If you don’t have an offer that sells, you don’t have a business — you have a hobby. Full stop, end of story. Your offer is the most critically important element of your course business, and yet it is so often overlooked in favour of.. well, everything.

Although sliiiightly exaggerated, here are some of the things we see:

❌ “I’ll spend two months creating my course; and then start talking on social media about the number of modules and lessons and then wonder why no-one is buying”.

❌ “I’ll listen to my fave marketing podcast talking about the latest fancy funnel strategy and do THAT, because it must be my funnel that isn’t working”.

❌ “I’ll start investing in Facebook ads, that’ll fix the crickets chirping in my bank account!”.

No, no, no.. and just no.

A great course won’t fix an offer problem (which is so sad, because there are so many epic courses sitting on the shelf that aren’t selling for this very reason!)

A fancy sales strategy won’t fix an offer problem (if people don’t want what you’re putting out there, all of the emails in the world won’t save you).

And, a bucketload of new eyeballs CERTAINLY won’t fix an offer problem (there’s no use in 1000 people seeing your offer if they are the wrong people, it isn’t appealing and you’re not articulating the problem you’re solving).

In today’s podcast episode, we’re breaking down how to craft an irresistible offer that has your perfect fit student banging down your door.. and why it’s the MOST important thing to focus on in your business.

Creating an offer is one thing. Creating a great offer is another. First up, let’s get one thing straight.

Your offer is NOT your course or program. It’s not the number of modules, or the curriculum, or the implementation tools or the amazing content you deliver. This all matters, but it comes later. There are some truly incredible courses and programs on the market that don’t sell.

Why? They haven’t mastered the art of the offer.

An offer is the way you articulate, package and position the thing you sell. And quite simply, the name of the game is to ensure that the VALUE you articulate far outweighs the price you are charging. That DOESN’T, by the way, mean to charge only a little for your offer.

Undercutting your competition and charging less is a race to the bottom. Instead, when you nail the core elements of a killer offer, people feel a little bit silly saying ‘no’ — REGARDLESS of the price you are charging. Here are four things to consider when crafting an irresistible offer that sells like hotcakes:

1️⃣ Market

A killer offer to the wrong market won’t sell. Here’s what to consider:

1. A Painful Problem: Ensure that you are selling to ONE person, and that they have a truly painful problem that they need solved. We call it a pillow problem; what is it that is keeping them up at 2am in the morning?
   
2. Purchase Ability: There are two considerations here. One, can your market easily afford what you are offering? And two, does this market invest in courses and programs?
   
3. Ease of Access: Is there a community that is accessible around your market? For example, if you are targeting breastfeeding Mamas, you know that there are communities, Facebook groups and the like where they are grouped together.
   
4. Niche: If you are speaking to everyone, you are speaking to no-one. Targeting mortgage brokers looking for their next 10 leads is going to be much more effective than business owners wanting to understand social media. You can articulate their problem better, and you can craft a solution that more specifically addresses their needs.
   

2️⃣ Specific Result

The ability to articulate a specific result for your course or program is critical. Without it, prospects aren’t going to understand exactly what they are buying — especially when a digital product is inherently intangible. The key here is to intimately understand your market, their problem and their desired outcome. And, we’re not talking GUESSING here. We’re talking intimately understanding them to the point that they’re wondering.. are they in my head right now?

Your offer isn’t the number of modules in your course.

It’s not the inclusions, coaching and community.

It’s not even the information you provide.

It’s the SPECIFIC RESULT you deliver.

It’s the difference between saying you sell a weight loss plan.. and saying you sell losing 10 kilos in 5 weeks. It’s the difference between saying you’re selling a marketing strategy.. and saying you’re promising $10k months for your e-commerce business.

This is something that we work heavily with our Launchpad students on, and we don’t allow them to continue on in the program until it’s just right.

3️⃣ UVP

A crowded market isn’t a bad thing; in fact, it’s evidence of demand. But, how do you stand OUT in a crowded market and get someone to purchase YOUR offer and not someone else’s? The secret is in nailing your point of difference. How is YOUR offer different, better and the obvious choice for your people? If the answer is that it’s cheaper.. good luck, because someone will ALWAYS come in cheaper again. Instead, you need to differentiate yourself from everyone else. A few tips:

1. Niche: If you’re a real estate agent, would you rather (and pay more) to work with someone that promises 10 new listing presentations in a week, or someone that helps people improve their marketing?
   
2. Methodology: What is your unique methodology for delivering the outcome, and how is it better than everyone else’s? For example, if everyone else is telling you that you need more followers on Instagram to sell, maybe your methodology is that you need to start more conversations. Once you have your system nailed, you need to visually represent it so it’s easy and clear for others.

4️⃣ Value

Notice that we didn’t say ‘price’. In our view, flagship digital courses and programs are the very best offers to sell in your online business. This means anything from $500 to $3k, or $3k+ with a different funnel.

Here’s why:

1. Students get better results: The energy exchange that occurs when someone transacts with you at a higher level is inherently higher; and students are more emotionally invested and motivated to achieve their desired outcome.
   
2. Perceived value: Being the ‘cheapest’ often brings with it a perception on quality.
   
3. Higher margins: The truth is that when you charge more, you are able to invest in offering a better experience because you have the margins to do so.

So, the key is to package and position your offer so that, regardless of the price, the value far outweighs it. Here’s a few things to keep in mind:

1. Bonuses: By structuring your bonuses strategically, you can significantly amplify the value of the offer.
   
2. Likelihood of result: Strong social proof that is specific to the person considering the offer can help them see how THEY could get the desired result.
   
3. Benefits not features: Specifically, speaking to the outcome your perfect fit student desires, how the offer will decrease the level of effort and sacrifice involved in achieving it, and how the offer will help to achieve the outcome in less time will amplify the value of the offer.

Of course, this is just a taste of what it takes to craft an irresistible offer. This is the EXACT thing we assist our clients with inside of Launchpad; which is our 12 month group coaching program for current and aspiring digital course creators who want to create, launch and scale a profitable flagship digital course or program.

If you join the program with a brand new idea for a course, we help you design your offer piece by piece AND we give you personal feedback on each item along the way to give you unshakable confidence that it is the best it could possibly be.

If you join the program with an existing course, the first thing we do is to put our scientists hat on and analyse where the gaps and opportunities are. Often, even if a client perceives that they have a traffic issue or something is wrong with their selling system, we identify offer and messaging optimisations and help them through the process of pegging that down first.

Either way, Launchpad is the very best container for aspiring, current and advanced digital course creators ready to get serious about a digital course or program. Click here to apply now.

Are you ready to create, launch and scale your flagship digital course in 2022? Head to thecoursecartel.com/launchpad to apply for our 12 month, high touch group coaching program.

Keep Listening!

Listen On: Apple Podcasts | Spotify