How to Build a First-Time Offer That Will Break Your Cash Register

My first try at a First-Time Offer (FTO) was a complete failure. The next one was almost as bad. But eventually I figured it out. Now the most common response is “Sign me up!” followed by a Stripe notification that their payment just went through.

We believe an effective First-Time Offer is the biggest untapped growth opportunity in your business. But, as I learned the hard way, FTOs are complicated. It took me 18 months to learn this.

This guide will help you avoid the mistakes I made.

What Is a First-Time Offer?

A First-Time Offer quickly and powerfully moves a prospect from “not a customer” to “customer.”

Your First-Time Offer is not a low tier offer that you keep in your catalog. You don’t offer it to existing customers. You don’t offer it multiple times to the same person. You offer it once to land a customer.

You’ll probably lose money on your First-Time Offer. But that’s OK as long as your cost of acquisition (including the FTO) is lower than the lifetime value (LTV) of that customer. Your FTO does four things that are more important than short-term profit.

  1. Persuades your prospect to focus exclusively on you and ignore other competing solutions.
  2. Quickly converts prospects to customers so your sales team can focus on other leads.
  3. Shows prospects what it’s like to be one of your clients or customers.
  4. Creates an opportunity for you to evaluate the prospect so you can determine if you want to invest future resources into them.

But FTOs are complicated. This guide will help you get it right.

Complete the form on this page and get our “how-to” guide.

Download the Guide