So the big day has arrived! After months of hard work and planning, this is the day you launch your eBook/seminar/program in the marketplace. The day that you’re hosting or attending an event where you’ll be selling your product. 

What’s that noise?  Why, it’s the sound of the roomful of people scrambling to the back of the room to hand over their payment.

Once you’ve figured the basics of selling your product, you’re well on the way to making more money in a week than you earned in a month at your previous job.

So, here are some practical tips to help make it all run smoothly.

Print lots of order forms

Make sure you’ve got more than you think you’ll need, as some customers like to keep a copy for themselves. Also pay attention to the information you are asking your customers for when they fill in your order form;

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Postal address

First name AND last name are usually good to get – if for nothing else it makes identifying customers in your database much easier than having to rely on email addresses when you find yourself with 50 John’s in your system.

Don’t forget to request postal addresses and billing addresses if you’re accepting payments via credit card… as well as expiry date, the three digit number on the reverse of the card, and the name as printed on the card.

Money, money, money… cash or credit cards?

Are you taking cash at an event? If so, remember to think about what you’re charging and what change you might need. For example, if you’re charging £47 for something, it’s pretty likely people will hand over £50, so make sure you’ve got plenty of £1 and £2 on hand.

It might sound like common sense, but it will be tricky if that’s the one thing you forgot to pack and the event is taking place on a Sunday when the banks are shut.

If you’re taking credit cards, there’s no cash involved but there are other issues. Do you have your own merchant facility? Or are you running everything through PayPal? There are fees involved for each so get plenty of information… and get clear on the logistics involved with your chosen option.

When are you processing payments?

If you’re processing them after the event, you may want to refrain from giving out any physical product or bonuses until people’s are processed and cleared. This avoids difficulties later if any payments are declined.

Services like Eventbrite are great for event and product sales if you are just starting out, or want an easy and quick option for people to purchase online. They take a commission of the sales, but allow for different pricing structures and are a great option to get a sales order page up easily and quickly.

Are you offering payment plans?

The up side, they offer more flexibility for people to purchase your products that might otherwise not, and means that overall sales are likely to be higher, as a greater number of people can buy.

The down side, there will be people who default on their payments, whose cards expire and fail and who have changes in their life circumstances that mean they won’t be able to pay on time. This will take you (or someone in your team) TIME and EFFORT to follow up and manage

What’s your refund policy?

What’s your refund policy and guarantee? Think about it BEFORE you sell the product, know it, clearly state it, and then stick to it.

A little bit of planning upfront will make your product launch run smoothly, so spend some time well ahead of the event making sure you’ve got all of your avenues covered.

 

 

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