A couple of years ago before Christmas I saw a commercial for a toy race car set that I thought my nephews would like. The set came with two race cars that would light up and a really cool track that could be set up in all sorts of different ways and the icing on the cake was that all the pieces glowed in the dark. I was so excited as I envisioned the priceless looks on my nephews’ faces when they opened their Christmas gift from the best Uncle in the world! The price advertised was perfect at $39.99 which seemed like a great deal. To make the purchase I went to the website and began the process of ordering the race car set with tracks. Before I knew it, when I checked out my shopping cart was $145, but I was now even more excited for my nephews because now they were getting 4 times the amount of tracks and an additional 6 cars. I was going to be King of the Uncle Mountain forever. Then something profound happened. My wife asked me how much I paid for the race car set and tracks. At that moment it seemed as if I had snapped out of some kind of trance and wondered to myself, “How in the world did I spend over 3 times more money than I had intended to?”
So, what does this have to do with skin care? Plainly put, this blog is not about formulations or ingredients. This blog is about how to improve your retail sales on your website or in your brick and mortar location or both. Let’s have some fun as we look at this fascinating psychological principle in the decision making process of buying.
The psychology of buying more of what you have already decided to buy is really simple. If someone is buying something of their own free will, that usually means that they like what they are buying. So, what would they do if they were offered more of the same item that they like at a better price per unit? In our industry we do this with packages, programs or series. Buy, 5 treatments and get the 6th for free or buy 10 treatments and get 2 for free. Also consider Costco Wholesale Warehouses as another prime example of this psychological principle exemplified. You buy something you already like in bulk quantities and in return you pay less per unit. Where you’re going to store everything is an entirely separate issue. But, you’re content and feel good that you paid less per unit even though you paid more than you would have normally for a smaller size of that item in a grocery store.
Let’s go back to the toy race car and track set that I happily paid $145 for. If the commercial that I saw had advertised a price of $145 for the set, I would not have even considered making the purchase. The question to be answered is how did I go from wanting to spend $39.99 to gladly spending $145? Some call this gradual sales process a click funnel.
When I was on page 1 of the website I rewatched the same commercial video that I saw on TV. The video kept my attention and my excitement high as it showed kids having a great time playing with the race cars and tracks. When I clicked to purchase the kit I was funneled to page 2, which contained a couple of offers that were too good to pass up. Once I added more race cars and more tracks and clicked to purchase I was funneled to page 3, which contained a few shipping options. Being that it was before Christmas there was a sense of urgency on my end to make sure the race cars and tracks arrived in time. One of those shipping options was a guarantee for everything to arrive before Christmas and it came at a premium shipping and handling price. But, it would be included for free if I added 2 more race cars and 1 more track set. The choice was easy at that point with the logic of, why just give my money away for shipping when I could have the guaranteed shipping for free and have more race cars and tracks for my nephews. When I clicked the final purchase button I really felt like I was getting a good deal. It was a gradual process and I was in control the entire time, the decisions were mine and the $39.99 package was always available and a real option.
I was so impressed with the decision-making process I had been guided through that I began to look for the same model on other websites in hopes of replicating it. What I found was what seems to be a formula for this selling process on websites often beginning with a video. A video is a great way to convey what is being sold and it can be done in simple informative or very entertaining formats. Having a video helps to keep your ideal customer’s attention and to build excitement and demand for the main product that you want them to buy. The best person to sell your product also happens to be you. Yes, you! YouTube has some great tutorials to help you with filming yourself. Creating videos has never been easier due to high quality cameras and audio in mobile devices. You don’t need a professional videographer that charges thousands of dollars. Just hold your mobile phone and tell us what is so great about you, your product and your company.
Once your customer wants to purchase what you are selling then you would take them through the following process, as an example. You are selling your Overnight Facial Serum for $150 on page 1 of your website. The custom clicks to check out and they get to page 2 and they are presented with a couple of offers. They can now purchase two Overnight Facial Treatment Serums for a unit price of $125 each or they can purchase three for $100 per unit. Which one would you choose? On page 3, before check out there is one more offer your customer has qualified for. The option is to purchase the complementing Overnight Facial Treatment Moisturizer, that would enhance the serum they are purchasing, for an amazing 50% off the regular price of $150. In addition, as a special offer and if they act now they will receive a FREE Peptide Eye Serum normally $125. The customer is likely to choose one if not several of the enticing funnel options. If they don’t then they still have purchased the one product they wanted. But, if they do, the numbers begin to look very exciting and the customer feels like they got a great deal on great products.
If you don’t have a website or platform that allows you to create funnels then you may find www.ClickFunnels.com very helpful. If you have a brick and mortar location you can try this without having to set up a website to do this. Present these offers in your e-newsletters or when your customers are getting their treatments.
At Vitelle Labs we want you to have the greatest possible success selling your products. I hope this blog has given you a different perspective on how to promote and sell your products.
Needless to say my nephews loved all of their race cars and the massive track set. Their reaction was even better than what I had imagined and I am still the Best Uncle Ever!
Written by:
Aleks Vranicic, L.E.
VP Sales & Technical Training
Vitelle Labs
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