Product Splitting (Go Backwards, Don't Build Forwards)
You already have everything you need — take one module out of the $2,000 thing and sell it for $19.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 90%
This is Mawer's antidote to the most common objection to the ascension model: 'I only have this $2,000 product, I don't want to make all these things.' His answer is that you already have everything you need — you go backwards, not forwards. Take the $2,000 product, find the one module that solves one small self-contained problem, and drop it earlier in the system as its own low-ticket offer. The assets already exist: the Loom video, the template, the worksheet. Nothing new gets produced, and he insists you should not pad it, because people now want less content with a clear outcome. Even software companies can split — a free trial, or access to one small piece that does one thing.
Origin
Mawer added this unprompted mid-interview specifically to head off the objection he hears constantly: people say 'well Rudy I only have this $2,000 product, I don't want to make all these things', and he tells them to slow down because they already have everything they need. He demonstrated it live on Hala's LinkedIn course.
Core principles
- 01You already have everything you need to build the lower rungs — go backwards, not forwards.
- 02One module of a big product is a whole product at a small price.
- 03Nowadays people want less content and a clear outcome, not 300 pages.
- 04The assets already exist: the Loom video, the template, the worksheet.
- 05Even software can split — a free trial or access to one small feature.
How to run it
- 1
Stop trying to build something new
The instinct is to build a new low-ticket product from scratch, which never happens. Instead go backwards into the flagship you already have.
- 2
Find the self-contained module
Look through the 20 modules of the $2,000 course for the one that solves one small problem completely on its own. In the LinkedIn example, that is 'how to build a perfect profile'.
Pro tip Pick the module that produces a visible, fast win — it makes the follow-up ascension obvious.
Watch out Do not pick a module that only makes sense in the context of the others.
- 3
Inventory the assets that already exist
The Loom video talking through it, the template, the worksheet. Three existing things are a product.
- 4
Price it under $100 and ship it
Mawer prices these at $19-$50. Below $100 keeps it in the single-decision, spontaneous-purchase band that cold traffic can act on.
Pro tip The goal is not revenue — it is to show value, give a quick win, and progress them into your world.
Watch out Do not add 300 pages to justify the price. Less content with a clear outcome sells better.
- 5
Apply it to non-course businesses
Software: give a free trial or access to one small feature that does one thing. Any business with one expensive offer has a splittable component.
Watch out The 'my thing can't be split' objection is almost always false — Mawer pre-empts it explicitly.
In the wild
Hala's $2,000 LinkedIn course has 20 modules, one of which teaches building a perfect profile. The Loom video walking through it exists. The profile template worksheet exists. Package those and price at $19.
→ A new entry rung created with zero new production, and the start of an ecosystem where previously there was a single $2,000 cliff.
Mawer runs a range of $20-$50 products that he says openly make him very little money.
→ Transparent about the purpose: show value, demonstrate what they're about, give quick wins, and progress buyers into his higher-ticket world.
Common mistakes
Building forwards instead of backwards
Trying to create a new low-ticket product from scratch is a project that never ships. The flagship already contains the raw material.
Padding the small product
Adding 300 pages to make a $19 product feel worth it works against the buyer. People want less content and a clear outcome — padding reduces the odds of the quick win that fuels ascension.
Assuming your business can't split
'My software is $2,000 a year, I can't split it out.' You can: a free trial, or access to one piece that does one small thing.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone with one expensive flagship course, program, or software product and nothing below it.
Not ideal for
Businesses whose flagship is genuinely indivisible, or those with no flagship product yet.
From the transcript
“a lot of people say well Rudy I only have this $2,000 product I don't want to make all these things it's like whoa whoa…”
“maybe one of the 20 modules teaches them how to build a perfect profile well that becomes a $19 course by itself... you've already got…”
“you don't need 300 pages in fact nowadays people want less content and a clear outcome and now voila you've already created the start of…”
“even if you're like a software company you're like really my software is $2,000 a year I can't split it out give people a free…”
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