Thread by @pearsonified

Here's something you'll almost NEVER hear from the "product launch" crowd 👇🏿

This formula is one of the best ways to measure your CONNECTION to customers:

([upsell amount] - [refund amount]) / [total number of customers] = connection

Higher numbers mean a greater connection to your audience (and it hints at the affinity they have for your business, products, and practices).

UNEXPECTED:

I focused on reducing refunds in 2021, and I ended up making way more upsells as a result.

• 2019 refunds: 6.7%
• 2020 refunds: 4.83%
• 2021 refunds: 1.55% (with the highest sales volume of these 3 years)

I'm clearly achieving greater alignment with my customers 🔥

Why won't you hear this from the product launch crowd?

Because high refund rates are their dirty secret.

"Yeah, but who cares if we had $800k in refunds on $2M in sales? We still made $1.2M."

With rates that high, your payment processor will CERTAINLY make your life difficult.

Not only that, but most big launches have lots of affiliate tie-ins on the back end.

(Because this is how you coordinate messaging across lots of personalities and media.)

Once you factor in this cost + employee costs, that $1.2M starts looking pretty thin.

Also, launch culture is unsustainable.

99.9% of you will ALWAYS be better off focusing on marathons over sprints.

ESPECIALLY if you're the type who hates having their time compromised by having to put out fires.