Spending less just got easier.
For many of starting out online, you start with a very tight budget…
Or really, no budget at all.
You start off by searching for everything you can get for free.
You want to know what are the best free options for starting a blog, hunting for high quality free templates for your website, free images, free social sharing tools and the list goes on.
Or maybe that was just me 🙂
I had to come to realize that, at a certain point, you will and must invest in yourself and your business if you truly want to see real results.
This was a scary point for me…
To go out on faith and put money that I didn’t really have into something that could potential give me a return… With no money back guarantee!
When I made the shift of just having a blog, to building an online business, I knew I had to put money into it.
I started this entrepreneurial journey because I wanted the freedom and flexibility that building an online business can offer me.
This made even more sense after I invested in the right tools that saved me so much time while bringing in more results.
The issue was that my funds were very low and I knew I couldn’t invest as much as I wanted.
I noticed on many products I was looking at, there would almost always be a couple features in a higher plan I wanted.
But, I didn’t want to pay that much more, just for a couple additional features!
So, I set out to get much of what I wanted but spend much less at the same time.
And here’s how you can too!
Why This Works
Companies know that the long term value of a customer is worth much more than the money they will lose out on upfront.
They know that they can offer future upgrades, new products and services over time to recoup and increase profit in the future.
You will see in the email templates below that, without directly saying, this can be a win win for both parties.
Step 1 Be Prepared To Buy
When I began testing this strategy, I would reach out and get some to offer me a free upgrade.
At the time I was not completely ready to buy.
Well a month or so later, I went back to actually take them up on the offer only to realize that they change their pricing structure.
I tried again but knew the chances were slim that they would honor the price quoted.
Long story short, I missed that opportunity because I waited to long to take action.
When you start reaching out to these companies to get upgrades, be ready to buy so you will not miss out on anything that they offer you.
You may only get one chance.
Step 2 Reach Out
Using the example below, lets say the PRO plan is to expensive for me right now…
But, the STARTER plan I can afford.
At the same time I see one thing on PRO that can really help me out.
STARTER
1 Users
1GB of Storage
- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3
- Feature 4
$9 / month
PRO
3 Users
5GB of Storage
- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3
- Feature 4
$29/ month
ELITE
10 Users
50GB of Storage
- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3
- Feature 4
$129 / month
Now, I will contact company to request getting Feature 3 from the PRO account added to my STARTER plan (Hopefully for free).
Try this out…
Subject Line: Interested in your STARTER plan
Hi,
I think your service is exactly what I’m looking for and I would like to get it today.
The only issue is that I would like to add ‘Feature 3’ of the PRO plan to the STARTER plan.
The STARTER plan is in my budget but it wouldn’t make sense for what I need, not to have ‘Feature 3’ included.
(your name)
Sometimes this is all you will need to get responses like…
The $29/ mo was the price of the plan I wanted and without upgrading to the higher plan, I was able to get the subdomain feature added before signing up!
Just be realistic.
You may be able to get extended trials or discounts on a particular plan in their response but remember that this strategy is to help you get free upgrades…
Not to get premium plans or services for free.
Step 3 Evaluate The Response
You will not get a yes 100% of the time, of course.
They may come back and offer you your request for an additional fee, which will still be cheaper than paying for a PRO account.
If they say Yes…
Congratulations… Go ahead and sign up!
Here are two of the most common responses other than Yes and how to respond.
First possible response
“We can offer you the requested services for an additional $X.XX.”
You see that they are not interested in giving the additional features for free but you see that they are willing to work with you.
If you can afford it, great! You just saved some money.
If you want to take it a step further to try and save more. Use this template to continue with negotiation.
Thanks but that is just outside of my budget. I can do it for around $X.XX. If this works I will sign up right now.
Thanks for working with me on this!
(your name)
Try to be reasonable with your counter offer. If they say 50.00 and you come back with 5.00 or 10.00 you may not get a response.
Second possible response
“We will not be able to add both of these features to the Basic plan.”
If you are trying to get multiple features added, use this one.
At this point pick your favorite feature and push for that one, if you are still interested.
This only really works on Feature rich plans…
If the Starter plan has 3 features and the Pro has 10 then this works better.
But if the difference is only a few Features, then this may not work well.
I see…I am still interested in your STARTER plan but I would at the very least need Feature 2 in your PRO plan to move forward. That’s the only way I will be able to get what I need done using (product name).
If this works, I will go ahead and sign up right now.
(your name)
Note: In both examples you notice that I am making it clear that I am interested and will sign up today if an agreement is made.
This increases your response rate since they know you are one step from being a new customer.
I wouldn’t push it too much after this. The response rate is pretty low when you get to this point but it is still worth a shot.
The next step is crucial if you don’t get a Yes from your original email.
Step 4 Follow Up
When you don’t get an answer in a couple days, be sure to follow up.
Again letting them know you are interested in being a customer and want to sign up today.
Maybe they missed it or you’re lucky enough to get another rep who is more willing to take the extra step of helping you out.
Forward your previous email to them with this simple response.
I was looking to sign up for your service a couple days ago but I didn’t get a response to my previous email. See below.
I look forward to hearing back for you. I’m excited about using your services!
(your name)
Note: For another follow up option, you can resend the email in Step 2. The goal is really just to get another rep and try again.
Save With A Downgrade Of Your Current Plan
This post is all about saving you money. So, sometimes downgrading could make sense!
For those of you who already have everything you need but realize you are paying for a monthly plan that has way more features than you are using.
Try this out…
Hi,
I am having an issue I hope you can help me with. I would like to remain a customer but (Your current plan) is just out of my budget for now.
I would like to downgrade to (Lower plan) but I would still need (Features) from my current plan for staying with you to make sense for me.
How would you like to proceed?
(your name)
They don’t want to lose you since they know you are a paying customer.
You are already paying for the service anyway! So, see how flexible they are with their plans.
You have nothing to lose, only something to gain.
Conclusion
With just a few simple emails you can be on your way to saving BIG on new or existing tools and/ or services that you are currently using.
Whether it is one tool or 20, I recommend giving these templates a try.
If you are a serious blogger or website owner, you know that every penny counts.
Give these templates a try and let me know how they are working out for you.
