Advice on Exit Splash Price Points!

[Peter Brozowitz]

So I did a test promo today on my site...

169 hops.... 5 sales... not bad..

Except the Price points are $47 ...$27... $17 .... $7...

3 people bought it at $7.... 2 at $17....

Is it my site is not long enough that they don't think it's "worth" more than $7?

Or are people used to Exit Splash system and just do it on everything.

What do you think I should do for a bigger promo next week which will send around 1000 hops?


www.stealdealcash.com lemme know what you think.

Constructive replies appreciated!


Thanks everyone!

Peter Broz

[citrus]

I'm not going to comment on the product or the copy, but as for your exit pops, it is generally not respectable to have that many, especially if you're not offering anything of value.

I, like most people online, would never do business with someone who's very desperate for the sale.

[Garret Acott]

Well, I actually see a number of people going that route these days (I don't happen to like it myself). I do think that once people start seeing the exit pop-ups that they are catching on to the fact that there may be more. So they test it, take it as far as possible and come back and buy at the lowest level.

Garret

[Rob Toth]

Peter, this next bit is definitely just a personal opinion and in no way an attack... so by all means keep doing what you feel best for your business...

But holy hell do I hate that technique.

I too see the merchant as losing instant credibility... even if I was thinking of buying and they just keep dropping their prices, it tells me 2 thinks:

(1) you almost had me shell out $49 for you $7 product
(2) you had me believing your product is worth $49 but it's actually just a junk $7 product
(3) you were willing to take as much money out of my pocket as you can even though the value is apparently $7
(4) you're a bastard!

NOTE: especially for #4 ... take that as tongue-in-cheek... I'm a markter and a capitalist so I'm not actually calling out anyone as a bastard but seriously the above 4 immediately pop into mind when I do the "let's put myself in the prospect's shoes" game.

I think exit splashes are GENIUS... for either delivering a poewrful video testimonial or a squeeze page from a salespage exit (or vice versa), or an extra bonus, or maybe a one-off price reduction based on a ticking clock, or present a relevant offer, or take them to your blog instead, or drive them to a survey etc etc ... but this funnel, that I do see more and more often, I really don't care how well it pulls in the short term, in the long run it trains your prospects/cusotmers to know that all they need to do is DECLINE your GIMMICK and they'll get a ridiculous discount.

Not how I want to be training my guys.

though I'm sure that didn't answer YOUR question (sorry, lol) but maybe it's a bit of food for thought.

Oh and as an affiliate, I'd NEVER promote anything that had that funnel. I'd rather have the merchant go into my customer's home and STEAL the $7 while the customer is sleeping... at least that way it's not such a slap in the face of seeing they're almost $49 purchase turn into $39, $27, $17, $7, $1, Free, I'll pay you, I'll pay YOU and you take my first born ...

I'd personally slap the first marketer who used that funnel and helped make it popular. I'm not even kidding. A very womanly open palmed slap on the right cheek... that's what I'd deliver to said marketer.

[citrus]

The most exit pops I've ever gotten from one page is 3 I think (from your site, Peter), possibly 4.

I'm going to make a comparison, but to understand how ridiculous it is, check out #7 on the following page:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/websites_stop

(and while you're at it, read the others, cuz they're funny as hell)

Exit pops are kind of like the guy in #7, except he's not letting you OUT. He's blocking the exit, getting down on his knees, holding up a product, and begging you to buy it for a discount.

Then, when you shove him out of the way and get across the parking lot to your car, he comes sprinting after you and blocks access to your car. ''Oh won't you please buy these pork chops? I'll let you have it for a fraction of what those shmucks inside the store are paying!''

[Drew Castle]

Sales page doesn't look bad, and I see you've fixed your exit pop to just once (at least on my computer).

The most I've seen is 3 as well Curtis, and yeah, it's super annoying sometimes. Really depends on the price point, but I would never give a discount of more than 10-20% of the original price.

[Rob Toth]

I was just sent to a page (client referral) ... $47 price, exit to $37, exit to $27, exit to $17, exit to $7 ... with infinite exit loop to $7 (until you say OK of course).

My only thought: what a complete douche-bag.

[Rob Toth]

By the way.... if we're friends on Facebook, go check my status (wish I could link to it directly) re: feedback from established/veteran marketers.

My facebook (anyone reading this, feel free to add me): http://www.facebook.com/robthegenietoth

=============

some excerpts ....


Rob TheGenie Toth I was just sent to a page (a client referral) ... their same-old ho-hum biz-opp offer starts at $47 price, exit splash to $37, exit splash again to $27, exit to $17, exit to $7 ... with infinite exit loop to $7 ...My only thought: what a complete douche-bag. Oh wait... I also thought: pathetic dude, pathetic. Some 'tar...d of a "marketer" started using this and other 'tards blindly copied thinking it's a smart idea


Scott Rewick
its so funny man...people from the affiliate marketing world look at this IM stuff with laughable suspicion for crap like this. God knows there side of the house needs to get cleaned up too..but God Dammit..there is so much crap out there. So much garbage products...((shaking my head))



Tony Blake
Except that "tard of a marketer" is a big name guru that you probably admire and have used info/techniques from...



Rob TheGenie Toth
Tony... I doubt I admire them. There are a handful I respect for their savvy but that's a long shot from admire. And you and I both know that a well-branded name, and therefore "guru" status does not mean "firing on all pistons".



Rob TheGenie Toth
Scott... no kidding!! and ... well no wonder either. What's cost of entry? $6 hosting. $10 domain name. $150 out-sourced software or ebook product? Basic whipped up "salespage"? Maybe $40 for graphics? Free PayPal account or $50 for a CB listing, etc? A far cry from REALLY starting an internet business.


Scott Rewick
Here's what's gonna happen. And I know this because it happened to the horde of Acai/Colon Cleanse advertisers that ran into that world seeking quick money. Merchant Accounts (or places like CB), the BBB and Attorney Generals will eventually get overrun with complaints, and then our friend the FTC will waltz in and start smacking some people around. It will clear out most of the weekend warriors, and the cycle will continue all over again. :) ahahah Damn I'm so positive!


=============

And I whole-heartedly agree with Scott's prediction.

This is unethical marketing at it's finest. Consumers won't stand for it long.

A 10% discount (which is how it all started, some sort of low "last minute discount" or extra un-announced bonus) is great... but funnels like this are schemey and will flop.

[Rob Toth]

One more response...

I'm posting these not as a deterent but in hopes that others looking at building long price-down sequences like this at least consider what 8, 10, 15+ year marketing veterans have to say about all this:



"Chris Hubbard
I've seen similar exit splash cycles but none this bad. This is just sheer laziness and having no sense of value for your product. If you want to downsell once, fine, do it...but from there on the focus should be on creating additional value thru the email sequence. Not devaluing your product by saying $27,$17,$7..c'mon man I'll s&%$ your d&^%..LOL... See More

What this clown should be doing is building a list then adding value thru follow up emails. Selling thru different angles. Don't devalue your product, ADD value to the original offer and hold your price point...maybe have a limited time sale or a different offer (i.e. free trial or something).

Most marketers never think about how their process is perceived by potential customers and/or the psychology behind it all. They just copy others who probably don't use their heads either.

Funny stuff though right!"

[Andy Havens]

Peter,

Rob (and others) had so much valuable stuff to say, I won't go there. His opinion may sound a bit harsh but you'd be hard pressed to BUY that kind of advice. And no, I did not mean to gush...

Here's my take:

You did not test price points. You tested multiple exit pops.

If you want to test price points then split your traffic between different prices.

As far as pricing is concerned - if you are going to offer a discount -- whatever, whenever -- you should also offer a valid reason for that discount. Even then I think it is more often a bad idea than a good one. Why?

Because when offering something for sale you want to establish VALUE - real value. Why in the world would you work so hard to persuade someone your product is a fantastic value at $X and then offer it at half that if they don't agree at first?

Here's what I do with my copywriting fees - my fees are set. If I quote you a price and you feel it's too high - what do I do? Say "okay" I'll give you a 25% discount? NO! If I did that then I've just devalued ALL my services -- my time-- by 25%. It's not going to happen. If you don't like the quote, I will work with you if possible, but what I will do is reduce the amount of work I do in return for a lower quote. So if I quote $X for so many emails - I might do fewer emails for less.

One way to do this with a product is to start with a "deluxe" package. If that is too much then take away one or more high-end features for a "standard" package.

This does not test price by the way - it tests the offer.

Regards,

Andy

[Rob Toth]

It occured to me after seeing Andy's response that my replies were just me being opinionated and not even providing a solution...

Andy had some great feedback.

Let me state that I use exitsplash A LOT but the ways we use it is to tell them of an un-announced bonus. That bonus is something that they would have gotten anyways but we specifically leave it off the salespage so that we can use it as a final grab.

OR we introduce spilt pricing. The full price stays the same but 2 payments.

OR, we throw them to a squeeze page. If they didn't buy maybe we can at least get them to opt-in.

OR, finally, we take them to a shorter, more condensed pitch page with new testimonials.

Etc.

I'm not a fan of discounting either. But I wanted to clarify that I AM a fan of capturing exit traffic.

[ianternet]

daaamn!

If a person wants to leave let them leave... I only do 1 exit splash

I tested... 1 exit pop overlay and then an exit js popup (exit splash) and I get users that buy right away from the pop overlay

my thinking is

mains price point > overlay is discount > exit splash to capture optin

that is what I do

[Kunj K]

Hey Peter... why don't you send them to a squeeze page and offer a content-packed video?

I'm sure you'll do better in the long-term than simply reducing the price, which devalues your product..

Hope that helps.

[candres79]

Kunji K is right just send them to a great squeeze page.

at $7 you are basically giving your product away

[Alan Ward]

I'd say to use the "You had me at hello" approach... and then use the exit splash to give them even more value... and take them to a page where they can download something like a free report and have links back to your product...

[Reno X]

I agree with Curtis Nq and Kunj K. Everyone is using the exit pop-ups nowadays and yes they can work to bring in more sales but if it seems to desperate it won't work. Plus also many customers may get annoyed if there's too many pop-ups when they are trying to leave the site.

I'd say, be creative an offer something for free to get an email sign up instead of "giving away" your product for just $7 bucks. If you offer a free product for a sign up, you can follow up with them and potentially make a sale for your product or an affiliate product at a later stage. (or make even more than just 1 sale if they keep being your subscriber)

Hope it helps

Cheers

Reno

[vivek narayan]

Hi Peter,
Here I would agree with what Rob said.Using exit splashes as long as they are intended for lead capture(by offering some freebie),is good.But once used for closing sales by continuously decreasing price,they make the merchant look like someone kneeling down to get the sale.

If you do use an exit splash for price point decrease,I would advise you to stop at one pop.Even then you should use it with mid to high priced products only(generally more than $47),as using them with a low priced product,not only devaluates that particular products but do serious harm to your overall reputation.
Thanks,
Vivek

[rhonnee1]

Has anyone had the opportunity to compare the results of Exit Splash and Popup Domination?

[AshleyGough]

Hi Peter,
Here I would agree with what Rob said.Using exit splashes as long as they are intended for lead capture(by offering some freebie),is good.But once used for closing sales by continuously decreasing price,they make the merchant look like someone kneeling down to get the sale.

If you do use an exit splash for price point decrease,I would advise you to stop at one pop.Even then you should use it with mid to high priced products only(generally more than $47),as using them with a low priced product,not only devaluates that particular products but do serious harm to your overall reputation.
Thanks,
Vivek


Totally agree with this, your better off getting the lead rather than knocking off $10 off a $37 product.
You can then build relations and trust with that person and sell them on the product for the full price
and probably stand a better chance of them buying more products from you. Than if they were to go
through your funnel after getting discounts on the main product.

Ashley

[Gavin Stephenson]

HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA. This is so Funny!

[Ashley Wright]

A good thing I have been testing (stole from Jason Fladlien Thanks dude!) Is offering on exit splash page $1 for my product for 7 days then they pay full after, conversions are working really good right now but still testing :)