Small tugs can maneuver huge ships in and out of port, but to do so, they have to connect huge, heavy steel cables to those ships. This is almost impossible to do in one step; in fact, to get those huge cables to the big ships, they start with a series of ropes. First, a relatively small rope is thrown from the tugboat to the large ship. It is tied to a larger rope, which the ship’s people use to pull a larger rope, and increases in size until a large pincer is attached to a solid steel cable which they can then tighten and tie.
It all starts with a small step, but ultimately the tugboat, practically a toy compared to an oil tanker or cargo ship, takes complete control of a huge ship. I think this is a great marketing metaphor. No matter how great your efforts are, you can’t start by throwing a big cable overboard – that is, offering people your $ 6,000 seminar right out of the box. You may get some takers, but you won’t get any profit.
Oh, but if you start small and then take bigger and bigger steps as your prospects respond, you will build a relationship where they will come to trust you and be willing to invest more of their time and money. with you. Most people try to do a lot of things too fast. Instead, make it easy for people. Allow them to take a series of small steps that naturally lead to those bigger steps. Think deeply about this, starting with the end in mind and then working your way back. What is the end goal or objective that you are trying to achieve?
Suppose you have set out to make a sale of $ 3,000 to a new prospect as quickly as possible. Your entire marketing strategy depends on your ability to do so. But you know it will take a series of smaller steps to get there, so you should try a very simple startup process. One way to do this is by sending postcards and direct mail packages offering a free report and free consulting service at, say, $ 99.
If it’s related to something that can get people very excited in your market, it can lead to a sale of $ 99, and what eventually leads to the sale of $ 3,000. Everything is closely interconnected, and you have to be very careful how the small strings are attached to the larger strings that connect to the steel cables. You know you can’t just ask a new prospect for $ 3,000; that is rarely going to work.
You have to plan it carefully with pencil and paper, or using mind mapping software. Brainstorm as much as possible before implementing a tugboat strategy, but consider using the method. After looking at all the things that I have learned over the years, it is clear to me that this approach works best for marketing.
Start with baby steps, test the results, and let them take you to increasingly important steps that can ultimately flood you with money. It all starts with having the potential customer raise their hand with a cheap or free offer. It introduces them to you and, most importantly, it introduces them to you. This has worked effectively for decades and there is no doubt that it will continue to work just as effectively in the future.
Attract people to your business with an interesting offer that costs them very little, giving them so much that they will say, “Wow! If for $ 10, $ 99 or $ 199 I can get this much value of this company, I am sold! Can you imagine what they will give me if make spend the $ 2,995? “Of course, you must provide tremendous value when you start charging people so much. Continue to provide value, value and more value as price rises. That’s the way to do business if you want to be truly successful.
Now, you can probably sell $ 20 products all day without building trust or building a relationship. But if you sell products or services at higher prices, then make you have to build that relationship. It should make it easy for people to take small steps that lead to the big step of buying your most expensive package. You can’t just make them that expensive offer right away. You have to wait until there is some trust built up there. People are more likely to accept your high-value offers if they already have a relationship with you.
The next time you’re on one of the shores, try catching a tugboat in action. They move slowly, but in the end they carry the big ship where it should go. In exactly the same way, you can move customers from untrustworthy to trusted, from small sales to big ones.