Because your experience with the low-priced item will be differ-
ent from mine, here are some additional examples. In my own ex-
ample, I used the same product, books, and moved to more and
more challenging sales situations. You don’t have to do it this way.
A consulting client, a skilled computer programmer, wanted to
start his own business. Using the low-priced item idea, he started
selling scented candles. He went through the usual fears of “What
will people think?” “They will disapprove of me.” “I’ll never make
any money doing this” and the like.
After some success with the $5 candles, he moved to $300 air pu-
rifiers. After some success with the air purifiers, he started his own
business providing Internet-based patient scheduling for doctors.
When I (PL) lived in Hollywood, several aspiring actors learned
the low-priced item method from me and used it to launch their act-
ing careers. They had made no progress securing work in the typical
Hollywood rat race of agents, casting calls, and auditions. From sell-
ing the low-priced item, they began to understand that lack of sell-
ing ability had kept them from parts in the past. They realized that
more than acting skill was required to get work as an actor, and they
shifted their mentality from waiting to be discovered to forthrightly
showing the decision makers why they were the best person for the
job. Some of these same people star in movies and TV shows today.
Obviously selling yourself and your own talent is way more difficult
than the low-priced item. The kiddy pool offers almost guaranteed
success at the very beginning when you need it most.
Why Selling the Low-Cost Item Works So Well
Everyone I know who has stuck with the low-priced product has suc-
ceeded with it. Here are five reasons it works:
- You create a success neurology related to selling in which
fear no longer means “STOP.” - Your emotional attachment both to the outcome of each
sales encounter and to the product itself are minimized. - You maximize your potential market.
- You maximize your amount of practice.
- You focus your attention on what you have to offer. (The rev-
enue per sale is too small for you to focus much on that.)
Your personal involvement in selling any item will never go to
zero. After a while it will become OK to hear people say no, but
Why Selling the Low-Cost Item Works So Well 219