Yesterday, I talked to a wary business owner.
This business owner is as a course creator and a coach. He does DFY stuff as well.
He had run one auction earlier this year for his coaching services.
You know how auctions work — people bid, the highest bidder gets the thing on auction.
What you might not have realized, if you have successfully avoided my 101 emails on the topic this year, is that auctions are also a viable way to sell DFY services, coaching, and even online courses.
Like I said, this business owner ran his own auction several months ago, with a coaching/DWY package as the core of the auction offer. The auction got him some clients, and made him some money. But overall it was underwhelming in its results.
He is now considering things to do for the rest of the year. Another auction is an option. Except, as he told me yesterday, “I definitely don’t want to do a higher-stakes thing.”
I asked him what he meant by “higher-stakes.”
He explained that he doesn’t want to offer a big DFY or coaching package as the auction offer. Ultimately, he’s wary of putting something on auction and then having to “do this $7,000 thing for $600.”
Here’s my take on this:
As you might or might not know, last year I ran my own auction. Rather than trying to guard and protect myself, I made my auction offer as big and as sexy as I could think of.
Not only did I make a big promise (“I’ll endorse you to my list”)… not only did I throw in a bunch of legit deliverables (solo emails to my list, direct help with creating new offers, resell rights to my courses)… but I capped it all off with a big proof element (“I will keep endorsing and promoting you until you make back all the money that you bid to win the auction”).
The result of this auction offer was that, within 24 hours, I had several people who were bidding not $600… not $7,000… but over $30,000. The winning bid, by the incomparable Nick Bandy, ended up at $31,001.
In short, my advice is to auction off your lifeblood and then some.
Of course, the business owner I talked to yesterday raises a completely valid point.
It doesn’t make sense to run an auction, end up saddled with a bunch of work, and not get paid well for it.
It doesn’t make sense to devalue what you sell, lower your status, and put doubts into your audience’s minds about whether you’re legit, by having a lackluster auction that goes nowhere, or just not very far.
This risk is real.
Even if you think your auction offer is amazing, and that people should be willing to pay thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for it, what will actually happen on auction day?
Will you be effectively selling your blood, sweat, and tears for $600?
Fortunately, there’s a simple and technical fix to mitigate or eliminate this risk.
If you’re a course creator, coach, or you do DFY stuff, and you are considering auctioning off your courses or coaching or services, you can run an auction without the risk of mass embarrassment or of getting saddled with a bunch of work at a coal miner’s wages.
If you’re considering running an auction, hit reply and I will tell you what this technical fix is.
There’s nothing to buy here. I just want to make sure I’m sharing this with people who can benefit from it.