I was reading a book recently related to selling, and there was a story in there about a notorious bank robber, Willie Sutton. When asked why he robbed banks, he simply replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” As a opposed to smaller stores which were easy targets but small profits.

You know, a similar philosophy is used amongst marketers that focus on high ticket items (excluding the bank robbery of course). Rather than go for easy targets, small sales (but a lot of them), they prefer to sell high ticket items that also include BIG commissions.

When it comes to the ‘home business’ or ‘make money online’ niche, if you are promoting a business that requires you to train your new customer, WHO you sell to is everything. Why? Because you’re stuck with your customer. In fact, they become more than just a customer…they are now your business partner, so be selective about the ‘partners’ you choose to work with, as you are responsible for helping them too earn an income.

When it comes to small ticket items you tend to sell to young, financially strapped, “get rich quick” type thinkers. Of course this isn’t to say all small ticket sales are like this but these are the usual suspects. I’ve made plenty of money from small ticket items, but the idea of investing $50 in a business and changing your financial life and achieving financial prosperity is very appealing, it’s pretty unrealistic. Like most everything in life…you get what you pay for.

Bigger Is Better

One aspect about selling High Ticket items is that you typically sell to highly successful person that are used to making Big decisions and Taking action. This is why they are successful.

Think about it…if you are a professional in what you do, then you would prefer to speak to and work with professionals as well. People who understand the level you are at and can easily understand the business model without over complicating it. There will inevitably be things they don’t know such as how to drive traffic, but that they can learn and/or outsource. Regardless, the essence of the business model is the same and these people get it.

You are selling to older professionals who have a track record of success in career or business. These customers usually have plenty of financial resources whether they are liquid, or available in the form of an IRA, 401K, or investment account they can tap into to start a business.

Marketers that sell high ticket items prefer to sell to and mentor this crowd as opposed to the small ticket crowd, and I must say I agree. Although these sales may be a little harder to make, they yield BIG commissions and the customer is much more likely to generate sales him or herself because of their educational and professional backgrounds. If there is a residual feature to your compensation plan, this is critical.

The question is, would you rather sell one hundred $50 items to earn a $5,000 commission, or one $5,000 item to earn a $5,000 commission?

If you’ve ever watched the movie starring Will Smith titled “The Pursuit of Happiness”. You’ll realize there was one major reason he found success in the end. Of course he had drive, determination, focus, and desire. While all the other interns were calling small prospects for easy sales, Will Smith’s character went after the BIG sales calling CEO of major companies. It was tougher to make the sale, but all he needed was ONE.