Skip to resource content
Founder conversationBuilder <$5m

How we used a $1 Guarantee to Break $75k MRR

The $1 offer structure, three upsells that lifted order value to $100, and why instant CAC payback matters

Travis Chappell · Guestio

Published September 1, 2022
About this resource

Travis Chappell, CEO and Founder of Guestio, shares:

- $1 offer structure you should copy

- 3 upsells we used to increase AOV to $100

- Importance of instant CAC payback

Explore the lesson. Sign in to access the slide download.

What you’ll learn

Travis Chappell shares Guestio growth lessons on making a clear offer, reducing acquisition risk, improving conversion, and building a repeatable customer-acquisition engine.

Read the source passages

Key moments

Find the ideas you need and go straight to the source.

Make a clear offer

“this dollar trial funnel okay and then that was in February and as you can see that kind of just kept growing up from there July we had a little bit of a Down month obviously I built these slides uh when we only had June July July we had a little bit of a Down month but then in August we closed at 2 20. um so it's still been kind of constantly growing throughout throughout the full year so first off is your irresistible offer now this is hands down the most important part of any funnel that you're going to put together any idea that you have it's”
Watch at 01:55

Reduce buyer risk

“traffic uh that you can get just by being a guest on somebody else's podcast it brings you credibility Authority trust recognition a lot of different things like that so that's essentially what we do as a company we have an agency that does that and then the software does it as well so the to pay attention to is this part right here so here's how it works um so obviously at the at the top very direct this is called direct vsl it's not indirect we're not speaking to people who are just problem aware and trying to get them to become solution aware and then product aware we're speaking to people who are already aware that they have a problem they're already aware that we're”
Watch at 06:45

Improve conversion

“your point as well Rob so Joel built his company mostly through affiliate um affiliate marketing and all he meant by that was that he knew his back end numbers so well he knew his LTV so well and what eventually those customers would end up buying from him that he was able to actually pay out more than 100 percent affiliate commissions on the front end offer that he put in front of people so if you're an affiliate you have you're selling a 50 product and you're getting paid a hundred dollar commission to sell a 50 product that's a”
Watch at 11:05

Measure payback

“converting the best it was at 497. um and then this is the this was like the really big thing so we have an agency we built an agency offering on the back end to say basically like look if you don't have time to use the software yourself you're having you have a massive business and you're and you're making good money and you don't have the time to use the software let us get you booked on podcasts for you we'll do it all completely done for you and so we put this on the thank you page it's not even like a part of the actual funnel it's on the thank you page so you click”
Watch at 15:25

Repeat acquisition

“over and over again and so I just went to an industry conference for Me podcast movement's a massive podcasting conference like three or four thousand people and I don't know a dozen plus people while I was there I came up to me was like Travis I keep seeing your ads I keep seeing your ads I keep seeing your ads let's do business let's talk some time like even the people that aren't clicking on it and and filling out information and going through the funnel and getting emails and signing up and taking the annual and the dollar like any even the people that aren't doing that they're still seeing you on their feed and it's always going to be good”
Watch at 20:17

$1 offer structure you should copy

“$1 offer structure you should copy”
Read slide 2

Your Irresistible Offer

“Keep it low ticket but not free”
Read slide 5

“I effectively lose money better than anyone

““I effectively lose money better than anyone else.””
Read slide 10

Let’s (quickly) Jump Into Traffic

“Let’s (quickly) Jump Into Traffic”
Read slide 14

Preview slides

Open slide preview in Google Slides

Resource files

  • Video

    Watch video

  • How we used a $1 Guarantee to Break $75k MRR - Slide Deck

About the speaker
Travis Chappell

Travis Chappell

Founder · Guestio

LinkedInTwitter

As the Founder of Build Your Network Podcast, he allows people to launch successful podcasts that help them reach the right audience and build trust and helps them gain credibility. He works with content creators, CMOs, seasoned entrepreneurs and thought leader, keynote speakers and real estate investors to achieve all of this. He believes it provides the rocket fuel and act as command and control for launching “client’s credibility into space”. He spreads the word of mouth for his clients

Company revenue
$170K
Team size
10

More founder interviews

Slide by slide

Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.

19 passages

Guestio offer context

  1. Slide 1Open deck
    Slide text

    Travis Chappell CEO, Founder of Guestio Founder500, Sept 2022 We used a $1 Guarantee to Break $75k MRR … With $1 Trial Map

The $1-offer funnel

  1. Slide 2Open deck

    Three parts shape the offer

    The talk is organized around a low-cost trial offer, ways to raise average order value, and traffic acquisition. It previews VSL scripting, conversion results, upsells, a thank-you-page video, and organic, partner, and cold traffic.

    Slide text

    Over the next 20 minutes: How to script your VSL I’m going to show you $1 OFFER INCREASE YOUR AOV GET TRAFFIC $1 offer structure you should copy Our conversion rates (July: 377 trials > 161 new customers) Importance of instant CAC payback 3 upsells we used to increase AOV to $100 The Thank You Page VSL that brought in over $38,000 Organic Traffic Leverage OPA Cold Traffic

  2. Slide 3Open deck

    Start with the trial funnel

    The first section explains how to shape a compelling $1 trial and script its sales video. It also signals that the funnel's results will be reviewed.

    Slide text

    Let’s Start With Our $1 Trial Funnel How to structure your irresistible offer BULLET 1 BULLET 2 BULLET 3 How to script your high converting VSL even if you’re not a copy writer Take a look at our numbers

  3. Slide 4Open deck

    Revenue rises after January

    Guestio's plotted revenue recovers after January and climbs through June 2022. The chart labels revenue at $127k for FY 2021, then $53k in January, $75k in February, $108k in March, $152k in April, $162k in May, and $170k in June.

    Slide text

    Guestio Revenue Growth

Creating an irresistible offer

  1. Slide 5Open deck

    Make the offer about value

    An offer should fit its market, cost little without being free, and make the value clear enough to feel compelling. The slide emphasizes the result customers receive over the price they pay.

    Slide text

    Your Irresistible Offer Start with your market Keep it low ticket but not free So good they can’t say no Focus on the value and result, not the price

Video sales letter structure

  1. Slide 6Open deck

    Build the VSL in five steps

    The example sales video moves from a hook and promise through a guarantee and social proof to a call to action. Its script presents a $1 trial, the booking service, and the next step for signing up.

    Slide text

    Scripting your VSL- Hook, Promise, Guarantee, Social Proof, CTA

  2. Slide 7Open deck

    Trial volume rises sharply

    The new-trial chart climbs steeply from March, peaks late in the period, and then declines toward June 30. The dashboard headline reports 377 new trials and a 5,285.7% increase.

    Slide text

    Our Numbers

  3. Slide 8Open deck

    Conversion stays near half

    This dashboard build shifts from trial volume to the trial conversion rate, which is labeled 42.8%. The line fluctuates through the period but stays near the 40%-50% range.

    Slide text

    Our Numbers

Average order value and upsells

  1. Slide 9Open deck

    Raise order value after signup

    The talk turns to average order value as a lever for faster customer acquisition payback. It previews three upsells that raised AOV to $100 and a thank-you-page video said to have brought in over $38,000.

    Slide text

    Let’s talk Average Order Value (AOV) Importance of instant CAC payback BULLET 1 BULLET 2 BULLET 3 3 upsells we used to increase AOV to $100 The Thank You Page VSL that brought in over $38,000

  2. Slide 10Open deck

    A quote frames acquisition cost

    A quote attributed to Joel Marion frames customer acquisition as a contest in who can lose money most effectively. It introduces the discussion of paying back acquisition costs through the offer.

    Slide text

    “I effectively lose money better than anyone else.” Joel Marion

  3. Slide 11Open deck

    Upsells drive most funnel revenue

    The funnel table shows sales value concentrated in the upsell step: $25,650 from 50 sales, compared with $3,446 from 369 order-form sales and $3,058 from 14 downsells. The steps also show different opt-in and sales rates.

    Slide text

    Our Numbers

  4. Slide 12Open deck

    Pair access with a checkout add-on

    The checkout examples pair a one-year Guestio access offer with a separate post-purchase add-on. The access offer is shown at $697, and the checkout page presents an additional $27 credibility product.

Thank-you page and traffic

  1. Slide 13Open deck

    Offer concierge service after checkout

    The thank-you page presents a higher-ticket concierge service after the initial funnel. It uses an application and direct phone call, with the option to remove this step later.

    Slide text

    The TY Page That Outperformed Our Funnel Go high ticket Concierge version of your Saas Application only Direct to phone call Don’t worry, you can remove this later

  2. Slide 14Open deck

    Move from offers to traffic

    The next section covers warm-audience outreach, partner audience leverage, and cold traffic. It frames cold traffic as useful beyond immediate direct results.

    Slide text

    Let’s (quickly) Jump Into Traffic Warm audience hand raisers BULLET 1 BULLET 2 BULLET 3 Learn to leverage OPA Three reasons cold traffic is important besides direct results

  3. Slide 15Open deck

    A one-dollar podcast invitation

    The email example invites a recipient to book a podcast appearance and grow an audience through a low-cost offer. It gives the message a clear promise and a direct booking call to action.

    Slide text

    Warm Audience Hand Raiser

  4. Slide 16Open deck

    Use partner audiences for reach

    The examples show partner audience acquisition through podcasts, speaking stages, blogs, and publications. The social post and analytics screenshot illustrate one possible placement and its reach without relying on small interface counters.

    Slide text

    Leverage OPA Podcasts Stages Blogs Publications

  5. Slide 17Open deck

    Cold traffic supports three goals

    Cold traffic is presented as valuable for more than direct conversions: it can build a brand, expose competitors to the offer, and create business-development opportunities. The photo provides an example of a relationship-building event.

    Slide text

    3 reasons Cold Traffic is Important Besides Direct Results Your brand Your competitors Your business development

  6. Slide 18Open deck

    Recap the funnel and traffic

    The closing recap returns to the $1 offer, higher average order value, and traffic acquisition. It highlights VSL scripting, conversion results, upsells, the thank-you-page video, and organic, partner, and cold traffic.

    Slide text

    Over the last 20 minutes: How to script your VSL I showed you $1 OFFER INCREASE YOUR AOV GET TRAFFIC $1 offer structure you should copy Our conversion rates (July: 377 trials > 161 new customers) Importance of instant CAC payback 3 upsells we used to increase AOV to $100 The Thank You Page VSL that brought in over $38,000 Organic Traffic Leverage OPA Cold Traffic

  7. Slide 19Open deck

    Thank the audience

    Travis Chappell closes by thanking the audience. The final slide identifies him as Guestio's CEO and founder.

    Slide text

    September 2022 TravisChappell CEO, Founder of Guestio