The Risk FREE Trial Put Into Real Life – Darn Kids Sucked Me In!
| Share |
Story time!
The phone rings and i pick it up to hear the sweet little voice of my 9 year old daughter say “hello daddy”.
Immediately my guard is down… her cute, innocent little voice always makes me so happy.
But suddenly her tone changes… she is excited about something. Her cute little voice starts to get a little hyper and suddenly i hear the word…
“KITTENS”
NO.. I say with my tough father authority… we are not getting another pet!
For the next 2 minutes an argument takes place as to why we are not getting another pet. She throws everything she has at me but I simply say NO… cause I can!
Her last ditch effort is to cry… yes the one trick that seems to make me do almost anything for her… she starts to cry. But I am firm on this, I will not budge… I am the responsible adult here!
The conversation ends and I am victorious… or so I thought.
Moments later the front door opens, I hear it is my daughter. Then I hear foot steps coming up the stairs and suddenly i hear a “meow”. Not the meow of a full grown cat, but this extremely light and high pitched noise that sounds like a kitten.
She didn’t, i think to myself… she wouldn’t have!
I immediately get up from my desk and am faced with this tiny little orange ball of fur.
“Jillian”, i say with authority, “I told you no!”
She then continues to tell me that they let her take it home for a few minutes to play with.
Ya right I think, I knew what this was all about… show me this little fur ball and try to get me to fall in love with it. Well no way was i going to let that happen.
Then suddenly my daughter hands over the kitten to me… and something starts to happen… something strange. And what happened then…? Well…in Katzenback-ville they say that the Grouch’s small heart grew three sizes that day!
That darn free trial got me… I had a sample and I could not say no.
The moral of this little story (which is 100% true by the way): If you have a quality product then you should highly consider testing a free or $1 trial… get it into their hands, show them how to use it and let them see the benefits for themselves.
So whats your thoughts of my little story here 
Great story!
I’m due to launch my new product and the $1 trial is something I have been thinking about. After reading this story, I’m no longer thinking…that’s what exactly I am going to do.
Andrew
If your product appeals (like the emotional appeal of a baby kitten) this will work and it’s a creative way to do it too.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by AllThingsM. AllThingsM said: The Risk FREE Trial Put Into Real Life – Darn Kids Sucked Me In! http://bit.ly/8utqH [...]
Lol. What a memory. About 7 years ago my wife and kids got me with a puppy after I had said NO also. It was around Christmas and the little pooch was tucked in my youngest child’s coat…long story short the little pooch grew to about 120 pounds. Expensive but worth every penny….free trials are fun but can be expensive in the long run.
All in all a great story and a great memory.
P.S. Thank God you got a kitten Jason hehe. Thanks for sharing!
Best Investment Ever Senor Cow!!
) Our 1st Cat was Thomasina followed by Skittles + Ollie + of course the Dogs Nipper + Mickey + Fritz + Lady + Ralph + Lady 2 + BUBS aka Snatch!!
Speaking of Free Trials Everybody Must SignUp FREE for New Wave 88ur.com/Billy4×4
Cheers!!
)
Your daughter is a genius! using her charm and cuteness to convince you
I just stumble upon this blog and find it a learning experience..That free trial really got you.
It works unless your product is rubbish. In which case it amounts to suicide.
When I saw that furry bundle of cuteness, I knew you had problems. But, add into the mix your daughter and her sweetness, I knew you were as good as on your way to buy Kitten Chow and a Rhinestone collar.
1. Think of it this way, though, you came out of the gate STRONG.
2. Who isn’t a sucker for a little girl?
3. You aren’t in this boat alone.
I say to my nieces when I am keeping them,”What do you want for breakfast? How about that 4-layer chocolate CAKE that you love?”
Did I mention that I have had the $1.00 intro program for about 3 or 4 months now?
I don’t have a product to offer but this method sure looks like working because there are so many 1$ trials on offer today. Offer a 1$ trial and get them to subscribe to the 30$ monthly program
just putting a cute cat in the article got me to come and comment. I just love cats so much!
OK, note to self… put more cat pictures in posts
I have no problem refusing a free trial if it doesn’t seem relevant enough. But a story like the one you’ve just written makes it very personal for a lot of people, which probably makes the story feel very relevant. For me, it was just as much a nice lesson on the power of a free trial as the power of personally relevant storytelling.
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
I just stumble upon this blog and find it a learning experience..That free trial really got you.
Thanks for sharing a good stuff.
After reading your post I started to give Top 20 Social bookmarking free of cost for the limited period.
Lets see how this is going to work.
Yap got me… It’s happen in many kitty disguises. I’m just glad I’m allergic to some kitty disguises LOL
A true testament to the power of “Free” (or $1).
Wish getting customers by offering a “taste” was as easy as a daughter conning her father into keeping a kitten (I presume JOhn Cow did let his daughter keep the kitten).
yes i did.
First of all, great post! I’ve been visiting the blog for a few weeks but never had the “guts” to post any comments. But with your latest blog post I find the situation very similar to what happened to me. Well, actually what happened to my girlfriend because I was the “mastermind” behind the plan
But for almost a year and a half now Pufi (the cat which is sitting on my feet right now and taking a nap) has been part of our life, making us very happy every day. All people should have a pet because they have this wonderful gift of changing our mood.
We have 3 dogs (Chillasa, Lab, & Basset) and 2 cats. Yep, I’m a sucker. But I put finally put my foot down until we got the 3rd dog. Now, my foot is down. I mean it. The lab and cats were rescues. The Chillasa (Chihuahua + Llasa Apso) was a mercy gift.
I know how hard it is to say, No. Thankfully, they haven’t tried to bring the animal home and put it in my arms.
cd :O)
wow… busy house.
Nice story about “free” or “trial” with less money. This days i seen more simile offer.
Interesting.
I think that if you can excite and persuade a buyer with a trial offer that is as tempting and cute as the kitten in your story then the sales can be endless.
I think the morale of the story Jason made it very clear at the end. “If you have a great product”.
How many marketers think that they can make a great product? There are handful of marketers like Jason who over delivers….and people do feel that oh! a product from Jason, Anik or Ben has to be good.
I think the mrale can’t be universally accepted.
Your daughters learning sales tecniques young Jason, can I sign her up for the gogvo affiliate programme?
Nice story!
Great story. I believe that free or $1 trials with a great product behind will absolutely boost sales especially involving a risk offer. Look at GM’s new sales offer, if you are not satisfied with the new GM vehicle purchase you can return it within 60 days… Now thats a offer that has never been seen before.
Thanks
Kids will do it to you for sure. And yes you are right, the product at $1 trial will have increased conversions for sure.
However, I know one company that did this, and even though they have great product, they ended up pulling it at the normal rate, because the people who did buy it, and wanted it, really could not afford it.
This is so true, a technique that everybody should keep in mind.
What a great post John!
I think that you have not only demonstrated the power of the free trial but also the importance of knowing your customer.
I can’t imagine that your daughter would have been so successful at selling you on a baby elephant, free trial or not.
So you are learning these tips from your daughter.
Today all secrets revealed and we should give thanks to your darling for teaching us everything … lollzz
Oooooh… That was very good marketing and a clever persuasion technique on your daughter’s part. Maybe it’s something that’s in her genes
) I too have a daughter (seven years old) and manage to hold firm on many things. But it’s amazing to see her work her charm offensive on her grandparents (who were very strict parents) time and time again, with stunning results!
Funny enough, she is the one that talks about taking over daddy’s business. My oldest wants nothing to do with it… except spend the money it makes (Ya… oldest takes after her mom).
Well it sounds like your daughter is following right in your footsteps with great marketing ideas! And who could possibly follow through with returning a kitty – I would have to assume hardly anyone since they are so adorable as a kitty.
Excellent story, and the moral is so true, I find that if a company are not wiling to allow me to trial there product then surely there is something wrong with it?!
Our company created a product and I am proud to say we offer free trials as we’re proud of our product
Well, if the whole cat thing worked, maybe she could have upselled you another pet like a fish or turtle…
Or she could have pulled a Bill Mays – Take 1 cat, Get Another one Free!
[...] The Risk FREE Trial Put Into Real Life – Darn Kids Sucked Me In! – 6 days ago Story time! The phone rings and i pick it up to hear the sweet little voice of my 9 year old daughter say “hello daddy”. Immediately my guard is down… her cute, innocent little voice always makes me so happy. But suddenly her… Topics: free trial offer, Ramblings, Strategic Planning [...]
Kids can sell anything with their little cute talks and ideas and smile…. Your’s is very brilliant, knows what is going to work. BRAVO.. Give my love.