"I was stunned. It was as if I had gone to my local meat market and was told that I had to buy a side of beef if I wanted a steak. How ridiculous is that?."

- Kevin

How to Lose Your Customers With Overkill

© 2005 By Kevin Wirth - all rights reserved worldwide

Word Count: 690

Updated 11/24/05

Not too long ago I hopped in my Jeep, turned the key, and was treated to the sound of a slowly dying starter. Further inspection, however, revealed that my battery was not cranking the starter because some of the cables leading out from my battery were… corroded.

Ouch.

So, I went to my local auto store looking for a couple of battery cables. Guess what? The wiring in my Jeep uses unique cables, with specialized configurations and connectors attached. Which means I wouldn’t find replacements in my local auto parts store, and would have to go to my Jeep dealer.

OK, so I did.

And after I explained to the parts counter rep what I needed, he checked his monitor and asked me to wait while he disappeared into a back room for about a minute. When he came back, he had a HUGE octopus-like wiring harness assembly with about 8 different cables coming out of it. It looked like someone had been experimenting with some kind of under-the-hood auto Frankenstein project.

The parts rep gently set the package on the counter, saying, “I only got this one left”.

“How much?” I asked?

He peered at his monitor again, and then looked up at me without batting an eye “They want $249 for this” he said.

I was aghast. All I needed were a couple of short battery cables, not the complete electrical assembly for the entire engine! I was definitely not happy with the not-so-subtle marketing message I was getting from the Jeep manufacturer: we want as much of your money as we think we can get.

“Don’t you just sell these some of these cables separately?” I asked incredulously. “I don’t need all this”.

“Nope. This is what they give us”, was the response I got back.

Well, I thanked him for his time, and promptly left.

I was stunned. It was as if I had gone to my local meat market and was told that I had to buy a side of beef if I wanted a steak. How ridiculous is that?

Do you use a similar approach with your customers? Or do you give any thought to what they might really need. If you do this, you'll make more sales.

Do you offer them products that are way more than what they want or need, instead of scalable components?

Do you market a membership site with only ONE type of membership, or, do you give them choices (i.e., bronze, silver, and gold) with increasingly valuable benefits?

Do you put together a 'kitchen sink' Mega Pack with a huge diversity of products your prospect probably doesn't need, or do you create a package of targeted products that focus on a specific topic?

Do the items in your bonus package include eight or ten readily available products they can get almost anywhere else, or do you make sure you include at least 2 quality resources they can get ONLY at your site?

Do you offer just Private Label rights to a product OR can your prospect also get the same product with just resell rights OR just private use rights as well?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve turned down an offer because I already owned every single bonus item included with a product. I've turned down dozens more because many bonus items were things I simply didn't need.

Do you sell one large package for $1,000 – or do you break it down into parts that are affordable – and then offer a discount if they purchase the entire package?

When you market your products, be sure to package them with your customer in mind. Make sure you consider the fact that your customers and prospects might like to get just a portion of your offering. Making a $200 sale is better than not making a $1,000 sale.

If you have any problems figuring out how to market your product in smaller, affordable, stand-alone sections, drop me a line and we'll come up with something.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=

To receive a valuable free report written by Kevin Wirth about how you can create a profit-pulling “How To” product, be sure to visit his web site, where you’ll also pick up more tips and resources about marketing tactics. You can also contact him by writing to:

kevin @ kevs-korner.com.

This article was first published on KEVS-KORNER October 23, 2005.

Kevin and 'Sailor'

Kevin Wirth is the editor of KEVS-KORNER ezine and publisher of several reports and articles on many diverse topics such as Customer Loyalty, Internet Marking Tactics, and Seafood. A 25 year veteran of Corporate America, Kevin consults with netpreneurs and small businesses to help them attract and retain customers and design, build, and market digital products. He is also an expert on Team Dynamics, Project Management, Process Management, Risk Engineering, and Information Management. For a free sampler of his articles, reports and to sign up for a free subscription to KEVS KORNER ezine, be sure to visit Kevin's home page at:

http://www.kevs-korner.com.

====<<>>====

More Articles by Kevin Wirth

====<<>>====

For the complete index of articles by Kev, please click here.