You launched a new product, and it didn’t sell very well.
You offered a free teleseminar, and only a handful of people showed up.
You invested in a new Facebook ad, and the response was less than great.
You’re scratching your head (or crying in your pillow) and asking, “What went wrong? Why didn’t anyone want what I was offering? What am I missing here?”
You created something you thought was great, something your tribe was sure to be crazy for. You took action, wrote a sales page, sent some pretty clever promotional emails, posted invitations on Facebook, tweeted…. did all the stuff everyone’s been telling you to do,
But, shoot! The results were so disappointing.
If you put your heart and soul into a new product, program or freebie, and you got less than mind-blowing results, there are 5 factors that could be at fault.
1. Your Offer Ain’t Up to Snuff
If the launch of your new product or program didn’t take off like a rocket, it’s easy to point your finger at your marketing. “That sales page wasn’t written well enough.” “Those promo emails went out too late.” And while most marketing campaigns are more than willing to take the blame (they’re used to is, after all), sometimes, your lack of response has nothing to do with your marketing and everything to do with your offer.
It’s not that your product or program out-and-out stinks. It’s just not irresistible enough to get someone to put their precious money (or time) on the line.
Perhaps you’ve experienced this yourself. You get an email about some new program or product. You click over to the sales page. You’re reading. You’re interested. It’s speaking to you. You’re starting to get excited, and then, you get to the punch line where you read about the actual offer or product, and you think, “Really? That’s IT? Forget about it.”
If your new product or program didn’t sell well, push your ego out of the way for a moment and review WHAT you are offering. Is it something your audience, your clients really, really, really need or want? Have they been asking for it? Does it solve their most immediate problem or issue? Does is soothe their pain and move them closer to their goals or dreams?
If you know your offer does all of these things, and your peeps still aren’t into it, consider the following four possibilities.
2. Your Message Misses the Mark
The other possibility is that your marketing and promotional content aren’t communicating the true value, relevance or benefits of your product or service. You could be offering something truly life-changing and revolutionary, but if your marketing message doesn’t clearly and effectively communicate how this revolutionary offer will give your potential client what they really want and need, then they’re not going to invest. Sometimes it really is that simple. No one’s buying because they aren’t convinced that what you’ve got is what they really want or need.
You have to remember, they haven’t experienced your offering yet. They don’t know how effective, helpful or transformative it can be. It’s your job to tell them, to talk to them, to make sure they know so they don’t miss out. I’m not talking about using hypey, salesy copy that promises everything from world peace to losing 20 lbs in 20 days. I’m talking about writing a message that truly speaks to the heart of what your client cares about, thinks about, dreams about.
Review your marketing message and content about your offer. Does it effectively tell your peeps what’s in it for them? Does it tell them what they will experience as a result of investing their time and/or money with you? And is that result something they value, something they want and care about?
NOTE: If you can’t honestly tell your potential clients that your offer is going to give them something that will bring them closer to their goals, ideals and dreams, then you need to radically rethink your offer.
3. Selling Hamburgers to Vegetarians
Have you ever tried to sell a juicy, rare hamburger to a vegetarian? Well, let me tell you right now, it doesn’t matter how great a salesperson you are, they never buy. In fact, they’re likely to get offended, defensive and slightly hostile. Never a good thing.
If your offer flopped, it could be that you tried to sell hamburger to vegetarians. In other words, you’re offering the wrong thing to the wrong crowd.
Now, if you have a great relationship with your tribe of peeps, if you’re listening to them and doing your best to know what they’re all about, this probably isn’t going to happen to you. But if you’re just figuring out who your ideal client is, or you’ve recently made a big shift in your business and you’re trying to appeal to a wider audience, you may be offering something they simply don’t want or care about.
The solution here is research. Know who your ideal clients are, what they’re into, what they want, what they’re hungry for… before you create your offer.
4. Prove It!
You’ve heard this before: people buy from those they know, like and trust. So, if you’re marketing your offer to a group of people who don’t know you all that well (yet), or they haven’t yet had an experience of working with you, much less investing in you, it’s important that you give them proof that you’re “all that and a can of Coke.” You need to prove to them that you’ve helped others who have the same problems, issues or goals they have.
This is what we call social proof, and one of the best ways to offer social proof is through testimonials. Make sure your sales page or promotional emails include testimonials from your other clients or customers who have invested in you and gotten more than their money’s worth.
Yes, even if you’re offering something that’s free, you still need to include proof that you’re trustworthy and that your offer is worth people’s time, energy and attention. I can’t remember where I heard this or who said it, but it’s true: our attention is our most precious, most valuable commodity these days. We don’t want to spend it foolishly.
Psst! If you don’t have testimonials for the specific product or program you’re offering, you can still include partial testimonials from those people who’ve gotten great stuff from you in other ways. OR, you can ask a select group of people to review whatever you’re offering in exchange for their testimonial.
5. It’s How Much?
People will often (though not always) find a way to buy whatever makes them feel happy, important, fulfilled, included or smart. And they can almost always find a way to pay for what they truly want and value.
Plus, people love a bargain. If they think they’re getting a good deal, they will buy something they don’t really want or need… just because they love feeling like they made out on the deal. (My partner is a perfect example of this. He can bring home the biggest piece of junk and be elated, because he got it for next to nothing.)
So, your new product or program could be top-notch and high-value, and your marketing could be spot-on, but damn! If the price of your offer doesn’t match the perceived value in your client’s mind, they won’t buy it.
Pricing can be tricky, especially if you’re pricing something new and different, something you’ve never offered before. And just by tweaking the price in one direction or another, your sales could shoot up like crazy. Or by stacking in some cool goodies, increasing the overall perceived value. This way, you give people that great feeling of getting a phenomenal deal.
And remember, people may not buy because you priced your offer too low! If your marketing content makes your product sound like the greatest thing since baked potatoes yet your price is only $27, people won’t believe your product has any true value for them.
Even if your offer is free, (like a free teleclass) people need to feel that the investment of their time and attention is worth the pay-off, the results or goodies they’ll get in return.
And there’s one more thing.
Sometimes, the only reason your offer didn’t fly out the door, or you feel something’s not working, is simply due to the fact you haven’t given it enough time. It could be your tribe is still finding you, still getting to know you, still in the process of coming to trust you. Your offer may have come too soon in the relationship… kind of like asking someone to marry you after the second date (Uh, no thank you!).
So, if you recently launched a product, program or new offer and it didn’t take off like you’d hoped, or you’re about to launch something and you want to be sure it works, let’s talk about it here (just leave a comment below). Together, we can make sure you’ve got everything aligned for success!