AP 0958: How Do I Make More Course Sales?

AskPat 958 Episode Transcript

Pat Flynn: Hey, what's up everybody? Pat Flynn here and welcome to Episode 958 of AskPat. Thank you so much for joining me today. As always I'm here to help you by answering your online business questions five days a week.

Thanks, guys, and now here's today's question from Corey.

Corey: Hi Pat. It's Corey Knight and I run a website titled ClassroomTechMadeSimple.com. The goal of this website is to have a resource for teachers to use on how to properly use iPad technology in the classroom. As a teacher myself, I was always finding that different colleagues and different teachers were coming to me and asking for help on how to properly use iPads in the classroom. So, I validated my idea. So, I've also created a self-hosted course on my website that I provide to my customers. Now that it is all created, it's all packaged up and ready to go, I'm having problems trying to actually sell the course. I have a Facebook page and I have some followers, but I'm just not there yet. What is your suggestion on what I should to do help make more sales and get the word out to my customers? Thanks for all that you do. I hope to hear back from you.

Pat Flynn Hey Corey what's up? Thank you so much for the question. I'm not going to try to answer in just one breath, as I have a bit to say about this. So, again thank you so much for the question.

So, you need to get more course sales. There's a number of different ways that you might be able to go about doing it, but one thing that has helped me personally with course sales is to kind of scale it down a little bit on that first launch and really make it a big deal, a big event of the fact that this is the first time it's going to go live, that I'm getting a beta group in there. And I'm not sure if you are passed that point already, but you might want to offer a little bit more access to you in the beginning, just to kind of get some people in there. You might even want to go down, and I don't typically recommend this, but it can work—the sort of first group of students discount price. Again, just to kind of get the early birds in there and get some people going through the course. Having people go through the course is really helpful because A, you're going to be able to get feedback from people, right? B, you're going to have testimonials by the end of it, if you know it works—and you know hopefully you know it works—and that's motivating you to push it out there. I think that's what's motivating you to ask this question in the first place. So, that's the first thing.

The second thing you can do is you could potentially try to add a little bit more value first before you ask for the course in return. So, this is the Gary Vaynerchuk jab, jab, jab, right hook. Maybe you are offering that right hook a little too soon. You might want to develop a little bit more of a relationship with people in a more intimate way. So, a Facebook group, yeah great. That's a great first start, but maybe there's a way you can get people from that Facebook group to, for example, a webinar. Or for example, watching you live a little bit more often. Or maybe even getting them on a direct message at first on Facebook or even on a phone call perhaps.

If you really want this to work, you're going to have to work a little bit harder upfront. I wish we could all just launch a course in front of an audience that we build and automatically it's going to do well. In some cases, it does and in some cases you're going to have to work, and I hate to say it, but hustle a little bit harder. I hate that word, hustle. But in many cases that's what's needed, just you need to go extra to do it and it may require you to have one on one conversations with people. It may require you to go out there and actually do a webinar and set one up and set this presentation up or do a few more live videos. Those are some other things you can do that'll help you build that trust with people ahead of time. Maybe there's a way you can even offer part of your course for free—this is another idea. You can, for example, give away the first lesson—I know a few people who do it this way. And it's great because people can get a taste of what the coaching is like, what the teaching is like, the style. They get in there, they see it, and they're going to want more, right? If it's right for them, they get maybe a little bit of a quick win from there. They can maybe then make the purchase to go ahead and get the rest of it—that's another thing that you might be able to do.

Finally, the one thing that has worked really well for me is sharing the success stories of my students. I did this on my podcast when I had three students from my how to start a podcast course—it's called Power-Up Podcasting. I featured three students and their testimonials. But it wasn't about their testimonials, it was about their experience through the course. And of course, testimonials just come out of that naturally. The fears that they had before they got into it, why they got into it in the first place, the results they've been getting, and those kinds of things. So, yeah it's just you know, amazing to see the response from listeners who have listened to that episode and said that that was one of the major reasons why they went. It was because, not that just I was saying it was a great course, but people who have already taken that course said it was a great course. By the way, if you want to take that course, sign up for the waitlist. All you have to do is go to PowerUpPodcasting.com. You can sign up for the wait list there. The next time it's open, you'll see.

But yeah Corey, I hope that helps. A few tidbits there. Pick one, roll with it; I wouldn't try to do all of those things at the same time. That's where a lot of people get into trouble. You hear ten ideas, you do ten of them at the same time and none of them ever have a chance because their energy is just divided between every other one. Pick one that seems to interest you the most and just roll with that, try it out. And also, if people aren't buying still, I would definitely reach out to those who know it's for sale, who have potentially given you that “yeah I'm interested,” but they haven't bought yet. Ask them why and you'll be able to find out a lot of information from there too. So, that's like step two of validation. If people don't buy, you ask. You have conversations and you try to understand, well where's the disconnect between you said you were interested, but now you didn't buy? What is it? And if they say price, it typically is not the price, it typically is you aren't presenting true value of what it is you have to offer versus the price that you are charging.

All right guys, or Corey, thank you. You're awesome for the question and I want you to succeed so put that into action and follow up with me, let me know how it goes. And I want to send you also an AskPat teeshirt for having your question featured here on the show. And for those of you listening, if you have a question that you'd like potentially featured here on the show as well, just head on over to AskPat.com and you can ask right there on that page.

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Finally, here's a quote to finish off the day by Winston Churchill. “If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile-driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time—a tremendous whack!” Sorry, hope I didn't wake up the kids, it's late. Anyway, take care guys. Love you, and I'll see you in the next episode of AskPat. Bye.