This week we’re going over a checklist of what not to do/say/think when starting a new business or creating a new product.
I’m calling it The "I’m Doing Everything Wrong" Checklist.
This checklist was inspired by a 10 minute conversation a close friend (and world class marketing consultant) had with a friend-of-a-friend – and could provide an "ah-ha!" breakthrough moment in your business if you’re feeling stuck.
Red Flag #4: "I can’t make any big promises in my marketing"
I want to go back to the story that inspired this checklist.
During the 10 minute conversation my close friend (and world class marketing consultant) had with his friend-of-a-friend, he started asking her, "So what kind of results can you get your clients?" His aim was to find a Big Idea she could focus on in her marketing to get high-level clients who were comfortable paying big bucks for her services.
But she looked him dead in the eye and said, "I can’t promise any results."
He was confused and asked why.
She continued, "I can get on a call with them. I can give them advice. But it’s on them to do the work, and I can’t control that. And since I can’t control them, I can’t guarantee them anything."
She went on to describe how it would be insane to offer a money-back guarantee because then people would just waste her time, do nothing, and ask for their money back.
My friend tried to tell her why this reasoning was flawed, but she wasn’t interested. She’d made up her mind. Anything else was wrong.
My hope is that you, my dear subscriber, are more open minded.
Because this mindset is an absolute death sentence.
If you go through a course like CopyHour (or just hang out on this mailing list for any length of time), you know how important the Big Idea is in your marketing.
This is the one giant breath-taking promise you weave into every fiber of your sales copy – the promise that your customers are absolutely DESPERATE for, and ready to whip out their credit cards to get if they determine you’re the "real deal".
And often that promise involves hard numbers.
In the case of my friend’s 10 minute conversation partner, her business was helping high-performing executives perform even better in their work.
In that case, the ideal result they’re looking for is more money.
Period. That’s it. Higher salaries, less stress, more happiness.
(Go back to yesterday’s email if you’re questioning my confidence in saying this. No matter the market, humans are humans – and our desires are all the same.)
Which means her copy had to involve big promises around those salaries – like, "When you work with me, you’ll at least double your salary – or you pay nothing."
Making promises like this is scary.
And, of course, make promises you know you can back up.
If you don’t have huge promises to make, then make a better product.
When you do this, and you’re not stingy with your money-back guarantee (aka no "you have 4 days to get your money back as long as you didn’t look at a single lesson in the course" – it should be minimum 30 days and no questions asked), you WILL see sales skyrocket…
And you won’t be taken advantage of.
Sure, some people might take advantage of you. But most people won’t.
And in relationship to the amount of new sales you generate, it won’t even be a blip on the radar.
I’ve been doing this for over 15 years and that’s been my experience, as well as the experience of my most successful friends and students.
So if you ever find yourself saying, "I can’t make big promises in my marketing" – please, for the love of god, remove that from your vocabulary and go the opposite direction with your marketing. In other words, find the Big Idea for your product and double down on it.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week.
I hope The "I’m Doing Everything Wrong" Checklist has given you some breakthroughs and lightbulb moments – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard these exact phrases myself from struggling entrepreneurs, and I promise removing them from your vocabulary will transform your business.
Have a great weekend!
— Derek