What Gene Simmons Can Teach You About Selling High-Ticket Programs…
Hero worship.
It’s something nearly all of us engage in at some point or another in our lives.
For me, it’s always been The Rolling Stones or the great copywriters – you probably know who I’m talking about… people like David Ogilvy and Dan Kennedy.
Most of the time hero worship is done from afar, without the ability to really connect with the person that you follow.
I mean I’ve gotten to see The Rolling Stones perform, but that was in a huge stadium packed with people. An amazing experience, but not exactly personal – you know?
But one savvy musician has turned that model on its head. With a very unique “box-set” package that many people in business (especially authors and coaches) can emulate.
When I first thought “box-set” which is how I heard Mr. Simmons describe this in an interview – I was like “cool – I wonder how much it will be $100, maybe $200”.
Nope.
The top end on this set is actually $25,000.
Yep, you read that right. $25,000!
Because Gene isn’t just offering a “Box Set”. What he is really offering is the Gene Simmons Experience and that is something he can price at a lot more money.
If you’re interested in making more moola per transaction then there are some great lessons to be learned here.
What Gene Simmons and Build-A-Bear Have in Common
It’s not about the thing you are selling. It’s about the experience it gives you.
Teddy bears are commodity items, right? You can buy them all over the place, normally for pretty little money. Unless you go to Build-A-Bear. Because Build-A-Bear isn’t really about the teddy bear, it’s about the experience of building the bear and giving it as a gift. And that’s why Build-A-Bear can charge more for their teddy bears.
Gene Simmons has done a similar thing in his “vault experience” box set. This isn’t about the box set, it’s about being able to hang out with Gene Simmons and be one of the “cool kids”.
In your business think about how you can create a unique experience for people that will allow you to charge a premium. By doing this you can attract higher value clients for not a whole lot more work.
Fly as High as a Kite
The top of the line product in the Gene Simmons vault is $25,000 – but most people are going to buy the $2000 version.
So what’s the point of the high price version?
It’s there for two reasons…
#1. A few people who are the most dedicated fans and have the money will buy it.
#2. It makes the $2000 price point seem very, very attractive.
A high ticket item will pretty much always help you sell your lower ticket items (and helps you get more money for them). BUT… the value has to be real on the high ticket product. If it’s not, your customers will sniff out your BS and abandon you. So make it really worthwhile.
Rabid Fans Make Bank
Even at $2,000… this is not a product for the average KISS/Gene Simmons fan. This is for the Rabid Fan. The person who collects all things Gene Simmons – in other words… it’s for the very best customers.
By having a product selection designed for your very best customers, you will find that you can make a lot more money with great ROIs. It’s always smart to cater to your biggest fans. If you don’t know what to offer, send out a survey to your very best buyers and figure out EXACTLY what they want. Then design the offer around that.
Think Outside the Box Set
Gene Simmons could have put together any other mass market box set. Instead, he made it an EXPERIENCE where you get to hang out with him.
This sets it apart and makes it far more valuable.
When you are designing your high-ticket items, it is important to pack in the value, but not necessarily by including more stuff. A luxury experience is often more valuable.
Limited Editions Rock and Roll
By necessity, this Vault Experience is limited to a certain amount of people. And the reality is that scarcity nearly ALWAYS works. So if you can bake real scarcity into your product that is a very good thing.
Gene Simmons is an expert at marketing and he helped make KISS a huge success. He’s a good person to pay attention to.
As someone who is monetizing your knowledge and expertise on the internet, you can use similar methods to create your own unique high-ticket experienced based program.