This week I want to teach you one of the most reliable sales strategies I know.
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It's called the 4-Day Cash Machine, and it was originally popularized by master marketer Frank Kern. I've used it multiple times over the years. Last week I ran it again, inspired by the newsletter I wrote about Maria Wendt's digital product business.
The cash machine has three main parts.
Part One: Price It at Half Off
Take one of your products and offer it at half price.
There's something about "half off" that lands differently than any percentage you can name. The math is immediate and obvious. Buyers don't have to think about it. And unlike a steeper discount, it doesn't make people suspicious about what's wrong with the product. Something listed at 70% off invites the question. Half off just feels like a good deal.
If you're not willing to discount at all, you need to compensate with value elsewhere. Frank's rule of thumb was that the total perceived value of your offer needs to be at least 4x the price you're charging. A $500 product with $2,000 worth of bonuses can work without a discount. But half off is simpler and usually more effective.
Part Two: Add Bonuses
Layer bonuses on top of the discount.
This is where a lot of people underestimate what's possible. You'd think there would be a point where more bonuses stop mattering. There doesn't appear to be one, as long as the bonuses are relevant and don't bury the main offer.
Frank's minimum was five bonuses. The more you can add, the better the offer feels to a buyer who is on the fence. The key word is congruent. Every bonus should connect to what the main product helps the buyer accomplish.
Unrelated bonuses add noise and dilute the promise of the core product.
The bonuses don't need to be elaborate. They need to be useful to the same person who wants the main thing.
Part Three: Four Days Only
The promotion runs for, well, four days.
This gives people enough time to hear about it and consider it. Most of your list won't open some of your emails so you have to send multiple pitches. Also, 4 days creates a sense of urgency.
Frank's original structure was simple: one email per day for four days, each one reminding readers the offer is still available and the clock is running. You don't need a new product or new angle every day. In the past, I would use the same email and only change the first sentence and add in how many days were left in the promotion.
You've Got To Have A Reason
Without a reason, a sudden discount looks like desperation. With a reason the promotion feels like an invitation. Or even a gift.
The reason can be almost anything (even a silly one). A holiday like Black Friday. An unexpected tax bill. Even a big purchase you're trying to make.
One of my old clients ran a 4-Day Cash Machine because he wanted to bid on a collectible car at the Barrett-Jackson auction and asked his readers to help him get there. It became a bit of a game as to whether he'd make enough to get the car.
My reason last week came from the newsletter I wrote to you about Maria Wendt, who built a business doing a million dollars a month selling low-ticket digital products.
The day after I remembered the 4-day cash machine and wrote a quick email explaining I was taking action on what I'd learned from Maria.
If you have a newsletter or any kind of email list then you're 4 emails away from doing your own 4-day cash machine.
Come up with a reason whether it's serious or fun that connects to something you sell. Your promotion becomes an extension of the knowledge you share rather than an interruption of it.
The only thing to remember about the reason you give is it must feel like a logical reason to give a discount.
Can You Run the Cash Machine With Services?
You can try, but I don't recommend it for most services. The margins aren't as good as a digital product, and discounting your time sets a price anchor you may regret later.
With that said, I've seen people open their calendar for four days and offer a single strategy call at half their normal rate, with a hard limit on spots.
Something like: "I normally charge $500 for this. For the next four days I'm opening five spots at $250. First come, first served." The scarcity and the deadline help to create urgency. If you've got a good audience this can be some fast cash.
I've done this with a slight twist. I make it small consulting packages of 4 meetings. That way instead of getting a few hundred from one person I get a few thousand dollars each.
The funny thing is I've gotten some of my best clients doing this. I guess they were hedging whether to try me out and the discount gave them the nudge they needed.
What I Got Wrong
I hadn't run the 4-Day Cash Machine in almost a decade, and it showed.
I overcomplicated it.
Instead of building one bundle with all three products at 50% off and stacking the bonuses underneath it, I featured a different product each day. My thinking was that each product deserved its own spotlight. What I actually did was make it harder for readers (you) to know what they were buying and when.
When you spread products across days you introduce decisions the buyer has to track. Did they miss day two? Can they still get it? Do they need all three or just one? A single bundle eliminates all of that. The reader sees the full value once, understands the deal immediately, and either buys or doesn't.
Frank's system is simple by design. The mistake most people make, including me apparently, is assuming simple needs to be dressed up.
The 4-Day Cash Machine isn't complicated. And that's why it works.
Run it once and you'll see why it's still being used 15 years after Frank Kern introduced it.
t
PS. I compiled 4-day cash flow emails from Frank Kern and from a couple of my old clients. Download Frank's and Mine here.
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