Yesterday I mentioned accelerators as a way to leverage Shiny Object Syndrome. I also promised that I would talk more about what an accelerative add-on is. So let's get into it. But to do that (and you know this already), I'm going to tell you a story.
The First Nice Couch I Bought
The first couches I owned were not purchased by me. They were the couches you get from older friends who are getting new stuff and are happy to give you their hand-me-downs, which I totally appreciated.
But I remember the first nice couch I bought. There was nothing really fancy about it other than it was new. The one thing I loved about it was that it was one of those L couches where one leg of the L was a chaise lounge.
But there's another thing that I discovered as I was making my purchase. For an extra $100 they would do a “white glove” delivery. That meant that instead of dropping it off in cardboard boxes on my driveway, they would bring it into my home and put it anywhere I wanted. They would also take away all the trash. And they'd even take away my old couch. That was the best!
That white glove delivery was an accelerative add-on.
That Time I Bought a Harley
A few years ago I bought a Harley trike. I had done enough research to know that a two-wheeled bike would be really dangerous for a guy my size because it would need to be really powerful, and a really powerful bike for a new rider is a bad idea. So I picked out a trike and it was (is) awesome.
The guy who sold it to me was awesome. He hooked me up with everything I needed – from helmets to motorcycle insurance. And he realized that I was new to this Harley game. So he made me one other offer.
The specific store that I was buying my trike from had a club that would do weekly rides. That club would get discounts on gear. It also would help me with the various tuning and maintenance that I would likely need. And it wasn't an outrageous price.
So I bought it. A great accelerative add-on.
What is an Accelerative Add-On?
Those two stories sound pretty similar, don't they. But they don't explicitly tell you what an accelerative add-on is. So let me see if I can explain it in some detail.
First, let's start with the fact that every product you sell not only represents the product, but also the goals of the buyer.
If someone buys a Porsche, they're not just buying a car. Yes, the product is a car. And yes, the buyer will get delivered a car. But they're buying something else. It might be speed, prestige, bragging rights, or something else. But they're buying it along with the product.
Second, once you know what they're buying (beyond the product), you will likely know their goals, objectives and where they're trying to go. Now, once you know that, an accelerative add-on makes perfect sense.
Accelerative add-ons are not the product. They're ancillary products. Products that go with the product you're selling. But they accelerate the buyer towards their core goals.
Examples You Can Follow
Digital Access Pass
My friends over at Digital Access Pass do something with their higher tier plans where they interview you and then do the setup for you (so you don't have to configure the plugin). It's brilliant. They know your goal isn't to spend hours or days on the configuration of a complex and powerful membership plugin. So they let you buy it by buying a higher plan.
LifterLMS
I don't know if they still do it, but my friends over at LifterLMS used to offer a premium service that would help you out by building out your online course for you. Same thing – they know your goal isn't configuration and settings. So they help you get your main goal accomplished faster.
WP101
WP101 is known for its lessons on teaching you WordPress. Many people who want to learn WordPress are doing it to publish blog posts. And I happen to know that they're going to shortly release an additional course to help bloggers get better at blogging. Most people would say their customer wants to learn WordPress. But asking, “Why?” gets you to the deeper goal. And that's what they're solving for.
Scribe Media
Maybe my favorite is Scribe Media. They help authors with their books. But they don't have a single offer. They have several – from writing the book for you after interviewing you, to ghostwriting your book, to offering you a coach that keeps you accountable, to a course you can take to do it all yourself. No matter who you are, if you're an author they have a solution for you that helps you reach your goal more quickly.
No matter which company you check out, my hope is that you'll dig deeper as you think about ways to help your customers reach their ultimate goals.