How to Craft a Killer Offer that Makes Your Clients BEG to Buy From You

On April 9th, 2009, my client Joel Marion was broke.

From 7 am to 2:30 pm, he was your average high school teacher. From 7 pm to 2:30 am, he was an ambitious and soon-to-be-successful entrepreneur (even if he didn’t know it then).

But the money wasn’t coming in.

In the four months since he’d started his online business, he hadn’t made a single dollar.

And most people in his situation would have quit. Something I’ve seen hundreds of times with the “wantrepreneurs” who follow me on social media.

But not Joel.

Joel was committed to success and he would do whatever it took to make it happen.

Each night, when Joel came home from work, he invested his late-night hours into acquiring one skill that would change his life faster than he ever could have anticipated.

As a direct result of this commitment, at the end of the day on April 12th, on the third day of his first product launch, Joel had over $300,000 in his account.

How is that possible?

Because Joel had developed the skill of selling.

Now I know what you’re thinking…

“Oh, he must be one of those Alec Baldwin types from Glengarry Glen Ross that are aggressive and pushy, or like Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street?”

Not at all.

In fact, Joel didn’t sell one dollar’s worth of his products over the phone, on someone’s doorstep, or in a used car lot.

He did it all over the Internet. 

It was due to his copywriting, his “salesmanship in print”, as they say.

And the most important part of Joel’s copywriting success was the quality of his offer.

And today, I’ll show you the exact steps he used to build this 6-figure offer so you can replicate his success and scale your business faster than you ever thought possible.

1. Figure Out What Your Ideal Clients NEED 

A few years ago, back when I was running my Turbulence Training fitness business, I had a major *facepalm* moment. 

Even though I was making great money, serving thousands of happy clients, and gaining international acclaim as the “Anti Cardio” guy…I wanted to get to the next level. 

I was suffering from what I call “the black heart of envy” (aka comparison syndrome), and was blown away by all of the other fitness gurus making 5-10X more money than me…by selling over-priced cookbooks. 

So, I had the “brilliant” idea to ride the coattails of their success and create my very own Turbulence Training Cookbook. 

But there was a problem… 

I didn’t know the first thing about cooking. In fact, I’d never so much as turned on the stove in my apartment (no, I’m not kidding). 

Even worse, I didn’t take the time to validate my idea and see if my audience even wanted a cookbook. 

But it was working for everyone else and I was confident it would work for me too. 

Six months and almost $200,000 later, I launched my cookbook. My sales page was dialed in, my emails were optimized to the nth degree, and my audience was more engaged than ever before. 

And after months of hard work and hundreds of thousands of dollars…I made less than a $1,000 return on my investment. 

The launch was a complete failure. 

Not because there was anything wrong with the product itself. Because I hadn’t taken the time to consider if the product was something my audience even wanted (hint: they didn’t).

And this is the same mistake I see 90% of entrepreneurs making when they go to craft a killer offer. 

Listen… 

Before you can create your next 6 or 7-figure offer, you must first develop an intimate understanding of the exact pains, frustrations, needs, and desires your audience has.  

What are their biggest challenges and frustrations? What keeps them tossing and turning late at night? What is the #1 problem you could solve that would 10X the quality of their life?

For my audience, their biggest pain point was trying to lose weight without spending hours in the gym or counting their calories. 

And my cookbook did nothing to help solve this pain. 

Instead of rushing the process and trying to launch your “next big thing” as quickly as possible…slow down. Connect with your audience. Spend time with your prospects face-to-face.

Figure out exactly what they need to transform their lives and how you can help them get it. 

When you have a solution to your audience’s biggest problem, and you can articulate that problem better than they can themselves…they’ll do everything in their power to get your solution. 

2. Craft Your “Big Idea” 

Once you have clarity on the biggest pains and frustrations plaguing your audience, the next step in creating your killer offer is to develop your “Big Idea.” 

Your big idea is like your elevator pitch. 

It’s a short, simple, and memorable concept that resonates with your audience and explains the exact benefit provided by your offer. 

In my business, the big idea for my program, 2X-10 Less is: “Double your income while working ten fewer hours each week.” 

My friend and client Jason Capital, has built an 8-figure business around the big idea, “Replace your rat race income with laptop income.” 

Joel’s $0 to $300,000 offer was “Cheat your way thin”, a simple system that taught people how to lose weight without giving up their favorite foods.

When you look at the most successful businesses, books, and products, you will notice that all of them have a clear and concise big idea that lets potential customers know exactly what they can expect. 

It’s important to note that your big idea has nothing to do with you or the features of your product…it’s all about the benefit to the end-user. 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no one cares about you or your product. They only care about what you can do for them. 

And by setting aside the time to think deeply and figure out the exact solution and benefit you have to offer to your customers, you will immediately stand out from your competition and make selling your offer 10X easier. 

3. Be Contrarian to “Filter” Prospects and Close More Sales 

To create a truly killer offer, you need to be contrarian and do things differently from other people. 

The main reason Joel’s launch was a multiple 6-figure success was that, at the time, no one else was teaching the lessons he shared.

Health and fitness gurus encouraged “clean eating” and restrictive diets and believed that the only way to lose weight was by giving up your favorite foods and surviving on a steady stream of broccoli and grilled chicken.

So when Joel came along and showed people they could blast away the fat without giving up the sweet treats or fried dinners, he made a small fortune.

Another great example of the contrarian principle in action is Tim Ferriss’s “4-Hour Work Week.” 

Back in 2007 when Tim published the first edition of his book, everyone believed that you had to work 40 hours a week to make a real living…and 60-80 hours a week if you wanted to become a millionaire. 

So when Tim came on the scene and showed people it was possible to make 5-10X more money than they’re making right now while working 90% less…it took the world by storm. 

His big idea that you could “Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich” laid the foundation for one of the biggest empires in the personal development industry and (according to my sources) multiple 8-figures in annual profit. 

The same is true of Mark Manson, who’s sold nearly 10 million copies of his books in more than 50 different languages. 

His advice to “Stop giving a crap”, flew in the face of everything we’ve ever been taught by the gurus and experts and provided a welcomed change of perspective to millions of people all over the world. 

And if you want to create your own killer offer, you must do the same.

Create something new and unique that stands out and goes against the status quo.

What are the common beliefs and conceptions people have about your industry that are not true? How is your offer different from everything else on the market. 

Unless you separate yourself from the masses and create something truly unique and contrarian, your offer will be lost in the noise. 

4. Specificity is King

Once you know the exact problems facing your ideal clients and have created your big contrarian idea, the next step in crafting your killer offer is to get crystal clear on the exact benefits your offer will provide. 

Beyond the basics of earning money, losing weight, or having more sex, what are the specific solutions and benefits you can offer your prospects. 

Most entrepreneurs fall into the trap marketing legend Seth Godin refers to as “Being a wandering generality.” 

They use lots of platitudes and generic copy…but leave out the specific solutions their offer provides. 

For example, when I market my 2X-10Less program I don’t say:

• This course will help you make more money
• This course will help you work less 
• This course will help you grow your business 

These are all wandering generalities and any coach or consultant could help you achieve these goals in one way or another. 

Instead, my marketing is hyper-specific and lets my prospects know exactly what they’ll get. 

Namely that they will “Get access to the exact systems, blueprints, and strategies they need to double their income and work 10 fewer hours each week in two months or less.” 

I don’t say “make more money”, I say, “Double your income.” 

I don’t say “work less”, I say, “Work ten fewer hours each week.” 

And I don’t say “achieve these results fast”, I say, “In two months or less.” 

Specificity is king. And the more specific you make your offer, the more sales you’ll make and the faster your business will grow. 

5. Refine the Particular Articulation of Your Offer 

In 1977, psychologist Ellen Langer and her team of Harvard researchers ran a study that revolutionized our understanding of human behavior. 

And it all started with a long line and a Xerox machine. 

Here’s how it worked… 

One of Ellen’s team members would hang out at a local library and wait for a small line to form behind the copy machine. They would then walk over with the intention of cutting in line and ask one of three questions. 

• Version 1: “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine?”
• Version 2: “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the xerox machine, because I’m in a rush?”
• Version 3: “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the xerox machine, because I have to make copies?”

Now you probably noticed that the third question doesn’t really make any sense. I mean, everyone standing in line to use the Xerox machine is there because they need to make copies! 

But here’s the crazy part… 

When Ellen and her team looked at the result, they found that: 

1. Version 1: 60% of people let the researcher skip in line 
2. Version 2: 94% of people let the researcher skip in line 
3. Version 3: 93% of people let the researcher skip in line

Even though there was no valid reason to let the researcher skip the line, more than 93% of people gave up their spot because of the word “because.” 

And as silly as this test might seem, it demonstrates a valuable lesson about human psychology. 

Small variations in the articulation of your request can lead to drastic changes in your results. 

And to create your next 7-figure offer and build an exceptional product that has people begging to buy from you, you must refine the particular articulation of your offer. 

Creating and marketing your offer is only the first step. 

To take things to the next level you must meticulously test and iterate to find the exact words and phrases that push people to click “Buy Now.” 

Test your ad copy, your sales page design, and even the name of your offer. 

Test, test, test, and then test some more. 

The more rigorously you’re willing to test your marketing and refine the articulation of your offer, the faster you can scale and the more money you can make. 

Sometimes, the only difference between a 6 and 7-figure business is a few subtle shifts in the words you use and the way you use them. 

Conclusion

Creating a killer offer is simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. By following the five steps I outlined above, you’ll be well on your way to your first or next 7-figure offer.

If you want help…

…Uncovering your “big idea”…finding your “contrarian angle”…or want to get objective outside eyes on the particular articulation of your marketing and copy…there are still a few spots left in my Q4 coaching program.

To learn more and see if you qualify to work with me or one of my team members, send an email to support@earlytorise.com with the subject line “Coaching”.

Over to you.

What was your #1 takeaway from today’s article? What’s the “Big Idea” driving your killer offer?

Let me know in the comments below.