About 18 months ago I stopped using funded proposals…for a few different reasons.
This post will likely create a bit of controversy…a good thing – I want your feedback and thoughts on this so don’t forget to leave a comment below and let the community know how YOU FEEL on this topic.
First, let me backup and clarify what a funded proposal is…
When you have a lead capture (squeeze page) and a prospect hits “submit” giving you their details…they’re next taken to a sales page offering a product (usually a digital download of some sort) that’s relatively inexpensive. Say $30-$50.
So, let’s say you’ve got a capture page that discusses how to naturally lose weight. Visitors would go to your page, submit their details, then be presented with an offer to buy a series of weight loss videos, maybe a recipe ebook or different exercises for x dollars.
Great concept and for someone who’s just getting started don’t get me wrong…this is a GREAT way to generate an income and help pay yourself for your time, efforts and $$ spent while driving traffic to your data capture page.
The vast majority of those who throw in the towel early on and call it quits in network marketing do so because they haven’t generated an income or at least not enough to cover their product costs.
I’ve been using funded proposals since early 2005, in 2 different industries (MLM and swimming pool maintenance). I later expanded the funded proposal concept into a few other niches and here’s what caught my attention…
1. Here’s a screen shot of an Aweber campaign where I didn’t use the funded proposal concept – my initial open rates were in excess of 80% and at the 7th email it’s pulled back to 54%
Here’s a screen shot of a campaign with a funded proposal associated with it…
As you can see there’s a clear difference in the open rates (same emails, same exact email sequence using 2 different aweber accounts). This screen shot is a campaign that had a sales letter after the optin on the data capture page.
Listen up…
As a marketer any “input” you add to your marketing process will ALWAYS have a change on the “outputs”. It’s our job as marketers to identify what those are and to look at all the variables involved…sometimes, it’s not obvious – as in this case, further digging was necessary. The unintended consequence was my open rates were lower…meaning fewer people that were actually part of my community. This also reduces the size of audience when I would share content and share offers as well.
2. This is a business of “relationship marketing”. Yes, we’re using technology to help us leverage those relationships and create efficiencies instead of “traditional” network marketing techniques being taught.
If the objective is to build a relationship with our community, provide an immense amount of value and to solve problems, a funded proposal, for me, became out of harmony with my core objectives. I didn’t want to be the guy at the party being introduced to people and immediately opening up my trench coat and saying, “Hey, look at my stuff…it’s for sale…BUY IT NOW!”
Think about the process of a prospect going to a capture page..then immediately being taken to an offer. If you were at a cocktail party and your spouse was introducing you to the boss for the first time would you say, “Hi there! Check out all this cool stuff on me…I’m selling all this stuff you might be interested in…come closer and check it out”.
Not likely. Your spouse (and the boss) would likely look at you like you’ve lost your marbles or something. It’s just not a cool way to introduce yourself.
I wanted to take a different approach…follow my lessons, learn from my free information…then, buy my stuff. Now, I have a relationship BEFORE they’re introduced to solutions and I’m not the guy with the heavy coat at the cocktail party that everyone’s talking about and avoiding like the plague.
In closing…look at all the variables in your marketing campaign. Inputs can create a domino effect on everything else and have impacts across the board – have you meticulously analyzed every aspect of your campaign to see if there’s anything that may be out of alignment with your core objectives and what you’re looking to accomplish?
I’m sharing this example of funded proposals and why I stopped using the concept to share a bigger message. Sometimes, we believe we’re doing the right thing…for the prospect and our business, but after looking at all the variables involved, things get cloudy and we need to reevaluate certain actions. Sometimes these things are completely unintentional – at the time, I didn’t realize my open rates would drop substantially…nor did I want to be considered as “the guy with the trench coat…so we need to run!”
With all of that said, for newer people…just getting started I believe they should be using funded proposals. Once you have a name and an associated “brand” in the industry…you may want to reconsider at that point. Certainly food for thought.
It’s an effective way to create income and offset lead costs…even get paid while you’re building your business. Just know…there are consequences.
I’m curious as to your thoughts on this matter…let the community know where you stand on this…
Here’s to greater understanding,
Terry Duff
P.S. The greatest asset you possess is YOU. Don’t jeopardize your brand, reputation or anything else associated with it.
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