2 builders who never spoke to each other

Discount the top tier, not the entry price

Where almost every buyer takes the cheapest option, giving the expensive tier's benefits away at the entry price produces a huge advertised saving while nearly everyone still pays what they would have paid. A percentage cut on the premium tier can still land above your normal entry price, which protects revenue per customer. Avoid the deep percentage discount entirely: it teaches buyers your list price is fiction, and cheap buyers arrive expecting a bigger product and ask for refunds.

The method

1. 01

   Run the sale by giving the top tier's benefits away at the entry tier's price, which produces a huge advertised discount while almost every buyer still pays what they would have paid.

2. 02

   Rather than cutting your entry price for a sale, put the premium tier on a straight percentage discount so the discounted price still exceeds your normal entry price.

3. 03

   Refuse the deep percentage-off discount: it destroys revenue per customer and teaches buyers that your list price is fiction.

4. 04

   Budget for more refunds after a deep discount, because a cheap price pulls in buyers expecting a bigger product than you built.

5. 05

   Discount steeply for the sale and roll every format of the product into the one purchase.

What it returned

• $295

  Pegasus sells at $295 for one site and $750 for unlimited sites; over 90% of buyers pick the single-site tier, so offering unlimited at $295 advertised as 60% off barely dented revenue per customer.

• 2021

  In 2021 Zue offered Pegasus unlimited at $375 rather than the $750 list or the $299 he had used the prior year, which he estimates added roughly $6,000 of revenue.

• 95%

  Zue cites a font bundle sold at 95% off as the pattern to avoid, arguing customers will conclude the product is worth a twentieth of its price.

• Three of the four ebook refunds that year arrived after the deal, with buyers saying they had expected far more depth.

Sources

• Black Friday 2021 LPHT Experiment Results - Rob HopeRob Hope · robhope.com · BF 2021 Results · 2021-11-30
• Lessons from Running a Sale that Earned 3 Month's Profit in a WeekCory Zue · coryzue.com · Choosing the right sale structure by adding value · 2020-12-09
• Holy Crap!Cory Zue · coryzue.com · Run another Black Friday sale: A+++ · 2021-12-02