The Kind Of Offer That Will Kill Your Sales

Nobody wants to get better

“Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not really…

Most entrepreneurs make the mistake of selling improvement. They tell people, “Get better at marketing,” “Improve your productivity,” or “Fix your mindset.”

But here’s the uncomfortable truth — people don’t want to get better. Because to get better, they have to admit they weren’t good enough before. They have to face their past failures, and no one wants to do that.

You can build all the mousetraps you want in a million different ways, but that’s not going to mean people will buy.

Why? Because you’re trying to improve your customers in some way and make them “better.”

It’s called an improvement offer.

An improvement offer means that for them to give you money, they have to admit they failed.

It is harder to sell because people associate “getting better” and improvement with pain.

They tried before, and it didn’t work.

People don’t want to think about something they paid a lot of money for that didn’t work.

Think about it: That high-ticket coaching program you paid beaucoup bucks for that didn’t work…

You were left feeling lost, overwhelmed, and confused unless you kept paying that coach to keep helping you, of course. But that's not what they promised.

You’re not making the $100k per day they said you would, and now you’re feeling pissed off and deflated.

Then, someone else comes along with a slightly "better" program with similar promises, but all you can think about is how the first one failed.

And you end up in an endless loop of expensive coaching programs and masterminds because one seemed better than the previous one.

Been there, my friend. I feel your pain.

And now you can feel your customers’ pain. They don’t want better. They want a new opportunity to make it work this time around, i.e., an opportunity offer.

Say someone wants to lose weight. They’ve tried every diet and workout program under the sun. Nothing has worked, so they believe they failed.

They haven’t lost the weight, or if they did, they didn’t keep it off. A “better” diet is just a different version of what they tried before.

It’s like they have a white Kia with some dents, and you’re offering a red one with no dents. It's the same car, just a little shinier.

But what if you offer them a new opportunity to lose weight where they no longer need to diet, go to the gym, etc.?

Now their ears have perked up. You have their attention, and they’re willing to pay good money for the NEW OPPORTUNITY to lose weight.

They have a white Kia, but now you’re offering them a red Ferrari. Um… Yes please! Where do I sign up?

What people truly desire is a new opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams — a fresh start, a new path forward, a way to win that doesn’t remind them of past struggles.

They want to feel like they’re making a smart decision, not correcting an old one. When presented with an opportunity, they see possibility rather than deficiency. They feel excited rather than frustrated and ashamed.

I was reading “The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success,” and it hit me:

When Jobs created Apple, he didn’t just want to build a better computer. He wanted to create transformation.

One of Jobs’ most powerful marketing secrets was that he never positioned Apple products as a way to “fix” something people were struggling with. Instead, he sold a vision of the future.

Jobs didn’t say, “Get better at using computers” or “Apple will improve your computer experience.” Nope! He introduced the Macintosh as putting “a computer in the hands of everyday people.”

When Apple announced the iPod in 2001, Jobs didn’t say, “We created a better music listening experience.” Rather, the messaging was, “1,000 songs in your pocket.” And when the iPhone arrived, it wasn’t positioned as a better mobile phone. It was a whole new way to connect, communicate, and live.

Apple products aren’t about improving your life or making it better. They are about giving you access to an entirely new experience — an invitation to step into the future.

Jobs sold dreams, not products.

“We’re gambling on our vision, and we’d rather do that than make ‘me-too’ products.” — Steve Jobs

It’s not that you have a bad offer. It’s just badly positioned. Your customers don't care about your product, company, brand, or offer. They care about themselves — their hopes, dreams, and ambitions. Your offer should help them fulfill those dreams.

…And you will win them over — every time.

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