The Sales Brief: Building A Great Offer

Author

Mike Birtwistle
June 01, 2024

Table of Contents

In Todays Post:

A great offer…

We have all come across them before but what really makes a great offer and how can you create one?

We will also take a look at a failed offer that had some serious negative PR and why you have to be clear in your offers.

Finally we will then get into the nitty gritty details of what makes a great offer and how you can turn your offer into a sales machine.

Let’s dive in…

Growth Tip:

⚠️THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE BUY AN OFFER IS TO GET A SPECIFIC RESULT & BENEFIT⚠️

If your offer fails to clearly outline the exact benefits that someone will get from your product or service then I can guarantee it is not performing as well as it could.

And don’t kid yourself… EVERYTHING is an OFFER!

Ads Of The Day:

Ad 1 - WP Starter Pack (over 2.3M shares😮)

What I like:

  • Pink contrast pops in the newsfeed and the green price sticker clearly shows the amazing value.

  • The copy has social proof (top 200), the savings and benefits and the brand recognition of popular well known themes

Ad 2 - Business Name

What I like:

  • Never. Shave. Again… Speaks to a major pain point

  • Clean design. The colors and headlines would be easy to test hundreds of variations on.

  • Clear social proof - 600 reviews

  • Money back guarantee risk reversal

Improvements:

  • Maybe ad a hook at the top but I am guessing they tested a lot and this was the winner. Regardless at $99 i’m guessing this was a very successful product.

Business Insights: The Pepsi Points Fiasco

The Pepsi Points Fiasco of the 1990s is a classic case of a marketing campaign gone wrong. Let’s take a look…

  • The Pitch: Pepsi, locked in a fierce battle with Coca-Cola for market share, launched the "Pepsi Stuff" campaign. Consumers collected points from Pepsi products and redeemed them for merchandise like t-shirts, jackets, and even a Harrier jump jet (shown in the commercial landing on a college campus) for a whopping 7 million points.

  • The Loophole: A key detail was the option to buy Pepsi Points directly for 10 cents each. This caught the eye of John Leonard, a 21-year-old business student, who saw an opportunity. He figured out it would be cheaper to buy the points directly than amass them through drinks and convinced investors to back him with $700,000.

  • The Lawsuit: Leonard collected the required number of points (including some actual Pepsi labels) and sent Pepsi a check for $700,008.50. Pepsi, however, refused to hand over the jet, claiming the commercial featuring it was a joke and not a serious offer. This sparked a lawsuit, Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., that became a landmark case in advertising and consumer rights.

  • The Outcome: The court ultimately sided with Pepsi. While the judge acknowledged the commercial might be misleading to some, they ruled no "reasonable person" could believe Pepsi was seriously offering a fighter jet. Leonard lost, but the case became a cautionary tale for companies about the clarity of their promotions.

  • The Aftermath: Pepsi never cashed Leonard's check and continued airing the commercial with a disclaimer clarifying the jet offer was "just kidding." The Pentagon even weighed in, stating they wouldn't sell a military jet to a civilian anyway. The whole episode became a pop culture touchstone and a reminder of the importance of clear communication in advertising.

This event even has a recent resurgence in popularity with a 2022 Netflix docuseries titled "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?"

Deep Dive: Creating A Great Offer

Every Direct Response Marketing Campaign Has An Offer

Even if there is no financial exchange.

Know The Prospect:

  • [ ] What problem problem do they desperately want resolved?

  • [ ] What do they want in a solution?

  • [ ] What don't they want in a solution?

  • [ ] What other solutions have they been exposed to?

  • [ ] Which ones are most popular?

  • [ ] How do they feel about the problem? The available solutions?

  • [ ] What beliefs do they have which you need to understand to best resonate and align with them

Know The Competitors

🏆 The point of analyzing competitors is improve on what is already being offered

  • [ ] What problem are they solving?

  • [ ] What promise are they making?

  • [ ] What are the attributes of their solution?

  • [ ] What sort of language are they using

  • [ ] What is their Unique Mechanisms (if any)? How their product or service works to deliver the solution

  • [ ] What is their Proposition?

Components of a Winning Offer

✅ Your offer becomes irresistible when it’s stacked with benefits NOT DELIVERABLES!

Attractive Solution

  • [ ] Solves a significant problem or unfulfilled desire

  • [ ] Produces a big, desirable result

  • [ ] Is viewed as quick and easy to implement

    This is NOT about saying “It’s easy”; it’s about engineering the Solution to make it easy for the prospect

  • [ ] Is viewed as producing fast results

    • [ ] How fast will I see the transformation?

    • [ ] How quickly does it begin working?

    • [ ] When will I begin seeing results?

      Even if your solution takes time you can still demonstrate an aspect of speed in another area

  • [ ] Is viewed as new and different

  • [ ] Is seen as superior to other options What is a statement you can claim and back up with proof?

  • [ ] Can be positioned/framed as DFY

  • [ ] Gives the prospect confidence in outcome (comes from the above)

Unbeatable Proposition

🔥 Superior choice over competitor, irresistible outcomes (benefits), assured piece of mind from clear cut terms & risk reversals

  • [ ] Deliverables (What they get, the features, why they get it, the benefits they will enjoy.)

    • [ ] Each deliverable should address a different benefit, overcome a different concern, or resolve a different problem. If your deliverables address the same benefit of challenge then it conveys that one or all of them are inferior hence why you felt you needed additional deliverables.

    • [ ] Each deliverable should have a benefit driven name/title

    Types of Deliverables:

    • Videos

    • Worksheets

    • Cheat Sheets

    • Community

    • Coaching

    • Etc.

  • [ ] Benefits

    3 Types of Benefits

    1. Functional - What do they do for the prospect?

    2. Experiential - Paint a picture, bring the functional to life.

    3. Emotional - Convey how the experiential benefit will make them feel

      • [ ] Did you show how the prospect’s desires and deep emotional needs can be met by your product better, faster, easier than anything else.

      • [ ] Did you turn your benefits into the fulfillment of core desires.

      • [ ] Make the acquisition of core desires shine through the product itself.

      • [ ] Did you focus the result/improvements the offer gives the prospect

    📌 D.F.W. + 3 Benefits: 

    “You get a year-long subscription to financial freedom, featuring real-time financial tracking and personalized budgeting tools to ensure you manage your money more efficiently. So you can finally take control of your finances without the guesswork.

    From the moment you start using financial freedom, you'll feel an immediate sense of organization and clarity over your financial situation, empowering you to make smarter spending decisions. And you’ll feel reassured and confident, knowing you’re paving the way toward financial freedom—a goal you’ve always aimed for, and you deserve!”

  • [ ] Premiums/Bonuses

    • Use these to fill-in product gaps and remove “excuses" for not buying

    • Give reason why you’re including them

    • Must include: features, why, and functional, experiential, & emotional benefits.

    • Sell” these just as hard as the main product! (These should be as valuable as the main product!)

    • Multiple better than single (but not too many)

  • [ ] Price

    📌 By far the biggest mover is the soft offer.

    • [ ] Hard Offer (Pay Now)

    • [ ] Soft Offer (Pay Later)

    • [ ] Variations: (could be for either hard or soft offer)

      • [ ] installment Offers (payment plans)

      • [ ] Negative Option Offer (Continuity)

    Positioning:

    • Charter Offer - early one-time discount

    • Exclusive Offer - offer for certain folks only

    • Limited Offer - scarcity-driven offer

    • Limited-Time Offer - deadline-driven offer

    • One-Time Offer - offer only seen once

    • Qualified Offer - application required

    • Combination Offer - combining more than two above

  • [ ] Terms

    • How & when payment is made

    • This is a significantly greater needle mover than price

    • A Soft Offer will beat a Hard Offer every time

    • Thanks to upsell technology, Profitable Soft Offers are scalable

  • [ ] Risk-Reversal

    • Risk of financial loss

    • Risk of loss of “status”

    • Risk of loss of time

    • Risk of inconvenience

    • Risk of hassle or intimidation

    • Risk of unsatisfactory results

    • Risk of disappointment and frustration

    Types of Risk Reversals

    1. Conditional

    2. Unconditional

    Examples:

    • Performance based

    • Double your money back

    • Time based

    • Performance based

    • Lifetime

    • Keep the premiums

    • etc.

    🤪 Use the biggest and boldest guarantee possible, a risk reversal that your competitors think is crazy. You want your offer to be as close to risk free as possible.

Product Presentation

 đŸŒ‰ The Bridge (from Marketing to Offer)

*“By now, you see how and why the [UNIQUE MECHANISM] is so effective at [PRIMARY PROMISE].

And you understand what makes it so powerful for [VARIATION OF PRIMARY PROMISE].

And that’s why today I want to give you the opportunity to put it to work for you with a unique product/service called [PRODUCT NAME].

Let me tell you what it will do for you, how quickly it will work, and everything you get today.*

Now you go into presenting your product/offer (follow the 5 steps for EACH DELIVERABLE)

⚠️ Majority of the focus should be on the BENEFIT!

  • Deliverable

  • Feature

  • Why

  • Benefit(s)

  • Proof

Price Presentation

  • The regular price

  • The discount percentage

  • The rationale for the discount

  • The offer price

  • The savings percentage

  • The savings amount

  • Price Trivialization (e.g. “The price of a cup a coffee a day.”)

💳 If presenting a Payment Plan along with a Paid-In-Full option; present the PP first, followed by the PIF option with additional savings as a reward.

NO: $1,000 or four installments of $299

YES: $299 today, then three monthly installments of $299, or save $196 with one payment today of only 6 $1000.

🔔Notice how the first looks like they are being penalized for opting for the payment plan whereas the second looks like they are being rewarded for paying in full. (Penalty vs. Reward) 🔔Also notice the use of installment vs. payments. Try to avoid word associated with (cost, work, pain, etc.)

Risk-Reversal Presentation

⚠️Always state your benefits in the affirmative!⚠️

NO: If you're unhappy or don't get results, you get your money back.

YES: You're either thrilled and blown away by the results, or you get your money back.

🏆 Notice how the first introduces the idea of being unhappy or not getting results which creates doubt in the prospects mind vs. the second one that introduces the idea of win-win, either you’re thrilled OR you get your money back.

CTA Presentation

There are two factors that motivate people to act.

  • Urgency (time constraint) - You want to trigger immediate action… Every offer should have a deadline

    The longer the delay the lower the chances of converting the sale “Delay is the death of the sale!”

  • Scarcity (volume constraint) - More unknown due to the unpredictable nature of the market

Act Now!

How I Can Help:

  • I post a new YouTube video on my channel everyday. @automated_profits

  • I host a live 30 minute Ask Me Anything (AMA) every Thursday at 2:30 PST.
    Link To Join

How Did I Do?

If you have specific feedback or anything interesting you’d like to share, please let me know by replying to this email.

Thanks for reading,
Mike.