The $20,000 Lesson I Learned About Selling High-Ticket Services

After a full year of sales calls, I finally figured out the biggest thing holding people back from working with us.

It wasn’t the price.

It wasn’t the contract length.

It wasn’t even the fear of running ads.

It was this:

They didn’t fully grasp the financial value of what we do.

They saw the upfront investment—our fee plus their ad budget—but they weren’t seeing the return on that investment clearly enough.

And if people don’t understand the ROI, they hesitate. They overthink. They say, “Let me get back to you.” And then they don’t.

So I asked myself:

How do I make the value crystal clear?

The Newsletter ROI Calculator

Some context: We help our clients grow their email lists. But for a lot of them, they only have one monetization method—maybe a course, a coaching program, or sponsorships. Some of them dont even have a way to monetize at all.

So for some, it can be hard to see how their investment is going to create a return of value later on.

But here's the piece they're missing: a newsletter subscriber isn’t just a one-time transaction. Subscribers stick around. And over time, they become way more valuable.

So, I built a tool to illustrate that.

The Newsletter ROI Calculator shows:

• Seven different ways newsletters can generate revenue.
• How different monetization models stack together.
• A long-term projection of how much a list could be worth.

It’s interactive. You can plug in different monetization models and instantly see, “What happens if I add sponsorships? What if I launch a paid community? What if I sell a high-ticket offer?”

The whole point? To show people the long-term impact of growing their email list.

Check it out here: https://calculator.paperboystudios.co/​

The First Time I Used It on a Sales Call

Last month, I rolled this out for the first time on a call.

I was walking the prospect through the calculator, showing different revenue scenarios, when I started wrapping up that section to move on.

And he stopped me.

He said:

“Before you go any further, I just want to say this is by far the most valuable part of your entire pitch.”

And at the end of the call, he agreed to sign on.

The Big Lesson Here

If you sell a high-ticket service, you need to make the ROI undeniable.

Even if you can’t guarantee exact numbers, you can show possibilities. You can make it tangible. You can give prospects a mental model for how their investment could pay off.

For us, it’s this calculator.

For you, it might be a different kind of visualization, case study, or framework.

Whatever it is, find a way to show—not just tell—your prospects how their investment turns into real dollars.

Because when people see the ROI, closing deals gets a whole lot easier.

Hope this one helps, see ya next week.

— Shane