If you run a service-based business, you know there’s no worse feeling than pouring your heart and soul into a project and having it land with a thud because your offer didn’t meet the market standard. So let’s talk about how to build a better offer to attract new clients.
There are many different types of offers. Introductory offers are special promotions that consumers can purchase at one time. They’re low cost and low risk to consumers. On the other hand, advanced offers, such as a coaching session or a coworking meeting, cost more. A signature offer is a primary service for which you want your business to be known. Then there’s an ascension offer that moves customers from one product or service to the next, increasing their value over time. If you offer an online coaching course (low cost), an ascension offer could be an in-person retreat (high cost).
There are general principles you can apply to any type of offer. The primary components of a good offer are packaging, positioning and pricing. Pricing can have numerous variables so let’s just focus on packaging and positioning.
Packaging
Ask yourself the following questions to determine how to package the right offer for your market.
- What can I offer from within my zone of genius? Your offer should be a service that requires little-to-no preparation and can be delivered easily. If you’re a seasoned professional, there will be at least a handful of these services that can make good offers.
- What services does my market currently demand? At least initially, focus on things you know your market wants as opposed to things you believe it needs. Filling a need for which there is limited demand first requires you to position yourself as a thought leader, which is a process that involves more time and effort.
If you have an idea for a service no one offers, it’s not necessarily a good idea. It likely means there isn’t a market for that service. Look on Amazon and LinkedIn to see what services other people in your area of expertise do offer. Talk directly with the people to whom you’ll be selling your services. Determine if there is a market for the services you wish to offer. Then, once you narrow your list of ideas, look at the remaining options and ask yourself, “Which of these services has the highest demand,” and, “Which ones speak to me the most?”
You also need to think about whether or not your offer is timely. Is this a service that people want now? Every offer must be timely, but it’s imperative if you’re a new business and this is the first offer you take to market. That way, when you put it out there, people will purchase it sooner rather than later. You don’t want to invest time and effort into building an offer that will interest buyers “someday.” You want to attract new clients today.
Positioning
Next, find a way to differentiate your services from those already offered in your market. The general service should be something for which there is current market demand, and how you provide the service should be unique.
At Prosper for Purpose, we offer branding services for companies and individuals. We differentiate our services by branding from a foundation of purpose instead of starting with a company’s mission, as most branding services do. This is a distinct facet of our branding service that sets us apart from other companies. Another unique aspect of our service is that we build brands by leveraging the power of storytelling. We have a special way of helping our clients build their brands and though many companies offer branding services, our strategy is unique. To differentiate your services, ask yourself, “How can I provide my service in a way that will set me apart from competitors?”
From there, think more about the details of your offer. What features will it include? If it’s an on-demand course, how many modules will there be? If it’s an online learning program, how often will you host live virtual meetings with your students? If you’re offering a “done-for-you” service, how long will the service take and how many client meetings will you have to schedule? These are necessary questions to ask (and answer) to accurately price and package your offer. You also need to consider your audience size. Will you be offering a one-to-one or a one-to-many service? If you choose a one-to-many model, will it be available to any number of people, or will you limit the size of your audience?
Another thing you must consider when packaging your offer is how to make it more valuable to consumers. The more your offer can help people, the more successful your sales will be. Make sure the features included in your offer amp up the value. After you decide what features you’ll add to your package to increase its value, begin working on how to position your offer to attract new clients.
Increasing your offer’s value is also a critical element of positioning. For example, if you put together a package that costs $1,000, you want to position your offer so it feels like a $10,000 value. To do this in a way that’s honest and easily understood by consumers, you should present the value to include the cost of the services and the return on investment that buyers can receive from choosing to work with you. The best way to promote this message is through the wording of your offer.
A great offer focuses on the benefit of each feature. You can explain the benefits by using “so you can” statements. “We offer quarterly one-to-one sessions so you can ensure you’re focusing on the most important aspects of your business.” By using a “so you can” statement, you note a feature of your offer while also highlighting the benefit of that feature. This helps mitigate doubts people might have concerning if your offer will be of value to them. Bad marketing focuses on sales, but good marketing focuses on benefits and creates positive associations with your brand. You should be consistent with your wording and mirror the language your ideal customer would use to recommend your services. This positions your offer to reflect its perceived value in the minds of the people who can benefit most from your services.
You also want to remove barriers from your offer that could diminish its value to consumers. If you offer a program that includes a scheduled meeting, it may not occur at a convenient time for every person enrolled. Make it clear that you will record all meetings so that if someone can’t attend the live session, they can view the recording later. Alternatively, if you offer something like an in-person retreat, make refunds available up to 48 hours prior. Your goal is to eliminate as much risk as possible. Anything that could result in people questioning if your offer is a good investment needs to come with some form of reassurance or guarantee that the money spent will not be money wasted.
The most vital question to ask when positioning your offer is, “How can my offer appeal to people emotionally?” People are prone to make purchases based on their emotions, which can often be positive.
According to Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman, 95% of purchasing decisions are made in the subconscious mind where our emotions hide. Unconscious emotional decisions allow us to effortlessly process millions of bits of data without getting overwhelmed. Other studies support that “going with your gut” can lead to superior objective and subjective decision quality.
What does all of this mean for building a better offer? It’s extremely important to think about the desires your services can fulfill and the experience consumers will have if they choose to work with you. Then you can promote your offer in a way that resonates with buyer emotions.
Finally, you need to figure out what to name your offer. Many businesses make the mistake of naming their offer something abstract or unclear. You want to avoid this because a confused mind will almost always say no. Create a name for your offer that speaks to the result your customers will receive.
To summarize, your offer should be:
- Something your market demands
- A service you’re expertly qualified to administer
- Something you can deliver in your unique way
- A service that can provide value to consumers
- Something from which you can eliminate risks
One last bit of advice is to build and sell your offer before starting your behind-the-scenes project work. For example, don’t film every unit for a course before you sell it. If you do that and your offer doesn’t sell, you invested a significant amount of time you could have spent on a different project. Instead, create your offer, put it out to market, and observe how the market engages with it. If people aren’t interested, you’re fortunate not to have invested more time. If people are interested and begin to purchase your offer, then you can start the behind-the-scenes work.
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