“Sell it for parts.” We’ve heard that phrase, again and again, usually, in a corporate takeover situation where the businesses under the corporation are sold off individually. But how can we apply this concept when it comes to generating extra revenue? In reality, many people don’t look at their businesses in this light.
You probably see your business as one product without realizing what you have as a whole.
Think about it. When you’re selling something, you most likely think of selling it as a single product rather than considering its different aspects. You don’t realize how many different sub-products you can sell from a whole product.
So, when I say, “sell it for parts,” I’m talking about the concept of reverse engineering the process of building a business.
Let’s say I have an online course that includes six one-hour video segments. Most people would think that it’s simply a single course. But what if we looked at it another way? Why can’t it be seven separate products? What if we turn it into six one-hour mini-courses and one comprehensive six-hour course?
When done right, making each video a separate segment of the entire topic allows you to sell the course as a whole as well as standalone training videos. See what we created there? With this process, we now have seven products instead of just one product working for us.
The great thing about it is that we don’t even have to produce any new content. We just have to be smart about creating the entire course to sell it as individual parts.
Let’s look at another example: Marketing University. We have five levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium. Our typical business model is building from the bottom up, so members get added benefits as they access higher tiers.
This is how Marketing University works. Basically, Bronze members get monthly trainings and Traces magazine. Those who upgrade to Silver enjoy everything the Bronze level offers plus weekly trainings and a free Pageable site. Next, Gold and Platinum members get lots of courses and products plus more access to me. The top tier is Titanium, where members enjoy the best benefits, including personal consultations and call-ins.
Now, what if we started the entire “sell it for parts” process by identifying your maximum offer first? In my example, Titanium would be the maximum offer. This level features all the perks and benefits I could possibly offer to members. Very strategically, you figure out what you’re willing to offer at the apex level of your course. You should determine the amount of investment you’re willing to give for your maximum offer. What value should the best part of your course provide to people?
After determining your maximum offer, you can work your way backward to decide what goes in the next offers. This makes the process easier because you already listed everything you’re willing to put into the max offer. Basically, all you have to do is figure out what to remove from the max offer as you go one level down to build the next offer until you reach the bottom level. So, you keep on reducing the benefits until you build the introductory level.
That’s how easy it works. The important part to establish would be the amount of time and money you’re willing to invest into the maximum offer. As you create the next levels down, you’re removing things—not adding—so you’re creating new products without putting in extra effort or creating more content.
You already have everything you need when you create your maximum offer. You just have to break it down into smaller parts to sell into separate products. You’re giving people the flexibility to access varying benefits based on their needs and preferences instead of simply offering one full package from the get-go.
Let me give you another way to look at this. If I separated everything I provide in the Titanium program and sold each one individually, I’d have loads of products to sell on their own. Not only would I have the weekly and monthly trainings, bi-monthly call-ins, Day with Armand, and four one-hour consultations, I would also have each one of the individual courses in my archive. I would have over 20 individual products to sell. Although in reality, most people would simply sell this whole thing as one package instead of breaking it down into individual, revenue- generating products.
One of the most important things I realized while building Marketing University is how to leverage my time wisely. Can I sell something that I already created as another product? Can I reverse engineer the whole product and sell it for parts?
Breaking things down into pieces allows you to discover more opportunities to generate revenue. This means you actually get more sales and earn a lot more money.
A perfect example is the Monthly Website Critiques for Titanium, Platinum, and Gold members. We offered this as a promotion to my list outside of Marketing University for over $2,000. It actually doesn’t take any more of my time because I’m already doing it on a regular basis. When you take this approach, you make money when members join your program for exclusive access to such perks. Plus, you also earn money when you sell it separately to non-members.
You only have to put in extra effort to your marketing process. Simply set up a sales page or an opt-in page for each individual product. You can even create a sales video to tell your potential subscribers why they should join your program or buy your standalone product. Create a value proposition to hook your audience.
Take a serious look at what you’re already doing and what you already have and see if you can break it down into separate products that you can sell as parts. This could be a game-changing process to multiply your profits even without creating anything new.
