Greg Smith is a former lawyer, now founder of a software company with over 40,000 customers selling hundreds of millions in online courses. Greg, CEO of Thinkific, employs over 100 people helping you create your own course or membership site.

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Resources

Thinkific – Fire Nation, right now you can a get 1 month free on the Thinkific Pro plan, PLUS leverage over $1,000 worth of training bonuses FREE. Visit Thinkific.com/fire!

3 Value Bombs

1) Do not stop at the moment of sale, but focus on delivering value after the sale.

2) Linear learning is proven to give better results.

3) No one will promote your product if it is not a solid product to begin with. Live up to your promise.

Sponsors

Thinkific: THE best platform to create, market, and sell your online courses, and right now you can sign up for 1 month free on the Thinkific Pro plan, PLUS leverage over $1,000 worth of training bonuses FREE!

QuickBooks Online: Save time, money, and get organized with QuickBooks Online! Right now you can save 60% or more! This special offer for Fire Nation won’t be available for long.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.

Today’s Audio MASTERCLASS: The secret strategies of the top online course creators & membership sites with Greg Smith.

[1:17]– Greg shares something about himself that most people don’t know.

• He started producing courses in 2005, and he likes to paint miniatures.

[2:51] – Greg has the behind-the-scenes knowledge of over 200,000 of the top courses and membership sites. What are these creators doing to win at such a high level?

• Being consistent.
• By not stopping at the moment of sale, but focusing on delivering value after the sale.
• Also by driving student success after they have them as a customer.

[4:15] –Greg talks about not stopping at the sales funnel, and instead delivering an amazing experience for retention and repeat customers.

• You can look at it as the next sales funnel, or the continuation of your sales funnel. Even after the sale, your clients are still in your funnel.
• Deliver value after sales. Focus on on-boarding.
• Think of ways to improve the on-boarding experience for your clients.

[7:20] – JLD shares what he has learned and how he has applied Greg’s techniques to improve the on-boarding experience for Podcasters’ Paradise.

[9:24] – Greg shares what other top course creators do

• Giving new members a call within 15 minutes or up to 24 hours after signing up.
• Collecting information from members for improvement of their marketing funnel.

[11:10] – Greg talks about the importance of investing in the look and feel.

• The element of memory: people will see and can identify with your brand.
• Every opportunity you have to reinforce your brand is great.
• Having a consistent look and feel helps your community to remember and connect with your brand.

[16:20] – Referrals can be a huge part of your sales if you do it right. Greg is big believer in over-delivering for referrals.

• It is a lot less expensive and a lot more effective to focus on your potential customers who are already in your funnel or who have already been exposed to your brand.
• Have surprise and delight moments for people – this can also help with referrals.
• Help people understand what their goals are, and make sure to help them achieve those goals.

[19:20]– A timeout to thank our sponsors, Thinkific and QuickBooks Online!

[19:22] – What’s the impact of creating community along with a course or membership?

• Most common way to do it is with Facebook groups.

[23:12] – Greg talks about creating steps.

• Make it easy for people so that they always know exactly where they are going and what they are doing next.
• Linear learning is proven to give better results.
• Create wins in between the steps; this is a good way to encourage people along.
• Give your students incentives to finish and get to their goal.

[27:15] – Greg talks about selling more inside of your membership; using your member area to highlight other opportunities

• Have a coaching program for your student after they finish the course.
• Add extra products that go with the program.
• Offer live events.
• Sell other peoples’ products.

[30:41] – What other ways can you surprise and delight your members?

• Invite a guest on a webinar or for a guest training.
• It can also be a great opportunity to build a partnership with other creators.

[33:40] – Parting piece of guidance from Greg

• You do not need to do it all. Come up with your own “one thing” that is really special for you and that you really wanted to deliver.
• Fulfillment and delivery is so important. No one will promote your product if it is not a solid product to begin with. Live up to your promise.

[35:50] – Greg’s call to action.

• Thinkific: THE best platform to create, market, and sell your online courses, and right now you can sign up for 1 month free on the Thinkific Pro plan, PLUS leverage over $1,000 worth of training bonuses FREE!

Killer Resources!

1) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!

2) Your Big Idea: Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!

3) Funnel On Fire: Learn how to create a funnel that converts!

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