How Can You Get Your Students To Spend More And Feel Good About It?

While in London this August, I was reminded of a ubiquitous retailers obsession the Brits have – 3 for 1 campaigns. Buy two books, get a third for free. Same with shirts, potato chips, hotel rooms, soft drinks – it's endless. What is this? It's something that works. I noticed it working in my Self at the airport as I was leaving for Japan. I was looking for a book to read on the 13 hour trip back home – I still prefer a book to a kindle – and I found several candidates. So I had to nail it down to one. Or did I? That's when the "3 for 1" sign starting messing with my brain: buy two books, get a third one for free. In effect it's a 33% discount, but to get that I have to spend double what I planned to spend. I have no idea of the economics of it, but I totally get the psychology. It worked on me, as I started thinking "OK – do I want some more books to read for other times?" Then I started thinking that through, and came up with several scenarios where having extra books to read was good. Then I worried - the extra weight? Oh, I was already checked in, and through customs. Have you noticed that the airlines don't count a monster bag of shopping as violation of their condition that you are allowed only one bag? A tip from a frequent traveller! So I bought three books, and I've read them all. For the retailer – it's an amazing accomplishment. They doubled their revenue, and I assume the economics works. And I did not suffer from buyer's remorse – quite the opposite. I enjoyed saving $25 on books I wanted to read. Win-win for both of us. Amazon lost out on that one. Is there anything Alexander Technique teachers can learn from this to implement in their businesses? You bet there is! How To Leverage A Person's Interest To Benefit You Both To-day's post is my first this month on how to use your current students to gather more students i.e. referral systems.

In Japan we call it "2 for 1". We charge a high price for our workshops, then announce in the finer print below that they can bring a friend for free. Anyone seriously interested in attending, but feeling a little shell shocked by our premium pricing, inevitable finds the fine print. We often get excited calls asking: "Really? Is that correct? I don't pay any more to bring my friend?" 10 Reasons Why This Is Good For Your Business 1. It doesn't look like discounting, it looks generous. Imagine instead if we screamed "50% off!!!" in all our flyers? We start sounding like those Persian rug shops in Australia that are perpetually having "Closing down sales". Eventually, the lure wears off – they don't seem to close down – and the store looks undignified and cheap. This way, we avoid displaying the traditional percentage discounts anywhere in our advertising. 2. It really isn't a discount, it's a payment for services. To get the discount, our student has to "sell us" to someone else: their partner, best friend, office companion, whoever. So instead of giving a 50% discount, we are actually funding someone to join our extended sales force. 3. It can make a new sale possible. For enthusiasts, our offer more easily opens the door for a new student – their companion can't argue back: "But it costs too much" because it will cost the same whether they come or not. Doubtful participants are won over by this argument. 4. You double your numbers at the workshop. People want to feel they are part of a success – it's called "social proof" – so when there are more people in attendance, it affirms they have made the right decision. Instead of three people, you have six – it's a stronger group dynamic. 24 is an ideal number. 5. New students feel safer. Going to a strange place, to learn a vague thing, can put off many people – having a friend with you ameliorates that fear. The shy person comes because they have someone to be with. 6. It enhances learning. The "Alexander experience" can be befuddle a lot of people – so it helps a lot that they have someone to partner with during the workshop, someone to debrief with at lunch time. 7. You may inherit an unexpected devotee. Here's the twist in the tale that can happen – the person who was a ring in, who had no intention of coming originally, turns out to be the enthusiast! They carry on, while their friend fades away. We have seen that happen many times. So you're doubling your chances of finding a good, long-term student. 8. You get to step-away marketing quicker. Step-away marketing is when the customer is chasing you, not you the customer. Apple is a master of this – long cues of people wanting to buy the latest iPhone. You want to head your business that way, so 2 for 1 gets you to "sold out" much faster. 9. You re-establish your Self at quality pricing levels. Say you normally charge $150 for a one day workshop. You can increase that to $298 and not risk losing anyone who was used to the old price. How amazing is that? 10. You get to keep the higher pricing. Once it's done it's job, you end it, but keep the higher price. You have effectively doubled your price structure, but since people are beating at your door you don't need to offer 2 for 1 anymore. Need I say more? Post to the group how you could introduce this into your business. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATCSProMembers/