Lisa Pfister Product Launch Consultant

Posts Tagged ‘product launch’

Just a super quick note to let the world know that www.LaunchAnswersNow.com is now LIVE.

Come ask your product launch questions and get answers FAST for FREE from 8 top flight Product Launch Managers.

Can’t get a better deal than that!

See you there

Hi Folks,

It’s been awhile since we’ve last talked about product launches.  Being busy is no excuse, but it’s the one I’m using anyway.

One of the projects I’ve been working on is Launch Answers Now. It’s pretty exciting and we’re almost ready to go live so I thought I’d share it with you.

As you may already know, last summer, 45 people came together to be trained as Product Launch Managers by the Product Launch Guru, Jeff Walker.  We were all doing very well in our own businesses, and had many successful product launches, but all of us wanted to learn that extra special something so we made a sizable investment in our professional development to get personal training from the master himself.

Since we returned home many people have approached us to do a product launch for them. The problem is that very few are qualified prospects. They don’t have the resources (money, list, proven product, JV connections etc) to make it possible to do a product launch with them.

It’s been frustrating all around. We can’t serve people who have a need and people who have a need can’t get to the point of being served by us because they don’t have an option of reasonably priced resources to get them to a level where Product Launch Management is feasible.

So this is what we did. 8 Product Launch Managers from around the globe decided to form a team of experts to help take you on a journey.

We decided to set up a site where you could get your product launch questions answered by a group of top notch product launch experts so you could finally take action with confidence. To make it even nicer we’ll be doing this for free. We’ll answer your questions, give you perspective on your plan of action, give you a starting point or just get you unstuck.

What’s in it for us? First of all, we’ll help you get to a place where you qualify for Product Launch Management.  And secondly, we’ll be of service to you.  That means something. We hate just saying “sorry, we can’t help” without providing some way to assist you.

So there you have it. We hope to go live in the next week or two.  If you have thoughts on the project let me know or if you have questions hold on a bit and then keep the questions coming to www.LaunchAnswersNow.com

What’s your biggest product launch question? What’s your biggest marketing question? What’s your biggest concern moving forward? Is it the product itself? Your offer? Your team (or lack thereof)?  The technical side of things – like setting up a shopping cart, integrating systems, server crashes?

There are so many moving parts in a product launch. It really SEEMS to make sense to have someone manage it for you – but that’s the kicker – it SEEMS that way.

Now you’re probably thinking what the #@!! She’s a Product Launch Manager, doesn’t she want me to buy her services? Well the short answer is: probably not. In the vast majority of circumstances it makes sense for you to start on your own, build your assets (prove up your product, build your list, put together some Joint Venture relationships) and talk to your customers and prospects so you really know what they want not what you THINK that they want.

There are two big reasons for this.

Firstly, after you do these things you’ll be either ready to do the big money, list build, megacompany win launch (or you’ll close down the shop and move onto something that excites you more).  Either way you‘ll have got critical information.

And secondly, you’ll be in a position to hire a Product Launch Manger that will put in the extra ingredients to make your launch the success it could be.

The problem I see in the marketplace is that lots of people who come to me have a number of things cooking but they aren’t at the place to knock it out of the park. They haven’t done the groundwork. Most people think that once the product is done, the hard work is behind them. Unfortunately this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

A Product Launch Manager needs certain assets to work with:

• Ready to sell product (helpful if something like it has been successful in the past)
• Be trusted and liked by your customer base
• Provide high margin, high ticket products (information products are ideal)
• Have a large responsive list of customers and prospects
• Enjoy relationships with companies who will promote for you

Now you may be thinking how do I get all of this without having the expertise of a product launch manager to guide me? Well one way to start is by asking one question at a time. What are you having problems with? What’s your biggest issue? Is it where to start? Is it how do I get unstuck?

Let me know and maybe I can help get you, get ready, to hire me

There are 33,000 product launches each year and over 24,500 of them fail. There are a number of reasons for this.

First of all most people don’t have the assets they need to have a successful product launch. A great proven product, a substantial warm list, strong JV relationships, and a willingness to make a substantial investment in marketing are all vital to the success of a product launch.

Business owners all too often believe in their product and get the value of what they created so they aren’t willing to fully invest in marketing efforts that can demonstrate that value to their prospects. (Just because it’s obvious to you, don’t think the benefit you provide is obvious to the prospect.) After the product is created is when the real work starts. Thousands of great products never go anywhere because no one knows about them and those who do learn about them don’t have a compelling case made to take action now.

On top of this there are also a ton of moving parts to crafting a successful product launch.

• Create a really compelling launch story
• Identify the market’s hot buttons
• Identify and overcome objections
• Create pre-launch content
• Create bonuses
• Craft emails for each piece of launch content
• Learn new skills like how to effectively use the social psychology triggers
• Survey the list
• Recruit JV partners
• Create a JV website and support system
• Set up e-commerce
• Train customer service people
• Plus tons of other jobs like — creating a high-converting website, a squeeze page, thank you pages, a blog, a sales letter etc, etc, etc!!!

Please get some help with this stuff. If you’re just starting out you probably can’t afford to hire someone to manage your launch but at least pay for some advice to keep you on track.  If that’s still out of you budget invest in marketing programs that will at least give you a head start.

The last thing people don’t have is a true understanding of where they are today. They see a product launch as an opportunity to make a ton of cash now and don’t see beyond that. Now there’s nothing wrong with a ton of cash. Personally, I’m a big fan of cash. :)  However, maybe the biggest value you get from your first few launches isn’t cash. Maybe it’s a list build so you start to create a community of rabid fans. Maybe it’s an opportunity to demonstrate your value to the marketplace so partners come on board and learn to trust and value you. Maybe it’s getting the kinks out of your system, really learning what your people want (not just what you think they want).

These are all precursors to the big product launch with the big cash grab. Don’t devalue these steps or you’ll just be one of the 24,500 business owners licking their wounds after a battle lost.

People often ask me: What do you look for in a client? Why did you choose to manage this product launch and not that one?

There are five basic categories I cover off in client selection.

The first thing a person needs to have is a great product. Now everyone thinks they have this. Few do. The first step in determining if a person really has a great product is to see if they have proof. Proof can be in the form of case studies, testimonials, before and afters, product demonstrations etc. But the bottom line is: no proof, no launch – at least, no launch with me. J

Step two is checking on the actual person I’m dealing with. Does this person have a track record of success? What have they accomplished? They don’t have to be successful in this new venture – it may be way too early to make this type of judgment – but what have they done before to make me take a risk on investing my time and resources in them?

Step three is the size, composition and warmth of their list. Ideally they have a large list of customers they contact frequently – not a small list of prospects they haven’t contacted in ages. (This may be obvious but if you’re even contemplating a launch consider how you can build and warm your list. It’ll pay huge dividends.)

Step four is determining the value of the relationships they have. Can they get people to promote their product? If not, the launch is extremely limited. The JV component of the launch is supposed to be the easy part. You’ve got a successful product and process, now you just need to introduce it to more people through your contacts. No contacts, no easy button.

The final thing I need to consider is can we work together? Business relationships are no different than any other relationships. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t right. No matter how big the opportunity, if two people can’t work together with mutual respect for their different areas of expertise, the project is doomed from the outset. Granted this criteria isn’t quite as concrete, but you know when you’ve got issues and you have to trust your gut with this one.

There are two main reasons client selection is so important to me. One big reason, of course, is about the cash. If I don’t feel I have the assets I need to work with, I can’t make the money I want for the investment I make with my time and expertise. It’s just as much – if not more – work to launch a losing product as it to launch a winner, so I want to stack the deck in my favor.

The second thing is life’s way too short to try to make something work that probably won’t. I want to work on fun things, winning is fun. Putting lipstick on a pig and crossing your fingers nobody takes a good look at it just sucks. I want to add value to everybody, the business owner, their customers and my company.  That’s why I take so much time with this process.

If you’re hiring a product launch manager, or just doing a launch on your own, start thinking in terms of this criteria. See how you measure up and start tackling the areas that need work. This will make all the difference in your launch. You don’t have to be perfect, but if you can identify and act on the areas that you know need attention, your chances of success will dramatically improve and the big payday you envision may indeed become a reality.

There are so many things that can go wrong in a product launch so I’m going to briefly go over the areas you need to address well before you hit the launch button.

I’ll be going over everything you need to address in this and subsequent posts so stayed tuned…

The first thing you need to have, of course, is a great product. So what does a great product look like?

1. There’s a proven demand for your product
2. People have gotten strong measurable results from using it
3. It’s easy to get results from using it
4. It’s a high priced high margin product (information products are ideal)
5. It’s a no-brainer tailor-made solution to a problem voiced by your niche

Hopefully you checked off most, if not all of those bullet points. If not, instead of carrying on and hoping for the best see how you can improve your product before you launch.

Let’s take these one at a time. There’s no proven demand. That’s a biggie. If you didn’t create something that your target market told you they wanted (through surveying and conversing via blogs etc) then you may be fighting an uphill battle. If you still want to proceed with this product you can always test it out on a small subset of your list. Give it to them for free, have them try it out and share their results.

If it works for them you get great case studies for your marketing materials (checking item #2 off your list). If it doesn’t work you can find out why – what needs to be added or subtracted from the package to make it something your niche cannot do without? Retest with another subset until you have a killer product.

So we touched briefly on item #2 above. If you don’t already have strong measurable results get  some by having people test out your product, if you do then make sure that people don’t just get results from a big effort – try to see how people can benefit from your product in the easiest simplest way possible. Think of it this way. Most of us want to lose weight. And everybody knows this goal can be accomplished by diet and exercise – but how many of us want to take that route? We want a magic pill or an easy button. If your product looks like too much work it ain’t gunna sell. It’s just that simple.

Now on to #4. You want your product to have a high price and good margins for two reasons. There’s the obvious one – more money. The less obvious one is that it will be extremely difficult to get large numbers of high quality Joint Venture partners on board if your product doesn’t have this make up. So what do you do if this isn’t the case? Here’s one suggestion. Make an information product to accompany it. You can write it yourself if you’re the expert. You can interview experts if you’re not. If you add some powerful special value in this way you can overcome this problem.

Finally let’s cover #5 – a tailor-made solution which makes it a no brainer for your niche. It’s got to be special for a very select group of people. You have to speak to them directly in their language and address their specific problems with your precise solution. How do you do this? The only way to do this is by having a very defined sub sub sub niche. When you try to sell to everybody you end up by selling to nobody. Your only chance of true success is addressing the needs of a minute niche and becoming the “go to guy” for that category. If you can do this you can conquer the market and own the category. Any future competition has to position themselves against you – the one who defines the category. That’s why this is so important.

So those are a few of my thoughts about what constitutes a great product, what you can do to prove it up, what you can do to improve it and what you can do to make it saleable before you push the launch button.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on what else you think is critical in a product. Please comment below.

Consider this question very carefully.

A good Product Launch Manager doesn’t come cheap. They’ll ask for a substantial upfront fee and a considerable percentage of the gross sales. Then you still have to pay for a number of other fees associated with the launch (like copywriting). Then there’s the payout for the JVs. You may be left wondering why is my percentage so small when I developed the product?

That’s a valid question.

Here’s the thing. I know you already understand this but 100% of little is not nearly as good as 35% of tremendous. A good product launch manger will make all the difference in your launch.  Actually they do a lot more than just make for a successful launch. They really bring your entire business to a whole new level. They get you the initial money produced by the launch but they also grow your prospect list so your next launch will be more impactful. They grow your customer list (which also makes you much more attractive to joint venture partners). They cement your connections in your industry. They give you the much needed perspective and connections required to make a big splash.

So the question then becomes can you manage your own launch? Do you have the time? Do you have the experience? Do you have the expertise? Do you have the connections? Would you hire yourself to do your own product launch?

If the answer to these questions are all yes, you found the right product launch manager – yourself. Congrats!

If not, and you have a product that meets this type of criteria you should seriously consider hiring a product launch manager.

• Ready to sell product (helpful if something like it has been successful in the past)
• Be trusted and liked by your customer base
• Provide high margin, high ticket products (information products are ideal)
• Have a large responsive list of customers and prospects
• Enjoy relationships with companies who will promote for you

What if you don’t meet that level of criteria yet? Or you don’t have the resources to get the help of a dedicated product launch manager. Then consider finding a product launch consultant who you can guide you. You still control the reigns, find the people to build out your team, and are responsible for all the nuts & bolts of the launch – but when you get stuck you can contact a seasoned pro who can point you in a new direction, who can give you perspective, who can suggest resources, who can make all the difference in the success of your launch.

Still beyond your reach? Then start building connections and create a mastermind group where everyone contributes to the success of each other. Is this the fastest route to success? No, but at least it’s a start and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

There are many ways to achieve your goals but the bottom line is take some action to move forward, whether that’s by hiring someone to manage the entire project, consulting with someone to guide you or by taking the reigns yourself. Each path can result in tremendous results. Just pick one and take action.