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Upselling from $8/mo to $1947/mo

I just closed a client for $1947/mo for PressPulse.

But 5 months ago he was spending only $8/mo.

Most customers have way more purchasing power than you think.

Unlock it with my 3-steps stacking formula:

imgur.com

Step 1 - Build trust with a low-ticket product

In a world full of scams and deceit, building trust is damn hard.

The best way to combat skepticism is through a free or low-ticket product, where you can go above and beyond to demonstrate your credibility.

When I first onboarded this client onto my SaaS, an AI to help you with HARO link-building, my product was at a very early stage with many rough edges. He gave me lots of great feedback.

I implemented his suggestions the same day and got more feedback from him.

After a couple of back-and-forths, I established myself as a trustworthy hustler, instead of just a stranger online.

This is easy to do for an agile startup but impossible for big companies, so make good use of opportunities like this to build long-term relationships.

Turn your customers into raving fans.

Step 2 - Validate a mid-ticket offer

Three months into his subscription, he told me he wanted to cancel.

When digging into the why, he suggested a performance-based DFY service to remove all the work on his end.

Inspired by his suggestion, I took on him and 6 other clients for $237, a one-time package for 1 backlink. It's sold through my newsletter email blast to 300 subscribers, with a total CAC of $0. I wrote about the details of this launch in another long form.

At this price range, impulsive purchases can still happen if you have a strong offer and good copywriting.

Use this mid-ticket offer to validate your offer and positioning, build out a team, and establish trust.

We went beyond the 1 link for almost all our clients, including this one in particular.

For $237, we got him on Forbes, HubSpot, 2 DR50+ sites, and a few other smaller media outlets.

By doing this, we further built trust into the relationship and established authority in what we do.

Step 3 - Create a high-ticket subscription-based offer

By now, you'll hopefully have built enough trust to get through the skepticism filter for something high-ticket.

Now, it's time to develop an offer that amplifies your previous one.

Something that allows you to let your clients achieve their goals to the maximum extent.

For me, this is pitching every relevant media query on every platform for this client every day, to leverage HARO link-building to its full extent, all for a fixed price of $1947/mo.

This customized offer is based on direct client feedback, isn't publicized on our website, but we're confident it will directly contribute to achieving this client's goal.

A subscription-based offer is much superior because it allows you to create a stable source of revenue, especially at the early stage.


That's how I created 3 different offers to solve the same problem for one client. By stacking each offer on top of the previous one, I was able to guide clients from one option to the next.

This formula isn't some new rocket science I came up with.

It's proven over and over again by other agency owners building in public, like Nick from Baked Design who started with a $9 design kit and now sells $9k/mo design subscriptions at $1M ARR.

By stacking offers, you position yourself as a committed partner in your client's long-term success.


Lastly, I want to address a common objection:

"My customers can't afford $2k/month."

But consider this: most people are reading your site on their $3000 MacBook or $1000 iPhone.

It's not that they lack the funds, it's more likely that your service isn't meeting their expectations.

Talk to them to discover the irresistible offer they'll gladly pay for.

p.s. I'm starting a newsletter to share how I acquire clients like this using cold emails + AI. If that sounds interesting consider joining here.

on May 24, 2024
  1. 2

    But consider this: most people are reading your site on their $3000 MacBook or $1000 iPhone.

    Yes, but they're not buying a new one every month. 😂

    1. 1

      This comment was deleted a year ago.

  2. 1

    This is so good!

    I'm working with a client right now that has large and mid-size packages, but no very small offer. I'll think about some ways she can create a small offer to her audience early in the buying process and upsell them.

    1. 1

      Or a free lead magnet to get their email is also great

  3. 1

    Amazing story! It's incredible how you scaled from $8/mo to $1947/mo with such a strategic approach. The 3-step stacking formula you outlined is pure gold. Building trust with a low-ticket offer, validating with a mid-ticket product, and finally creating a high-ticket subscription service is genius. Definitely implementing this in my business! Thanks for sharing. Check out my site for similar insights: snaptubes pro

  4. 1

    Thanks for sharing!

    I've never seen people posting about this strategy before. Definitely a solid one!

  5. 1

    This was really helpful. Thanks!

  6. 1

    Very well said. We managed to upscale at Goleko by building with that same mindset. Think about your ideal client, would they be able to afford it? They probably do.

    Are you providing value or are you providing convenience?

  7. 1

    Great advice. It is indeed harder than ever to build trust with customers.

  8. 1

    This is crazy. It really shows the potential with a customer!

  9. 1

    wow, thats a big leap! congrats

  10. 1

    This was really helpful. Thanks!

  11. 1

    After rising to tottering levels, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have lost more than half of their total value in the past few months.

    Recent high-profile financial breakdowns at Terraform Labs, Bitcoin and Celsius which together mopped out hundreds of millions in market value, helped stimulate a flight from the digital currency market, driving its value from as high as $2.9 trillion last fall to less than $800 billion for now.

  12. 1

    Building trust is an important thing.
    You can start with very low ticket or completely free offer for your product to get initial feedbacks, which later you can showcase to other clients and improve your product.

  13. 1

    "Most customers have way more purchasing power than you think."

    I remember when I got my first $4,000 check for my first website... before that I was charging $100!

    Well done on this success, SolarFlare! More to come!

    1. 2

      Haha quite a moment of realization!

      Did you start charging more after?

      1. 1

        Absolutely! But learn from my mistake...

        I got overconfident and went from 4K to 15K! That was embarrassing. Blew at least 3 major deals that way!

        -> You can't charge 15K for the same 4K value exchange.

        My advice... Learn the return on investment (ROI) for your client/customer. Your value needs to be at minimum 3x the price they pay for your services.

  14. 1

    great ideas. Any idea what we could upsell for fabform.io

    1. 1

      Of course this doesn't work for all business, but you can consider some premium features in addition to your LTD

  15. 1

    That's amazing! Congrats.

  16. 1

    that's quite an upsell!

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