Before Community Auctions,, the internet marketing playbook has always been the same: spend thousands on ads, build complicated funnels with with a bunch of pages, create upsells and down-sells, and hope you break even on the front end so you can make a decent profit on the backend.
It’s expensive, time-consuming, and honestly, it’s getting less effective every day. There’s a better way.
The Traditional Funnel Problem
Let’s be honest about what traditional marketing looks like. You’re spending $5 to $50 per click to get people into a funnel. Your landing page converts at maybe 30% if you’re a marketing genius. Your sales page converts at 2-3% if you can afford to spend thousands dialing it in.
You need a complex tech stack including landing page builders, email automation, payment processors, upsell software, shopping carts, and analytics tools. You’re managing pixel tracking, split testing, and constantly tweaking your copy. It can take weeks or months to set up and optimise.
But in 2026, it gets worse.
Most people have seen these funnels a thousand times. They know when they’re being manipulated through an upsell sequence. The moment they buy, they’re hit with “Wait! Before you go…” and another offer, then a down-sell, another upsell with order bump, followed by a continuity program they aren’t sure they’ll be able to cancel for good measure. It feels pushy and inauthentic.
Most people hate it. In fact many will refuse to even buy a front end product because they know they are going to be subjected to the “upsell-hell” experience if they do.
And the biggest problem? You have no idea if anyone actually wants what you’re selling until you’ve spent thousands on ads and built the entire funnel.
The Poll and Auction Advantage
Three-question polls flip this entire thing on its head. You post a simple poll in a Skool community, Facebook group, or to an email list asking if people would be interested in your offer. Within hours, you know exactly who your hot buyers are and how much they’re willing to pay.
No ad spend. No complicated funnel. Just a simple post or email that gets 3-4X more engagement than regular content.
Then if there is demand, you run a 24-hour auction where people publicly bid on your offer. This creates something traditional funnels can never replicate – social proof in real time. When people see others bidding $5K, $10K, even $20K on your offer, it validates the value instantly. The competition and urgency are authentic, not manufactured with real or fake countdown timers that reset when the time runs out.
The results speak for themselves. People are seeing 50-90% conversion rates on auction bidders. Compare that to the 2-5% you get on traditional sales pages. The difference is simple: auction bidders have already told you, often by bidding multiple times, they want what you’re offering.
Why Domino Offers Beat Upsell Sequences
Traditional upsells feel manipulative because they are. You’re trying to catch people in a moment of excitement and push them into buying more before they can think about it.
The three-tier Domino Offer is different. After the auction, you simply present three clear options to every bidder. For example, Silver, Gold, and Diamond, or maybe Chevy, Ferrari and Bugatti. They can see all three tiers at once and choose what makes sense for their budget and commitment level.
There’s no pressure, no countdown timers, no “this offer expires in 10 minutes” tactics. You’re not trying to manipulate their psychology. You’re just giving them clear choices and letting them self-select.
The beauty is in the simplicity. People appreciate being treated like adults who can make their own decisions. They don’t feel tricked or pushed. And because they’re choosing what feels right for them, buyer’s remorse is virtually eliminated.
The Bottom Line
Traditional funnels cost thousands in ads, require complex tech, and convert at 2-3%. Polls and auctions cost nothing, use simple platforms like Skool or Facebook, and convert at 50-90%.
One method treats marketing like a manipulation game. The other treats it like a conversation with interested buyers.
The choice is obvious.
If you’d like to chat about having me or one of our team help you to run your Community Auction, just email me at rockytapscottvip@gmail.com with “Auction” in the subject line.
I’ll ask you a couple of questions to make sure we’re a good fit and if we are, we can run your first campaign together in a couple of days with no setup fees, no retainer, just a simple profit share after you get paid.
In your corner,
Rocky Tapscott