Short answer: I didn't start with a high ticket offer. I got visible, grew a free Facebook group and documented the growth as proof, then sold a $47 masterclass teaching exactly what people could see me doing. From there I offered a one month one to one intensive at $555, which led to $10,000 in sales within a couple of months of starting. Because I was about to become a mum, I turned my expertise into a signature programme, launched it at $997 and grew it to around $1,500, selling it with free five day challenges and the odd paid masterclass.

People often ask me what offers I started with, because when you're new it feels like everyone else is selling $10,000 programmes from day one. I didn't. I built stepping stones, and each one built enough trust for the next.

Here's exactly what I did in my first year, why I did it, and what I'd keep (and change) if I started again.

This is part of my ultimate guide to creating an offer that sells, which shows you how to build each of these offers properly.

Stage 1: Get visible and build somewhere to nurture people

When I first came into the online space, nobody had any idea who Laurie Burrows was. I had 15 years of marketing and sales behind me, but online I was brand new. So my first focus wasn't an offer at all. It was visibility. I needed as many of the right people as possible to know who I was.

I sent all of that visibility to a free Facebook group, where I could nurture people with free training and build relationships.

Stage 2: Become your own evidence

I knew I was new and needed trust fast, and one of the best ways to build trust is evidence: showing you can walk the walk, not just talk the talk. At the time I wanted to be known for helping businesses get clients through social media and digital marketing. So I used my own Facebook group as the proof.

I documented the journey of growing it. Within weeks there were hundreds and hundreds of people inside, and people started asking, "How on earth are you doing that?" That curiosity was the opening for my first offer.

If you don't have testimonials yet, this is the move: document your own journey and become your own case study.

Stage 3: The $47 masterclass

So many people were asking how I'd grown the group that I thought, I can teach this. The first thing I ever sold was a $47 masterclass on how to grow a Facebook group. Around 20 people bought it.

That doesn't sound like much. But it did three important things. It converted people for the first time. It let them experience what it was like to learn from me. And it proved people would pay for what I knew.

Stage 4: The one month intensive at $555

I didn't have a course or programme yet, but I knew that masterclass would build a lot of trust, so I wanted something I could create quickly to sell people into. I launched a one month one to one intensive: a 90 minute strategy session with me, then one month of voice note access.

It was $555 and it led to $10,000 in sales, all within a couple of months of starting my business. Some of those clients then upgraded into three to six month one to one packages at $1,000 a month.

Stage 5: Why I moved away from one to one

The intensive worked. People loved it. But I knew that model wouldn't be sustainable for me for long, because I was about to become a mum and I wouldn't have time for lots of one to one clients once the baby arrived. If I hadn't been pregnant, I might have stuck with one to one and simply kept raising my prices. Instead I had to work smart, not harder.

Stage 6: The signature programme, $997 to around $1,500

I turned my years of marketing experience, plus my experience of teaching and training, into a signature programme that showed people how to get clients online through their own courses and programmes.

I launched it with a flash offer at $997 and increased the price over time to around $1,500. The structure was built around my limited time:

• Pre-recorded training for the whole curriculum.
• Weekly live Q&A sessions to answer questions and keep people accountable.
• A Facebook group for questions, feedback and support in between.
• As it grew, co-coaches who helped answer questions and run extra calls.

For the rest of that year, I focused almost entirely on selling that one programme. Every strategy pointed at it. Every quarter or so I ran a free five day challenge, around 45 minutes each day, and in between I'd run a low priced, pop up paid masterclass to convert people for the first time and then sell them into the programme. It ended up with hundreds of people inside.

Stage 7: The mastermind

Towards the end of 2020, I wanted recurring revenue, so I launched a high ticket mastermind. Just like the signature programme, I started it at an introductory price of $6,000 and increased it over time to $12,000.

And I didn't have to go looking for buyers. I already had hundreds of people in my signature programme who wanted more access to me, so I sold it to them first. Most people chose a payment plan, which meant predictable money coming in every month for the next 12 months, before I launched anything else.

Why this worked

None of this was luck. It worked because of the stepping stones:

1. Visibility so the right people knew I existed.
2. Something free (the group) so they could get to know me.
3. Evidence (documenting the growth) so they trusted I could do it.
4. A low priced offer so they could try before they buy.
5. A bigger offer for the people who loved the first experience.

I've seen exactly this path in my own business with a single person: they came into a freebie, bought my $47 offer, then a one month intensive, and from there invested in a five figure package. They told me afterwards they would never have gone straight to the high ticket offer. The stepping stones let them test the water first.

What I'd keep and what I'd change

I'd keep

• Starting with a low priced offer while trust was still building. Some mentors will tell you to go straight to high ticket. It can work if you've built the trust. I hadn't yet, so I tested the water first.
• Starting prices lower and increasing them as I sold. Bringing people in at a beta price, getting feedback, improving the offer, then raising the price is a brilliant way to grow an offer.
• Selling one offer for a whole year. I perfected selling one thing before moving on. I explain why in perfect one offer before you launch the next.

I'd change

• Shorter containers. I'd give 12 weeks of support instead of 12 months. When you give someone 12 months, it takes them 12 months. Shorter means faster results and a natural point to upsell.
• Using ads sooner. I did everything organically until my first six figure month. I wish I'd started ads earlier, because I'd have grown even faster.

Your version doesn't have to look like mine

I built my suite this way because of where I was: new online, about to become a mum, with very limited time. Your circumstances will be different, and your offers can be too. The principle is the same though. Build trust in steps, give people a way to try before they buy, and perfect one thing before you add the next.

If you want the bigger picture of that first year, read how I made $200k in my first year as a new mum. And for building your own ladder of offers, see how to build a product suite or grab my free resources.

Build your own offer ladder, step by step

That's my story. Here's how to do your version, in order, starting this week. You don't need a big audience or a finished programme to start. You need something people can see you doing well, and a small offer that teaches it.

Step 1: Choose the result you can show, not just tell

Write down three things you've done for yourself (or for clients) that your ideal client would love to be able to do. Pick the one you can document publicly over the next 30 days. For me, it was growing a Facebook group quickly. For you it might be booking clients from LinkedIn, losing the baby weight, or getting your first podcast guest spots.

Time: 30 minutes. Done when: you have one result you can document in public.

Step 2: Build one place to nurture people and document it

Pick one home for your people: a free group, your email list or your Instagram. Then post about the result as it happens, three to five times a week: what you did, the numbers, what worked and what didn't. This is your evidence, and it's what makes people ask "how are you doing that?"

Time: 20 minutes a day for 30 days. Done when: people are asking you how you did it, in comments or DMs.

Step 3: Sell a low priced masterclass on exactly that

When the questions start, run a short live masterclass on the thing they keep asking about. Keep the price low (somewhere between $27 and $47 works well), teach the what and the why properly, and record it so you can sell the replay. Use the announcement template below.

Time: 2 hours to plan, 60 to 90 minutes live. Done when: you have your first buyers and a recording.

The tech is often what stops people running that first masterclass. The Funnel Builder inside Ascendia OS builds your sign-up page and checkout, and the Launch Manager plans the promotion from first email to cart close, so your energy goes into teaching.

Step 4: Offer a small number of done with you spots to the buyers

At the end of the masterclass, offer the next step to the people in the room: a short, focused one to one or small group intensive. Mine was one month, a 90 minute strategy session plus voice note support. Keep it time limited and capped so you can deliver it well.

Time: 30 minutes to set up. Done when: at least a few masterclass buyers have said yes to the next step.

Step 5: Turn what you delivered into a signature programme

Look at what you did with every intensive client. The steps you repeated with everyone are your framework. Package it into a group programme, launch it at a founding price to the people who already trust you, and raise the price each time you sell it.

Time: 2 to 4 weeks. Done when: you have a named framework, a founding price and a launch date.

Step 6: Add the next rung only when the first ones are predictable

When the programme sells consistently and your clients start asking what's next, that's when you add the higher priced offer, such as a mastermind or VIP tier. Build it for the clients you already have.

Time: Months, not weeks. Done when: your current clients are asking for more and the signature programme sells without you scrambling.

Example: a nutrition coach building her first ladder

This is an illustrative example with round numbers. A nutrition coach documents getting her own energy back over 30 days on Instagram. People keep asking what she eats. She runs a $37 masterclass and 25 people buy: $925. At the end she offers six spots on a $497 one month intensive and four people take one: $1,988. Those four intensives show her the five steps she repeats with everyone, which become her signature programme at a founding price of $997, rising each round.

None of those numbers are huge. That's the point. Each step pays for itself, builds trust and tells her exactly what to build next.

Benchmarks to aim for

Common mistakes (and the fix)

• Building the big programme before anyone has bought anything. Fix: sell the small offer first and let the buyers show you what the big one needs.
• Telling people you are good at it instead of showing them. Fix: document the result in public while it happens.
• Pricing the masterclass so low it attracts nobody serious. Fix: charge enough that people show up, and make the content genuinely useful.
• Staying in one to one forever. Fix: use one to one to learn your framework, then package it so it can scale.

Your action plan

Today

• List three results you could document publicly.
• Pick one and one place to nurture people.

This week

• Post about the result as it happens, three to five times.
• Note every question people ask you about it.
• Draft your masterclass title from the most common question.

Next 30 days

• Run your low priced masterclass and record it.
• Offer a capped number of next step spots to the buyers.
• Write down the steps you repeat with every client: that is your framework.
• Use the ultimate guide to creating an offer that sells to turn that framework into your signature programme.

Frequently asked questions

Should I start with a low ticket or high ticket offer?

Both can work. If you're new and haven't built much trust yet, a low priced offer lets people try before they buy and gives you a way to convert people for the first time. If you already have a strong reputation, you can go straight to higher priced offers.

What should my first paid offer be?

Something people are already asking you about that you can create quickly, like a 60 minute masterclass. It should solve one specific problem and lead naturally into your next offer.

How do I raise my prices?

Start at an introductory or beta price, deliver an amazing experience, collect feedback and results, then increase the price for each new round. Telling people the price will go up also gives them a genuine reason to join now.

How do I build trust if I have no testimonials?

Share your story and experience, and document your own journey so you become your own evidence. People could see me growing my Facebook group in real time, which built trust before I had a single testimonial online.

Can a $47 offer really lead to bigger sales?

Yes. A low priced offer converts people for the first time and lets them experience working with you. If that experience is amazing, they're far more likely to buy your next, bigger offer.

Laurie Burrows is a UK-based marketing and sales strategist who has built a business that's generated multi-seven figures in sales through social media and digital marketing. Today, Laurie helps business owners use social media, content and digital marketing to get seen, attract more clients and make more sales. She's also the founder of Ascendia OS.