Beginner Business Series - Part 2: Packaging & Pricing Your Offer
Episode 176: Show Notes
Welcome to the second part of our Beginner Business Series! If you have not checked out the first episode in this series, we highly recommend you do before listening to this golden egg! So now that you are up to date, let’s get down to it. Today, we are going to be talking about packaging and pricing your offer. This goes for selling products or services and we will be dealing with specifics as well as general rules during this discussion. You can post in the Think Creative Group with the hashtag bbs, that’s #bbs, so we can get to your questions and feedback easily and serve you even better.
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In the first episode, we got you to look at what you should be selling by gauging your skills and interests. In this episode, we are asking you to make this final decision from the ideas of last time and dive in with that choice. This choice does not have to be forever, but you do need some commitment. The talk includes looking at motivators for buying, what might be holding sales back, good ideas to jumpstart sales, trusting yourself and your business and how all of this and more ties into a successful business. So without any more ceremony, let’s get into the episode. Join us as we help you with you beginner business!
What is Your Final Product or Service?
So after you mapped out your ideas for your business, if you are as excitable as we are, you probably expanded these ideas into all their possibilities! What we are going to need to do here is to streamline that; select the one thing that jumps out. That one thing you want to pursue above all the others. Too much pressure stands in the way of everything, so feel free, have fun and get excited!
The Reason You Might Not Be Making Money
We want to look at some reasons why your sales might be struggling. Could it be that you have not put it out for anyone to buy your product? That sounds obvious but think about it for a second. You need to have all the relevant information, links on social media and it needs to be clear what you are selling and how people can buy it. This is fundamental to make sure you have it all covered! Great!
Pitching Yourself
If you are running your own business, especially when you are starting out, you are going to need to build up the way you present yourself and what you do. You need to be comfortable telling people exactly what you do and what you offer. This is something that needs practice, so get to it! Use any opportunity you can find and have fun telling anyone who asks exactly what you do and why you do it. This is essentially pitching yourself and while not every interaction has to be about actual pitching and getting business, it all ties into running a better business. Who knows? You might find business where you least expect it!
Earning Trust
Trust is an essential part of any company. Most customers do not approach or stick with a company they do not trust. So earning trust is a must when starting out. You need to figure out a way to build that trust with your audience, whether it is through online content, conversations or any other way. We recommend offering assistance to gain this sort of trusting relationship, which can, at the appropriate, time be converted into a magnetized service. Once people see your value and trust your ideas and work, they will be happy to pay for it.
More Reasons for a Lack of Sales
There is a multitude of possible reasons why sales might be low for a business. We will be looking at a few foundational ones. A common problem for those starting out is having an offer that is not specific enough. If it is too vague, it is unlikely an audience will commit to spending money. Another similar and sometimes linked issue is when potential clients are not quite clear on exactly what you are selling because you have not described it adequately. Use language and promotion that is direct and unambiguous. Your clients must know exactly what is going on with your business. No confusion!
Offering Too Many Options
Another trip wire is when a small business offers too many options. Whether you are selling products or offering a paid service, most of the time less is more, especially when starting out. So simplify! Look at what is essential. Look at what you are most excited about and offer these to your customers.
How to Be Genuinely Persuasive
Everyone is aware there is a link between sales and persuasiveness. We do not think you need to be a slimy salesman trying to entice naive lambs to your business, but you do need to convince people of your business’ value. Oftentimes, this just means showing your own enthusiasm for your work and being authentic. If you believe in your business and can show that, you have a much larger chance of success. So show people what is up!
Packaging and the Magic Number
We suggest narrowing your offers. Three is often just the ticket. Studies have shown that the majority of people will choose the middle priced option between three. If you direct most people towards that, you can have a thriving outfit! A good measure here is to also calculate whether you can survive if all of your customers bought the cheapest option. Once you have that covered, you can only move forward.
Costing and Incremental Pricing
A clear idea of the numbers and your company’s finances is obviously indispensable. Once you have that, you can look into where you might be able to add value and spruce up packages to make them more enticing. You might want to have extras in a premium package that only select customers would be interested in. You do not need to have set increments between package prices. Just be clear on your numbers and go from there.
Price Points
Like we said, the middle priced offer can be the anchor of your business, especially in the beginning. From here, you can add on small things people might tack onto an order. The idea with self-run businesses is often to get fewer people to buy more things rather than more people to buy one item. From this point, you will have the space to grow with your customers and see what their needs are and adjust accordingly.
Homework
So in recap, what could you sell right now? We mean today! Find three examples and then look for three complimentary offers for each of these and post it on the group so we can all learn together! Part three is on setting up shop, so get ready to start selling!
Quote This
You know what happened when we started believing in what we sold? We doubled our business.
Highlights
Deciding what your final product or service will be. [0:05:38.2]
Some reasons your business might not be making money. [0:08:13.2]
Practicing pitching yourself and having fun with it. [0:09:30.2]
Earning trust as a way to start selling. [0:12:45.3]
More reasons that your product or service may not be selling. [0:14:27.4]
The mistake of offering too many options. [0:21:58.2]
How to become genuinely persuasive to potential customers. [0:25:19.1]
Packaging your products and the magic number. [0:29:12.6]
Costing and incremental pricing options for your clients to choose from. [0:34:58.3]
Price points and what goes into setting your prices. [0:38:54.1]
Homework and getting involved in the Think Creative Group. [0:42:21.4]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Products, Simplification, Pricing, Trust, Pitching, Promotion, Links, Self Belief
