stumbled across one of Lee McIntyre's old products for $20 (I believe it was Profit Max or something like that) and it suddenly became crystal clear that I needed a upsell campaign that was automated and not people dependent.

    It wasn't even about offline marketing, but the way he said it just really resonated with me and then it clicked.

    That's what I like about your case study and your approach. The upsell and information capture happens on autopilot and then the customer can be really upsold later.

    Thanks for this free information.

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author tapont71
    Hey Neil,

    This is really got my interest. I have a painting business along with offline marketing but just signed up with Groupon for a campaign. It goes live within the 2 weeks. I'm going over some of my funnel to try to maximize my marketing with them. I am anxiously awaiting your WSO...

    I would love to be able to use MY own success story for my painting business to show clients how I can make it happen for them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Peter Livingston
      I have used Groupon with good success as well..worth a try!
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  • Profile picture of the author Pankaj90
    thnk u for info!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author rockyonfire
    Thank you very much for the useful information.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pankaj90
    can u tell in short what exactly you do in groupon??
    thanx
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      Originally Posted by Pankaj90 View Post

      can u tell in short what exactly you do in groupon??
      thanx


      Okay so i do not really understand what specific area you need help in but here is a quick summary.

      By the way the key to making money as a business or working as a groupon consultant starts with your thinking process

      I know you may have heard this before but the best way to make money and earn your client a fortune is how you outhink and outsmart your competition because thousands of businesses are running groupon every day

      I will give you the tools and my system of thinking so you can crush it with a campaign


      Here are the 10,000 foot views steps

      1. Price your groupon offer correctly. This is the best starting point. Think daily deals market related price points not what you think the product should be priced


      2. Get a Groupon rep and take control of the deal. Know what questions to ask and the minumum things you want to set up your campaign correctly before you run the deal

      3. Promotion - Groupon will get you 80% of the sales for the coupons. Do not rely on that. Be relentless in your promotion

      4. Think Long term customer not a single profitable transaction.
      Design a system to build list and monetize. Hint this is where future profits lies

      5. Maximize revenue per transaction. Upsells, etc. Your job is to get your customers in for the long haul and pay you upfront
      It is critical that you think correctly and design this marketing process for your client


      6. Tracking - Do not even Think of running a campaign without it. If your first campaign does not go according to expectation then you have all the data to show your client and build a solid next campaign

      Without tracking it is almost impossible to know whether you making money or not. There are some special considerations for Groupon tracking i will reveal in WSO


      There is much more to this. Hopefully this summary will give you some tools to help you think around the right areas and set you for success
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  • Profile picture of the author tapont71
    Hey Neil,
    Just out of curiousity..are you connected to this other Groupon WSO? Just curious seeings he refers to your thread. I'm looking forward to your WSO.
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  • Profile picture of the author lianliankan
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author wgrand
      Thanks Neil for sharing the information. I have some friend that have businesses and may let me try this method. Can't wait for the WSO.
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  • Profile picture of the author ASUService
    Hi Neil,
    I have had a nagging in the back of my mind that Groupon would be a good option for my business and my clients. I just haven't had the time to research it.

    THANK YOU for your post and sharing the info! I'm looking forward to trying your method.
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    Best Regards,
    Mike Allton
    ASU Service, Inc.
    The LAST SMS Platform You'll Ever Need! Easy Money!

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  • Profile picture of the author TaylorB
    Sheesh!! What a fantastic thread with a phenominal amout of info. Genius idea and inspiring Q&A from Neil who have to say is very generous with his time and candor. Thank you Neil; I look forward to your WSO. Wishing many more successes...

    Great reason to join the War Room too me thinks; I'll have to get on that if this is any indication of the level of exchange.

    Cheers,

    Terry
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  • Profile picture of the author trrho1974
    Yeah I gotta look into this. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author xichabodx
    So, the $10k you took as your fee for setting this all up in this example...it was from the 25% profits the business owner made from the campaign? Or was the upsells involved in your fee structure?

    I'm wondering if anything is left over from the 25% that Groupon leaves that allow this? Do the business owners just break even/take a loss and hope to make the bulk of their profits from the upsells you create? I'm sure it's simple and I may be missing something, but this is where I'm getting confused.

    Thanks!
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    • Profile picture of the author antiques18th
      Hi Neil,

      Thank you for sharing this wealth of information on how you have used
      Groupon to successfully promote your friends Boot Camp Training Business.

      The business model or Groupon marketing template you used to successfully launch your friends Boot Camp Training Business can be used anywhere, especially if you are promoting the same type of business.

      My brother who is a personal trainer that has set up boot camps in Southern California is now a new transplant in Houston, Texas and is interested in creating the same type of promotion you did for your friend in Chicago for clients he could train in Houston, Texas.

      With the type of numbers and success you are generating with your promotions, paying your fee of $10,000.00 for services rendered is definitely worth it.

      I would like to talk with you privately about the business opportunity if you are interested.

      Thanks!

      Bill

      p.s. "If this works out, I have a few friends with deep pockets in Southern California who might be interested in your services."
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      • Profile picture of the author Neil V
        Hey everyone. Just a quick update

        We are working non stop to get the wso out over the weekend or even sooner. I have a received a lot of personal messages on the exact date and all i can say is that it will be very soon. Could be tomorrow but we have some steps we need to complete first


        Anyway thank you for being patient with your questions

        my response time has been slow but i will personally get back to all the open questions on this thread over the weekend or so.


        Also one on the questions i keep getting asked is the issue about leveraging your Groupon campaigns.


        Specifically can you use the same system across multiple other daily deal sites or rerun this offer again at a later stage and get paid for it. Do the work once and get paid over and over again


        There is a two part answer to that

        1. You can run the same campaign across most daily deals sites. So yes. Actually it makes sense to line up as many daily deal sites either simultaneously or sequentially and run the same campaign with the same offers

        one caution. If you doing this for the first time i would suggest doing this sequentially rather than simultaneously. You can figure what worked best and apply this across multiple sites


        also if your Groupon campaign did not perform well as expected then you have the chance to make up for it promoting across multiple sites


        You could even change your pricing and get a higher fee for running this accross multiple sites



        2. Should you run the same campaign over and over again at different times to the same sites?

        This is tough question. I personally will not do that. I look at Groupon like a television ad. What happens after you see the same ad over and over again, it gets boring and people may not take action

        so i would some time in getting a new offer but you can follow 80% of the system you set up

        so for example the first offer we ran was for a free month of workout at our boot camp.

        our next offer we plan to run in the next few months on a different platform is a 30 day fat flush plan.


        This has a better chance of increasing conversions and upsells

        i will keep you updated on the results when we run this again


        anway, got to run and get ready for the launch

        i will talk to you again soon

        Neil
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  • Profile picture of the author Big Gee
    can't wait thanks for the update Neil...I have a friend I wanna hit up with this method who is also into health/exercise field
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  • Profile picture of the author Kate Campbell
    Good idea with Upsells! Groupon will publish my membership website in offer in next month probably. I must think about upsell, but only trial offers converts good? Anyone tried or you Neil any other offers (not trial with CC info) ?
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  • Profile picture of the author Scitknot9
    WOW!!

    Just read through the whole thread (yes it took some time but f**k me was it worth it!!!)

    Neil, the advice you are giving and the time you are spending to answer queries is just plain awesome!! There is also a lot of other great contributions to this thread.

    I am so looking forward to your WSO!! I know you are feeling pressured to get it released and there are a lot of us asking you for it but if it takes a little longer than it's fine....it'll definitely be worth the wait!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author zenyatta
      Hi Neil,

      Thanks for the latest update and yet more info and insight into your campaign setups. I have been looking forward to your WSO launch and have been losing sleep at night thinking about strategies and possibilities. I am glad to hear the launch is close - but I will probably lose even more sleep once I have "all" the pieces to the puzzle and can put my plan into action. It will definitely be worth it to help some local business owners in this tough economy and get compensated generously at the same time. I am making a prediction that your launch will be a WSO of the day in short order ---- remember you heard it here first!
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  • Profile picture of the author ikme
    Hi Neil,

    Thanks for sharing your experience. Please keep me in loop with your WSO.
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  • Profile picture of the author fireking
    wow..very interesting information.. that is very useful..
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Just a quick update. I am very excited as the WSO has gone live this morning

    Also i have been getting a few questions about how the daily deal site will really work for small business and which countries it will work well


    RIght now we have the mighty Groupon

    In time over this year we will see Google and Facebook launching in a big way. This could mean a significant amount of opportunity for small businesses

    and it is going to be really interesting with facebook

    i will be testing various methods and systems later on this year with pages, ads sponsored stories, etc to use that platform to drive traffic to f/b daily deals as well


    So if you live in another country i am sure over the next six months or so google, facebook and groupon may be big players in that market

    Time will tell
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    • Profile picture of the author chika138
      Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

      Just a quick update. I am very excited as the WSO has gone live this morning

      Also i have been getting a few questions about how the daily deal site will really work for small business and which countries it will work well


      RIght now we have the mighty Groupon

      In time over this year we will see Google and Facebook launching in a big way. This could mean a significant amount of opportunity for small businesses

      and it is going to be really interesting with facebook

      i will be testing various methods and systems later on this year with pages, ads sponsored stories, etc to use that platform to drive traffic to f/b daily deals as well


      So if you live in another country i am sure over the next six months or so google, facebook and groupon may be big players in that market

      Time will tell
      Oh yes this is going to be interesting. And will work almost everywhere in the world. At the moment my home country Malaysia (currently in England) is having Groupsmore (former Groupon clone acquired by Groupon) and a few others clones though I don't think it's totally popular yet and deals are mainly in the capital.

      However as we all can foresee, Google and Facebook is going to change the game soon most likely if not for sure.

      Now I just have to start working in my city of population of 200K (and London is just 1 hour train away). Summer is already halfway through not sure if it's the best time to work with bootcamps or similar businesses?
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  • Profile picture of the author DennisM
    Hey Neil,

    I'm here in Chicago (south suburbs). I know that Starbucks on Madison St and Morgan St! LOL Anyway, you here in Chicago too? Let me buy you a cup of coffee sometime!

    Thanks for sharing everything in this thread. Congrats on the WSO launch.

    Dennis
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  • Profile picture of the author ChristopherTheron
    Thanks a lot! This was some great information. I am going to start having my offline team look into this.
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  • Profile picture of the author PoignantPixels
    These are some great tips! Thanks so much!!!


    Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

    This thread is all about how to become a small business 'Groupon' consultant to local businesses and get paid to make your clients happy.

    This strategy will definitely bring you money and kick start your business in the short term irrespective of whether you are struggling or never really made money online as yet.

    Groupon is a daily deal site that promotes local business. They have millions of potential customer names in a database and they will promote your business for you. As a small business owner this is the hottest marketing strategy you can use to promote your business if done correctly.

    Here is the story...

    A friend of mine has an offline business in Chicago. It is literally two weeks old and he planned on opening three brand new locations in Chicago.

    He wanted to run a Groupon promotion to get clients, but wanted to knock the ball out of the park and really explode his offline business.

    He asked for my help.

    Now before I tell you how we crushed it for him online, I wanted to say this. I did this as a favor to one friend. My primary focus for making money online is selling amazon and other affiliate marketing products. Now I have a ton of clients asking for my help.

    The point I want to make here is that if you follow what I share with you, you can literally start making and earning a good living consulting with small business owners.

    I am going to show you how.

    Before we go any further, here is what we accomplished for my friend.

    He runs a series of offline fitness boot camps. We filled up all his boot camps with paying clients.

    When we ran the Groupon promotion for him we ended up with 905 people who bought the deal. It is not the highest number, but certainly in the top 5% in this market segment.

    Here are the results:



    See the red circle above? 905 people paid $40 for the deal. There were some refunds and not everyone will take the deal. Groupon is paying him 50% of the 905 deals sold. We have currently converted around 300 people from this deal that are paying $97 a month for a 12 month contract. You do the math on how profitable this could be.

    My friend was ecstatic with the results. He graciously paid me $9,000 for my help.

    Now he is sending me a ton of clients to do the same for them and getting referrals on a consistent basis.

    I am not even looking for more work; now I only take on clients that have high margins and are willing to pay me 50% of their Groupon commissions. I will consult with them for a week and set up everything if I know I will make at least $10000 for my efforts.

    Here is how we did it:

    Groupon is a traffic and conversion machine. They have their own traffic and will promote most offline businesses for you and your clients. Also they are the best at conversions. The way the site is designed allows these great conversions to occur.

    Here is how I consulted with my friend and helped him crush it-

    1. I ran Facebook and Google ads to the Groupon page to drive a ton of traffic. I did not rely only Groupon itself.

    2. A week before the campaign, we started promoting heavily on Facebook. We sent messages and told people on his fan page that were about to run this special promotion. Hint...If you are a consultant, this is what you can do for the client to help them become successful.

    3. We built a ton of online buzz for this Groupon deal.

    Now, here is where I really helped my client turn this into real hard cash-

    Once a client bought the Groupon voucher, we sent them to a special website which we set up. We gave them instructions on how to claim their voucher and more importantly collected all their information immediately. This is where most small business owners drop the ball on this.

    We also ran a free trial offer and asked people to sign up for a $1 for an upsell package. In this way, we collected their credit card information and we automatically rebilled them after the first month was over.

    Finally a week after the Groupon promotion, we ran another special promotion to all those who bought the service. We offered a voucher of slightly higher value for their friends and family and we had a 9% conversion rate.

    Right now we have database of hundreds of new clients as well as the ability to promote them and their family on a monthly basis.

    So I literally took my entire online skills and knowledge and applied this with an offline business using Groupon.

    My client is set to earn over $333,000 for his new locations this year alone in recurring billings.

    Now you may be wondering how this applies to you and how you can make money from it.

    It is really simple actually. I am helping a friend build a consulting business with this right now.

    Here is how you do it-

    Step 1. Look at the Groupon promotions run in your local city every day. Just sign up to Groupon and check for the companies that are not receiving a lot of clients from it.

    Either send them a message or call them up and tell them you can help them crush it online with Groupon. You live in their city so it will be easy to contact them. If not, hire someone to make calls for you or write postcards or direct mail pieces to this business.

    You can also tell them that they only pay you when they make money from with Groupon.

    I would suggest calling them up, if not send them an email. If you want to make money you need to be aggressive and contact these companies.

    Step 2. For those companies that are making money with Groupon call them up and congratulate them and tell them they doing an awesome job. But then go on to say that you can help upsell these clients to remain loyal customers and also make their Groupon campaigns profitable for them.

    This is what small business owners struggle with; they do not know how to make these Groupon campaigns profitable.

    This is so hot right now that most businesses are willing to listen to you. Also, once you are successful in your first campaign you will start to see referrals without the need to actually seek out new clients.

    I know this is a very long post, but I wanted to share this latest innovative marketing strategy with you. Small businesses need help to get clients and turn this into a profitable lead generation system.

    I just shared with you my high level strategies that I applied. There are a ton more tips and tools that you need to implement to get real results.

    Being a Groupon consultant to small businesses positions you uniquely, allows you to get results immediately so you can show proof to clients. You get paid for your work and end up building long term business relationships.

    Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find one client planning to run a Groupon promotion and help them.

    You will never look back....

    Now I have created an entire system of how to help the client crush it with Groupon, the tools, upsells, emails etc. Everything I used to help my client build an awesome sales funnel and get results.

    Post your questions below and I will do my best to help share these resources and tips with you.

    Oh and if you like this kind of content just let me know by hitting the like button.

    Thanks and I look forward to sharing more with you soon.
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  • Profile picture of the author juice
    Thanks Neil! Amazing info... can't wait to get started!
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  • Profile picture of the author rokrvaibhav
    Ghost. Will help me alot.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel LaRusso
    Hey, congrats on the cool WSO launch!! The price is a little steep for me right now, but I am confident that the value you get from it compared to the price is a phenomenal rate of return!

    I was thinking about this process earlier, and wanted to get your thoughts on something. One of the things that you did for your friend was to do this whole process AND collect email addresses for upsells and future sales.

    So, if you focused on getting "likes" on the Facebook business page rather than collecting email addresses, wouldn't that sort of be like the ultimate mailing list? What I mean by this is, it's so viral that people will easily like a page and have become accustomed to doing that, and, in some niches, it's probably a lot easier to get a Facebook like than an email address.

    But, the value to a business owner of a like can be huge, because it's like a real time mailing list. Here's an example. Say you have a bakery that you get to do a Groupon, where you can get a dozen cupcakes for $15 when it's normally $30. You get 500 people who buy it, and, as you probably do, you get them to like the bakery Facebook page. Some of their friends would like it, and the fan base grows. You get the bakery to have a bit "Like us on Facebook and check in while you're here" sign in their store, so when people pick up their cupcakes, their friends see it too, and the likes continue to grow.

    So then, say it's a Tuesday afternoon at about 4:00, and the bakery owner sees that she has a bunch of cupcakes left that will have to be thrown out if they aren't sold, so she goes to Facebook and makes an event and a status, saying that from 5:00 - 8:00, all cupcakes are buy one get one free, while supplies last. BOOM! People pretty much immediately see it, and sales can grow for the bakery owner.

    My point is, wouldn't something like the Facebook likes and Twitter followers be HUGE for these businesses you work with initially on Groupon?

    (and again, you probably already do this type of stuff, but it just seems to have such great potential, you know)
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  • Profile picture of the author david2012brown
    where do i buy the wso? Is there a link?
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      Kate Campbell - have done a living social deal with a trial offer without credit card. Still works, sold a ton but upselling later on takes a ton of work. Will post a case study on the living social deal later in my WSO


      DennisM - Send me a pm. When i have some free time we can probably get together for a quick coffee or something


      escribe - Once you have the clients you don't have to meet with them face to face. However you are going to need some contact to get your first clients



      Daniel LaRusso - The karate kid

      Let me say this. If you want to get likes, etc and build a list then you should as part of your long term strategy.


      However likes are not going to put cash in your clients bank account and cash in your your account. I do not care how good and nice this sounds in theory.

      At the end of the day you have to focus and you get one shot at getting your clients results. And the best way i know is using email and upselling immediately. That is where the real money is. You charge full value for services months in advance

      Everyone has a theory and it is pretty exciting to sit in front of your client and show him you have 50,000 likes in his account. But when you sit face to face belly to belly with a real client and your livelihood depends on it, all of a sudden everything comes into focus fast

      Do not waste your time and reputation on something that sounds great but at the end of the day is theoretical and will get you nowhere.

      I am now starting to sound like my dad preaching to you but i want you to succeed. Stop all this nonsense about social media stuff for this groupon strategy and make money first. Up sell immediately via email and you will on a path to being successful fast
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      • Profile picture of the author Daniel LaRusso
        I'm with you Neil and I'm not discounting the value of a list. What I'm saying is to use Facebook AS a list. If you have a page for the business and people like the page, you can do events and group emails that work just as well as sending an email from an iContact opt-in mailing list. I'm not saying to use Facebook to replace your email list, just to use it to ENHANCE your email list.

        Originally Posted by Neil V View Post

        Kate Campbell - have done a living social deal with a trial offer without credit card. Still works, sold a ton but upselling later on takes a ton of work. Will post a case study on the living social deal later in my WSO


        DennisM - Send me a pm. When i have some free time we can probably get together for a quick coffee or something


        escribe - Once you have the clients you don't have to meet with them face to face. However you are going to need some contact to get your first clients



        Daniel LaRusso - The karate kid

        Let me say this. If you want to get likes, etc and build a list then you should as part of your long term strategy.


        However likes are not going to put cash in your clients bank account and cash in your your account. I do not care how good and nice this sounds in theory.

        At the end of the day you have to focus and you get one shot at getting your clients results. And the best way i know is using email and upselling immediately. That is where the real money is. You charge full value for services months in advance

        Everyone has a theory and it is pretty exciting to sit in front of your client and show him you have 50,000 likes in his account. But when you sit face to face belly to belly with a real client and your livelihood depends on it, all of a sudden everything comes into focus fast

        Do not waste your time and reputation on something that sounds great but at the end of the day is theoretical and will get you nowhere.

        I am now starting to sound like my dad preaching to you but i want you to succeed. Stop all this nonsense about social media stuff for this groupon strategy and make money first. Up sell immediately via email and you will on a path to being successful fast
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Quick Update

    I have run a living social deal for a client and after some negotiation have finally got my client to share the results

    So if you a client and bought the WSO i am going to do a live case study with living social and share one or two differences than groupon and how we made the campaign work. It is going to be awesome.

    Also in light of the fact that i am going to be adding more content later on and a few live calls, i am going to be increasing the price to the course on Saturday. It is going to be slightly more than double the current price.
    So if you want to get it at a discount, now is the time.


    This is in light of some amazing case studies and possible future content i will be adding to it

    As always i appreciate your comments and let me know if you have any specific questions i can directly answer for you
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  • Profile picture of the author Wilding
    That is seriously impressive man! Great job.
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  • Profile picture of the author Boga
    Thanks Neil,

    Great post , I left a PM for you but would be very interested in how your clients are able to handle the customer relationship management part once the customer sees the new tidal wave of new contacts who purchased the original groupon. Specifically the part where they offered $1 promotion and then converted some to be monthly subscribers. How did they mangage that conversation?

    btw...with the new Groupon product out called Groupon NOW , i can see that this will be another opportunity to get quick cash in door for bar and restaurant owners rather than using SMS's to bar specials out
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  • Profile picture of the author DennisM
    Neil,

    If you don't mind me asking, since you've done deals with both Groupon and Living Social which entity gave you better results? Is there value in doing deals with both within say 30 days apart or do you end up with the same demographic of customers? In other words, overlap?

    Thanks!
    Dennis

    PS: I'll PM you, maybe we can hook up next week downtown. Let this crazy hot weather blow out of here!
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    Boga - the way they manage the upsell is simple. create upsell and downsell video on shopping cart that manages the conversation for you. The client also use staff to call and set appointments to redeem coupon depending on type of product sold. I walk through this in detail in the wso. if you have specific questions i would be happy to answer them

    Dennis - my groupon sold over 900 in 2 days and living social sold over 450 in one day. that said groupon seems to have more sales. i would run the campaign at least a few weeks to a month apart. Seems like you get better results that way. Will cover more of this on a live call

    I would be happy to have a quick meeting with you, My schedule is fully booked every week till the third week in August. send me some times for a 30 minute meeting that week and i will get back to you. Look forward to the chat
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    What to consider when running a living social deal

    i ran a living social deal. Needless to say there are some minor difference between groupon and living social deal

    For one if you run the living social on a weekday you typically can only run it for one day deal only. So make sure you plan the right promotion for a one day deal

    Also living social unlike groupon did not allow us to collect credit card information with the one dollar upsell

    However you can still use 1SC and collect peoples information without upsell

    ANd then after coupon redemption immediately start the upsell process

    The key behind this is timing of activities

    Some will be done immediately whilst others will be deferred till certain steps are completed

    oh by the way i used the same system and crushed it.

    WHat i mean is my competitors we selling 7, 40, 70 coupons and we did over 450 in living social in one day

    If you have any questions let me know and would be happy to answer them for you below

    but do not forget the big 2 - groupon and living social will account for 90% of coupon sales and daily deal promotion
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  • Profile picture of the author superdevo
    Any proof this is for real?
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    • Profile picture of the author xmajor
      You've give more here than stuff others charge for, my money's waiting for you
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  • Profile picture of the author DH5
    Very cool, thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author SirThomas
    Thanks Neal!

    ...Pole Dancing? I wasn't even aware those type of coupons would be offered! LOL


    Thomas
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  • Profile picture of the author mobetman
    Pole dancing is BIG with women. It's been on the news and Oprah.

    I have a friend that owns a pole dancing studio and she pocketed $22K from her first Living Social deal.

    She just ran another one and sold 615 tickets. I'm working with her to implement Neil's system on future deals.
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  • Profile picture of the author Richard Groom
    Brilliant!! I had never thought of doing anything like this with groupon.

    Thanks for the info...enjoyed every bit it. Made a great read!
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  • Profile picture of the author Sabrina178
    this is finally "sharing" folks, thanks TS
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  • Profile picture of the author KingOfMusic
    This is great and really big of you to share this with us. Your post really inspires me to think creatively and use opportunities to its highest potential.

    Thanks Neil!
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    • Profile picture of the author daddyoh
      Will this method work for those of us who live in areas where Groupon and all other daily deals sites do not operate?

      If so, what would our strategy consist of?

      I guess what concerns me is if it's really possible to work remotely with businesses not in our areas?

      Also, You wrote above:

      Then all you have to do is find a business in a popular market then together come up with a joint product offering and promote this.
      How? This probably isn't very easy to do, is it?
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      • Profile picture of the author Ehanson
        I'm about to test this method out for businesses near me, would it better to form a team for a big city like New York or should I just start doing this myself.

        I know there were a couple posts recommending getting a team together to make the most profit but I want to just start contacting businesses running Groupon deals before I get sidetracked with other things. I can always outsoruce setting up the website and backend promotions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil V
    daddyoh - if you have a good reputation and the business owner trusts you then yes you should be able to work remotely with them. I do it all the time.


    Ehanson - I like your approach and i think you are right. Just start. COntact a few small business owners and do the daily deal promotion and make it successful. Later on you can add more things to it. The sooner you start the more skills you will build and before you know it you will be on your way

    the hardest thing of all is the first client
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  • Profile picture of the author agonce
    first of all, thanks a lot for all the free information that you've provided us with Neil

    I found this after a quick google search: Chi-Town Boot Camps - Lakeview - Chicago, IL
    Obviously, few people thought the deal was 'shady' because of that 1$ credit card assesment thing. My question is, did you have many unhappy people because of this same reason?
    I know this is not a big thing to worry about, since only 2-3 people posted about it, but I'm just pointing this out Not trying to devalue the whole strategy that you've come up with, which is amazing.

    p.s. now that I'm looking at it again, all of the bad reviews talk about the whole strategy that you've used and I think you should try to get some happy customers post their reviews so you can keep a good online reputation for the place(if you are still connected to that business in some way ).
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  • Profile picture of the author WSO Bonus
    Don't forget to sign up as an affiliate for Groupon and send the traffic through your affiliate link..you or your client.
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  • Profile picture of the author theemperor
    Good work Neil. You helped a friend and now you have a great success from it. Must be Karma!

    Things to watch for on Groupon though based on a consumer experience, is that some businesses can't handle the amount of business they get from these deals. I was given a massage vouche as a present and the lady couldn't book me in for months, so I have asked for a refund.

    Also in the case of things like massage, which is like a commodity (when you are done you can get someone else to do it) people will bargain hunt on Groupon but not stay loyal to the business. Because they are loyal to Groupon!

    I would imagine Groupon works well where you can get people hooked in. There needs to be a differentiator. For example a new kind of fitness class or dance class that you just can't do anywhere else. Or one that encourages you to make friends so you sign up just to keep in touch with people in the group. Anything that will keep the business sticky and lure people to sign up for the long term.

    Just my 2 cents. The groupon crowd are a fickle bunch! I know I am one of them!!
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    • Profile picture of the author Triggerkg
      Originally Posted by theemperor View Post

      Good work Neil. You helped a friend and now you have a great success from it. Must be Karma!

      Things to watch for on Groupon though based on a consumer experience, is that some businesses can't handle the amount of business they get from these deals. I was given a massage vouche as a present and the lady couldn't book me in for months, so I have asked for a refund.

      Also in the case of things like massage, which is like a commodity (when you are done you can get someone else to do it) people will bargain hunt on Groupon but not stay loyal to the business. Because they are loyal to Groupon!

      I would imagine Groupon works well where you can get people hooked in. There needs to be a differentiator. For example a new kind of fitness class or dance class that you just can't do anywhere else. Or one that encourages you to make friends so you sign up just to keep in touch with people in the group. Anything that will keep the business sticky and lure people to sign up for the long term.

      Just my 2 cents. The groupon crowd are a fickle bunch! I know I am one of them!!
      If you read the original post the way he works it is he has an upsell for $1. You could even say that you will give them back the one dolalr once they turn up for what ever your upsell is and this is setup as a recurring monthly payment of $97.

      So the client gets what you are offering on groupon lets asay 2 weeks bootcamp then could get another week for $1 which is setup is setup with your recurring monthly fee. So if they buy your upsell they have to cancel the payment before the first monthly payment occurs if they are not interested. But if your any good and they are seeing results you have a new client.
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    • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
      Originally Posted by theemperor View Post

      Good work Neil. You helped a friend and now you have a great success from it. Must be Karma!

      Things to watch for on Groupon though based on a consumer experience, is that some businesses can't handle the amount of business they get from these deals. I was given a massage vouche as a present and the lady couldn't book me in for months, so I have asked for a refund.

      Also in the case of things like massage, which is like a commodity (when you are done you can get someone else to do it) people will bargain hunt on Groupon but not stay loyal to the business. Because they are loyal to Groupon!

      I would imagine Groupon works well where you can get people hooked in. There needs to be a differentiator. For example a new kind of fitness class or dance class that you just can't do anywhere else. Or one that encourages you to make friends so you sign up just to keep in touch with people in the group. Anything that will keep the business sticky and lure people to sign up for the long term.

      Just my 2 cents. The groupon crowd are a fickle bunch! I know I am one of them!!

      I've run into similar problems where small businesses overdo it and take on too many customers. The coupon services should do a better job in limiting the offer. If they don't they'll drive away customers for good.

      Also, I'd think the massage market is pretty much toast in getting any conversion/upsell as every massage place and their brother is doing coupons. Who is gonna ever pay 60 bucks for a massage ever again? Consumers can get one cheap nearly every day. No real incentive to be converted. I suppose its up to the massage place to be exceptional in some regard. The bonus for them in retaining customers even at the same coupon price in future is that they don't have to share any fees w/ the coupon provider.

      But I do agree there are plenty of businesses that need help that don't even think about capturing customer data for their coupon deal to market to them in the future. Failing to do that makes the whole idea of a coupon deal pretty much a failure. $$opportunity!
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  • Profile picture of the author Simon74
    Wow you rock man very clever
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  • I'd just like to add my voice, Neal, to those who are clamouring for a detailed WSO. Do it, my friend! We´re waiting!!!
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    The-English-Webmistress is really Andrea, who went backpacking the world, accidentally landed in Panama, Central America, and never left. (Beaches! Mountains! Hot latin music! Piña Coladas!) She doesn't miss the London commute AT ALL...
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  • Profile picture of the author Rockrz
    Interesting...
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  • Profile picture of the author ecurtis
    Hi Neil - just curious how you tracked this w/ your customers?

    Was it a contract in writing since you were not collecting anything up front.

    Once you show them how to do this, have you had them cut ties w/ you after a few ran? Are you talking to Groupon on their behalf when designing their Deal?

    I get the front end of this and love it. Just thinking through the back end management of it seems a little tricky.
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  • Profile picture of the author imwarrior84
    Wow what a great business idea, thank you for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author temple
    Wow! Great post! Thanks for sharing the great tips.
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  • Profile picture of the author adam2526
    AH man this boss, thanks for sharing this, makes me think the possibility are endless.
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  • Profile picture of the author econnors
    This is really a great thread. My wheels have been turning about the daily deal business A LOT. I also think (haven't tested this, it's just my own thought...) that daily deals could work well with restaurants and other low dollar businesses. You just have to price it right. Maybe something like $5 for $10 toward a meal for two. If your average entree is $10, you won't take a major loss here. It gets folks in the door, and you're likely to get more from them.

    When they bring in the Groupon, have a form ready for them to fill out in order to use it requiring whatever information is useful (i.e. name, email address, mobile phone number, city/state) and get them into your database. How can you package this? Maybe as a loyalty club membership (all restaurants should have this anyway). They get a 20% off coupon (or whatever works) just for signing up and then get more coupons based on how much they spend with you.

    If you can get them coming back multiple times, it becomes a habit. That is how consumer loyalty is born...
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil V
      thanks for all your great comments and posts

      i do have a wso out if that is what you need with all the details behind this strategy.


      By the way this works best with local service types businesses.

      At the end of the day after doing this for over a year and a half in order to upsell clients where they excited about taking the upsells comes down to quality of service

      the business owner has to really deliver well and give the clients a great experience so that they can upsell them without no complaints from clients. some business owners think they delivering exception service but in reality they are not

      this is another opportunity where you can help clients and get them to convert better if you are a local business consultant

      Just a quick update. After negotiating for a long time and building relationships with living social they are now allowing us to do the $1 upsell as well where we can take credit card information

      this is very powerful for us. it has taken a while but is very doable. you need a good relationship with your living social rep.


      Despite what many people have to say and a lot of different owners have different opinions and advice, daily deals still work when done right.


      i am having huge success with it and my clients are going nuts over this.

      in fact i am helping one client run an experiment where we are going to build a massive list for him selling an info product on group on

      yes you heard right. info product

      the way we packaging this and marketing it, almost no one has done. and we are going to be executing this campaign in the next month

      if you just let your marketing skills run wild you will be amazed what you can do with group on.

      you can do direct sales, build a list and get paid, etc, etc


      if all goes well or maybe if it does not i will consider sharing that experiment with you in the next few months

      i am under contract with this client so i cannot break confidentiality unless he gives me permission.

      maybe i can convince him to do a live call or something or share the results

      anyway if you need any specific help post away and i will do my best to help out
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  • Profile picture of the author MrSDPromo
    Neil, is the WSO really $197??!!! Thats a lot of money for a wso on WF. I'd love the info but its a lot. Just my 2 cents.
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    Jake Widmer
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  • Profile picture of the author maycleopatra
    Hi,
    I just bought the course, and all I got was a thank you email.
    Please send me the course, I m waiting.
    thanks
    May
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