What a $120 Cheesesteak Can Teach Online Marketers about Selling High-Ticket Programs…
A line wraps around the landmark Geno’s and Pat’s buildings while people order cheesesteaks with “whiz” or “no whiz” (that’s a type of cheese for you non-Philly folks). And the lines for these walk-up windows are sometimes up to 20 minutes long – even when it’s freezing cold outside.
To top it all off, to order at either Geno’s or Pat’s -the most popular cheesesteak places in Philly – you almost have to know a code language to get the sandwich you actually want.
Pat’s actually posts instructions on exactly how they expect you to order and what you should say posted on their website and building to prevent people from holding up the process
It’s pretty safe to say there is a high demand for the product.
There’s a definitive culture built around both these places.
AND… There are sometimes screaming matches in the Philly streets about which one is better.
I’m not going to weigh in on the place I prefer here, but let’s just say that Geno’s and Pat’s both have HUGE almost cult-like followings and are busy pretty much ALL the time. They HUSTLE to make their money. Just like nearly every other cheesesteak seller in the city does.
It’s a business that is based on making lots of sandwiches for lots of people.
And the cheesesteak sellers that don’t manage to do that, quickly go out of business.
But… lots of people and lots of sandwiches isn’t the ONLY way to sell cheesesteaks. There is another game in town. One that makes far more ROI per sandwich, and serves people at a much more leisurely pace.
Barclay Prime, on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, is a modern, highly rated steakhouse. And when they put the iconic Philly cheesesteak on their menu, they decided to take a different approach that would match their sophisticated upmarket style and give them a ton of buzz in the process.
Introducing the $120 Cheesesteak
Instead of using traditional cheesesteak ingredients, Barclay Prime, has elevated the humble cheesesteak by using high-end ingredients to create a $120 a phenomenon that is ordered by tourists and regulars alike.
And interestingly enough, because they are offering a humble food that’s been elevated, they are also getting tons of press coverage that brings in both tourists and locals to their restaurant.
The thing about the $120 cheesesteak is that Barclay only needs to serve 1 person to make the same revenue that Geno’s or Pat’s does serving 12. There’s a type of magic in a high-end offer like this.
It’s a magic that allows you to focus on your business doing the pieces you love, instead of the hustle. And I’m going to show you how to bring that magic to your own business.
Let’s look at some of the unique features of this offer and how you can do something similar, whether you are a coach, author, or small business person.
And if you think that there is no way you could put together an offer like this, then you’d be very wrong. Because just about every single business person that I’ve coached gets a ton of value (and a ton of revenue) from their very own $120 cheesesteak offer.
Here are a few things we can learn from Barclay Prime and their $120 cheesesteak offering.
Build on Your Reputation
Before Barclay Prime was serving their high-end cheesesteaks they had built a reputation as one of the best places in the city to get a steak. That gave them the leverage to build their $120 cheesesteak offering.
In your own business, you can do the exact same thing.
If you are a plumber and offer great service that your customers rave about, then you can put together a yearly maintenance package at a higher ticket to sell to your best customer.
If you sell weight loss plans, then an exclusive boot-camp may be your ticket to a high dollar sale.
Whatever you offer, be sure to build on what you already have.
Use an Existing Product and Elevate It
Barclay Prime took an ultra-common street food in our fair city and figured out how to do it better. They use exclusive (and expensive) ingredients and position their cheesesteak as something really special.
You can do the same exact thing in your business.
Look at what is common and commoditized and create a high dollar version that is super special.
It doesn’t have to be a physical product, either, although that can work. It can simply be an intensive “hand holding” version of a product you already carry or that is common in the marketplace. People love the personal attention and are often willing to pay big bucks for it.
Get the Word Out
Barclay Prime used the power of the press release to gain attention for their offer. And because of the rare ingredients and $120 price tag, they get A LOT of press for this specific offering. And it’s something they work at, producing slick videos like the one above to gather more and more interest.
Once you create a high-end offer it’s time to get the word out. I teach my clients to use sales funnels, starting with an opt-in page. With tools like Leadpages and AWeber, it is easy to create a sales funnel even without a lot of tech experience.
And it is one of the best ways to get the word out about your high-end offer.
When you use this model of offering a high-end product or “Micro Coaching Courses™” you can easily add thousands of dollars to your bottom line, just like many of my clients have.
Also, when you have your own high-ticket offer, it’s a lot easier to get affiliates and Joint Venture partners to help get the word out as well.
In this article, we looked at how a restaurant took a very simple product (a cheesesteak) and was able to make a few tweaks to it and charge more than 10X what everyone else in the market gets for a similar product.
But this lesson can apply to any business regardless of the industry. For example, if you’re in the information marketing business and are selling lower priced books or products; you could easily repurpose that same information in a product that sells for 10X with a few simple tweaks… just like Barcley Prime did by turning a humble cheesesteak into a high-priced experience.
Click here to learn more about a new and unique way to create high-ticket online courses.