I have no doubt that before you opened your consulting doors you thought long and hard about the branding of your company, from the logo design to the colors of your website. The same kind of branding strategy should occur when you’re creating products for your audience.

While the product graphics don’t have to look exactly like your website, there should be repeating elements so your subscribers and clients will recognize the product as being yours. Whether that’s the same color palette or font, repetition develops trust and name recognition. And once people trust you, they are more likely to become repeat buyers.

Repetition is also important when you have a series of products, whether it’s a series of ebooks, webinars, or classes. For instance, you know that section of Amazon that shows the “Customers who bought this also bought” section? If an author’s series of books shows up, all looking similar in design, the reader would know right away that this author is a credible authority because, after all, look at all the books she’s published!

If the books in this section are all different in design – whether it’s because they are by different authors or because the series author didn’t think about consistent branding – the credibility rating is not as dramatic. The readers might think they belong to all different authors or they cover topics different from the original book they published. Make it as easy as possible for customers to recognize and purchase your products through consistent visual branding. Making them confused or having to jump through hoops will lessen your sales and possibly hurt your credibility.

What Types of Products Should You Offer?

So many consultants focus on the high end products and forget that not all their clients will purchase their high end product right away. In fact, that’s the rarity instead of the norm.

In most cases, people will hear your name and want to learn more about you. But they’ve worked hard for their money and will likely want to hear you speak or understand what your consulting practices and beliefs are prior to buying a package from you.

What better way to encourage potential new clients than to offer low end products for them to test out before buying a high end consulting product?

One question I am asked all the time from my readers is what is a sales funnel and why is it important to have one? I guess that’s really two questions but they go hand in hand so I’ll tackle answering them together.

A sales funnel is a pathway through which you guide prospects into the depths of your business. Unless your prospects have unlimited funds, you will rarely find someone ready to purchase your highest priced consulting service. Likewise, if you’re planning a weekend retreat in a faraway land, very few will shell out $10,000+ unless they already know you and like what you have to say.

Hence the need for a sales funnel.

Anatomy of a Sales Funnel

No doubt you have seen pictures of funnels, where the widest opening is at the top of the funnel with the smallest opening at the bottom. The idea behind this graphic is that you’re attracting as many people as possible at the opening of your funnel and bringing them down to the smallest opening, where your most expensive product is offered.

Every step along the way, from the wide opening and downward into the funnel, you need to make offers to this audience and usually they are incremental in price. These offers make chronological sense to the consumer and after they purchase one product, they are more likely to purchase a second due to liking your content and your style of consulting.

What Can I Offer?

At the opening of your sales funnel you want something with mass appeal so you’re attracting a large number of people. It can be a freebie, a chapter from your book, a recording of an interview, anything that will showcase your consulting.

Once people have responded to that freebie, I prefer to offer low priced items throughout my funnel. These types of products give your audience a low risk way of experiencing your consulting skills and beliefs. These low priced items can include ebooks, workbooks, ecourses, or a membership site.

How Can I Get Started Creating Low Priced Items?

The key to creating low priced products for your sales funnel is that they should be quick and easy to create. You don’t need ghostwriters or a huge team to create the products I’m talking about. The idea is to pull your expertise out of your head and get it onto paper or video. No extra research necessary…it’s all about what you know.

I’m a big believer in creating passive income for your online business but many online business owner don’t know what to offer or think that their one-on-one consultation services are enough to sustain their lifestyle.

Sure, your clients hire you for your specific skillset and specialty but wouldn’t you like to earn more in your business? Wouldn’t you like to cash in on the phrase, “Make money in your sleep”? Wouldn’t you like to reach more of your target audience who aren’t quite ready to purchase your big ticket consultation packages?

This is why you need products to sell in addition to your consultation services.

What Will They Buy?

A simple way to determine what your audience needs is to simply ask them. Create a survey with Survey Monkey and ask your followers on social media and on your email list to complete it. Maybe what they are looking for is a simple ebook or a workbook. Others may be looking for a class to resolve their particular problem.

Also ask your current clients what they need. This is especially important to retain them as clients after their consultation sessions end. What’s the logical next step for them to continue learning with you?

Identify Your Target Market

You have likely done this exercise already however it’s important to reanalyze your market and identify any changes that may have occurred. Have you stayed true to your initial business plan of attracting your target market or are your clients at a lower income level? How do you attract new prospects?

By creating lower priced products, you’ll attract people who aren’t quite ready to purchase a high priced item. However, these are still good prospects to have in your sales funnel because they can start slowly with your lower priced items and as their income increases, you can offer higher priced items, eventually leading to your highest priced product. While they progress through your products, they will see you as a credible expert and will trust this expertise, especially when you offer your higher priced consultation sessions.

How to Create Low Priced Products

Stay tune with my new guide whereby I’m sharing my best secrets and tips for creating 4 low priced products your clients will LOVE. We’ll talk about what to create, how to create it, and how to price it. Grab your seat by clicking the registration link here and get ready to create!