Offer
Why it matters
Most businesses spend their effort on the product or the advertising and give little thought to the moment of decision. A buyer who wants the result can still hesitate if the terms feel uncertain. A guarantee or a clear scope also gives an internal champion something to point at if the purchase is questioned. A well-built offer can justify a higher price for the same core work.
How to apply it
- Name the specific problem and the outcome, in the customer's own words.
- Make the result more certain: a guarantee, a case study, a fixed scope.
- Shorten the time to the first result.
- Reduce the effort asked of the buyer. Doing part of the work for them is worth more than a discount.
- Add extras that cost little to deliver but are valuable to the buyer, such as a template or a training session.
- Offer one price or a choice of two or three tiers. A long menu forces the buyer to design their own offer.
What it is
An offer is everything a buyer weighs when deciding to say yes. That includes the result they will get, how long it takes, the price and how it is paid, what is added in, what the guarantee is and how much effort the buyer must put in. Two businesses can sell the same service and make very different offers.
Compare "website audit, £1,500" with "a £1,500 fixed-price audit that ends with a ranked list of fixes, a 45-minute walkthrough and a refund if it finds nothing worth acting on". The work is the same. The second offer is clearer, has less risk and is easier to say yes to.
Common mistakes
- Cutting the price when the offer is weak, instead of reshaping it.
- Promising a guarantee the business cannot afford to honour.
- Describing the work done instead of the result delivered.
