5 Reasons an Offer Won't Sell (+ how to fix them!)

“I have this AMAZING offer for my dream clients, but they’re not buying it… Why not? What am I missing?”

I’ve been in this space before… I poured my heart and soul into a major new offer, and it didn’t sell at the rate I expected!

I almost threw out the whole thing… but in a last-ditch effort to salvage the product of all my hard work, I asked someone I trusted to review it in depth and give me feedback.

She told me it was an AMAZING offer and incredible value, and that she would be using it for years to come in her business. She said it was worth 10X what I was charging for it.

That’s when I realized there was nothing wrong with the offer – I just wasn’t marketing it the right way!

This is for you if:

You have an amazing offer on the market that can help your dream clients solve their problem and get an awesome outcome…
But it’s not selling… and you don’t know why!

Here are the 5 main reasons an offer won’t sell, and how to fix them!

1. Your customer isn’t seeing it often enough.

How many times did you talk about your offer before getting discouraged? If it was less than 20 times, you need to keep at it!

I know… that sounds like a lot. But people need to see an offer 5—7 times before they buy, and you can safely assume that your customers aren’t seeing 100% of your content. They may be seeing closer to 20 or 30% of your content, depending on what platform you’re using to market.

How to fix it

Create a plan in advance to market your offer, focusing on different things each time. Schedule out at LEAST a dozen posts talking about the offer, ideally both before and after you launch it.

2. You aren’t hitting the right emotional chord.

We all make our decisions based on emotion! It happens under the surface of our conscious, rational thought. By the time we start weighing the pros and cons of an offer, we’ve basically already made a decision deep down… even if we haven’t realized it yet.

In most cases, we go with our gut… even if it takes us a little while to justify and feel confident about our decision!

Whether it’s the emotional desire to belong, or to feel liked, or to feel like we’re becoming better people…we all have deep emotional needs that drive our decisions and how we spend our time, energy, and money!

How to fix it:

Make sure you understand your customer’s emotional experience, how they feel about the problem they’re dealing with, and how they want to feel instead.

Understand your dream client’s hopes, fears, wants, and needs, so you can position your offer to touch that emotional center… and THEN back up the emotional message with the facts and details she needs to justify her decision!

3. Your customer doesn’t understand the value.

Forgetting to focus on the real value of an offer is a super common mistake.

Are you leading with features instead of benefits?

Your customer doesn’t care about the logistics or “features” of the offer. She doesn’t really care how many coaching hours she gets, how many times you meet, what you do together, or what she needs to do in between sessions or classes.

How to fix it

Focus on what she cares about first: the BENEFITS and OUTCOMES of the offer. What will she walk away with? How will her life be different?

Focus less on the “during” (the number of sessions, the process, and what they’ll learn) and more on the “after” (how their life will be different and better afterwards).

In order words, sell the destination, not the process!

4. You aren’t establishing enough trust.

Another reason a sale can fall through is if your customer doesn’t feel like they can trust you. They don’t think you’re a bad person – they may just not trust you ENOUGH to feel like you can deliver what you promise.

How to fix it

Before you make the offer, be sure you’re investing in your audience. Are you creating content that speaks to their situation? Are you offering solutions to problems, so they get the experience of working with you and benefiting from your insight?

The other main way to build credibility is to cultivate social proof. Testimonials, media placements, and generally having other people vouch for you – including in the form of licenses or certifications - are all ways to build credibility in the eyes of your customer.

5. You’re making it too complicated.

The last big reason a sale falls through is if it’s too complicated to complete, or people have to work to figure out how to make to purchase.

If they have to leave the social media platform they’re on, or go digging for the right page on your website, or fill out a long form to make a purchase, there are too many points along the way that they might just give up and move on.

Once someone wants to buy, it’s our job to make it as easy and seamless as possible for them.

How to fix it

Give them one EASY step to take to get started. Remove any unnecessary steps standing between them and what they want. Don’t make your customer jump through a lot of hoops before they buy!

Recap!

The 5 reasons an offer doesn’t sell are:

Your customer isn’t seeing it enough times.
You aren’t striking the right emotional chord.
Your customer doesn’t understand the value.
Your customer isn’t sure they can trust you.
You’re making it too complicated to buy.

Instead, you want to:

Talk about your offer OFTEN to be sure your customer sees it enough times.
Find your customer’s emotional center and speak directly to that.
Focus on how your offer can make your customer’s life better.
Build trust by showing that you care, and that you can deliver.
Simplify the purchasing process and make it easy to take the next step.

If you need help with speaking to your customer’s emotional experience, showing the true value, and building trust, grab the Brand Blueprint and 7-day email course below… and let’s get to work!

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Hey! I’m Ashley.

I’m all about growing your mission-driven business with heart and intention! If you need help connecting authentically with your dream clients, you’re in the right place.

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