#86 - What to do with an offer that just doesn’t sell! (Part 3/5)

You need to have chosen to solve a problem that people actually give a shit about and to do it in a way that is really valuable to them.

This is the Doing It Online podcast with your host, serial entrepreneur 6 and 7 figure funnel strategist and super nerd Kate McKibben. Where every week we're here talking nerdy and sharing the things that actually work to help you do what you do online. But better, easier and with a ton more profit too. Are you ready? Let's do it.

Hello. Hello everybody. It is Kate here from hello Funnels and welcome to episode number 80 freaking 6 of the doing It Online podcast. Now today you'll have to excuse me because I'm a little bit husky because we just wrapped up our amazing six figure school which was so much fun. But I feel like I've been talking for a week, which I kind of have the, the lemon and the tea and all that stuff is, is happening right now. And I, I, you know, I'm seriously considering getting a second job as a phone operator. But yeah, you'll just have to bear with the huskiness. But despite the huskiness and actually it kind of, it kind of suits today's topic because today we are moving on to part three of our five part sequence. About some of the most common places that people get stuck as they are starting and scaling and growing their online businesses. And the simple action plans that you need to put into place at each stage to start to get traction, to make sure that you are doing the right things in the right order, that you are working, you know, as smart as possible and getting the most momentum and the biggest bang for your buck. All of those cliches, we're throwing them all in here. That's what it's all about. And it's of course as with everything we do here at hello Funnels, we like things to be actionable. So that's the purpose of these episodes. Now we're up to number three, which is when you are in the place of being set up and running, you know, you've created an offer, you've got to build a bit of an audience. You kind of ticking all the boxes and you putting it out there and it just doesn't seem to be selling. It's, you may be selling a few here or there, but just not at sort of that momentum that you would really want and hope for and kind of need to start to be making enough money to then get up to that next stage. So this is the has offer, but it ain't Freaking selling episode. Now, if you aren't at this stage yet, if you are still at the no list, no offer stage, go back two episodes and dive into that one. If you're at the I've got a bit of an audience or a list and I still don't have an offer, go back to our last episode. But if you sort of already cruise through those two stages and you are like, yeah, well, I feel like I've done all the things, like I've got a bit of a social media following, I've got a bit of a list, people seem to be interacting. I create an offer. I thought this offer was amazing. And crickets, tumbleweeds, this is the episode for you. So without further ado, let's dive right on in. Before we jump into troubleshooting your offer, you know, looking at the important pieces that you need to have in place to have an offer, that is what I call a hells yet. Yes offer. An offer that when your ideal client sees it, they go, hells yes, that is for me. And it just flies off the shelves. Before we dive into that, there's one little thing I need to cover off first and that is something that surprisingly enough is quite often where people, what's actually happening when people sort of fall into this category where they go, oh, my offer's no good, I'm just going to go change it all. And that it simply that not enough people have seen it yet. If you are here, you're in this phase, you're, like I said, you've sort of got a bit of a list. Maybe it's a few hundred, maybe it's even a few thousand. And whether that's spread across your. Just on your email list or just on a social platform or a combo, quite often at this point, if it's the very first time you are making an offer, it's really, really common that we get a little shy about it, that we like, oh, I don't really want to bother people. I might just like subtly mention it over here once or twice and then you're surprised that it's not flying off the shelves. Question number one, you need to ask yourself if you are here, is have enough people seen it yet? Have you been talking about it enough that people know what it is, that they feel confident enough with it as a. That it's not just a brand new idea to them? Because one of the things that happens as the world gets busier and people are getting bombarded with more and more messages all the time is for them to Sort of have enough trust in you and in an offer, they need to hear about it a bit. Like it needs to kind of sink in. They need, you know, yes, there's always going to be a small percentage of people who are your die hard fans who literally will jump in and buy whatever. Like they'll be the first people to buy off the block even. You could probably mention it in, you know, an Instagram post and that would be enough for them. But that's generally, that's your cream, the crop. That's a small percentage at the top. And to be, for an offer to be a hell yes offer, for it to be profitable, easy to sell, you need it to be appealing to not just those people. You need it to appeal to the people who are, you know, like they can't, you know, sure, they follow you, they think you're good, but you know, they're not like going to put up posters of you on their wall or anything like that. Like more of your stock standard, follow a few people more laid back in their approach towards you kind of thing. And that's what makes up probably a good chunk of the people who do follow you. They're like, yeah, they seem valuable, yeah, I kind of dig them. Like that's all good. But they're, they're not like lining up to, for whatever. You have to work a bit harder. You have to make sure that things are really, really desirable for them to get them to sort of take that next step. Those people, they need to hear about something. They need that bit more convincing, they need that consistent messaging. Okay, so just subtly talking about it in an email here or there, sending a couple of emails and expecting it to fly off the shelves. That might be what you've kind of been sold as. What happens when you create an online program, but it's not. There is like a launch is a lot more than just a handful of emails. There's like so many more pieces to it. And that quite often I do see this and I find it like frustrating because I see people think, oh, my offer's no good or they, you know, I've done everything wrong and blah, blah. And all it was was that they didn't, their promotion wasn't correct. Like they didn't have the right plan in place. They didn't realize the steps that they needed to go through to sell their offer. Even the first time round. Like we have specific launch plans for a beta offer, which is what we call like the very first time you're selling something and you're just Testing it, really making sure that your audience wants it. And then we have other plans which you kind of build on as you get more experience, as you get a bigger audience that are sort of appropriate for different products, different site stages of your business as well. None of them are just, I might just mention it a couple of times, a social and send a couple of emails. They all have a lot more moving pieces than that. Question number one is, have people seen your offer, heard about your offer enough, and have enough people seen it, heard about it, to actually get some sales? That's the other thing that's really important here is having realistic expectations. There's a number that gets banged around a lot in this space that you should be able to expect to convert 2% of your audience every time you have a sale. Like every time you make a launch or, you know, have a promotion or anything like that. I feel like that number is actually grossly overestimated. Some people can do that. They are people who are ninja. Like, they have their stuff dialed in, their offer is killer. They have spent a lot of time creating real trust and real value with their audience. Certain niches tend to convert higher than others. So you need to, like, even if you wanted to use that 2% or I'd even say 1% as a benchmark, if you think about, okay, how many people are currently on my email list of what is 1% of that? And that's kind of like the number that you could be aiming for if you only have a few hundred people on your email list in the first place. One percent of that is, you know, maybe three, four, five people would be what you're aiming for if you have done your job really well. So. So again, that's why it's important that we go through the stages in order that we build up a bit of an audience first and that we spend some time when you're designing out your offers and your business to make sure that you're gonna do it in a way that's gonna be profitable as quickly as possible. But that's not what this episode is all about. As a long winded caveat of have enough people seen it? Have they seen it often enough? And do you know what the benchmarks are? Do you know what the numbers are so that you can tell, hey, actually the fact I made 3 sales on my 100 person list is actually freaking amazing and means this product is killer and I should just keep going versus going. Oh, I only made three sales. That's not many. It's clearly not any Good. Throwing it all in. And really all it needs for you now to do is to ramp up your list building and then you would just make more sales. So can you see the sort of the importance there of knowing the numbers and making sure that, you know, you are showing up and getting it out there? All right, so now we're just gonna assume that you've done all that. Okay. And it's still. It's not selling at the benchmarks that you would want it to sell. You've been shouting it from the rooftops and it just ain't budging. How do we make this offer into a Hells yes offer? That offer that is easy to sell? Well, there's three areas or three things you have to get right, and you kind of have to get all of them right for it to be a Hells yes offer. If you get two right, it'll normally be a pretty good offer. But for it to really, really fly and really, really convert, well, you want to get all three. So first one is all around your messaging. So you need to know in like, as simple terms as possible, like, preferably one short sentence. You need to know what is the outcome, what is the promise of this offer? And this is whether it's coaching packages, whether it's consulting, whether it's an online program, whether it's a mastermind, a membership, whatever it is, there should be a promise. There should be a simple and easy to communicate and understand. Like I said, like a promise. Something that the people who buy this is why they're buying, because they want that. And this is the program that's going to help them get that, going to help them get this outcome in whatever different way or delivery style it is. It needs to be clear, it needs to be simple, and it needs to be communicated in a way that people understand it, that your ideal client understands it and said, yes, that's what I want. That sounds like me. Me. They get me. If it is something that is too vague, it is not going to land. It is not going to connect. If it is something that you're using because you're. You're an expert or you're sort of on that other side of the fence. If you're using your own vernacular, your own industry terms and jargon rather than the terms and the way that your ideal client speaks and the way that they describe certain things. If you're so basically, if you're speaking like you not speaking like them, again, it can have a disconnect. They might be like it sounds. It doesn't land and resonate, it doesn't make them go, yes, that is me. Because that's what you need for messaging to be tick good and, and do everything you want it to do. When people read it, you need them to be nodding along and go, yep, that's, that's me. I'm there. I've done that. That sounds exactly like what I need. And when people do that, when they're nodding, they're going to convert. So that's number one, one clear outcome that is communicated in your client's own words in a way that they can really understand. Like, this is the benefit. And again, just a little tip. Quite often when people talk about, like, what their program does, what they'll do is they'll talk about the what you learn or the what you teach. So it'd be eight modules which show you how to create a social media plan for your business. Okay, Just as an example. But that's not the promise. That's not actually what people get. That's not the benefit. The benefit of, first of all, people don't care if it's eight weeks or 10 modules or three modules or whatever. Please don't have that in your subject, you know, in your, in your subheading or your tagline. But the like, okay, I'm going to teach you how to create a content marketing plan or to be better at something. What does that. You need to take it a step further and go, what does that give them? If you have a really great strong content marketing plan or if you're really great at Instagram, what then happens? Do you get more sales? Do you get more visibility? Do you, does it save you time? Does it give you more confidence? Like all of those things, Those are the benefits. That is what you need to be communicating. That is what you need to be focusing on. Just think about it. When, if you do think, oh, but I am really clear. People, you know, people know what my program teaches them or what they'll learn. Ask yourself the next question. Like, okay, but what does that learning? What does that new skill? What does that actually give them? Why do they want that? And make sure that is what you're talking about, because that just changes everything. All right? So the second thing that your offer needs to be a Hells yes offer is that you need to have chosen to solve a problem that people actually give a shit about and to do it in a way that is really valuable to them. I'm going to use an old client as an example. So I had a client, their ideal client, was busy, overworked professional mums. So these are mums who are working full time but have young kids have got zero free time. They do have, well, they have some disposable income, but a lot of it is probably being channeled towards their kids. They've got school fees. You know, kids are just generally expensive as I've come to learn. And you know, and the program that they created was a program that was like 10 one on one calls. So that's like 10 hours of time. Plus it was, it was a high ticket like and it was the promise of the program was really helping them to feel better and things like that. And the problem was there was this disconnect because yes, that is an important thing. Yes, that is something that they want. They wanted more energy, they wanted more confidence and things. But did they want it? Did they want to sort of get there by doing this? Did they want to have to find 10 hours in their busy weeks to be able to where they needed to be alone and quiet and not disturbed because it was kind of quite personal, private stuff they were working through? Was that going to be very possible or appealing to them? No, not really. Was feeling a bit better something that they were putting high enough on their order of priorities and needs at that moment? Not really. So would they then value it enough to spend a high ticket price for that outcome? No, not really. So the thing is you need to have this match. You need to know your clients and while you may know that what they really need is X, if what they think they need is something different and if they're like they don't particularly value this outcome right now or in delivered in this way, then again it's going to be something that's hard to sell. Even if this could completely change their lives, if right now where they are in their life, this isn't like the main priority or one of the main priorities, they're just not going to take action. So that's why when you are coming up with your offer or even the way you are presenting your offer, and sometimes this doesn't even mean you have to change your offer completely. It might be just pulling out a few modules, choosing to highlight a couple of other pieces, changing how it's delivered. So it's not one on one, it's something that can be DIY around busy schedules or things like that. Like you need to understand what, not just the outcome your clients want and really want and consciously want, not just, you know, what you know deep down that they probably need, but also how do they want to achieve it? How much time are they willing to spend on this? Is it something that's going to, they're going to be happy to spend 12 months on, or is it something that they want to be able to just bang out in a weekend? Like, these are all the kind of questions you need to. And this all comes back to, you need to know your clients, ideal clients, really, really well. So the final piece in a healthiest offer is so first one is one clear benefit outcome. Like we're not doing kitchen sink products here where you throw in everything. Just one thing that you're focusing on, communicated in language that your client understands and resonates with. Number two is that offer that thing in the first place is something that they care about, they value, that is a high priority for them in the first place. And the way that you are choosing to solve this problem and help them with this problem, again, is tied in with those values and how they're wanting it to be solved. And the third one simply comes down to price and matching up, finding that correct, fair exchange of, you know, okay, what did. So this problem you were solving, how much do they value it being solved in this way? Okay, and then how can you deliver it for that price point in a way that feels like that's fair for you from a delivery? Like you're not over giving or, or under giving. Like it has to feel fair, it has to feel fluid or it will get blocked. So those are the three things, your messaging, the value and the delivery, and the price. So now you know what the potential issues are. And this applies for all kinds of, like you can look at any type of online offering and if they don't tick all three of these, they're going to be hard to sell. So what do you do about it? You go, okay, well obviously something's off. I'm not certain, like maybe you had a few little light bulbs go off, but you know, how do you know for sure? Well, there's three things that you can do. Firstly, do a survey. Do make it part of your business that you do surveys regularly. Both of your existing clients. I love to do a survey when people first sign up because we get to find out more about them. We get to find out what made them sign up, what their problems were at the time they signed up, what they were sick of, what they were hoping for. All of that stuff is gold. I also love to do a survey of people who don't purchase. Like, what was it that stopped them? You know, why is now not the right time. How could we have created something that was better suited for them? And then I also like to do just a general survey, like a survey of everyone on your list. What are they struggling with, what are they hoping for? All of this. And the thing that the reason why I love to do these surveys is because you start to get to see in their own words exactly what they want, what they are thinking about, what they are stressing about and what they are hoping for. And when you are able to pick out those words and to use words like that, like I said, it just connects so much more strongly. The second thing you can do if you don't have an existing list or a whole bunch of customers that you can ask is just get into some Facebook groups or jump onto social media and get a little stalky. But you know, obviously in a very legal and non actual stalky way, go and see like, go find some big names in your business, you know, in your niche and look at what they're posting about and then see how people are responding. Like look for those posts where people are saying oh my gosh, yes, that is me. That is so me. It's like you've read my mind. People who say I feel attacked. Like you look for all that language, right? Because that is where they have clearly nailed the messaging, the wording, the, the promise, the problem, whatever it is. You know, if you don't have the audience, you can go and look at other people's and see what they are responding to and learn from that as well. And then the third one, and I a hundred percent recommend, if you haven't been, you know, working for a long time in this space, if you haven't done a lot of rolling up the sleeves and getting in and actually helping to solve this problem before is to do some one on one sessions like sell some consults, sell some coaching packages. Don't have to be a bunch of them cause I know a lot of you, if you're listening to this program, then you're probably all about wanting to automate and leverage and remove yourself from that one on one. But there is the best, the absolute best market research you will ever do is working directly with clients. And this has a benefit of you'll be able to charge for it as well. So it's going to give you a little influx of some revenue and be some of the best research you'll ever have. This should help you to tease out where you need to make some changes for those three things around the messaging around the value and delivery and around the price. And again, I want you to just remember that this is all a test, guys. Absolutely everything in your business is an experiment, and it continues to be an experiment as your business evolves, as your clients evolve, as the world evolves. So these are never things like that you feel like you need to have nailed right away. These are things that you will, over time, add more nuances to refine down, like maybe broaden out even, although it's less common. But these are things you are going to be working on and playing with and perfecting and refining for years and years and years. So if they are not crystal clear right now, don't beat yourself up. You're going to put your best foot forward. Do as good as you can do until you know better, and then you'll do better. And this is how you do it. That, in a nutshell, is my empires for anyone. And this is what is exactly what we do inside Ecourse Empire. This is what we love jumping onto our coaching calls and helping people with. Because sometimes, you know, it's. Particularly when you're really, really close to something, it is hard to see those points. Like, this is why I love that we are able to have coaching calls around copy and design. So when people, like, if my sales page just isn't converting, I don't know why, we can look at their pages and say, well, this messaging is a bit confusing, or this is a bit vague, or this doesn't sound like it's talking to the same thing. Or maybe this is a stronger point. You should lead with this. And it's just, I feel like it's one of the most valuable things that we can do for people at this point in their business, which is a really common point that when people come and join us, they're like, I feel like I've been doing everything and I am just not getting momentum. And so I so love that we can come in and help and support you. And if you're listening to this episode and you were not only nodding along, not noddling, nodding along, and you feel like you do need that second, third, fourth, fifth set of eyes from an expert panel of digital marketers, then we would love to come and we would love to invite you to come and join us inside Ecourse Empire. Um, I believe, like, I'm, I've recorded this like a week or so out, so I believe we do still have a few spots available for our current intake. If you would like to come and join us or get more information on what that program is, what it looks like how we can help you to implement these action plans to grow your business, to grow your online program to help you to create to grow to scale your own six and multi six figure online courses on autopilot. Head to ecoursempire.com or grab the link below. All the details are there. This is application only guys and we do only take a handful of people at the time. If you want in, if you want to help, make sure you apply and then keep your eyes on your inbox. Your your application invitation Need a better name for your invite basically to come and join us because you do not want to miss out if when it does come through and I super excited to see you when you do come and join us and to help you to nut all this stuff out. I freaking love it. It's what I live for. So hopefully I will see you inside the program very soon. That's ecosempire.com and if not guys just keep doing what you do and I'll see you all online. Bye.

Thanks so much for listening to the Doing It Online podcast. If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. And if you're ready to take your online course sales to the next level with your own six or seven figure funnel, let Kate show you exactly how today@StealMyFunnel.com.