You’ve heard about the term “minimum viable product” before, right? It’s part of the Lean Startup methodology, where you only build the minimum features necessary to release your product early, get feedback, and then iterate and improve it.
There is a similar term I’m using in my 8 Profit Activators framework: It’s
“minimum viable commitment.”
And what it means is…
In your Profit Activator 2, you ask your prospects to make as little commitment as necessary. In fact, the commitment you ask them to make is enough to understand who you’re dealing with before you move on to educating and motivating them to take action.
The last thing you want to do is start convincing someone before you know WHO you’re convincing. At this stage, you only want people who are your target market to raise their hands and become visible. And because you know that only a subset of those who raise their writing will be your 5-star prospects.
You want to identify as many of them as possible and cast the widest net before you sift and sort.
That’s why your Profit Activator 2 should do one thing and one thing only:
Start the conversation.
Don’t ask them to commit to that 7-step program you have going, and don’t ask them to join a 30-day challenge. Just start the conversation. As simple as that. And the best way to do it?
Offer them a book, market data report, or a directory of something. Think about it; imagine you’re a parent whose kid plays hockey, and you’re looking for ways to get him into college. Wouldn’t you want to get your hands on a book called “_The 2017-2018 Hockey Scholarship Guide…_” without the fear of committing to a “7-step program to selecting a perfect hockey coach?”
How about…
You live in Winter Haven, and you’re thinking of selling your house, and you come across “November 2017 Report on Winter Haven House Prices“. Wouldn’t you want to look at how much a place like yours is going for these days without committing to selling it yet?
See what I mean?
These are all cheese. Your prospect doesn’t have to commit to anything by getting it, so there’s no resistance to opting in. It’s all part of their “information gathering” stage when they’re just starting to get the lay of the land.
You should aim for that with your lead magnet: Make it a Minimum Viable Commitment; Just enough so Profit Activator 2 can do its job and make an invisible prospect visible before you move on to the next step.
