Product Launch Manager – What To Do When Starting Out

Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 3:12 pm

Ok, you’ve been through Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Manager course, or at least the Product Launch Formula. You know what’s what and you want to do online launches for client with new products to market.

So, what do you do when starting out?

The first thing I recommend is to write a list of all the people who you know you would like to launch for. Whether they’re family or friends, or friends of friends, or friends of the family. Write them down.

Then look at the people who you don’t know, but know of and can approach, that you would like to do a launch for.

Then look at all the people who you know of in business, no matter where they are, etc, and write them down. Write down as many people as you can think of.

Ideally, you’re looking at creating a list of 100 people on your list. Now, prioritise them into people who you know have a product that you can approach easily, or who may have a product, or could use your services. These are your low hanging fruit.

When starting out, the chances are that you’re not going to hit the jackpot. Now, you could go straight to the top and get a big fish on your first attempt. Good for you if you can. But what you’re looking for in your first few times, especially when you’re looking to get some clients under your belt and get the experience to land bigger clients, is to get something done. No matter how big or how small, get something!

You might classify them as throw-away clients, ones you “throw away” once you’re done with them, because they’ll have served their purpose. Typically these type of clients won’t have a lot of money to pay you, and they’ll be looking to give you a big percentage of the takings. But usually, nothing or very little up front.

Take these with the mindset that you’re using them to learn from.

Make sure you treat them as you would a big fish, as they’re testimonial could be the thing that gets you those bigger clients. Keep them sweet and it’ll pay off for you.

You could even approach them by saying that you’re going to work totally on commission for the launch. Tell them that you’ll only take money when they make money. You assume all the risk (a “risk reversal” strategy) so that it’s in their favour.

This is a dangerous strategy financially, but to keep it in your favour, I would do a number of things…

Once you get an agreement that the “client” wants to do an online product launch, get them to sign a contract saying as such. In the agreement, put a clause that says that if THEY don’t go ahead with the Product Launch, they pay you $XXX for your time and effort. If THEY don’t follow what you say to the letter and it goes wrong, then they pay you $XXX. Put it in such a way that if they back out, they pay you. This puts skin in the game for them to follow through and for both of you to make money.

Now, if you can get a retainer from them from the beginning, great. Take it! You have done well.

When you get the client, work with them, do the best job you can, as if they were a big fish, because, for now, they are your Big Fish!