The Success & Stress of Simplicity

July 7, 2009 | by Dave Lee

Infusionsoft Word Cloud -- (CC) WordleThere are few companies out there that have mastered the art of ‘simple’. Apple is one of them. When it comes to marketing and sales, simplicity is not easy. It takes a bunch of work, tweaks, tests and then a ton more work! With technology at the core of marketing, it’s even more challenging because of the strong desire to expound upon every single little feature and function.

At Infusionsoft, we’ve been pounding hard on a quest to simplify our products, services, marketing, sales, and everything else.  While I can’t say we’ve ‘arrived’, I’m proud of the significant progress we’ve made in three particular areas.

1. Website and Pricing:

We just released a massive overhaul to our website. We reduced navigation menus from 24 to only five. Techno-speak has been significantly minimized. For folks who want to check out the software, they can get everything on the site without needing to call in. Any features that aren’t explained on the site can be discovered in real-time by signing up for a free trial (yes, we finally offer a free trial!). Our previously required activation and setup fees ranging from $2000 to $6000 made it difficult for a lot of prospects to buy Infusionsoft. Now, that we crushed that barrier, it’s gone entirely. We now have simple pricing: Basic $199 monthly, Deluxe for $299 monthly and Pro for $499 monthly.

2. Software

I’ve got to give huge props to our product management and development teams for this one.  What used to take a dedicated consultant a good chunk of time to complete with each customer is now automated within the software. Getting started is simple and navigation is easy.  Self help resources, powered by our friends at Helpstream are flat-out awesome. They have some real talent and innovation coming out of that team. They have really dug deep to implement our users’ top suggestions and they’re always ready to code more. I know you can’t wait to see what comes out in the next quarterly feature release later this month!

3. Guarantee

Simple guarantees are hard to come by. When it comes to software guarantees, forget it they don’t exist! When we first launched our “Double Your Sales” Guarantee, it was too restrictive: only made available to Deluxe and Pro customers and you had to do a bunch of stuff to qualify. That didn’t resonate well with entrepreneurs.

As of today, we extended our Guarantee to anyone who joins Infusionsoft. All customers needs to do is use the software to follow-up with prospects and customers. No lengthy criteria — read all about it here. Here’s why our guarantee is so effective:

  1. Customers can sign up for Infusionsoft knowing that we’re in this together and have a vested interest in their success – their risk is significantly reduced.
  2. Many of our customers are taking this on as a challenge to improve their marketing and sales… and seriously double sales in the process.
  3. They are inspired by customers who have done it and want to join the ranks. We’re even hearing of friendly competitions between customers who want to see how fast they can double their sales or how many times they can double their sales.

So, why does this matter?

Or, what does it mean for Infusionsoft customers and entrepreneurs? It means more entrepreneurs will be inspired and enabled to grow quickly and profitably. It means they can liberate themselves from the grunt-work of their business through automation. Value will be created.  And yes, even the mighty US economy will benefit from its forgotten army of entrepreneurs. (Don’t worry, we never forgot about you.)

Dave Lee
VP of Marketing, Infusionsoft
Entrepreneur, US Tax Payer & Bailout Financier

[Photo credit: Word Cloud, Infusionsoft.com, (CC) 3.0, Wordle]

 
  • http://twitter.com/brady2n Brady Toone

    Simple is all about removing barriers, and removing barriers is just what the new site, waiving setup fees, and the free trial will do. It's like throwing wide the doors and saying “Come on in! Make yourself at home. We've been waiting for you.” Throwing wide the doors…actually…make that throwing wide the floodgates. Expect a tidal wave!

  • http://www.infusionsoft.ca ElliottM

    Hey Dave,
    I applaud the work you guys have done down there. This recent change is more than big, it's monumental!
    Besides the fact that our success is inextricably linked to Infusionsoft's, you guys dropping set up fees, simplifying the start up process, focusing on web based resources and all round continuing to improve is a sure sign that Infusionsoft is not in this game to be an also-ran.
    Keep up the great work.

  • http://www.infusionsoft.ca ElliottM

    Hey Dave,
    I applaud the work you guys have done down there. This recent change is more than big, it's monumental!
    Besides the fact that our success is inextricably linked to Infusionsoft's, you guys dropping set up fees, simplifying the start up process, focusing on web based resources and all round continuing to improve is a sure sign that Infusionsoft is not in this game to be an also-ran.
    Keep up the great work.

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