What do Ice Cream Parlors and YOUR Business Have in Common?

Business success relies on being creative and flexible.  Even comparing coaching and consulting fees to an ice cream parlor can increase your income if you know what to look for.  Business and marketing tips come in all flavors so pull up a stool and let me show you what fee-setting and ice cream parlors have in common.

Ever walk into an ice cream parlor and want a single scoop of your favorite flavor?  Imagine you walk in and all they have to offer are triple scoops?  They even have your favorite flavor, but the only way that you can have it is to buy a triple scoop.

Maybe it’s hot outside and you want to walk around without having ice cream pouring down your arm and onto the sidewalk.  Or maybe you’re in a hurry and you only have time for a single scoop.  You might be saving room for something else to eat a little later.

We could go on for quite awhile as to all of the reasons you may prefer a single scoop of ice cream over a triple or even a double scoop.

This seems so elementary that we probably couldn’t even IMAGINE an ice cream parlor that would be short sighted enough to offer only triple scoops to their patrons.

But let me ask you another question.  Are you doing the same thing to YOUR market?  Are you offering nothing but triple scoops when, clearly, many prospects would just like a single scoop?

People want a chance to get to know, like and trust you.  Some just won’t be prepared to jump in and snatch up a triple scoop.  Perhaps their schedule doesn’t permit it.  Or they want to enter your program gradually.  There’s a host of reasons that you should create multiple offers for your market.

So what do you do with these people?  They might turn out to be your ideal clients, but if you don’t have anything else to offer them then you’ll never know.

Whether you are a coach, consultant, holistic service professional or any other fee-based solo-preneur, you can always create multiple offers for your prospects and clients.

Here are a few ideas ranging from free to full-fee:

* Newsletter and ezines
* Tele-classes
* Tele-seminars
* Information products
* Published books
* Group coaching programs
* Packaging your services into 2-3 tiers

For coaches, one of the quickest tweaks that you can make is creating what I call a split fee.

The typical coaching model may look like:
4 calls at $600 per month

But how about this:
4 calls at $750 per month
2 calls at $400 per month

You just increased your hourly income with both offers and created a new option for your clients that’s less of an investment of time and money.

Frankly, you may find that most clients opt for the higher of the two, but having options means that they feel in control of the experience.

And what about the client who is just in the “getting to know you” phase?  This would be a great opportunity to offer an information product rather than jumping right into the coaching offer.

Remember, not everyone who walks into your ice cream parlor is looking for a triple scoop ;-)

Be sure to leave a comment below if you liked this article!

Cheers
Tom

P.S.  One of the best “get to know you” offers you can create is a simple but powerful information product.  One where you share an in-depth strategy on how your ideal client can achieve ONE goal.  The great thing about having information products is that you can share your wisdom with tens, hundreds or even thousands of people at once rather than relying exclusively on the “one-on-one” business model.

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Leave a Reply 7 comments

Don - January 29, 2013 Reply

Smart – common sense (we all know how rare that can be) – profitable. Getting prospects into your ” sales funnel” gets tougher all the time. I like the option of showing the higher ticket price first … followed by the less expensive choice.

The comparison shows the higher to be a bigger savings. Yet gives the customer that ability to get onboard at a lower price point. Another important element is the strength and ease of your results “guarantee”.

    Tom - January 29, 2013 Reply

    Thanks for the comment, Don. Yes, both great points you make. If you can help a client accomplish something quicker and easier than others, you will eliminate most competition even in a “competitive” niche.
    Cheers,
    Tom

    Williamtap - May 21, 2016 Reply

    I really like and appreciate your article post.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic. Schulle

Dianne M. Daniels - January 29, 2013 Reply

Excellent point, Tom – and I’ll be incorporating this into my website as I redesign and relaunch my product and service offerings. I provide coaching and consulting services to weight-loss surgery patients, and realize that jumping into a multi-month coaching program is a BIG commitment for a lot of people. I plan to offer information products with a low barrier to entry so people can get to know, like and trust me before they sign up for individual or group coaching.

Teleclasses and teleseminars will certainly be a part of this product mix – thanks again.

    Tom - January 29, 2013 Reply

    Hey Dianne,

    Yes, having information that people can turn to can be helpful not only for your clients, but also for you. We all have a limited amount of time to be able to spend with clients so having products and programs allows us to help even more people.

    Thanks!
    Tom

Nancy Marmolejo - January 29, 2013 Reply

Hi Tom-
Just read this post and the triple scoop of ice cream analogy worked so well to get the point across!

With so much competition out there and so many people taking their services online, you really must have more than “one size fits all”. Thanks for this post and laying it out so concisely and clearly!

🙂
Nancy

    Tom - January 30, 2013 Reply

    Hey Nancy! Thanks for reading and commenting. You rock!

    T

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