How to Encourage Buying Decisions When You Go Evergreen

You're listening to the PT Profit podcast, episode number 322. Today, I'm walking you through how to encourage making buying decisions when you're running an Evergreen model. Are you ready? Let's dive in.

Hi, I'm Beverly Simpson, former fitness manager turned online personal training business owner. And this podcast is where smart fitness professionals, including trainers and clinicians, discover how to increase client performance in movement, package and position their products and services, and get out of their own way so that they can increase their revenue to live a life that they love without sleazy sales. Welcome to the PT Profit Podcast.

What's up, coach? Thank you so much for pushing play on another episode of the PT Profit Podcast. I'm your host, Beverly Simpson, and if this is the first time you're hanging out with me today, welcome. I'm super pumped that you're here today. We're diving into one of the number one questions that people ask me when they are transitioning from a launch model or they are wanting to add in an Evergreen component into their business. Let me just break down specifically what I mean when I'm talking about Evergreen, because there's multiple ways that you can think about an Evergreen model. Number one, it means that there's something to purchase anytime, every day, it's always for sale. That is an evergreen experience, number one. Then you also have Evergreen Automation, and Evergreen Automation can feel and look like going through your own personal launch. So what we have seen traditionally is people opt in. They come to a just in time webinar or training masterclass, whatever it is the words are that people use. But they come in just in time or they book their appointment like an hour or the next day, they get presented an offer with the deadline. So then what happens is they go through their own Evergreen or they go through their own personal launch. So they'll opt in either just in time webinar, or they'll book an appointment for an hour later or the next day, and then they'll go through their own launch, getting presented with an, with an offer, with a deadline, and then they have their own, and then doors close and so on and so forth. So that is an evergreen automation where people are going through their own personal launch, essentially. And so when I use the word launch, all that means typically is when somebody is presented an offer in a gated way, meaning you come in with a email, email, phone number, whatever the energy exchanges, and then you get presented an offer and there's usually an open cart date and then a closed cart date and a lot of times, launches work really well for cohorts. And launches can be really powerful. And they can. And they can build momentum and have a very, like an event feeling. Launching can be really powerful. It's really not a matter of either or. It's really a matter of what's going to work best for you and for your business. And so then I want to break down before we even start getting into how we can encourage buying decisions. Let's just unpack really quickly why that's important. Because when we are looking at an offer and the presentation of an offer, we're looking at the seven main components, right? What's the promise? What's the process? What's the price? What are the bonuses? What is the risk reversal? So what's the guarantee then? Is there any bonuses or urgency? Is there any reason to make a buying decision now? And you can also use scarcity as an example of creating, making a buying decision. And then we're going to also talk about the context of you, why this offer exists in this way. The power of the cuts.

Okay.

Something I always tell my clients, give content and give context that it's uniquely yours anyway. So the reason why we need to encourage making a buying decision is we just look at human behavior.

Okay.

For whatever reason.

Okay.

We always tend to wait till the last minute. If you've worked in a gym and you've had those epic closeouts, have you ever wondered what literally is the difference between the last day of the month and the first day of the month when it's in the middle of the week, where it's like the difference between a Monday and a Tuesday? Sometimes it's the deadline. The deadline encourages making a buying decision. And the buying decision that we're making is either, yes, I'm ready, or no, not yet. And regardless of whether or not you have a launch experience or you have an evergreen experience, the reason to make a decision is part of the customer journey. And the reason why people start to resist creating urgency or resist creating scarcity is for a couple of reasons. Right? Number one, no one wants to be in the camp of sleaze. And the only reason we have that context of being sleazy is because we've either experienced it or we have. We've seen something and watched a process and determined that it was sleazy because usually it's rooted in a lie. So what makes things sleazy is it's lies. Or we have, you know, fear mongering, where we purposely put people in fear. We don't listen. We Don't. We don't. We don't sell at an opportune time.

We.

And we don't take no for an answer. These types of experience cause people to.

Get the ick, okay?

And it's really important that we look at this. And I know that I talk about this a lot. It's just that sometimes, you know, I recently saw a post from someone I love, someone I know, someone I respect, someone I trust, and I trust their information. But what happens when we look at people and we pedestal people and we, for whatever reason, deem that they have all this authority, in whatever capacity or situation there is, they have all this authority. It doesn't mean that they are pedestal and that they are right and that they are the. The be all, end all and that it's okay to ask yourself questions like, is that really true? Because they're human. Those people are human. They have bias. They have their own context, okay? But oftentimes what happens is when they call people out or where they point at something as scammy or spammy, they end up actually accidentally having the opposite effect. Meaning the people who look at that and don't want to be considered sleazy or spammy think, oh, man, I don't. I can't. Let me just shirk back. Let me not present. Let me just not. I don't want to ever be in that camp where I'm called out by someone I respect and love, okay? And so then what ends up happening is that they just end up perpetuating the. The spammy, the lies, the fear mongering out, because those people don't think that they're the problem. So I share this with you because I want to remind you that these are actually principles of human behavior. And when we don't look at it out of fear of being sleazy or smart or what are other people going to think? What are my idols going to think? Then we're running the risk of losing thousands of dollars and we run the risk of actually perpetuating the narratives that you don't want to perpetuate. Why? Because those people have no shame. They don't mind lying to you. They don't mind lying to your clients. But you're listening to this podcast because you're here to make a difference. And in order to make a difference, we need to understand human behavior and we need to sell unapologetically. Because the truth. You're selling something all the time, whether it's your perspective or whether it's an offer. And as long as you can build a pressure free permission based experience where you never pitch without permission. You are always making a case for your perspective and for your offers and that you invite people to say yes to themselves every single day without any pressure. No pressure needed. Then you can just show up, do what you love, and continue to do what you love. That's what me and my clients do. We build pressure free permission based sales systems. So now the launch model. What is really great about a launch model is that it encourages making a buying decision because oftentimes there's a deadline. So what happens to a lot of people when they're transitioning to adding a evergreen component to their business model or they want to transition fully to evergreen? People will ask, well, if people can buy at any time, how do you encourage making the buying decision? Okay, because we need to understand that there is a ladder of believability, meaning that they need to believe in you so that you have to be visible. They can't buy from the Internet's best kept secret. They need to believe in your offer. So they have to believe that your offer is going to be the most efficient and effective way to get to the desired outcome that they already want. Not what you want them to want and not what they need, but what they really want. And then when there is a belief in themselves that they can do it, and then if they believe that they need it now, so when you can close that gap between want and need and demonstrate why they need it now, then you will encourage making a buying decision. And so how do we do that? So we're going to focus on three ways that we can encourage making a buying decision in this episode. Now, one caveat. One, something I want to share with you as we dive into this is when you are looking at your business model and deciding what kind of model you want to have, I want to invite you to consider that it doesn't have to be either or. You could have your premium offer be something that you launch once to one to two times a year. You can have other products and services that are evergreen on top of your launch model. So that's another way that you can add this, this component. One of the things that I like to do inside of my business is that I will build in promotional periods organically, even though I'm enrolling people all the time. So what that means is every three months, I will have one to two weeks where I am promoting the program. And I'll explain what this looks like when we start looking at how we can encourage Making a buying decision. So there's lots of ways that you can incorporate having an evergreen business or having an evergreen model on top of a launch model. So it's not either or. Because there are lots of components around launching that are fun. Like it builds momentum. There's a lot of really exciting energy around and momentum around an event, around the launch, around people coming together. So there are components of a launch model that are really awesome. So let's get into the three ways to help encourage making a buying decision. Let's unpack the three ways that we can really incentivize and create a desire to invest and invest now. And we're going to start from the easiest to hardest. So the first thing that we're going to do is we're going to look at the offer. What are the ways that you can make the offer so irresistible, so compelling that it becomes a no brainer where the offer's so good that it literally sells itself? Now one of the mistakes that people get into is that they'll automatically go to the price and they think, okay, I'm going to have this be one of the big, like this is my cheapest option. And that it's one of the biggest mistakes that you can make and that's pricing on commodity now. And the reason why it's the biggest mistake is because when you come to my live training, we talk about this. There's an illusion that I use that I ask you, do you see the duck or do you see the bunny? And the truth is that they both exist. You can see both of them. But what happens is people are walking around saying, I have a duck, I have a duck, I have a duck. And you're over here being like, hey, come get this amazing free bunny food. And you're trying to put free bunny food in front of somebody who thinks they have a duck. That's why your offers don't take off. But when you can put the right offer in front of the right person at the right time and it become becomes a no brainer offer, that they would feel foolish to say no, you will create a buyer. So how do you do that? Look at the promise. What is the promise that this offer is going to deliver on? Look at the problem that it solves and can you guarantee it? So what does that. And that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to work for free or whatnot. But I'll give you an example. In my 90 days done for you content. The promise is 90 days of done for you content. I mean it's pretty. That's like, I'm going to do it for you. I'm going to give you exactly what to do. You can, if you can do copy and paste, it's going to work.

Okay?

And then I have a like 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you don't like it, you have nothing to lose. Just let us know and we'll refund you. And so that I'm taking on all the risk and I give them. I think I can't remember. I can't remember if it's 100% satisfaction. I actually think it's 30 days. Like, you have 30 days. If you don't like it, just return it. So my promise is pretty is very clear. The process in which I do is also clear. And the price is clear. And the risk reversal, the guarantee is also very clear. So when that, when your offer can do the heavy lifting, then you don't need to worry about any of the trickery, language or any of those things.

Okay.

The offer becomes like going to the grocery store and getting avocados. I don't have to do a whole lot of demonstrating effectiveness because the offer itself is letting that happen. And the other ways that I encourage making the buying decision in that regard, when they could just come to the store, they could buy at any time is I have a whole bunch of like, wow, I got a client from this video. Wow. I had, we had crickets before this one went viral. My DMs went. Went off, right? I just, my DMs got flooded. I woke up and I had 15 DMs. Like, I have compelling reasons to demonstrate the context of why this process works. What can you add into your offers that demonstrate this process works? And then the offer itself just, just sells itself. No fancy messaging or convincing required. I want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not here to convince anyone of anything. The demand and desire, or the desire is already there. I'm just turning up the demand to demonstrate that my process and offer is going to deliver the desire fast. That's what I'm doing. And when I can step into that energy and invite you to step into that energy, then you don't. You lose the sense of like, well, listen, thank you. Next, if it's not you, then it'll be someone else. So, number one, make the offer so irresistible. And it has way more that it's more than just the price. Because price is not the reason your products and services aren't selling. Look at the process, look at the promise, look at the problem. You Solve and make it a no brainer. That's number one. Number two, the second component that you can really lean into when we are looking at how to encourage buying decisions in an evergreen model is let's look at urgency and scarcity. So there are ways that you can build in urgency and scarcity even if you don't have a deadline. For example, an the number one thing I'm going to tell you here, especially if you are like, I don't want to be sleazy, right, Is just avoid lying. So, for example, I am not a huge fan and I don't. And I've tried it before and I had recommended it before, but it's just, it doesn't, it's not, it's something that doesn't jive with me. I'm not a huge fan of, you know, timed discounts and quite frankly, I'm not a huge fan of discounts, period. Now I just want to tell you they work. They really work.

Okay?

They work. Look at brick and mortars. Look at like Lululemon, for example. Like they'll put things on clearance because they need to push the product, get the products off the table. They'll, they'll, they'll put things on sale. Things go 20% off all the time. Like, there's lots of reasons discounts work okay, because it's a sense of a deadline and urgency. What I want to offer to you and the reason why I don't, it works. So if this is something that you do and it works for you, by all means, like, please keep doing it. This I'm not here to be right. I'm here to help people get results.

Okay?

So if that works for you, you keep doing it. But for me, my personal preference and the reason why I don't do it is because if somebody purchases something from me and then three weeks later I put it on sale for a discounted rate, like that to me is not taking care of my buyers. I want to take care of my customers and my clients and I don't want them to come in and feel like, wait, I got that for $10 and now you're putting it on sale for $1? Like that's a bummer. And I don't want to also process refunds. Like that is annoying. It's, it's like, oh man, okay, well I can, you know, it's just a lot of work and it's unnecessary and I don't want to do it. So what I instead do, okay, is but that's a way that Works okay. But instead what I'll do is I'll say, hey, this is going to happen for a limited time. I don't know how long it's going to be. So if you are on the fence, like, let's do it. So when I raise the price, I raise the price and I oftentimes don't go back. And then if I've had that one occasion where I'm like out priced myself from the market space, my stuff went from really converting to like not converting anymore, then I might, then, then I would go back and I would honor my, my buyers, their, their, the, the discrepancy, if there was a discrepancy. But oftentimes if I raise the price, I raise it and I raise it for everyone so that I. Any crappy feelings around why did that person get it for less? And it's the same. Because that's just not my. I don't like that.

Okay?

So another thing that I don't like that people do is that they will put this like, hey, because you came to this training, you have a week to get it 50% off and then the price goes back up. That works. And then they can set it so that it's like, hey, listen, it's not a lie. They can't come back into the funnel for another year. And then at a year they can get it at a price. So that's an example of like their own personal launch. And so for me, I'm also not a huge fan of that. And people tend to not like that because they feel like it's a lie.

Okay.

And because they've had these experiences like, okay, so it's $47 for the next three days, but then I'll just go into the funnel again. Right? And I know that you can set it. There's a lot of tech that you can do to make it not a lie.

Okay?

But for me, I don't want to have any confusion around is this a lie or not. So instead I will have things at a rate that I'm telling them. Like it's going to go up. I'm just not sure when. And then when I know when it's going up, then I will say, okay, the price is raising on this date. And then that is going to drive urgency. Like, so if you've been here in my world and on the fence for any amount of time, then now's the time because rates are going up. So that's a way that I will drive urgency because rates go up and then I Don't lie. And I hold onto it and I hold it. I do expiring bonuses. So I have really incredible guests that come and speak. Tony award winning people, bestselling authors, like people come and my people can get their questions specifically answered. And then because that class is live, I can do a promotion to be like, hey, want to come into this class? Now's the time to come join us. That also drives urgency. Sometimes I'll do virtual events or live events and people in my world will get a free ticket. That will drive urgency to making a buying decision. That's not a lie. Sometimes I have because I get inundated with onboarding and because we have such a customized process that I can only take a certain amount of people per month before I can really to really serve people at their best. So if that's the case, then there's limited spots. So hey, three spots left for this onboarding month.

Okay?

These are ways that you can layer in urgency when you are driving an evergreen model, okay. And to encourage making a buying decision. So urgency and scarcity is number two. Now the third way that you can encourage making a buying decision, it is the hardest and it's advanced. And it, I say this with, with the gravitas I suppose that it deserves because people will sometimes get this tripped up thinking like, oh, you're fear mongering. It's inner, it's inner urgency. We need to appeal to inner urgency because remember, we're not creating demand. We're not convincing anybody of anything. We are moving people and encouraging people to making a buying decision that is going to require change. And I probably don't have to tell you that anytime somebody changes or makes a change, the brain goes, no, I don't want to do it. Even though it's something that is very beneficial and good for them, people oftentimes don't want to do that. And this is why I'm such a huge advocate around you know the truth about know, like and trust. Because if we are accidentally trying to be liked by everybody and trying to really go after our partners popularity metrics, then we miss the important component of what it takes to actually drive change, which is speaking and being there for people's potential for their desire to change and not for the garbage that they bring in the room. So when you can speak to your client's potential, then you can actually elicit behavior change. This can be challenging. And it can be challenging because when you are appealing to inner urgency and speaking to people's potential, that requires you highlighting the Truth, the truth about what's at stake by continuing to choose what they're already choosing. The reason why this, you, we want to be careful here is because the, you have to understand the difference between fear mongering and meaning that you are, you are causing fear and meaning that you are saying if you do this, then that will happen. Just stick to facts. Okay, so the, what I mean by that is you don't know if they continue down this path that they're currently on that XYZ is going to happen. You just don't know that that's going to, that's true. Okay, so how you stick to facts is you look at evidence like you have been doing XYZ for the last, blah, blah, blah. And this is what has happened. What causes you to think it's going to change if you don't change. That is based in fact. You use qualifying words. This is, this is at stake, potentially based on context of why you know that to be true. We're not making up problems. We're not purposely putting people in fear by saying this is going to happen unless you buy this thing. That's not what we're saying. But we are highlighting the facts about the truth that's already there. So look at that. That's inner urgency. Other ways you appeal to inner urgency is by demonstrating the proof and showing the proof of how fast something can change when they go into your program. Again, this is facts. This happened to Sally. Sally came on board and she got this in X amount of time.

Okay.

Now, of course, and I'm always, I always, you know, I'm such a huge, I don't know, I guess contrarian. But I'm very cautious when it comes to other client stories and case studies because whether it's good or whether it's bad, you can't make a decision based on what's gonna work right best for you by somebody else's results. That's like saying, oh, well, Sally went on keto and so that must mean keto's gonna work for me. No, that's not necessarily true. And I don't like to position my testimonials and case studies in that way. Why? Because so many factors are at play. We've got skill, we've got skill acquisition, we've got how fast people could come back from. No, we have to understand that people's day one is not the same thing as other people's day 100. And we also have to remember that someone else's day one is not the same as someone else's day one, because of accessibility, because of a whole, because of, because of skill, because of how fast it takes to acquire skill. There's so many factors at play. However, what case studies can do is demonstrate that the process works. Just make sure that you're using caveat language that you are always stating the facts. I believe this to be true because of this and this is fact for me. Now, it's not the same thing as being right. You're allowed to change your mind. But again, I said earlier, and I said it in this podcast, is that I'm not here to be right. I'm here to provide results. And this is how best I know how to provide results based on this context. And I'm going to keep sharing it and I'm going to unapologetically share it. And I invite you and encourage you to give yourself the same grace because the sooner and the faster I was able to give myself grace and permission to say, I can change my mind. This is why it works right now. This is why this is factual for me right now. And I'm allowed to change my mind as I begin to grow, as my expertise grows. I loved launching models and there are still huge main, there's still things I love about launching. I just am much happier in this evergreen model because now I can bring the joy of what I loved about launching into my business all the time. And I don't have that pressure that, oh, I have to do this by this date and what if I don't? What if I don't hit those numbers? It got me to focus on the people saying yes instead of the people who say no. Because the truth is most people say no. The three main ways to encourage making buying decisions are make the offer, focus on the offer, make the offer a no brainer. Then number two, you can encourage buying decisions with urgency and scarcity. And then number three is to is to appeal and to highlight the truth of inner urgency. The what's at stake if they don't say yes and yes to themselves right now. Okay, those are the three ways to encourage making a buying decision. Now, I already put together and I already walked you through what it looks like if you had a launching model and you had also an evergreen model. I want to give you some examples of how brick and mortars that you might know that you know and love do both a combination of launching and evergreen. If you look at, for example, Apple, Apple launches their new products, but they have all of their products evergreen always for sale. So thank you so much for hanging out with me today. If you like this episode, it's a huge favor to us. Help us help more people. If you leave us a five star review. If you take three to five minutes to just write your big takeaways from this episode or from the show, it helps us get our message out to more people. So thank you so much for hanging out with me. I'll catch you on the next episode.

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