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Every time you turn around, there’s another guru offering a high ticket item that will save the day and put a fortune in your pocket – but will it? The thing about selling information to Internet marketers on how to market is that they are effectively creating their own competition – training others to do what it is that’s making them rich.

Now, if you were going to train YOUR competition to compete against you and try to take away your business – would you tell them everything? No way. For that matter, would you be tempted to tell them things that were – shall we say – not exactly true? Possibly. Here are 4 common myths the “experts” would love for you to keep believing…

1. Long sales copy always out pulls short sales copy. Not true – if you’re selling a low ticket item ($5 to $30) then short copy will often out pull long copy – especially if you state the price UP FRONT rather than trying to hide it at the bottom. If you’re selling more expensive products, then long copy does out pull short copy.

2. Video sells more than written copy. Not true – split testing of squeeze pages shows that the pages without video nearly always out pull the ones with video. Moreover, sales pages with just video and no copy tend to not do as well as sales pages with copy and no video. And a combination of the two really needs to be split-tested, because it could easily go either way. Don’t assume video sells – depending on the product and the video itself, it can hurt as much as you think it might help.

3. You should split test everything. Yes, as we just mentioned split testing is great – but only so long as it doesn’t slow you down. When you’re just getting started, the last thing you need is to delay your actions until you’ve split tested everything down to a science. Better to roll out that sales page today and begin making sales now than to wait until it’s perfect. Do split test, but don’t make it a priority. Taking action, rolling out new products and building your list should be your priorities. Get the money coming in and then focus on improving your systems.

4. Affiliate marketing is the way to go. Think about this – do you want to compete with a hundred or a thousand other affiliates to sell a product – or do you want to sell your own unique product that no one else on the planet can offer? By creating your own products, not only do you eliminate the competition, but you also build a relationship with your customers who come to know you, trust you and love your products. And once this happens, then you can sell them all the affiliate products you like.

Never be afraid to question anything anybody tells you – including me. And always look at the possible motives that might lie behind a word of advice. As my grandfather used to say, “Follow the money!” If someone is teaching you how to compete with them, odds are they’re not only omitting key information – they may also be leading you astray.

How can you create a product in less than a week that has a high perceived value and is almost guaranteed to bring its own traffic and sales? One word: Interviews.

Here’s how to do it…

First, choose a niche if you don’t already have one. Preferably you want to find a niche with experts who have their own email lists.

Second, choose a hook. If your niche is vegetable gardening, your hook might be, “How to grow an entire years worth of veggies for less than $50.” If your niche is classic cars, your hook might be, “How to buy classic cars for half their real value.” If your niche is Internet Marketing, your hook might be, “How to drive tons of traffic to your website without spending a dime.”

Third, once you have your hook you’ll want to find your experts. Book authors are great for this, as are bloggers and any fairly well-known experts in your niche. Don’t be afraid to approach well known people because you’re going to offer them something they want – exposure. Everyone has something they want to plug, whether it’s their latest book, their website, their new product or whatever – and you’re going to use this to your advantage.

Fourth, contact your experts. You can do this through phone or email, whichever you’re more comfortable with. Ask them if you can interview them, and be sure to mention that you want to plug their latest product or book for several minutes at the end of the interview. Everyone loves a chance to not only expand their audience, but to also make some sales of their latest product.

Fifth, if their product has an affiliate program you’ll want to sign up as an affiliate, do a redirect and give that link at the end of the interview to promote the product. This way both you and your interview subject will make money.

Sixth, conduct the interview. Sign up for a trial at Instant Teleseminar. You’ll get your own conference number and access code. Set the interview up to be recorded, and once the interview is over you can download the mp3 recording. Simple!

Keep the interview fun and relaxed, and ask questions along the lines of your hook. You might want to let your interview subject know ahead of time what you will be asking so they can be properly prepared. They might also have suggestions for you on what they would like you to ask them.

Seventh, ask your interview subjects to promote your new interview product for you. Because they are one of the featured speakers they will likely not only promote it, but promote it heavily. In addition to sales for you and commissions for them; it also means subscriber sign ups for you and back end sales as well (remember, you’re promoting a product at the end of each interview and receiving affiliate commissions on those as well.)

And there you have it – an easy, fast way to create your own product with a high perceived value. If you do a dozen or so interviews, you can easily charge $47 to $97 for the package. And since you’ve chosen experts who have their own mailing lists, you’ll also have a way to promote your product for immediate sales while simultaneously growing your list!

You purchase a product for $9 and you can’t wait to download it and see what’s inside.

But instead of a download link on the next page, what do you get?

A @#$%& upsell!

Okay, admittedly the upsell looks pretty darn good. And it will make your life easier, too. So you spend the $29 and get the upsell.

Now to go to the download page…

What the ___?! It’s ANOTHER upsell!

This one is $200. Which is a shame, because it looks so enticing. If only it were cheaper…

…you click on the ‘no thanks’ link.

And on the next page you see the same upsell minus the live coaching for only $49, so you grab it!

Finally you’re on the download page and you cannot wait to open up all your goodies and get started.

What just happened?

Did the product seller bamboozle you into buying more products than you really wanted?

Did he annoy you with all the upsells?

Or did the seller provide you with additional opportunities to get the benefits you want, or solve your problem?

You’re probably saying yes to all three questions, and that’s okay.

When upselling is done properly, the seller is truly providing the customer with additional, faster or easier ways to get the benefits they seek.

For example, they might sell a book on how to do something.

Then they offer software that does that thing for you.

Then they offer a done-for-you solution where you don’t have to lift a finger.

And you might be thinking that it would be nice if the seller were to tell you about these options up front.

Good point. However, if the seller told you about Product A, Product B, Product C and Product D, and if the seller further told you that you could get a combination of (A and B) or of (A and C) or of (B and D) or of (A, B and D) and so forth, here’s what would happen:

You would get confused, and rightly so. The more options you have, the less likely you will choose any of them.

And if you don’t choose any of them, then you’re not going to solve your problem or get the benefit you seek.

In reality, the seller is doing the buyer a favor by only showing one option at a time.

By only revealing one product at a time, the decision making process is greatly simplified and looks like a simple series of yes and no decisions.

You get through the check out process FASTER this way and go on your merry way. If faced with all the possibilities at once, you would likely put the decision off until you forgot all about it.

When You’re the Seller

“The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5 – 20%. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 – 70%.” – Marketing Metrics

Now then, let’s look at it from the seller’s point of view. After all, this is a marketing newsletter and our primary goal is to make sales.

You make a low end offer to your customers. Maybe it’s a $9 ebook, or a $14 piece of software, or whatever.

You are offering your least expensive product that will 100% deliver on its promise, regardless of whether or not your customers buy anything else from you.

But you don’t stop there – you also offer them additional help, knowledge or tools to get the job done. They don’t need these things if they’re willing to put in the time and work themselves.

But if they want faster results, less work, personal help or an easier solution, then they are free to buy exactly that in your upsells.

They can say ‘yes’ or they can say ‘no,’ it’s totally up to them and you are twisting no one’s arm.

Of course, you are encouraging them to take those upsells. And not just because you’ll make more money, but also because you know they will be happier in the long run with the better solution.

If your goal is to truly have happy customers, then it’s time to stop thinking that $9 e-books are going to do it.

Yes, for some of your customers a $9 ebook is all they want.

But for a surprisingly large number of customers, they want more. They want better, easier and faster. And they want help, too.

And if you don’t offer them what they want, then they will go elsewhere to get it.

Buyer’s High

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

The reality is, the hardest thing you will do online is get a new customer. To get that customer you’ve got to have a combination of some or all of the following: A web presence, a good reputation, products, sales pages, blogs, social media, affiliates, a list and so forth.

You work hard to get that customer. And what’s the easiest way to increase your revenue? It’s not to get new customers, but instead to sell more to your current customers.

And perhaps the best way to do this is through upsells.

You gain their trust with that first small sale. They say, “Yes!” I’m willing to take a chance with you, here’s my money.”

They are now on a buyer’s high. They feel good. They’ve already made a small commitment to you, which is the PERFECT time to ask for a bigger commitment in the form of a bigger purchase.

Yet time and again I see marketers who refuse to offer upsells.

Maybe they feel like it is somehow deceptive or manipulative to make additional offers after a sale is made.

Not true. Your initial offer is a stand alone, complete product that needs no other product to work. The upsells simply enhance the buyer’s experience.

Most companies do upselling in one form or another. These are companies that rely on their bottom lines to pay thousands of workers and keep hundreds of stores open.

“Would you like fries with that?”

“Would you like the extended warranty?”

“Would you like the deluxe options package on your new car?”

“Would you like someone to deliver your new furnace and install it for you?”

“Would you like our annual service contract that ensures your furnace and air conditioning are always in tip top shape and working when you need them?”

“Congrats on your new pet – would you like the cage, food, dishes, toys, bedding and litter your new pet needs?”

And so forth.

If you’ve got reservations about offering upsells, I’d like to suggest you ditch them once and for all.

Crunching Numbers

Let’s say you’ve got a $9 product and you’re selling 5% of people who hit your sales page.

1000 visitors result in 50 sales of $9 each, or $450.

That sound you hear is me yawning.

But you add an upsell for $47, and 30% of your buyers take the upsell. That’s another $705 in your pocket.

You’ve now more than DOUBLED your profits, simply by adding that upsell.

But wait, there’s more…

You offer a coaching program. Because you’re fairly new to coaching, you decide to make it affordable – $299 per month for 3 months.

And you offer the coaching to all of your buyers, not just the ones who took the first upsell.

Result? Only one person takes the offer. But $299 per month times 3 months is $897.

Now instead of making $450, you’ve earned a total of $2,052 on those 1,000 visitors.

It takes the EXACT same effort to drive 1,000 visitors to your sales funnel, regardless of whether or not you have upsells in place.

But the difference in results with upsells can be staggering – in this example you’re earning literally four times the money for the exact same traffic-driving effort.

Yes, you have to put those upsells in place.

Yes, you’ll have to fulfill the coaching duties with a phone call each week.

But still… you can now duplicate this feat every time you drive another 1,000 visitors to your site.

And of course you don’t have to offer coaching, because you can make your upsells anything you want.

Coaching, however, is something you should consider. It is highly lucrative and your students usually become your very best customers for life, as well as your best testimonials and social media evangelists.

Attracting Top Affiliates

Keeping in mind the numbers we just used in our example, let me ask you this:

If you were an affiliate, which funnel would you want to promote – the one where you get 50% of $450?

Or the one where you get 50% of $2,052?

If you want to attract affiliates, and especially if you want to attract TOP affiliates, you must have one or more upsells in place.

Otherwise you will never be able to compete with the other product owners who have upsells.

The Self-Liquidating Offer

Using our example above, let’s say that you’re not using affiliates.

Instead, you’re buying traffic to send to your funnel.

It costs you roughly $500 to send 1,000 highly targeted prospects to your sales funnel.

This means that without the upsells, you are losing $50 each time you send 1,000 visitors to your website. You better find a cheaper source of targeted traffic, work on improving your conversion rate, or both.

But if you have the upsells in place, then every time you spend $500, you make $1,552.

Tell me this: How many times will you spend $500 if it makes you a profit of $1,552?

Every day, right?

And even every hour if there is enough traffic to be bought.

When you have upsells in place, you can purchase high quality traffic and still make money.

You don’t need to rely on affiliates for your income. You simply turn on the traffic faucet and watch the profits pour in. THIS is how internet fortunes are made.

No, it’s not sexy. It’s not glamourous. But it sure does work.

“But I don’t have additional products to offer as upsells.”

No problem – offer coaching. If you know your topic well enough to create a product, then I guarantee you also know it well enough to coach someone.

Yes, the first time or two is scary, until you realize that coaching simply means helping the person get the results they want.

You are helping them – via phone, skype or email – to do something that you already know how to do.

How simple is that?

Another possibility for your upsell is to offer a ‘done-for-you’ solution.

For example, if you’re selling software, then you can install the software for them. If you’re teaching them how to do something, you can do it for them, and so forth.

Another option is to offer a related affiliate product that compliments your front-end offer.

For example, if your front-end offer is on how to drive traffic, your upsells could be additional traffic generation methods, how to increase the conversions you get on that traffic, a software that helps to drive traffic and so forth.

The point is this: Offer… SOMETHING as your upsell.

Mind you, I’m not saying to offer just ANYTHING. It’s got to be in alignment with your front end offer and it’s got to be useful, wanted and high quality.

Remember, your reputation is at stake.

If you offer junk for your upsell, customers will get angry. And if customers get angry, affiliates will be upset with you and won’t promote for you again.

12 Upselling Tips for Maximum Profits

1: If you can’t figure out what to upsell, consider cross-selling.

With upselling you’re generally offering something directly in line with the initial offer. With cross-selling, you’re offering something in the same niche, but not exactly related.

For example, if you’re selling a product on how to build your own WordPress site, an upsell would be to build the site for them.

A cross-sell might be to offer a product on how to get paid to build WordPress sites for other people, or how to drive traffic to your new site.

2: Don’t be pushy.

Make it clear that all they have to do is click the “no thanks” link to continue on without buying the upsell.

3: Test upsells.

Some will work far better than others, but you won’t know which ones are the best until you test.

4: Use stats and testimonials.

If 94% of your customers are thrilled they bought the upsell, let your new customers know.

If you have testimonials for your upsells, use them.

If you don’t have any stats or testimonials, poll your customers and get some.

5: Use urgency.

Do something with your upsell that makes your customers fear losing out on the deal.

For example, maybe you offer them a special price that is good only while they are on that page.

Or perhaps it’s a product that is only available to buyers of the front-end product.

6: Use ‘fear of missing out.’

If you can show that your customers get far better results when they buy the upgrade, don’t be afraid to say so.

Your new customers will fear missing out on the ease and massive benefits of the upsell if you play this right.

7: Use a count down timer.

This is a timer that counts down how long they have to decide to take the upsell.

Usually you want to give them 10 minutes, unless your upsell page is particularly long or short.

Test using the count down timer against not using it. Odds are it will improve conversions, but you won’t know for sure until you test.

8: Offer a bonus to the upsell.

Make the bonus highly relevant with a high perceived value, and it will likely increase sales dramatically.

Test one bonus against another, and using a bonus versus having no bonus on the upsell page(s).

9: High perceived value versus cost.

If your upsells look like they’re worth a great deal more than they cost, your conversions will skyrocket.

For example, I bought the rights to a 2 year old $499 course for $300.

I used that course as an upsell, stressing that several thousand people paid $499 for the course, but today, for the next ten minutes, they could grab it for just $37. It sold like gangbusters.

10: Offer a second chance via email.

Assuming you’re not using a countdown timer on your upsell(s), offer a second chance to get the upsell via email.

Let them know the second chance expires in “X” number of hours.

11: Don’t forget down selling.

If your new customer doesn’t take the $99 version, follow up with a $49 version.

You’ll be surprised how many of the down sells you sell.

12: Get sophisticated.

If they don’t take upsell #1, you send them to down sell #1.

But if they do buy upsell #1, then you send them to upsell #2, and so forth.

Bottom Line

Upsells aren’t sexy. They don’t always have a terrific reputation. They will annoy a small percentage of your customers. But…

They can turn a money losing business into a money generating powerhouse.

Imagine never having to worry about attracting affiliates again, because you can buy all the traffic you want.

Imagine deciding you want to make more money today, so you simply buy more traffic.

Imagine having an online machine generating cash for you, 24/7.

Frankly, I don’t know why any marketer wouldn’t have upsells in their sales funnel.

And cross-sells and down-sells, too. It just makes good business sense.