Blake Wyatt
/blakewyatt
The Clark Kent of Client Acquisition.
Blake Wyatt
🚀Ship 30
3y ago
"If I told you that your funnel would shut off after 100 buyers… how differently would you treat them?"
After scaling 3 different digital products to over 100 sales a day, I've seen refund rates as high as 30% all the way down to < $3.5% refund rates (almost 10x lower refunds than another offer).
Below are seven cardinal rules, tested and tried, to consistently launch and scale online courses with a refund rate capped at a mere 5%.
And or the skeptics... here's the proof from one of my offers doing 100+ sales a day (last 3 months data):
Rule #1: Mirror Promises with Deliverables
One of the fastest ways to break trust and trigger refunds and dreadful disputes is by marketing something that does not exist, or is not congruent with your customer's experience.
Name your modules and bonuses with the exact same names you have displayed on your sales funnel.
People remember what they were promised, and if the names they see after they purchase are different then what they expected... they will label you as untrustworthy.
Rule #2: Always Overdeliver
One of the simplest ways to do this is by adding a module titled "Unadvertised Bonuses" and loading up 3-5 high-impact trainings to help them get results faster.
Make sure these unadvertised bonuses are actually valuable.
(i.e don't just toss in your old lead magnets lying around in your Google Drive).
This will skew a subtle reciprocity bias in your favour while building goodwill.
Rule #3: Race To The Relationship
People resonate with people.
Assign an accountability coach to your new customer (or a support rep) as fast as humanly possible. If you're just starting out or are a solopreneur with a course... send them a personalized welcome video to help reaffirm their decision to spend their time and money with you.
If you can assign a real person as their primary point of contact when it comes to issuing a refund... they are less inclined to break the relationship with the person instead of looking at the purchase as transactional... They will look at it as if it is a breach of trust with a friend.
Take advantage of tools like Bonjoro if you desire to automate this with a human feel.
Ringless voicemail is great for this as well - but it must sound exactly like a non-automated message - and NO pitching anything (delay upselling them or inviting them to book a coaching call on purpose).
And if you have a community, prioritize getting them into the group and introducing themselves as fast as possible so they can connect with others in a similar situation as them.
Seeing others ahead of them getting stellar results and breakthroughs will boost their motivation and consumption.
Rule #4: Showcase Case Studies
It reinforces the idea: "If they did it, so can I!"
In your very first lesson and throughout your first module, showcase testimonials and case studies of previous clients and customers who used your course to achieve their desired outcome.
Module 1 is the perfect place to re-instil their belief in your product to stick the sale.
Rule #5: Illuminate Their Path To Victory
When your new customer logs into their portal for the first time... they will likely be overwhelmed with your content if they do not see a clear path to achieving what they set out to do with your course.
Take the time to provide visuals and infographic demonstrations along with a polished presentation of the steps they will be taking with you to achieve their desired outcome.
Platforms like Canva or Piktochart can assist in creating engaging infographics.
Rule #6: Make Your Experience Greater Than Their Expectations
Promise less, deliver more.
The quality of your product should always supersede your claims. Unfulfilled promises of your product made by your copywriting is the fastest way to skyrocket your refund rates.
Every lesson, every live, and every post you make in your group should wow your customers and increase the quality of their experience.
Set appropriate expectations, and then overdeliver on them.
Rule #7: Quick Wins Matter
The best selling online courses and digital products are designed to solve a problem...
- Improve sales skills to earn more commissions
- Learn to code so you can land a high-paying job
- Learn how to run ads to get clients on retainers
- [Learn How X To Achieve Y Outcome] essentially is the name of the game
The problem is, most course creators, experts, consultants, and thought leaders fail to realize and appreciate the stage their new customer is experiencing... and overwhelm them with information but no action steps.
One of the most empowering ways to both increase the consumption of your products while simultaneously lowering refund rates is to get your new customer a win as fast as humanly possible.
The first win should be easy to attain while simultaneously providing two realizations for your customer:
a) That they can in fact, do this
b) That your course is the path to getting what they want
Your goal should be to provide a tangible result as early and easily as possible (in most cases).
A Closing Note On High Refund Rates
If the refund rates of your course are higher than 20%... in my professional, unlicensed, and heavily biased decision based on my experience...
You should start over.
(i.e. new funnel, new copy, new product)
You will never turn around a high refund rate around with slow, gradual improvements. And if the refund rate is >10%... it tells me one of two things are true:
The copy that sells the product is far too aggressive and the product cannot keep up with the promises being made to sell the course.
The product is so lacklustre that buyer's remorse is triggered as soon as they press play on module one.
Or... both.
It's better to start over from scratch and do things right instead of trying to fight your way out of a losing battle with little improvements that are damn near impossible to measure.
Blake Wyatt
🚀Ship 30
3y ago
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
- Leonardo da Vinci
I've seen a lot in my 7 years and $13M+ running Facebook ads... but this new ad creation strategy is now in the top 3 of my favourite breakthroughs of all time. After battling to restore performance of this particular front end sales funnel for more than 6 months for this account... we went from averaging 42 sales a day at $153.85 CPA to clocking in (on average) 114 sales a day over the last 7 days while slicing my CPA by 2.45x down to $62.87
To be honest, I'm a little hesitant to share it because it works so well that it's almost too easy, and telling you what it is essentially is giving away the keys to the Zuckerberg mint if executed correctly.
3 Things before I continue...
#1) This method was introduced to me by Will Perry of Unicorn Traffic and founder of Elite Media Buyers, and this is only ONE of his methods that I took and ran with. If you haven't checked out his stuff, I highly recommend it.
#2) I have only had outstanding success with this ad style thanks to collaborating on implementing this strategy with the legendary copywriter Peter Lu (@peter_lu01).
#3) Here's proof that it works (insert guru-style blurry screenshot below that seems hard to believe)... and it's worth mentioning that I've tried 5 different variations of this method, and it's worked all 5 times.
Note: The lightning-bolt ads covered in this article are inside the green box, and some of the old ads for comparison are circled in the red box.
Dang... Alright Blake! But What Are These Lightning Bolt-On Ads?
So glad you asked. It's quite simple really, and once you have this ad creation strategy in your tool belt... you'll never run out of ads again.
First, they are called "Lightning Bolt-On Ads" because they are fast and are essentially two pieces of video content bolted together, a core video element (more on that in a moment) and a CTA (Call To Action) video element. That's it. Because there are only 2 main parts, and in many cases you can get away with just a few CTA video element variations... you can have endless combinations where the rate limiting factor is how much core video content you can make and how good your content is.
If this strategy does not work for you... it means the content you chose to use in the ad is not good. Repeat and try again.
Step #1: The Core Video
One of the easiest ways to find ideal core video content to use as the first section of your ads is to review your organic posts and reels on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok... and grab the ones with the highest combinations of reach, likes, and comments.
Pro-Tip: If you already post a lot of great content... review your content in Meta Business Suite or with whatever tools you use to analyze your top performing content and start with those first.
If you don't have plenty of good content to use, I recommend creating some base core videos to start with that have a strong hook (I.e. first 3-5 seconds of the video) followed by a great piece of content.
Here are some examples of content styles that work exceptionally well:
1) Demonstration/Educational content (my personal favourite)
2) Polarizing view content (I.e. taking a stance against a commonly held belief)
3) Top 3/5/7 Tip-Style Videos (e.g. the top 5 online businesses to start in 2023)
The key here, in most cases, is to post these types of videos and see which videos get the best organic
Step #2: The CTA Bolt-On Video
All you have to do is film a quick 30-90 second call to action (CTA) script that ideally takes place in the same setting as the original piece of content so that it looks relatively natural when you bolt the pieces of content together.
So, if the core video content is in front of a whiteboard with a blue shirt... film the CTA in front of the same whiteboard with a blue shirt. If the core video content was filmed on a hike with your dog wearing a white shirt... well, you get where I'm going with this.
Then, you attach the core video from step #1 to the CTA video in step #2 and voila... you have your first Lightning Bolt-On Ad created and ready to launch.
Here's a sample template you can copy and paste to get started with your own Lightning Bolt-On Ads:
"And if you're looking for [insert number of tips, tricks, strategies, or resources] more [insert relevant solution] to elevate your [insert relevant achievement or goal], and boost your [insert business metric],....
Then luckily for you, we've compiled it all inside the [insert product name] [show product in hand]
These [insert what the product provides - tips, strategies, etc] have been successfully implemented in [insert number of industries] industries and counting...
As of this filming, there are [insert number of users or customers] [Editor: show screenshot on page] who have used these [insert what the product provides - tips, strategies, etc] with a considerable amount of success since [insert start date].
You can get this [insert product type - book, guide, etc] for yourself today.
Go read it, use it, and see what that does for your [insert business metric].
You won't regret it."
All you have to do is fill in the template with your relevant information and tweak the copy to whatever product or lead magnet you're offering.
A Final Note On Quality...
The simple yet harsh truth about this strategy is that it will result in one of two outcomes...
#1) You'll make drastic cuts to your CPA and your ads will begin to soar off the backs of your amazing content.
Or...
#2) The ads will absolutely bomb and it means that the quality of your content is missing the mark.
Blake Wyatt
🚀Ship 30
3y ago
Today, we're going to dive into how to supercharge your sales, unearth critical market insights, and broaden your customer base with one uncomplicated yet potent tactic - the Post-Action Intake Form.
This seemingly simple step is a treasure trove of data that you can leverage to refine your marketing strategy and better cater to your customers. If you're tired of seeing your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) climb while your messaging keeps missing the mark, then it's time to tap into the power of a well-devised intake form. Trust me, it's a game-changer.
The Post-Action Intake Form Accomplishes 2 Key Objectives:
First, it primes your customers for future engagement with your sales and marketing teams. They've filled out the form, they're committed, and now your sales team has the playbook for their needs and desires. It's like handing them conversion cheat codes to maximize the lifetime value of every new lead or customer.
Second, you're secretly gathering market research that's worth its weight in bitcoins. You’re like a highly trained military operator… gathering intel before engaging. Every answer on that form is a clue to what your customers want, need, and will pay for.
Now you might be wondering how exactly to set this up (and do it so quickly)… So let's dive into the simple 3-step setup process:
Step 1: Map Out Your Questions
Setting up an intake form on your thank-you page post-sale is the first step. It may sound as exciting as a tax return, but trust me, it's the sales equivalent of finding the treasure chest in a pirate adventure.
Quick example: Imagine your sales team being handed a map marked with an 'X' for every new customer. They can skip the pleasantries and dive right into the heart of what your customer wants (while dodging many common objections and wishy-washy prospect behavior).
You want to keep your questions to as few as possible to reduce the time to completion (and increase your completion rates)… while also asking enough questions to get the valuable insights you desire. I recommend sticking to between 5-10 questions (no more than 10, as your lead or customer is already psychologically drained from watching your ads and going through your digital mousetrap).
Stick with me ‘til the end of the article and I’ll give you some base questions to start with.
Step 2: Set up Your Post-Action Intake Form & Integrations
Now that you’ve got your questions mapped out… all you have to do is pop them into your favorite question-based software tool (I recommend Typeform or Jotform). You’ll want to start with the easiest questions to build momentum before getting to the longer-form answers, like asking them to confirm their first name, last name, and email they used to sign-up or purchase.
Next, you’ll want to ensure that you use a tool like Zapier to connect your form to your CRM so that all of the juicy details about every single customer who fills this out get added to their contact information for your sales team.
Once you’ve got your shiny new Post-Action Intake Form built, which should take a few minutes, all you have to do is grab the embed code and place it on the Thank You Page of your funnel. Here’s an example of what the thank-you page might look like…
Pro-Tip: if you want to skyrocket the amount of intake form completions, simply offer them an additional free bonus training or resource for filling in the form.
Step 3: Use the Insights to Tailor Customer Experience
And here's the beauty of it all - it culminates in an enhanced sales process, enriched customer relationships, and insightful market understanding. You're not just running a business; you're building an empire with a loyal following of customers who actually feel understood.
Pro-Tip: export the answers gathered from your Post-Action Intake Form and upload them into a free word-cloud software tool to uncover messaging patterns, and common goals as well as challenges that your customers are facing to turn these answers into actionable insight.
Here are a few example questions to kickstart your Post-Action Intake Form:
First things first, please confirm the email that you used to [sign-up for/buy] the [PRODUCT/LEAD MAGNET NAME].
What prompted you to grab the [PRODUCT/LEAD MAGNET NAME]? (Make this multiple choice with an "Other" answer option just in case.)
What is your #1 goal this year when it comes to [NICHE/INDUSTRY/DESIRE]?
Permission to vent to us... what has been your biggest challenge preventing you from hitting your goal?
If we could provide a clear pathway from your current state to your desired outcome, would you be open to further training or resources from us?
Then, on the thank you page, you just need to provide them with a link or a button to access their bonus training for completing the intake form.
Try crafting your own Post-Action Intake Form to transform your thank-you page from a bounce page into an engaging customer research tool. Then, watch as your show-up rates increase, your objections decrease, and your close rates skyrocket from this simple tactic.
PS - THE SUBTLE NUANCE: 'INTAKE' VS 'APPLICATION' OR 'ASSESSMENT'
There is a strategic reason we named it an "intake form" rather than an application or assessment form. Intake forms are a common requirement with authoritative figures in our lives (like doctors or personal trainers), hinting at an upcoming service. By dubbing it an "intake form," there's a tacit understanding that the form must be completed before progressing, thereby encouraging prospects to engage more deeply with the process.