High-ticket sales are items or services that command a premium in pricing due to branding or quality advantages.
While this means that you will need fewer customers to earn higher revenue, high-ticket items also require slightly different tactics than products priced at a mass audience.
High ticket selling generally entails creating an aura of exclusivity and appeal around your brand, making it attractive to a premium clientele willing to pay for it.
What you will learn
- What high-ticket sales are
- 10 key steps to making big-ticket sales
- Effective high-ticket sales practices, including social proof, scarcity and identifying qualified leads
What are high-ticket sales?
High-ticket sales refer to the practice of selling high-ticket products or services typically priced upward of $1,000. These items may be physical products such as luxury cars, electronics, real estate, and jewelry or services like coaching classes, enterprise software, and seminars.
Since these items aren’t everyday purchases, customers see them as investments that justify the high cost.
High-ticket sales versus high-ticket items
High-ticket sales are marketing strategies and techniques for marketing and selling high-ticket items. These upscale products are considered premium and often command a higher price tag due to their quality, exclusivity, or additional benefits.
Big ticket sales depend on understanding this customer segment's unique needs and desires, moving them through high-ticket sales funnels, and ensuring the value proposition is clear and compelling.
High-ticket items and products refer to the what, while high-ticket sales are the how.
Why are high-ticket sales important?
High-ticket sales are important because they offer higher earnings from fewer transactions, enhancing profitability and efficiency.
Selling premium items or services with higher price tags means a company can generate significant revenue from fewer sales, reducing the need for mass marketing and extensive customer support.
For example, Ford has to sell about 900 cars to match the profit that Italian carmaker Ferrari earns per car.
Here are a few more reasons why high ticket sales are important.
Higher earnings
Focusing on big-ticket sales naturally leads to higher earnings per sale, significantly boosting your company’s revenue without proportionately increasing the cost of customer acquisition.
Tesla, for example, has a higher profit margin than the industry average per unit on its high-end electric cars.
Faster breakeven
Selling high-ticket items can accelerate breakeven, ensuring your company recovers its initial investment quicker.
You'll see ROI quicker and be able to use it to expand the business.
Capital to scale
High-value sales generate significant upfront capital, giving companies the resources to scale operations, invest in product development, and expand into new markets.
Apple earns substantial revenue from sales of its premium products, giving it enough capital to innovate in other categories.
Higher perceived value
Products with a high cost often carry a higher perceived value, attracting customers willing to pay more for what they believe to be superior quality or prestige.
Luxury designer brands for example, exemplify exclusivity and desirability with their premium pricing.
High-ticket vs low-ticket customers
High-ticket customers prioritize premium products or services with higher price points, seeking to purchase an exclusive experience that includes personalized service and exceptional quality.
This segment requires a high-touch sales approach, with detailed consultations and tailored marketing to meet their specific needs and high expectations.
With a significant investment, these buyers seek value and personalization.
In contrast, low-ticket customers choose affordable, frequently purchased items, emphasizing immediate value.
Businesses targeting this group focus on getting many low ticket sales, requiring volume sales, efficiency, and accessibility. They employ a streamlined sales process and broad marketing to attract a wider audience.
Low-ticket customers are more price-sensitive, prioritizing convenience and ease of access, and will switch brands for better prices or convenience.
Understanding these distinctions is crucial for tailoring strategies to effectively engage and satisfy each customer type's unique preferences and expectations.
10 steps to make high-ticket sales
Unlocking the potential of high-value sales requires a strategic approach and a deep understanding of your target market.
Use these 10 steps to sell high-ticket products.
1. Identify your ideal buyer
Identifying your ideal buyer is the cornerstone of big-ticket sales success.
Ditch the broad-net approach and understand who will most likely invest in your premium offerings.
Build a detailed buyer persona or ideal customer profile (ICP) with the following details:
- Gender and age: Understand who your product resonates with and their life stage.
- Location: Geographic insights can influence product appeal and accessibility.
- Social status: Recognize how your customer base’s lifestyle and values align with your offering.
- Economic profile: Ensure your targets have the means for high-ticket investments.
- Brand affinities: Identify other high-ticket brands they trust.
- Media consumption: Pinpoint their social verticals and media consumption preferences.
- Event participation: Determine networking and leisure activities they value.
Creating personas can guide your marketing, lead generation, and sales strategies, ensuring a personalized approach.
More than 90% of marketers believe that a customized approach boosts sales and resonates with brand-loyal customers.
Use surveys, social listening, and audience research tools to pinpoint your prospects’ pain points and motivations.
This will help you discover the “bait” your high-ticket sale requires.
Take the example of Captivate Recruiters, a hiring platform for executive leadership roles in the tech industry. Their page explains their process and outlines why you can trust them for executive hires.
But they also back it up with data that is sure to catch a recruiter's eye.
Why is this so important?
Recruiters spend hours searching for and interviewing candidates to land one person.
It's a job that values time and decision making, so showing potential clients that 89% of their recommendations make it past the first round is a good sign of a strong value proposition.
Here's another example of enterprise CRM platform, Hubspot appealing to corporate marketers who are considering AI generative tools for content.
Notice how they leverage a statistic that would no doubt benefit every marketer. This comes from understanding exactly who their ideal buyer is.
Analyzing market research data can also help your understanding, offering insights into customer needs and preferences.
Tailor your product or service based on what you find, for maximum impact.
2. Define your high-ticket offer
Defining your high-ticket offer hinges on crafting a compelling Unique Value Proposition (UVP) to set your product apart from the competition.
Your UVP or USP (Unique Selling Point) explains how your offer solves your ideal customer’s pain points.
Since you just created an ideal customer persona, addressing their challenges should be simple.
With strategic alignment, your high-ticket product resonates with potential buyers, highlighting its value in a crowded market.
Take the example of Sollis Health, a concierge medical service that offers 24/7 access to emergency care and routine medical services through a membership model.
The company emphasizes a holistic approach to health care devoid of the usual hassles of the US healthcare system.
Even reading their reviews communicates the same message, helping frame their unique value proposition.
Offline, Rolex exemplifies a high-ticket offer with its unique value proposition centered on precision, durability, and prestige.
By selling watches that symbolize achievement and luxury, Rolex addresses consumers' desires for exclusivity and quality.
Their commitment to craftsmanship and use of fine materials ensure perfect timekeeping and an investment in a legacy, distinguishing Rolex in the luxury market.
3. Frame your pricing
Strategically framing your pricing is crucial in high-value sales, as it directly impacts your offer's perceived value and market position.
When setting the price for your high-ticket offer, consider the following factors:
- Costs: Factor in the production, operation, and marketing expense costs while delivering a profit.
- Competitors: Analyze competitor pricing to position your offer competitively.
- Value Perception: Price your offer to reflect its perceived value to the customer. High-ticket items are often associated with premium quality and exclusivity, so your pricing should reinforce this perception, signaling your product or service's exceptional worth and benefits.
Balancing these elements allows your sales team to set a price that supports your business goals and aligns with prospective customer expectations, enhancing the attractiveness of your high-ticket offer.
As a premium product, you may not even want to disclose your pricing to everyone.
It's quite common to see websites ask you to get in touch and request for pricing. This way, they filter out casual onlookers while maintaining exclusivity around the brand.
Take the example of Politics Pro, a magazine subscription that offers in-depth policy intelligence for U.S. policy. Their paid plans offer direct access to expert reporting and analysis on policy conversations but don't offer any pricing information.
Instead, a CTA in the navbar invites users to a trial.
You'll have to fill in contact information before someone will get in touch with you.
If you're curious, their plans start at about $3200 for a year.
But of course, you can also list your prices online like most SaaS companies. It may help your potential clients make quick decisions when they're still early in the buying cycle.
Employ psychological pricing tactics
Using psychological pricing tactics can influence customer perception and enhance the appeal of your high-ticket items.
Two common big-ticket sales strategies include:
The anchoring effect
Introduce your highest-priced option first.
This strategy sets a psychological “anchor” for the price, making any subsequent, lower-priced options appear more reasonable by comparison.
This leverages the initial price point as a reference, subtly influencing customers' perceptions of value and making the cost seem more acceptable, even if the options are still high-ticket.
The price ending with a 9 or 99
Implement pricing that ends in “9” or “99” for your high-ticket items.
Instead of pricing the item at $1,000, price it at $999.
Known as “charm pricing,” this approach takes advantage of the left digit effect, where the first digit significantly impacts the perception of the total price.
By making the price appear slightly less, this tactic can make a high-ticket item seem more affordable, thus increasing its attractiveness to high-ticket prospects.
4. Create content for potential customers
While it may be tempting to have content that appeals to a broad audience, it’s best to create content that appeals directly to your ideal buyer persona.
High-value clients want to consume exclusive, in-depth, and high-quality content. Some examples of these types of content can be:
- Opinion pieces
- Commentary on industry trends
- Data and insights that they can leverage
- Reports, surveys and analysis
- Interviews
Your content must resonate with prospects who have the highest potential to move through your high-ticket sales funnel and become paying customers.
McKinsey and Company for instance, showcases its expertise through in-depth research reports and articles on various industries, demonstrating thought leadership and authority.
Through consistent, high-quality branding and a clear demonstration of value, McKinsey has built a brand that resonates with its target audience, establishing trust and a strong client base.
Distribute your content through the right channels to ensure high-ticket buyers will engage with it. Consider where your demographic is and focus on those platforms.
For example, if you are targeting CMOs in Fortune 500 companies, some examples of premium publications to advertise in are The Drum, Harvard Business Review, Marketing Week and Tim Ferris' podcast.
Ideally, you should narrow down even more.
For instance, advertising your content in the Hotelier will help you reach marketing professionals in the hospitality industry.
Readers in this bracket have no time for superficial content, so ensure that your writing is top notch especially if you're selling subscriptions to your content like the Athletic or HBR.
You don't have to be click-baity but it can help to adopt a slightly controversial or argumentative stand to draw attention to your content.
You can also use an AI assistant like Surfy to help you write the mundane portions of your article. For example, if you're writing about the Boston Dynamics, you'll likely have to explain a little about the company.
Using AI can help you save a few minutes, so you don't have to research the company and summarize what it does.
Here's an example.
As you can see, using this functionality can add up and help you save considerable time and mental bandwidth when writing.
Measure the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts to understand your successes and failures.
Tools like Google Analytics and attribution software can help you measure engagement rates, conversion rates, website traffic from content pieces, and the quality of leads generated.
5. Build a premium brand
Building a premium brand is pivotal in high-value sales, where trust, familiarity, and consistency are prerequisites for customer engagement.
81% of customers need to trust a brand before purchasing, a sentiment that intensifies when the stakes are higher, as with high-ticket products and services.
Signalling your brand's exclusivity lies in the choices you make with design and presentation. Your selection of images, copy and colors will indicate a premium offering.
Take, for example Devialet, a company that sells high-end audio equipment known for its superior sound quality.
To elevate your brand in the high-ticket market:
- Showcase expertise and build authority. Share thought leadership content and speak at industry events to demonstrate your knowledge and position your brand as an authority.
- Communicate quality and exclusivity: Use branding to convey the superior quality and exclusivity of your products.
Use high-quality visuals, content highlighting your unique benefits, and testimonials from satisfied high-profile clients. - Create premium brand identity elements: Invest in branding elements, a professional website, and premium packaging. These reflect the exclusivity and high-quality of your offer, making a strong first impression and reinforcing your brand’s premium status.
- Align your brand image with customer expectations: Ensure your brand image resonates with the expectations of your customers. This alignment is crucial in attracting customers who want high-quality products and services that offer a sense of status and prestige.
If your product is software, then pay particular attention to your choice of fonts and layout.
Reinforce your positioning, and show that you stand apart from other mass providers.
See how Addepar, a wealth management platform that services banks and family offices makes it abundantly clear that it is not for the average person.
6. Demonstrate testimonials and social proof
Testimonials and social proof can help prospective customers overcome common sales objections. A high-ticket client, in particular, may hesitate because of the significant investment requirement.
Social proof highlights the value and quality of your premium service or product, helping validate your target audience’s decision to buy.
Use customer logos and feedback on your site to illustrate how your product addresses their pain point and offers value and improved operations.
See how RED cameras demonstrates their product use in the film industry.
To leverage social proof effectively:
- Strategically place testimonials on your website and share them on your socials. This will catch the attention of potential buyers and reinforce your product’s effectiveness and trustworthiness.
- Choose case studies that articulate your value proposition and the tangible benefits customers gained, making it easier for prospects to envision similar success.
- Diversify social proof with user-generated content, and celebrity or influencer endorsem*nts to enhance brand credibility.
Acquire reviews and testimonials via Trustpilot, G2, Capterra and Google Business Profiles.
Salesforce exemplifies the effective use of social proof for its high-ticket software. The brand uses case studies to demonstrate the transformative impact of its solutions.
7. Convey scarcity and exclusivity
The psychological aspect of limiting availability is rooted in the basic human response to scarcity.
When we perceive something as scarce, we naturally attribute more value to it due to its limited availability.
This taps into our deep-seated fear of missing out (FOMO), driving us to act quickly to acquire the scarce item before it's gone.
This urgency can be a powerful motivator in consumer behavior, often leading to quicker decision-making and an increased willingness to purchase.
To create a sense of urgency and scarcity, consider employing the following techniques:
- Limited-time offers: Set a deadline for special pricing or bonuses, compelling customers to act before the opportunity expires.
- Limited quantity releases: Announce the availability of a product or service in restricted quantities, which can drive immediate action due to the fear of missing out on a rare opportunity.
- Exclusive models, services, or products: Offer special editions or bespoke versions of your product that are available only for a short period or in limited numbers, enhancing the item's collectibility and desirability.
- Countdown timers: Display a countdown on your website or in marketing emails, ticking down to the end of an offer or the release of a new product, creating a visual and time-sensitive cue for urgency.
Exclusivity also plays a significant role in consumer psychology, as it taps into our innate desire for status and belonging.
Think of email productivity tool, Superhuman's invite-only launch campaign.
When a product or service is exclusive, it signals to consumers that it is rare and of high quality and status.
This makes the item more desirable, as it satisfies the need for the product itself and fulfills a social desire to be part of an elite group.
To create exclusive offers that entice high-ticket purchases, consider these ideas:
- Early access: Offer your most loyal customers or a select group the chance to purchase or experience your product before the general public.
- VIP packages: Create premium versions of your product or service with added benefits, such as extended warranties, concierge services, or exclusive access to events.
- Invite-only events: Host special events, webinars, or product launches that are available only to a chosen few, enhancing the allure of being part of an exclusive club.
- Membership programs: Develop a membership program that offers ongoing exclusive benefits, reinforcing the ongoing value and exclusivity of being part of
Take for instance, Sam Parr's Hamptons community, a private, highly-vetted community designed for founders, entrepreneurs, and CEOs.
Hampton offers several benefits to members, including access to exclusive events, resources, and direct interactions with other entrepreneurs.
The homepage invites users to apply instead of just signing up for the services, even if you can afford it.
The fact that you have to apply automatically acts as a gatekeeper indicating that Sam's community is not accepting everyone who pays.
The application's questions make it abundantly clear whom the network is for.
8. Qualify leads
Qualifying leads ensure that your high-ticket sale efforts are focused on prospects with a genuine interest and the financial capacity to purchase.
You can save time and resources by identifying the most promising leads since it can tailor the sales approach to meet the specific pain points, needs, and expectations of potential high-ticket clients.
Qualifying leads effectively will stem from targeting the right persona with relevant copy and ads.
You can also have gatekeepers like application forms that ask about budgets and the size of the company, or designation.
You don't want your sales and marketing dollars to go to attracting unqualified customers who only want the free stuff.
9. Offer great customer service
Offering exceptional customer service is important since a high-value customer has significantly higher expectations of quality.
Training your sales team to deliver top-notch service can directly impact customer satisfaction, loyalty, and the overall perception of your brand.
Amex is a good example of high ticket customer service, consistently delivering high satisfaction scores among their users.
Here are a few strategies to deliver personalized customer service:
- Personalized interactions: Use customer data to tailor conversations, making each client feel uniquely understood and valued.
- Dedicated support: Provide high-ticket customers with exclusive access to dedicated account managers or priority support lines.
- Proactive engagement: Anticipate customer needs and offer solutions before issues arise, demonstrating a commitment to their satisfaction.
Leverage customer feedback and transparency about pricing, processes, and expectations to improve your services continuously.
Show your clients they are valued, build trust by being honest, and set clear expectations.
Maintain transparency in all dealings by openly communicating about pricing, processes, and what customers can expect.
This honesty builds trust and sets clear expectations, which are essential for a positive, long-term relationship with your high-ticket clients.
10. Nurture relationships
Nurturing relationships in high-value sales hinges on personalized, timely outreach, and strategic follow-up, which offer value beyond the sale.
High-ticket sales are unique in their post-purchase process because fostering loyalty can attract referrals and a lifetime of repeat purchases.
When it comes to high-quality products, happy customers often buy additional products for their home or at work and tell their circle about them.
For example, Peloton's job only begins when a customer signs up.
Its initiatives for existing customers include collaborations with popular artists for themed rides, gamified workout experiences and integrating streaming services into the app.
A consultative selling style puts understanding and meeting the wants of the customer ahead of making quick sales.
This builds trust and makes you seem like a reliable advisor, which sets the stage for long-term relationships.
Balance automation with personalization.
Post-purchase, continue working on customer relationship management.
Regular check-ins and support affirm the customer's decision, and they’ll consider your brand for future needs.
Key takeaways
- High-ticket sales target premium products or services over $1,000, where clients or customers invest in the items because of their exclusivity.
- High-ticket items are premium offerings, while high-ticket sales involve strategies to market and sell these products effectively.
- The benefits of making high-ticket sales include increased earnings, accelerated breakeven, scaling capital, and the perceived VIPness or prestige of the product or service.
- Making high-value sales requires identifying ideal buyers, defining a compelling UVP, strategic pricing, targeted content, and premium branding.
- Key strategies include showcasing social proof, creating scarcity, lead qualification, delivering exceptional service, and nurturing long-term relationships, even post-purchase.
- Implementing these strategies ensures a tailored approach to engaging high-ticket clients, focusing on personalization, value, and sustained engagement for success.
