Usually these "lessons learned" posts are very hand-wavy and hard to relate to. But this post has some great tips and the author sounds like me, just a regular person trying to sell a product.
I also think that building something beyond your authority is a really common failure pattern more people should be aware of.
Agree 100%. This is so concise and rich in actionable intel. I Evernoted for a reread prior to going live. Great to see a product that was in your head get built by you, distributed by you and give value to your customers. That is impressive...congrats!
Congrats Jaana on the launch and the transparency you're showing here!
I agree about the last lesson indeed (not having enough authority). Also, something that was discussed on the 30x500 alumni list, was that the trust you have to inspire to your followers in order to sell a product at $300 is much higher than if you sell a $20 ebook. Hence, all other things being equal, it's better to start with a lower priced first product.
You first need to build trust with free stuff, then cheap education products, then more and more expensive products or services (in the case of the book's author, 1-to-1 coaching). Very few people are going to buy something expensive from you if they don't know you. Most often they'll consume the free stuff first, then move on to your cheap product, etc.
I had some extra challenges on authority all along since I didn't pick an audience that I'd belong in myself. I just couldn't see myself writing technical tutorials for Java developers - and I didn't want to pick accountants either.
And I did a huge amount of little mistakes! I consider myself lucky in that I eventually reached the launch goal at all.
And I did a huge amount of little mistakes! I consider myself lucky in that I eventually reached the launch goal at all.
It's not luck, it's because you got the core thing right: You are killing a real pain people with money have. :) If you get that core right, you can make tons of mistakes and still help people and make money. It buys you the chance to improve and fix and grow.
I was confused on the same thing as well. The name "SaaS Compass" may even confuse your target audience with the actual service you want to provide if they try to find your organically.
A product's name is a reflection of its marketing (and just as the rest of marketing, naming seems easy, but it's actually hard to get to good results without overthinking it). Perhaps your experiences with the launch are mirrored by the naming conflict, which you only learned about when it was too late. Anyway, it's better to launch with an imperfect strategy and learn from the mistakes early.
I really think you're making a big thing out of nothing. The image didn't show up because I read the text on my phone and the name is foreign to me, so I didn't make the connection there either. Of course I could have found it out, but since it's completely irrelevant to me, I didn't bother. I suppose it does say something about me that I default to assume she was male, but statistically speaking I probably would be right.
Absolutely agree, I have dozens of unopened e-mails right now because I'm saving them for the weekend (and it's only Wednesday). I think that just highlights how Jaana felt that her launch had failed, even though it was completely illogical at that point. :-)
"I didn’t stop to think if I had the authority to actually sell the product."
This, IMO, is the line that best encapsulates the launch's performance.
The problem with courses like the one the OP took is not that they offer bad advice, but they get people thinking about what they can sell instead of a) what problems they can solve and b) what problems they have the authority to solve.
Sounds like the OP got the first part right, but maybe jumped too early on the 2nd.
I'd encourage anyone looking to sell a product like this to spend just as much time, if not more, becoming an expert on said field before selling advice.
I don't know the OP, so I apologize if this comes across as presumptive.
It's a pattern in a lot of startups. At least in this case, it's led to a product that sells. I've seen too many startups where the intended product is a startup. This leads to timid, me-too ideas that will never go anywhere.
Starting from a point of deep domain expertise helps insure that you're addressing a real pain point in an effective way.
"The problem with courses like the one the OP took is not that they offer bad advice, but they get people thinking about what they can sell instead of a) what problems they can solve and b) what problems they have the authority to solve."
I took the same course as OP. You're making a lot of assumptions here. I have to chime in, because 30x500 is almost the exact opposite of what you've described.
1. We spent an overwhelming amount of time learning how to find, identify, and dissect pains and problems. Importantly, all of this was done well before we spent any time about thinking what types of products we should sell.
2. The problem with OP wasn't that she wasn't "expert enough" to solve the problem SaaS Compass addresses. (There's no question that her product benefits SaaS owners.) It was a matter of her perceived authority, and that's something that can - and, knowing Jaana, will - be established over time. (e.g. through content marketing, publishing helpful, free information on her blog, etc.)
"I'd encourage anyone looking to sell a product like this to spend just as much time, if not more, becoming an expert on said field before selling advice."
3. "Expert" is a very broad term, so this is wishy-washy advice. At what point is someone considered an expert? Can I teach 3 year olds to play soccer even if I'm not an expert soccer player? Hmmm, I think we're on to something. On top of that, what type of expert does one need to be? "Said field" is equally vague. Fields are BIG. You don't need to be an all-round SaaS expert to sell to SaaS owners. You just need to be an expert at one particular slice of SaaS, and know more about that than most SaaS owners do. (For instance, you can be a CRO expert and sell CRO advice that's targeted and tailored to SaaS owners and their CRO problems.)
'The problem with courses like the one the OP took is not that they offer bad advice, but they get people thinking about what they can sell instead of a) what problems they can solve and b) what problems they have the authority to solve.'
This has nothing to do with what the course teaches, but with the perceptions of the students during their time in the course.
I haven't analyzed the OP's business success, so I can't say whether or not I'd feel comfortable taking her advice, but I can tell you that were I to buy something like this, I would expect that it should come from someone with a good reputation and a volume of experience in the field (authority is a function of this).
I'm not damning the course or the OP at all, merely stating an observation based on my own experiences in the field of info-products.
No, 30x500 doesn't get people thinking about what they can sell instead of what problems they can solve. This goes for the material, and the student perception of it. I'm making this bold claim because beginning by "thinking about what problems you can solve instead of thinking about what you can sell" (i.e. the opposite of what you've stated) is one of the major premises of the course.
If you're talking about other courses, and you just assumed 30x500 was similar, fine. I just wanted to point out the differences, and how what you said was so far away from what we learned in the course (that includes the material, and our 'perceptions' during our time in the course).
"Courses like the one OP took" <--- (You said this without knowing anything about 30x500...???)
Amy doesn't remember but her and I have had many conversations at various conferences. I know many of her peers, and I know several people that have taken her course. Her husband and I discussed my sunburn at lessconf. I know that she/he are good people.
My reference to courses like that is to any course that teaches someone how to make money on the internet, whether they sell ebooks, software, tools, downloads, or anything in between.
My comment is not an indictment of her course, but of the many get rich quick seekers that take courses like these.
Amy and I spoke about this today and mentioned that she markets so as to avoid this type of person. I think that's great. However, I'm not going to back away from my comment just because her students don't like what I'm saying.
Do you know any 30x500 alumni who "think about what they can sell instead of what problems they can solve"? Or was that just a general statement about "any course that teaches someone how to make money on the internet?" (In which case I wouldn't disagree. I was just surprised to see 30x500 thrown in the mix there, had to add my two cents.)
You are totally entitled to your opinion, but here's what happened from my point-of-view:
1. You read/skim my post
2. You assumed I'm selling advice (or info-product)
3. You assumed I didn't know my topic
4. You assumed I would be stupid enough to tell people "gee, I don't know anything about this biz optimization thing" while selling advice on the topic via the same channel
5. You assumed I was a "get rich quick seeker" out of my depth
6. You assumed that Amy's course somehow was responsible for this
7. And now it's not Amy - it's us students, who the courses like this attract
I'm not offended though, I'm just amused. LOL. And I can see how my communication and not being native english-speaker are partially responsible for this.
The funniest thing here is that many of us "get rich quick seekers" in Amy's course have spent years building online businesses. Yeah, we definitely don't like what you are saying :D
You are mixing up the mistakes I made and what 30x500 teaches.
I went against Amy's advice when I picked my audience/product. The process does take care that you'll have the authority to sell what you build. I just wasn't following the process to the point.
That's hardly someone else's fault than mine. In fact, I'm very happy with 30x500 and recommend it to anyone interesting in building an online product business
Do I need authority to solve a problem? No. If I can solve a problem, I can solve it.
Does missing authority mean that I'm not an expert? No.
I need (web) authority for selling. Don't mix up authority and expertise. It's possible to know a lot about something and still have zero authority in web.
Does solving a familiar problem mean that someone will buy it? No. And if you don't have customers, you don't have a business.
What you present here is just a more intelligent version of "if you build it, they will come" and we all know that doesn't work.
It doesn't matter what all fancy stuff I'd have skill & expertise to build if I can't sell any of it.
And as I said in that post, I'm happy and proud of this launch's performance :)
And I'm not saying anything negative about your launch. I'm saying that as you spend more time building a reputation as someone that can help people with a 'SaaS Compass,' you will have better results selling products like that.
Hi, I'm the teacher of 30x500, the course in question.
You're right -- by far, the product failures I see are caused by people who are self-focused (what do I want to make? what's fun?) vs service-focused (how can I serve people? create value?). Which is why I teach the exact opposite path:
My students have cleared that one up already, I think :)
So let's address your #B — "what problems they have the authority to solve."
What is authority exactly? Who gives it? It's not really a term I use in the class because I think it's misunderstood. When Jaana wrote that she didn't have "enough authority," she meant reputation, not authority. But when you come down to it, it's not like Jaana is, say, a famous actress, who wants to break into rocket science. No, she's not famous or well-known at all.
Her real problem isn't authority -- or the perception of authority, or reputation, or trust. It's not a question of image but reach.
Her statistical chops are not at issue, only the size of her platform (readers, followers, fans). And she's working hard to fix that problem right now, using the "ebomb" strategy I teach in 30x500: Educate people, help them, and they will 1. read it, 2. share it, 3. remember you.
As you can see, since we're discussing her post and people are saying how useful it is, this strategy works :)
Now... if you have a platform already and you want to help people, serve people, and sell them something, and you're worried "They won't believe I have the experience!"...
Don't try to sell a teaching product. Don't let it rest on your judgment. Don't use yourself.
Instead, give them a tool that is "factual" -- "This is the math, just plug in your numbers" -- instead of based on opinion or your personal experience. This way you outsource the "judgment" to the end user of your tool. An alternate way is to do research and compile findings, and let the research speak its opinions instead of you.
I'm referring to the expertise required to solve a given problem. There's a difference between selling a software product and an info product, and I'm sure you would agree.
For example, you have the authority to teach 30x500 because you have created a successful business. The problem that I see with many students of courses like this, is that they want to sell the 'how-to' at the same time they are learning 'how-to.'
I haven't read your course materials, nor have I looked at the SaaS-Compass product beyond this (http://saascompass.com/), but it looks like it's a strategy product, which means the author has to prove that he/she has the experience and authority required to help someone do what the course says it will do.
I agree that taking yourself out is a great approach, but still, most prospects will want to know something about the author before they make their decision to buy/not-buy.
Compass is not a course. It's not a strategy product, it's a mathematical modeling tool for inputting statistics and forecasting different scenarios. (Fact: It's a spreadsheet.)
You, the user of the tool, make the judgments about what the numbers mean to you. Not Jaana.
The expertise required to solve the problem is not about making business judgments, but getting the math required to crunch the numbers right (and build a spreadsheet without bugs).
This exchange proves part of Jaana's point -- her copywriting needs further work. :)
It looks like you're conflating me with people who run classes on how to create & sell internet marketing products. That's not even remotely what I do. No worries, I'm not offended, just want to set the record straight.
I'm not trying to sell 'how-to' while learning 'how-to'.
There's a reason why my blog articles are boring "how to calculate your metrics right" posts instead of more sexy "try these things for better conversions" type of posts. I'm not a CRO or business optimization expert and I'm not trying to pass as one.
That would be fake and it would hurt my business.
Like I said in my post, my problem is that people don't realize that SaaS Compass doesn’t rely on my knowledge on how to run a SaaS. They, like you (even after reading my post!), expect that it would and look for that authority.
It's a question of perception and selling, not of a real lack of experience/expertise.
As Amy said, it's about copywriting. But I also have this gut feeling that no matter how I present SaaS Compass some people are still going to look for more "authority" or whatever it is.
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[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 105 ms ] threadI also think that building something beyond your authority is a really common failure pattern more people should be aware of.
I agree about the last lesson indeed (not having enough authority). Also, something that was discussed on the 30x500 alumni list, was that the trust you have to inspire to your followers in order to sell a product at $300 is much higher than if you sell a $20 ebook. Hence, all other things being equal, it's better to start with a lower priced first product.
That's also something explained very well in the Book Yourself Solid book (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Yourself-Solid-Reliable-Marketing...).
You first need to build trust with free stuff, then cheap education products, then more and more expensive products or services (in the case of the book's author, 1-to-1 coaching). Very few people are going to buy something expensive from you if they don't know you. Most often they'll consume the free stuff first, then move on to your cheap product, etc.
I had some extra challenges on authority all along since I didn't pick an audience that I'd belong in myself. I just couldn't see myself writing technical tutorials for Java developers - and I didn't want to pick accountants either.
And I did a huge amount of little mistakes! I consider myself lucky in that I eventually reached the launch goal at all.
It's not luck, it's because you got the core thing right: You are killing a real pain people with money have. :) If you get that core right, you can make tons of mistakes and still help people and make money. It buys you the chance to improve and fix and grow.
I can honestly say that what you have taught me in 30x500 has sliced years off the learning curve of online business!
Maybe later...
A product's name is a reflection of its marketing (and just as the rest of marketing, naming seems easy, but it's actually hard to get to good results without overthinking it). Perhaps your experiences with the launch are mirrored by the naming conflict, which you only learned about when it was too late. Anyway, it's better to launch with an imperfect strategy and learn from the mistakes early.
Congratulations on the launch.
I know plenty of people who don't open emails until 8 hours later.
I don't understand why you claim I'm "making a big thing" and write a paragraph explaining yourself instead of just saying "Oops! So it is!"
This, IMO, is the line that best encapsulates the launch's performance.
The problem with courses like the one the OP took is not that they offer bad advice, but they get people thinking about what they can sell instead of a) what problems they can solve and b) what problems they have the authority to solve.
Sounds like the OP got the first part right, but maybe jumped too early on the 2nd.
I'd encourage anyone looking to sell a product like this to spend just as much time, if not more, becoming an expert on said field before selling advice.
I don't know the OP, so I apologize if this comes across as presumptive.
Starting from a point of deep domain expertise helps insure that you're addressing a real pain point in an effective way.
I took the same course as OP. You're making a lot of assumptions here. I have to chime in, because 30x500 is almost the exact opposite of what you've described.
1. We spent an overwhelming amount of time learning how to find, identify, and dissect pains and problems. Importantly, all of this was done well before we spent any time about thinking what types of products we should sell.
(Side note: Check out this free lesson from 30x500 to get an idea of how we approach "pains"... http://unicornfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Lesson-12-...)
2. The problem with OP wasn't that she wasn't "expert enough" to solve the problem SaaS Compass addresses. (There's no question that her product benefits SaaS owners.) It was a matter of her perceived authority, and that's something that can - and, knowing Jaana, will - be established over time. (e.g. through content marketing, publishing helpful, free information on her blog, etc.)
"I'd encourage anyone looking to sell a product like this to spend just as much time, if not more, becoming an expert on said field before selling advice."
3. "Expert" is a very broad term, so this is wishy-washy advice. At what point is someone considered an expert? Can I teach 3 year olds to play soccer even if I'm not an expert soccer player? Hmmm, I think we're on to something. On top of that, what type of expert does one need to be? "Said field" is equally vague. Fields are BIG. You don't need to be an all-round SaaS expert to sell to SaaS owners. You just need to be an expert at one particular slice of SaaS, and know more about that than most SaaS owners do. (For instance, you can be a CRO expert and sell CRO advice that's targeted and tailored to SaaS owners and their CRO problems.)
'The problem with courses like the one the OP took is not that they offer bad advice, but they get people thinking about what they can sell instead of a) what problems they can solve and b) what problems they have the authority to solve.'
This has nothing to do with what the course teaches, but with the perceptions of the students during their time in the course.
I haven't analyzed the OP's business success, so I can't say whether or not I'd feel comfortable taking her advice, but I can tell you that were I to buy something like this, I would expect that it should come from someone with a good reputation and a volume of experience in the field (authority is a function of this).
I'm not damning the course or the OP at all, merely stating an observation based on my own experiences in the field of info-products.
No, 30x500 doesn't get people thinking about what they can sell instead of what problems they can solve. This goes for the material, and the student perception of it. I'm making this bold claim because beginning by "thinking about what problems you can solve instead of thinking about what you can sell" (i.e. the opposite of what you've stated) is one of the major premises of the course.
If you're talking about other courses, and you just assumed 30x500 was similar, fine. I just wanted to point out the differences, and how what you said was so far away from what we learned in the course (that includes the material, and our 'perceptions' during our time in the course).
"Courses like the one OP took" <--- (You said this without knowing anything about 30x500...???)
My reference to courses like that is to any course that teaches someone how to make money on the internet, whether they sell ebooks, software, tools, downloads, or anything in between.
My comment is not an indictment of her course, but of the many get rich quick seekers that take courses like these.
Amy and I spoke about this today and mentioned that she markets so as to avoid this type of person. I think that's great. However, I'm not going to back away from my comment just because her students don't like what I'm saying.
1. You read/skim my post
2. You assumed I'm selling advice (or info-product)
3. You assumed I didn't know my topic
4. You assumed I would be stupid enough to tell people "gee, I don't know anything about this biz optimization thing" while selling advice on the topic via the same channel
5. You assumed I was a "get rich quick seeker" out of my depth
6. You assumed that Amy's course somehow was responsible for this
7. And now it's not Amy - it's us students, who the courses like this attract
I'm not offended though, I'm just amused. LOL. And I can see how my communication and not being native english-speaker are partially responsible for this.
The funniest thing here is that many of us "get rich quick seekers" in Amy's course have spent years building online businesses. Yeah, we definitely don't like what you are saying :D
I went against Amy's advice when I picked my audience/product. The process does take care that you'll have the authority to sell what you build. I just wasn't following the process to the point.
That's hardly someone else's fault than mine. In fact, I'm very happy with 30x500 and recommend it to anyone interesting in building an online product business
Do I need authority to solve a problem? No. If I can solve a problem, I can solve it.
Does missing authority mean that I'm not an expert? No.
I need (web) authority for selling. Don't mix up authority and expertise. It's possible to know a lot about something and still have zero authority in web.
Does solving a familiar problem mean that someone will buy it? No. And if you don't have customers, you don't have a business.
What you present here is just a more intelligent version of "if you build it, they will come" and we all know that doesn't work.
It doesn't matter what all fancy stuff I'd have skill & expertise to build if I can't sell any of it.
And as I said in that post, I'm happy and proud of this launch's performance :)
You're right -- by far, the product failures I see are caused by people who are self-focused (what do I want to make? what's fun?) vs service-focused (how can I serve people? create value?). Which is why I teach the exact opposite path:
http://unicornfree.com/2013/how-do-you-create-a-product-peop...
My students have cleared that one up already, I think :)
So let's address your #B — "what problems they have the authority to solve."
What is authority exactly? Who gives it? It's not really a term I use in the class because I think it's misunderstood. When Jaana wrote that she didn't have "enough authority," she meant reputation, not authority. But when you come down to it, it's not like Jaana is, say, a famous actress, who wants to break into rocket science. No, she's not famous or well-known at all.
Her real problem isn't authority -- or the perception of authority, or reputation, or trust. It's not a question of image but reach.
Her statistical chops are not at issue, only the size of her platform (readers, followers, fans). And she's working hard to fix that problem right now, using the "ebomb" strategy I teach in 30x500: Educate people, help them, and they will 1. read it, 2. share it, 3. remember you.
As you can see, since we're discussing her post and people are saying how useful it is, this strategy works :)
Now... if you have a platform already and you want to help people, serve people, and sell them something, and you're worried "They won't believe I have the experience!"...
Don't try to sell a teaching product. Don't let it rest on your judgment. Don't use yourself.
Instead, give them a tool that is "factual" -- "This is the math, just plug in your numbers" -- instead of based on opinion or your personal experience. This way you outsource the "judgment" to the end user of your tool. An alternate way is to do research and compile findings, and let the research speak its opinions instead of you.
In that way, Jaana did take my advice. :)
I'm referring to the expertise required to solve a given problem. There's a difference between selling a software product and an info product, and I'm sure you would agree.
For example, you have the authority to teach 30x500 because you have created a successful business. The problem that I see with many students of courses like this, is that they want to sell the 'how-to' at the same time they are learning 'how-to.'
I haven't read your course materials, nor have I looked at the SaaS-Compass product beyond this (http://saascompass.com/), but it looks like it's a strategy product, which means the author has to prove that he/she has the experience and authority required to help someone do what the course says it will do.
I agree that taking yourself out is a great approach, but still, most prospects will want to know something about the author before they make their decision to buy/not-buy.
You, the user of the tool, make the judgments about what the numbers mean to you. Not Jaana.
The expertise required to solve the problem is not about making business judgments, but getting the math required to crunch the numbers right (and build a spreadsheet without bugs).
This exchange proves part of Jaana's point -- her copywriting needs further work. :)
It looks like you're conflating me with people who run classes on how to create & sell internet marketing products. That's not even remotely what I do. No worries, I'm not offended, just want to set the record straight.
There's a reason why my blog articles are boring "how to calculate your metrics right" posts instead of more sexy "try these things for better conversions" type of posts. I'm not a CRO or business optimization expert and I'm not trying to pass as one.
That would be fake and it would hurt my business.
Like I said in my post, my problem is that people don't realize that SaaS Compass doesn’t rely on my knowledge on how to run a SaaS. They, like you (even after reading my post!), expect that it would and look for that authority.
It's a question of perception and selling, not of a real lack of experience/expertise.
As Amy said, it's about copywriting. But I also have this gut feeling that no matter how I present SaaS Compass some people are still going to look for more "authority" or whatever it is.