Last week, we changed something that will help small businesses take their marketing to the next level. Rewind a couple years in Infusionsoft history and the only way to try our software was to plunk down thousands of dollars up-front. This was not an easy thing for a small business to do, but the ones who invested did it because they knew the results they could accomplish.

Later in July 2009, we made a shift by letting go of the setup and consulting fee. This move more than doubled the number entrepreneurs who signed up for Infusionsoft … but that wasn’t good enough for us.  The answer (or so we thought) was to introduce a ‘free trial’ of the software, of course! So, we went to work.

Here’s where the hard part began.

Why? Many reasons, but one of the biggest was that we needed to further simplify the product and make the free trial experience cleaner and better. Additionally, we didn’t have robust “email throttling” to keep abuse at bay and inexperienced email marketers from shooting themselves in the foot. So, we launched a free trial, but required a credit card to sign up.

The thought was that the credit card would reduce risk of abuse … and for the most part, it did.  The verified credit card did a great job reducing risk. It also did a fantastic job of preventing thousands from taking the software for a spin! (For you marketers out there, take note that we had a 75% fallout rate from the initial ‘basic contact info’ form to the next ‘credit card info’ form in our two-step free trial sign up process.) And let’s keep in mind, this statistic includes the fact we did not charge the credit card until people elected to upgrade within their application.

Goodbye credit card free trial!

Take a look at more photos of our celebration of this on our Flickr. We’re all proud of this moment!

Thanks to a massive effort by our product and technical crews over many months, we launched a full-blown, no credit card, free trial this week. This sounds easy, but trust me, it wasn’t — we built our business from the start through monetization; not the other way around. They changed quite a bit of back-end functionality to help new users try Infusionsoft risk-free.

Although it’s going to be really cool for our company, I’m more excited for the new users who will experience the software for the first time. It’s a totally different experience now. The moment users sign up, a video fires up setting the stage for revolutionizing their growth and success.  As soon as they hit the homepage of the software, they’re presented with a clear and proven path that points them the way to quick results with the software.

In my opinion, the absolute coolest change is how the software ‘talks’ to new users and ‘shows’ how the automation works, what’s possible, where to go and what to do. It’s an amazing addition to the experience.

If you want to see what it’s all about, sign up for the free trial, and enjoy the ride!

It seems like it was just yesterday when we held our first user conference in an upstairs room in our office with only 35 brave customers who attended. That was so 2006. In just five days, we’ll be holding our 5^th annual user conference, InfusionCon 2010, in Scottsdale, AZ with over 1,500 planning to attend. Things have certainly changed since our first user conference.

• We have grown to nearly 20,000 users instead of only hundreds.
• The product is faster to set up and easier to use than ever before
• The company has evolved to be the leader in Email Marketing 2.0.
• The Infusionsoft team has grown from a couple dozen to 140 employees
• We have a clear purpose, objective, and strategy.

We have helped bring industry-leading presenters at InfusionCon 2010 including Anita Campbell, Starr Hall, Harry Dent, John Assaraf, John Carlton and Derek Miner. These speakers will have plenty of excellent points to deliver that will help motivate and inspire you to grow your business. We thank them for taking the time out of their busy schedules to hang with us.

Without the help of our customers, investors, partners, affiliates, vendors, friends and families, none of this would be possible.

As the leader of our new business development department, I have the distinct pleasure of working closely with our partners.  Many of our customers and product enhancement ideas come from them. They have supported us over the years and we’ve grown and learned from them.

I also want to extend a very warm thanks to our partners and sponsors of InfusionCon. With our sponsors’ support, InfusionCon been a huge success and made free (and valuable) to attendees. In the past, we were forced to charge between $750 – $1500 per ticket!  So, to our gold partners and sponsors, THANK YOU:

ROI Guy	Guerrilla Marketing	Sonoran Studios
PowerPay	OneCoach	The Celebrity Branding Agency
SmallBizTechnology	Small Business Trends	SmallBizAmerica

In celebration of their continued support for small businesses, entrepreneurs and help to fund our annual InfusionCon event, I would like to acknowledge them and let you know a little more about them. (Also, be sure to connect with them next week and thank them for making InfusionCon possible!)

See you next week in Scottsdale!

–Dave

I thought I was excited about logging four days of skiing with my family during the holidays… but I’m really excited about InfusionCon coming up in just a couple of months!  As of today, we have over 800 registrants for InfusionCon 2010 (March 10-12) and I’m STOKED! Why? I get to hang with hundreds of really bright, successful, optimistic entrepreneurs for a few days and watch them learn, network and create.

It gives me a chance to meet face-to-face with our customers and partners, hear their success stories and learn how we can improve. It also gives me an opportunity to raise awareness for micro-credit lending and help entrepreneurs worldwide. It’s something I’m a huge fan of (see one of my previous entries on micro-credit lending).

Last year, with over 600 attendees, we maxed out the ballroom at the Scottsdale Plaza. This year, we changed venues to handle the 1200-1500 attendees we’ll have. Let me tell you… the new venue rocks!

Just before the holidays, Clate Mask, our CEO, invited the executive team and our spouses to a Christmas dinner at the same resort we’re hosting InfusionCon at: The Montelucia Resort & Spa.  As my wife and I walked around the grounds, I was struck by the architecture and views so I whipped out my iPhone and snapped a few spy-shots. There are tons of places to huddle, network and relax throughout the property. Best of all, we’ll have the entire resort all to ourselves – so only Infusionsoft customers, partners, staff, and friends will be hanging out at the hotel.

Click the images to view them larger.

Heads up: The hotel only has 282 rooms – so if you want to stay at the venue itself, you’ve got to book now. Otherwise, you’ll need to stay at the Camelback Inn or the Double Tree just down the street.

It only takes a few moments to register and we absolutely need to have the correct number of attendees so we can ensure everyone has a great time. Register for InfusionCon today! (Once you’re registered, let the world know you’re coming to InfusionCon on Twitter.)

This is an exciting time for entrepreneurs and it’s going to be a blast coming together at InfusionCon. Like @aliciamarie112 tweeted the other day, “I’m going!.”

See you there!

–Dave

It’s that time of the year again! You’re probably frantically searching for gifts to get your favorite small business owner, marketer or entrepreneur…

We have a few suggestions for gadgets that will keep them inspired, working hard and having fun. Part business, part entertainment you may even find something here for yourself.

I am known around these parts for checking out, trying and buying new gadgets. Here is a list I’m sure almost any entrepreneur will love!

1. iPhone 3GS and ‘apps for everything’ – The iPhone 3GS is much faster than it’s predecessor, and is a solid business and personal phone. Right now, my favorite app is iMExchange to sync tasks and notes – boring, but awesome for personal productivity.
2. LightKeeper Pro – A Christmas holiday light repair tool that is handy when setting up holiday lights.
3. SSD Hard Drive - Our tech guys at Infusionsoft swapped out my traditional hard drive for an Intel SSD and it’s changed my life. Thanks, Marc!
4. Automated formal apology form – This makes saying “sorry” fun and easy.
5. Bose dock – I have to say, this delivers killer sound in a small size and supports the connection to my iPod.
6. Playstation 3– One of the best Blu-Ray players on the market, awesome games, and streaming Netflix movies at no additional charge (if you have Netflix)… all in one!
7. The ‘Karma’ – Not a gadget, but a very cool blend of green-technology, design, and amazing acceleration: Pick up one for a meager $88,000.
8. 40″ Samsung LCD HDTV – My wife thinks it’s ridiculous, but I love my big Samsung LCD as a monitor for my home PC.
9. Harmony One Remote – With one press of a button turns on my TV, sets it to HDMI 1, turns on the Dish receiver, turns on my audio system & sets it Input1.
10. The Egg - Whenever I need tech gadgets, I go to NewEgg to get ‘em. Their affordable shipping and great service keeps me coming back.

Surely, there has to be an entrepreneur you know who would love one of these gadgets (I’ll take the ‘Karma’!). If you have any top gadgets you’re getting for others — or what you want others to get you — share them in the comments!

A while back, I remember seeing an invitation from Zappos to tour their facility just outside of Las Vegas. Some of our employees went to check it out and came back with some amazing ideas on culture, transparency, service and wowing visitors.  One of the concepts we adopted was the idea of providing public tours, which we will begin offering each month starting in December.

It might seem a little strange to think that a software company would open its doors to the public for an inside peek.  If we were still in our first office in a Mesa, AZ strip mall (see such evidence here, here and here), that “peek” would have lasted all of about 12 seconds.

Fast forward to 2009, and we’ve built a Silicon Valley-like company here in the Phoenix area (as Francine Hardaway and others have noted) and we want to show others how we did it. We’re proud of our business and look forward to visitors who are interested in seeing it from the inside.

Some of the unusual things you’ll experience in our 30,000 square foot “office” are:

• Monster 35-foot ceilings.
• Energy from constant movement & conversations.
• An indoor football field, basketball court and a gym.
• Lots of smiles.
• Luke & Tadd (from the Luke & Tadd Show).
• Scooters, bikes, skis, and boards laying around.
• Our strategic plan posted on large laminated posters in plain view.
• Random bursts of laughter as people watch videos on YouTube.
• Music!
• Flat-screen TVs with stats and announcements.
• Stocked break room with drinks, breakfast items and coffee.
• Random acts of awesome.

If you would like to be a part of the first official Infusionsoft tour held on Monday, December 7th, from 9 AM – 10 AM, you can RSVP by sending an email to tours@Infusionsoft.com. We’re easily accessible to everyone in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe (and of course, Gilbert).

See you then!

–Dave