This weekend, I was offered the opportunity to attend a webinar for free. The invitation was sent out very last minute but it was an event scheduled from 9am-5pm for Saturday and Sunday with several speakers scheduled on topics like building a successful membership site, SEO, and how to teach webinars.
The event was free for a very good reason. The developers were in the middle of putting together a new product that they were anticipating selling for $1900.00. By having the free webinar it did several things for them.
First, it forced them to get their stuff together by a certain deadline. As most of us know, often without a deadline things just keep getting put on the back burner. So this fixes that problem by making the development of the new product a priority since many people will be signed in and waiting for it.
Secondly, they get the chance to really refine their material with feedback from actual participants. This, of course, will only make a better product in the end. These presenters spent a good deal of time on the last day asking for brutal feedback that they will use to great effect, I’m sure.
Also, they made about 140 people feel pretty special by being in on their presentation for free while at the same time referring attendees other products they are selling now. Pretty slick move really. They created a win-win situation for themselves and others. Thankfully, the mention of the other products they were selling was not obtrusive or rude.
But as I come back to my office on Monday morning I am feeling a little dumbfounded. I am so perplexed about the boldness of asking for a price of nineteen hundred dollars for an info product. Last year, I paid $1000.00 for two info products on vastly different and specific topics. One was worth it, the other not quite. But $1900 for a CD with audio and video on it from a two day webinar? Surely I am missing something and there will be more to the product than that. I suppose we shall see after they launch it.
All that being said, there are times when a product is worth that big price tag, but it needs to be one heck of a product or experience! Or a solid guarantee that you will make more money after learning from them than what you spent in the first place.
