Alan R. Bechtold has released the latest issue of EWealth Report Volume 3, Issue 12. The featured article is titled “When The Offer Appears — Take It” [EWealth Report]


Alan Bechtold has released the latest issue of ‘E-Wealth Report’ Newsletter Volume 3, Issue 12.

When The Offer Appears — Take It

We’re seeing a lot of excellent, sharp marketers offering low-cost and free CDs, DVDs and books these days. Matt Bacak recently released recordings of an entire $5,000-per-seat seminar he held – for $1.

It seems like a “no-brainer” to me. Marketing these days is all about building a relationship with your prospects so THEY decide to become customers. Most relationships begin with an introduction. These super-cheap introductory products are the perfect introduction, eliminating the barrier of asking for too much money during the fragile first steps of that relationship by, instead, asking for some token payment that amounts to less than 1/10th or even 1/100th of the value of the sample product being offered.

This melts any resistance in a prospect who are otherwise always asking, “why would I spend money with this person.” It convinces them to give the marketer a try, and leads them through a natural process where they get to know the marketer, either connect with them or not, then either move on or move deeper, spending even more.

It makes perfect sense. I’ve built my 24+-year career around giving away something for free to introduce myself, then offering increasingly higher-priced options to those who like what I’m doing, like me and stay with me.

I also routinely teach this same principle to my clients and students.

In my new book, “Will Work For Fun,” coming from John Wiley and Sons next May 23, I go through my three-step system that involves giving something away free to gather prospects, then sending those prospects a newsletter to build up a relationship.

THEN making sales in the newsletter.

I also cover a total overview of my system in my new full-length movie, “The FUNdamental You,” also slated for release May 23.

Keep you eyes peeled for that – I’ll keep you posted.

This new “free for the cost of shipping and handling” is simply a twist on the same concept I’ve always taught and used myself and it works like a champ. It goes way beyond the fact that a CD or DVD – something you mail PHYSICALLY to your prospect, even though they’re right there online ordering it from a Website – helps differentiate your “free” offer from so many of the other “free” offers bouncing all over the Web these days.

But it gets even better. There are actually THREE dynamics at play when you offer a physically mailed “free” product, charging only shipping and handling. All three add a ton of “punch” to the results you’ll see from putting such an offer together.

* First and foremost, the shipping and handling fee covers some or all of the actual cost of the physical product and shipping that product to the customer. This helps eliminate YOUR risk in producing and sending the product to your prospects.

* Second, the act of requiring SOME payment, justified by the shipping and handling costs, separates the freebie-seeker tire-kickers among your prospects from those prospects who are most willing to spend at least some money. You can always charge a fee to download an ebook, to accomplish the same goal, for example – but it’s difficult to justify charging money for a “free” downloadable ebook. You have to charge for the book so it’s not perceived as a free trial any longer.

* Third, you now have a logical reason to collect your prospects’ names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers (for UPS shipping) AND email addresses. Combined, these are far more valuable than ANY fee you request to cover postage and handling. If you have the money, it can make sense to actually LOSE some money on the front-end free trial offer, to collect this data on every prospect who raises his or her hand. It enables you to reach your list through the mail and other channels, so even if reaching them by email doesn’t work, you always have another way.

As a side note – it’s even more effective when one of your “gifts” for accepting your free CD or DVD or book that you mail to your prospects includes some number of free months in a membership program you have. You make the offer based on the buyer canceling within 30-90 days (depending on how you structure the offer), or they agree the same card they used to pay for the shipping and handling fee will now be charged the monthly membership fee.

We in the business call this “forced continuity.”

Forced continuity is a wonderful way to introduce your prospects and clients to any membership you have – and to you. Never ever try to hide the back-end monthly fee that will be charged if the prospect doesn’t cancel within the allotted time. That’s shady. Be up-front and clear about it and you’ll find a much higher percentage of people who respond to your free trial offer stay with you and stick with your membership program.

Whenever I make offers like this, I always post the monthly ongoing membership fee that will result without cancellation right up front, on the sales page and on the order form, where they can be seen and clearly understood.

Does it cut my sales? Yup. I’ve tested it.

So – why do I still offer forced continuity with my own free offer? Because it actually ELIMINATES potential prospects who aren’t perfect candidates for joining The Franklin Guild, the organization that my offer is built around.

I see fewer people taking my free trial but a much, much higher percentage of those who do take my trial offer (up to 82%) staying with the membership program.

The key to making an offer like this is to deliver tremendous value for the low-cost or free item. OVER-DELIVER in every way and you’ll show your prospects the “why” they were looking for and build a rapport with a huge percentage of them. This then melts away all objections to reaching into their pockets and gladly handing you their money to learn more.

You just need to first develop the end result. The thing you REALLY want to sell on the back end of your free or low-cost offer. Then, build your offer to attract the right prospects for your back-end offer and repel those who simply wouldn’t ever be interested.

On the other side of the coin, as a buyer, you should almost ALWAYS snap up every one of these offers you see. It’s a great way to “test-drive” a given marketer’s advice and ability to really help you. You’ll spend very little to test them out and, if they’re putting their offers together correctly, they will deliver many times your money in value, at very little cost to you.

It’s also a great way to study their process as you are led through to the obvious conclusion – their back end offer for something much more expensive.

I’ve got something like this right now and I want you to be aware of it. I’ve just completed production on a special DVD where I go through my three-step formula for turning anything you love doing into cash the easy way. I’ve also included a bonus CD that will show you exactly why The Franklin Guild is the most amazing community of information publishers you could ever be a member of.

These two items alone are easily a $40.90 value.

And – I’ve included over $400 in other bonuses – including one free month of Franklin Guild Membership.

All for a single $9.97 shipping and handling fee.

Check it out here:
www.SaveOurEmailNow.com/dvdoffer

Grab it and study what I’m doing! Then, keep your Franklin Guild membership rolling. It’s worth so much more than the ongoing monthly fee you won’t regret for a moment that you didn’t cancel – though you can cancel any time in 30 days and owe nothing, or any time at all and owe nothing more.

Check it out here:
www.SaveOurEmailNow.com/dvdoffer

See you next week!

– Alan R. Bechtold,

president/CEO

BBS Press Service, Inc.

‘E-Wealth Report’ Newsletter

*IMNewswatch would like to thank Alan Bechtold for granting permission to reprint the latest article.

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