How Do You Know Your Offer is Something People WANT to Buy?

What you think is super cool and valuable about your offer is not the same as your prospect. 😯

And only focusing – and refusing to let go – of what you think is great about your offer WILL cost you sales.

The amount of money left on the table by people who can’t get past this – is monumental.

However, if you do listen and HEAR it – you can win almost every single sales call (assuming they’re a good fit). 

It’s similar to buying gifts. Have you ever had someone buy you the gift they really want and then are shocked (and maybe even offended) when you don’t like it because – surprise – you are different people with different interests?

Not paying attention and HEARING what your prospect wants or finds value in is a lot like going to buy a gift and getting them the thing you would want vs. what they would want.

Or worse, they told you what they wanted and you were still like – “no they’d like this better” and still got them what YOU would want.

For example, my husband recently purchased an adorable mommy and me fairy tale photo experience where my daughter and I dressed up as fairies.

• The details leading up to it were incredible and so well thought out – a letter from fairies with pixie dust, a video from fairies saying they can’t wait to see us, even a little fairy gift to go home with, etc.
• Then at the actual shoot – they did my hair and makeup, provided gorgeous costumes and the set was all so whimsical!
• My daughter was THRILLED.
• And this experience was only $99. Damn what a deal. Would’ve paid significantly more for it.
• Then things took an unexpected turn.
• Although it was mentioned ahead of time that portraits were purchased separate from the $99 session fee –  the cost for ONE 8 x 10 photo with a digital copy…was $200.
• No digital copies available for purchase by themselves. Only with the purchase of a print.
• And supposedly the “most popular” photo package is $2,600 – from $99 to $2,600 is a hell of a jump. So, something tells me although this is what this lady wants to happen – it probably rarely does. 🧐

It was clear she was very proud of the photos and felt they were the main value of her offer.

She had enormous whimsical baby fairy or mermaid portraits blown up on her walls, with elaborate gold frames which you could purchase for your photos as well or even fairy tale photo books for $1,000’s.

But the thing is, baby fairies – even if it’s my baby – are not a normal part that fits into most affluent (or non-affluent) people’s decor.

Most people just want a digital copy to remember the experience and post about it on social media.

And considering 8 x 10’s are currently $.79 at Walgreens that’s a hell of a mark-up – even if there’s some photo touching up included.

It results in a customer either saying “That is WAY more than I was expecting and I will need to finance that to afford it – and it’s not a car or house so I’m not financing a photo”

Or “I can afford it – I just can’t justify paying that kind of mark-up and it actually REALLY pisses me off.”

But you know what I can’t get at Walgreens? Those costumes, that set, the letters and fairy videos.

And THAT is an experience that parents would pay SO MUCH MORE than $99 for.

Think about breakfast with orcas or lunch with princesses at Disneyland – people pay through the nose for those experiences.

And then they buy the $50 overpriced photo afterwards.

I would’ve easily paid $500 for this fairy experience and know others who would do the same – then $200 for a whole disc of digital copies after.

That’d be an easy $700 (if not more) from every customer right there – and $500 of it is guaranteed because it’s purchased up front.

Even better – she’d attract more affluent people with a higher priced front end.

People who are more likely to spend the money she wants them to spend vs. people coming in on a $99 deal.

But the photos are such an important passion and part of it to HER that she absolutely refused to even hear my customer feedback.

And I know I’m not the only customer left unhappy by this experience who will not be spending money, returning or referring (I was referred by someone who was very upset she had implemented this model!)

This refusal to consider customer perspectives different from hers will cost her a lot of money, future customers and return customers.

Another great example is an outsourced accounting client I work with who replaces an individual Controller at a company or even a full blown accounting department.

It’s a lot like outsourced HR and what they offer is a MASSIVE benefit to companies but since it’s a newer concept, businesses are cautious to consider an alternative to traditional in-house accounting employees.

The angle she really liked to emphasize about her company is how they’re a long term partner – even more-so – than a traditional in-house employee.

But most companies don’t want that – it sounds scary with something so new.

They’re wondering if there’s an option to date before getting into a long term marriage.

And that’s something they had even expressed to her verbatim.

But instead of hearing it, in her follow-up communication she was always emphasizing this long term partner angle and – not too surprisingly – continually being ghosted after her sales calls.

The truth is, almost every person I work with (including me) has an offer that looks very different from what they originally had in mind.

What you think is important honestly doesn’t matter (if your goal is to make money anyway). The ONLY thing that matters is what the majority of your ideal customers want and that you can successfully deliver it to them.

And that can sometimes be hard to see when you’re inside your jar because you just can’t see the whole picture the same way as someone can from the objective outside.

 

• The best solution (other than working with a sales/offer expert) is to ask your clients and ideal prospects for HONEST feedback frequently and listen with RECEPTIVE ears.
• Not that what they say is gospel that you should absolutely do but when you start to hear a similar thread/pattern among them – pay close attention.
• Not staying attached to your original offer isn’t easy but the more open you are to evolving based on feedback – the more successful you will be.
• Tweaking your offer so it’s irresistible to your ideal client and has levels that ultimately bring in more income is one of the things we do in my 6 month Matchmaker Sales Method Mentorship™ for solopreneurs selling something $3k+ who want to 2x-8x the amount of people saying “yes” to their offers.

In addition, I’ll look at your marketing, pre-qualification and help you craft a clear sales process customized to YOU (no cookie cutter, one size fits all here) that consistently gets 3-8 people out of 10 saying “yes” to working with you without pain, pitching or pretending to be someone else.

If that sounds like something that would help you, please book a call to see if it’s a fit and would make the difference for you! 🥳