VIP Sales in Online Education
The Yacht — a week-long training for €6,000. Total revenue — €240,000
About the Project
The bigger the client base gets, the higher sales go. But the cost of servicing that base and supporting sales grows right along with it. The way out is to create expensive, VIP-format products.
At some point we realized our subscriber base had grown past 80,000, and we still had no VIP product. At the same time, we knew for certain that among our audience there were people ready to pay high price tags. Conclusion — we were leaving profit on the table.
The Task
Create an exclusive product format that:
- Delivers a unique result for participants
- Has high margins
- Creates social proof for the core products
What We Did
Created an exclusive yacht-training format limited to 8 participants with a unique result.
Packaging included warming up the audience over a full year at project events.
Sales were handled personally, by the project's founders. Fewer participants were ever taken than there were people who wanted in.
Organized a yacht journey across different seas. Filmed participant video testimonials on location.
Ran an annual relaunch in different countries with new participants.
The Yacht Training: Sessions on Board
Premium Product
Selling at a high price point requires exclusivity. And exclusivity means limits. In other words, there should be more people who want in than we can afford to take, and the limit on participation shouldn't be artificial.
That's how the concept of a yacht training was born. There are only 8 seats, and there's no way to take more. The yacht moves every day, and as it moves the group goes on a spiritual journey. A complete transformation set against a journey between two worlds. The training runs for 8 days.
At first the training was announced as a one-time event. But then, because there were so many sign-ups, we said we'd run it again. Every year the training was held in a different country, sailing across different seas.
And of course, it needed a result impressive enough to justify all the hassle. Since sales were aimed at our warmed-up fan base — our best VIP audience — we promised a powerful transformation that bypassed the project's entire theoretical curriculum, which at the time was substantial: a good couple of years' worth of study.
VIP Sales Online
The core element of the packaging was regular mentions throughout the year on the project's livestreams. We built interest, saying that only 8 people would be able to take part in the super-program. And it would be a one-time event. It would cost a lot, and we wouldn't take everyone. That was the format. A VIP tier.
After the first run of the training, we filmed video testimonials from every participant right on the yacht, while they were still emotionally warmed up. In the right setting: the yacht, the sea, the sun. These became the main sales material for the next launch.
The Yacht Training: Setting Out to Sea
Selling at a High Price Point
Sales happened over the course of the year — in effect, once the sales period was announced, all we had left to do was collect the money.
Working with VIP clients means zero pressure — none at all. Only building spontaneous interest — essentially content marketing in its purest form. And we pulled it off: interest in the training was huge. The training went through a whole series of annual relaunches, and revenue from it became a significant part of the project's income.
The Yacht Training: A Cruise
Frequently asked questions
Want to discuss your project?
Something interesting might come out of it
George Ryzhenko
CEO, Digital Experts
More case studies
Real projects with real numbers — what worked, what did not, and why.
