692. The Real Reason Product Business Sales Feel Hard (and How to Make a Profit)

Hi, I'm Jacqueline Snyder and this is the Product Boss podcast. I've helped launch and grow thousands of product based businesses, even one of my own. And over the last 20 years, I've seen behind the scenes of businesses just like yours. Whether they are makers, manufacturers, artists, or food and beverage businesses. I have spent so many hours studying it all. I've discovered what makes them successful, what mistakes they could have avoided, how did they turn their ideas into successful business, and what are the strategies that they have used to make more sales and be discovered by more customers. And this is what this show is all about. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to become a million dollar product boss, I'm here to give you the permission to chase your dreams, no matter how big or small. All you need is the right mindset, a little courage, strategy and support, and you too can be the next million dollar product boss. Let's do this. Oh my goodness. Friends, if you are anything like me, you probably spend more time running errands than running your business. Am I right? Like, everything needs something, we gotta run around. And I knew that this was like a major issue for me back in the day, which is why I decided to get help where I could. And I decided to let Instacart handle all of my grocery shopping. So I no longer had to worry about running all the errands and having to run out and get more almond mil milk for my lattes. Rather, I was like, you know what, we're just gonna let Instacart handle that. So I want you to imagine skipping the store and getting back to designing packaging, orders, making, or maybe actually taking a break, even a nap. Remember those? Okay, so with Instacart, you can get groceries and essentials delivered in as fast as an hour so you can focus on growing your business without sacrificing a meal. Plus, less stress and more focus. And here's a tip. I've actually used Instacart before to order gifts from my daughter's friend's birthday parties because I haven't had time to run out and get presents. And I've been able to get the packaging, like the gift bag and the g, like hello, Sephora, delivered to my house while I was in the middle of coaching sessions so that I could have the present right. It's like having a personal assistant without having a personal assistant. So if you want to do what I do and get the help where you can, you can try it. Now if you head to the product boss.com instacart hey. Hey. And welcome back to the Product Boss podcast. I'm your host, Jaclyn Snyder. I am so glad you're here today. So today we're talking about something that's going to shift how you see your business and maybe, just maybe even how you see yourself as the business owner. Because if sales have felt harder than they should, right? If business feels harder than it should, and if you feel like you've been doing in quotes all the right things and still not seeing results, there may be a reason, my friend. And it's not that you're not working hard enough. It's not your product. It might actually be something as simple as your clarity. So in this episode, I am going to show you why clarity is the foundation of your business. It's the foundation of a brand that sells and what shifts when your message, your positioning and your presence finally clicks into place. So I want to jump into, like a heart to heart today because I know what it feels like to be in the space where you're doing everything right, everything you're supposed to do. You're showing up, you're posting, you're emailing, you're launching, you're creating. And yet it still feels like a grind. Like sales are harder than they should be. And today, what I want to tell you is that the something that might shift everything for you, right? I want to make this shift for you. That's going to shift everything. So I want you to hear me when I say this. It's not your product, it's not even your audience, and it may not even be the algorithm. It's the clarity, okay? It's the clarity in your brand, in your message and who you're talking to and why they should care. And when you finally get that right, selling is going to get so much easier. So most of us are taught that if something's not working, the answer is to work harder. Am I right? More effort, more content, more pushing. But what if the reason sales feel hard isn't because you're not doing enough, but because your customer still isn't clear on what you do, what you sell, if your product is for them, and why your customer actually needs it? So if your brand doesn't immediately signal, this is for you, and here's why it matters, then you're going to keep pushing and you're still going to feel like you're not getting the traction you're hoping for. And this is for anybody out there. This is if you're just starting out. This is if you have A million dollar business. We hit these levels every so often that we have to come back to the customer. We have to come back to the clarity and say, does this make sense right now? Because sales don't come from doing more, necessarily. I mean, of course we can do the things, we can get the sales engines, we can get in front of other people's audiences, we can do all that stuff. But what I really want you to do is when you're doing these things, are you doing the right things with clarity? So clarity is what makes your product stand out in a scroll, right? It's what makes your product stand out at a live market or show. It's what makes your product stand out when it's on a marketplace. It's what makes it stand out when it's on a retail shelf. It's what makes your dream, ideal customer stop and say, wait, what is this? And this is what I've been looking for. They get excited, that discovery of the product. So I remember this time when we had a big launch planned, right, with my products. And it was, you know, our emails were ready, our offers were ready, the whole strategy was mapped out. I had this new spring launch and I was like, I've got it, I've got it. We're going to launch this thing. And I was expecting really awesome, amazing results. And then crickets, right? And my honest reaction is I'm blaming myself. Maybe I didn't hype it up, up enough. Maybe I didn't work hard enough. Maybe it was the photos. Maybe whatever it was, right? Maybe the offer wasn't good. Maybe they just didn't want my product. But when I stepped back and I looked at it without that kind of shame focus, and what I realized was like, okay, one, I was speaking to too many people. If I'm talking to everyone, I'm speaking to no one. We weren't being specific enough. And the offer, the products, the way we were selling it wasn't good. And the messaging wasn't clear. And they were just like, they were like, what is this thing? Why do I need right now? So the moment that we cleaned all of that up and we really got very clear on who we were speaking to, right? We nailed our, our audience, we nailed our ideal customer, we nailed our niche, which was really thinking like, well, what am I going to be known for? Because at some point people were like, you know what you should do? You should make hair clips and you should make necklaces and you should make. I've made feathers for your hair. But I came out With Cuffs Couture, I was selling wearable wrist wallets that were fancy. That a trendy fashionista like me. I say fashionista because that's the language I used back then. But that I could go out and feel cool with like a wearable wrist wallet. And instead I was listening to all the should, should, should, should let everyone should on me. And I just diluted the entire brand and it wasn't specific enough. And I was trying to talk to everyone. Am I talking to the workout person? Am I talking to the mom? Am I talking to the person who walks their dog? Am I talking to so and so who wants to go out? So I had to step back and I had to say, who am I talking to? I had to nail my audience. I needed to nail the niche. I sell wearable wrist wallets. It's called Cuffs Couture. I had to make sure that the pricing matched who I was selling to. But above all that, the clarity was, was my brand messaging clear? Were the photos I was using? Was the website according to the brand? Was it attracting that ideal customer? And then was I launching correctly? Right? Was I planning on the marketing? Like did I figure out how to market? Or was I just hoping and praying that somehow the product boss gods would shine down and let all the customers know that I existed and that they should come by, right? Hey friends. Okay, so I don't know if you're anything like me, but sometimes it feels like my self care routine is slipping through the cracks. 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So if you want to try this because I so believe in this business. I think it's amazing. It's done so many wonders for my skin and my gut, which are two things that I need help with. And you want to simplify your wellness and your beauty. All you have to do is click in the show notes and you can use the code Jaclyn Snyder. So it's my full name. Use the code Jacqueline Snider and I'm hooking you up with 15% off your order. So. So cheers to glowing skin and a thriving business. So we were speaking to too many people. We were not being specific enough. And the offer was good, but the message really wasn't clear. They didn't understand why they needed to buy it now. So when we cleaned that up, sales started to come in. We had the same product, but we niche down. We had niched down and nailed who our audience was. And we got clearer on the brand of the messaging. And then when all of that clicked, things started to work. Because sales aren't necessarily about convincing. I think that's where sometimes people get really stuck and they think, oh, I don't want to be salesy. Like, I don't want to be like a car salesman. No offense to my car salesman out there. Right. We can learn a lot, but they don't want to be salesy. But what if we shifted this thought of sales are not about convincing, that sales are about connecting, Connecting with your customer and that we are able to connect with them with the right message, with the right brand. We take our product and we build this invisible bridge between our product and our customer and we meet them where they're at. So let's talk about what might be getting in the way. Right. So if sales have felt heavy lately, I want to offer you some reflection questions. So do you know who your customer is? Like, can you say it? You may be like, oh, it's a woman and she's age 25 to 65. And she likes, I don't know, she likes bookmarks. That's really specific. She likes T shirts that say things. She likes candles that smell good. She likes to wear jewelry. She likes paintings for her wall. She likes gluten free baked goods. She likes teas that are, that have a special meaning to them. Right, okay. Kind of all over the place, don't you think? Like, that is so general. So we need to really make sure that one, your customer, you know who your customer is so that you know exactly what your customer needs to feel and know. And it's more than about the product. To be able to buy from you. And when they do that, the question is then does your customer immediately know that this product, this brand is for them and can they tell quickly what makes this product match them so perfectly, fits them like a glove, different than the other things they've seen or meets them where they are right now, that it's like, this is exactly what I want in this moment. And then when you're showing up, right, whether you're, you're selling, you're showing up on social media, you have your website, you're in a store, you're on a marketplace, does your customer feel something when they experience your brand online or in person? Or does it just show them something? I ask you this because I know a lot of times, a lot of times some of you are like, I do really well in person, but it doesn't convert online. And that's because the magic beautiful special sauce, the magic there is you. As long as you talk to people and you don't ignore them and scroll your phone, right, you are the magic. They are buying what's your essence and your energy and what you're putting out there. You are creating a brand without knowing it. You're creating marketing and messaging without knowing it. You're creating connection between the product and the customer without knowing it. So what the most important thing is is how do we take what you're good at? Some of you, I'm telling you, I hear so many people say it works in person but not online. We have to take that, boil it down into how it can happen without you being there, whether it's on your social media, whether it's on your website, right? We have to create that because here's the truth. People don't buy when they're confused. People don't buy when it feels generic. And they definitely don't buy if your brand looks uncertain and doesn't connect with them. And truthfully, they're not going to buy because you sell a candle made out of soy wax that smells like lavender. They're not going to buy because you sell a body lotion that's made of cocoa butter that smells like vanilla. In fact, all of that is pretty vanilla, right? Because what's the difference, your product to another product on the shelf? You know why they're going to buy another product a lot of times or they're going to stick to it is because you've built a brand around it because they have some sort of connection to it. They might make a one time purchase with you because you happen to be right in front of them, but how do we make them stay connected? So when you have a very clear brand, one of connection with your customer, one that's not only visually beautiful, verbally beautiful, but then also is emotionally connected to your customer, your selling gets so much easier. And not because you suddenly got better at marketing, but it's because you stopped hiding in the noise and you started to stand out. So my question to you, my friend, is what if you didn't need to start over, you just needed to get clear? And that's something that has been so important to me in what I've been teaching. I think it's something that has always sort of been in really realizing that I am truthfully, like a brand strategist, but also a connector of the customer to product. I truly understand what people want and how to make what you have to sell connect with what the customer actually needs. And it's more than she needs a dish towel because she spilled something in her kitchen. Right. If you've been here for any time or you've ever worked with me, you know that it's kind of like I can kind of boil that down and come up with it. And so that's why. And we've talked about this over the last few weeks, but that's why I feel so strongly about, truthfully, one of the first programs I created when I came out of my partnership here at the Product Boss, which is standout society, because I knew Reflections back to me for my students would be like, you just, you can get there. Like, you've got the vision, you know exactly where we want to go, and you can make the connection. And I'm telling you, I think it's a superpower, and I want to help teach this superpower to each of you. And that's what I put inside a standout society. Right? Because in there, I hope you really start to think about, like, how to clarify your brand and your voice and how to define your ideal customer and how to refine your pricing. Not only pricing, but psychology behind pricing and your offers that you create and to really create, like, a marketing plan so you feel like a real brand, one that you're proud to share and one where you feel like you're stopped spinning your wheels. So it's just something that I feel. I'm grateful that you're here to hear my alignment as I'm really getting fully aligned with what we have here for you and the support we have and the win, win, and the 2 plus 2 equals 5, because I feel like between the things that we have to offer, this podcast and the freebies and the programs and the coaching and the courses and all the things that this is where the magic can happen in your business. I don't need to know what you sell. It doesn't matter where you are in the world. It doesn't matter how you're selling it. It doesn't matter whether this, like this is you have a couple hours a week or all of your hours are dedicated to this. I believe in you. And I believe that when you have the right tools and the right mentorship and the right energy and mindset behind it, like, anything is possible. So this is what I want you to know. This is what I know. And I want you to know you're not broken. Your business isn't broken. You're just at a turning point. You're at a space of clarity. And with that clarity, right? Clarity that's waiting for you on the other side of all of this. So if this resonated with you at all and you're ready to stop spinning and lean into clarity and start selling with confidence, then I'm so glad that you're here. Right? Keep listening. Over the next few episodes, I'm going to keep walking you through what it really takes to build a business that stands out without you burning out. And when you are ready to go deeper, if and when you're ready to go deeper, the doors are open for standout society. And in that, that program is designed to help you fix what's keeping your business stuck and help you step into this brand that you were meant to build. But either way, I'm here for you and I hope to work with you in one of my programs. But if not here, or come visit me on Instagram. We're having fun over there. I keep posting really funny reels with about my husband. He's in a new show called your Friends and neighbors on Apple TV with John Ham. And so my new angle, other than helping with products, is trying to get my number to John Ham. So come visit me at the product boss on Instagram for fun, funny, inspiration, all the things. But here's what I want you to remember, okay? The real reason why business or entrepreneurship or sales might feel hard isn't because you're not good at this, is because you're learning. It's because you weren't meant to know this innately. Right? And you're here with me to change it. And what's on the other side of clarity for you, what's on the other side of action. What's on the other side of doing things different? All right, my friends, until the next one. See you then.