Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Hello and welcome to the Solopreneur Sisterhood Podcast. A podcast designed to help heart centered service providers like you build a purposeful, profitable and sustainable business that supports what matters most to you. I'm your host, Becky McCleary and I am so grateful that you are here.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Hello and welcome back. I. I am so glad that you are here. So today we are going to dive into the topic of having a signature offer and actually why I don't think you need one, and what I recommend you do instead. So as I record this, we are wrapping up the first week of the first quarter cohort of the Solopreneur Sisterhood Society. And this topic of signature offers has come up in multiple masterminds. So we have several groups going. We try to keep them small. So it's five or six women in a group so everyone can get support every week. But I this week I was on each of the calls and I'm listening to them and I kept hearing this come up and I'm not sure who is teaching this. I'm thinking someone has to be teaching that you have to have a signature offer. Because I'm hearing this so often. And what I am seeing as I'm listening to these women talk is that it's really kind of tripping people up and it's slowing them down. And since we are, if you're listening to this, I'm assuming you have a business or you're starting one and you are heart centered, meaning you want to help other people.
When we are not actually offering our service to other people, I feel like it's extra hard for us because it's that disappointment of not not having the business going, but it's also that need that we have to help other people. That need isn't being met. So what I want to do today is to help you think about this a little bit differently, about why you might not need a signature offer to get started and how you can start reaching out and serving people right now and then convert some of them into clients. So first, let's talk about this idea of a signature offer. So I've heard it described in different ways from different people, but basically it's this idea that you have your unique system and you use that in how you're serving your clients. And this is how you kind of work your magic. This is how people sign up to work with you because they want to be part of your signature offer and they want to go through your process and it's unique to you and it's what Makes you stand out from everyone else. And in theory, that's a great idea. However, I will say from experience, I know that when I have signed up for people's signatures, signature offers, every time I've been disappointed because the idea of what they're offering is always bigger and more grand than the reality of what they're able to deliver. So I will just say, from a user end, I haven't had a great experience with that.
From a business owner's perspective, I think we can get too caught up in ourselves. And the idea of a signature offer actually takes the attention off of the service we're here to provide and what our clients need. Because no matter what you do, it's likely that your clients are going to need something a little bit different from you, because they're unique and they're different and they're in different points of their lives or their business depending on what you do. And so trying to fit everyone into this one signature offer and expecting that everyone's going to get the same results, to me, that just doesn't make sense. And I will say, as a business owner, we can get so caught up in trying to perfect our signature offer that we don't get people in the door or we get people in the door and it doesn't quite go the way that we thought it would. And so I think we're just creating extra unnecessary work for ourselves in creating this. So here's what I recommend instead.
I always recommend that you start with connecting with people first. Because I think one of the problems with creating an offer is we're trying to figure out what people need and we're trying to kind of make it all up in our heads. Even if we do market research, the people who we talk to, they're going to have unique needs. And that doesn't mean that it necessarily applies to everyone that that we're going to work with in the future. And so I can see the kind of typical process that we recommend as almost a waste of time for people. I'm not saying never do market research. I'm saying I see people spend months and months researching and planning and perfecting and not actually getting into service. So my recommendation is, let's kind of set that all aside for right now. Focus on connecting first. So I am an introvert. I am also very shy in person.
Going up and talking to someone. I have a sister who is an extrovert and everyone is her best friend. And she just amazes me because she'll go in a store and she'll just start talking to a random person. And it would never cross my mind to do that.
So, first off, I want to say, coming from that perspective, if I am able to go and I'm able to connect with people and put myself out there and build relationships, I totally believe that you can do this too. I think that's part of the beauty of the online space is that especially for an introvert like me, I can go and I can intentionally connect with people, and then I can close out of platforms and have that space to kind of recharge.
So people ask me sometimes, how do I start connecting? So it's another time where I think we're over complicating things. This is just a case of being a human. So there's not like a magical way to connect with people. I would choose a platform where you like spending time and where you think your ideal clients are spending time.
You know, if you're on Instagram, if you're on LinkedIn, wherever you are, start noticing other people. Okay? So if you're on LinkedIn, I do definitely recommend intentionally building your connections, sending out those connection requests. But no matter what platform you're on, I recommend starting by just going through other people's content, See what shows up in your feed, see who's standing out to you, react to their posts, comment on their posts. Believe it or not, it seems very simple, but that's going to help you to stand out because most people don't comment. So. So if you can take the time to intentionally comment, not just, you know, liked this or that's great, or love this, something meaningful, if you can take a little bit of time to write a meaningful comment, that's going to help you to stand out. And that's really the first step in building these connections. So what I have done in the past is I'm scrolling through, something resonates with me. I let that person know.
I think it's because of how the algorithm works. I start seeing more of their content and so I start interacting with more of their content. So again, we're kind of building this relationship very gradually that way, and then we can move it into a dm. You know, maybe I just say, you know what? I always find your posts so helpful. You've taught me so much about whatever their topic is. Just wanted to send a note to say, I appreciate you. And normally that's a great way to just open the door. I'm not trying to sell them anything. I'm not trying to, you know, push anything on them. I'M just building that relationship. It's just being human. Now, as I'm talking about this, you're doing this with multiple people. It is not just focus on one person at a time. That would be impossibly slow. So it does take some time. But I am also thinking that if you're listening to this and this applies to you, you're not fully booked out with clients. So you do have time. So the time that you would be taking to create a signature offer or to work on coming up with like the perfect post, you can be taking that time to connect with people instead.
And I would recommend having a way to kind of track who you're connecting with and who. How you think they might fit into your business. So maybe this is a great business friend. Maybe this is a potential client or potential lead. Maybe this is a potential referral partner. Just get a sense of how you're connecting with these people. And then what I would do is eventually invite them to do a call with you. So if it is a potential partner, referral partner, I would do just a coffee chat with them. If it's someone who you think might be a potential client, I would do a discovery call with them. And so this is our next step is that when we get on that call again, I think I've had many people ask, how do you do discovery calls? And get the sale? And I really don't think about that anymore.
Because how I've made it work for me is that the discovery call is really just a discovery call. It's not about getting the sale. It's about discovering what this person needs. And if I think I can help them or not. And it's about them discovering more about what I do, and if they think that I can help them or not. And so when I get on that call, it's really listening to that person. So I do recommend having some questions planned out ahead of time, ideally, if you are able to have some questions on your calendar. So that way when they go to book the call, they have to answer a few questions before they can actually book. That will allow you to know a little bit ahead of time and know what questions to ask on your call so that you can get the information you need to be able to see if you can support them or not. So when you're on that call, it's really about listening to them. And normally what will happen is as I'm listening to them, I will think of different situations that are similar to things that I've worked on with other clients. And how would I approach that? How would I help them? Or I will be listening to them and I'll be thinking, yeah, this is not the type of work that I do, or this is not a great fit for me, and here's why. And that's okay, too. And so, on that call, it's going to go one of two ways. You're either going to say, you know what, I really appreciate what you're doing. I'm not the right person for you, but maybe you have a referral that you can send them to and that's okay, or you're going to be listening to them and you're thinking, you know what? I'd really love to work with this person so you can let them know, I hear what you're saying and where you want to be going, and here's how I think I could support you. And then you can tell them more about what it would look like to work together and how things would change for them. This is what I see as the biggest missing piece in this whole sales process for a lot of business owners. They are so focused, and I think this does go back to this idea of your signature process. They're so focused on their process and the features of what they offer that they leave out what this does for the client. I'm seeing far too many business owners talk about, you get this many calls with me, or you get access to the recordings, or you get to connect with me on Voxer, which is all great. People do care about what, what does it actually look like to work together? What are we going to be doing? That is important. But if you leave out the piece of, here's how this is going to change your life. Here's the impact it's going to have on your business. If you leave out that transformation, then people aren't necessarily seeing the value in working with you. They're just seeing these features. And so it's really important to not focus on so much on your process or your signature offer program. It's really important to focus on what they need and to share how you can help.
So then what I like to do is I have worked with some people where they want that credit card on the call. They want people on the discovery call to commit and make a payment right away.
I know just my personal style. I don't ever like being in that situation because I'm one where I want time to think about, is this really the best next step for me or not? I will also say that I married and I, you know, Any major purchase I do still talk about with my husband before I I buy because I do want a second opinion because sometimes I will easily persuade it into something and think, oh yes, I need this. And talking it out a little bit more. He can ask some questions that can help me discern whether or not this is really my next best step or not.
So one, I don't like being in that position. And then two, I've never felt comfortable as a business owner putting someone else in that position. So what I always do is at the end of a discovery call I always say, you know what, I gave you some ideas about what it would look like if we were work to get, if we were to work together. I would love to have a little more time to think on this. And so I will email you within. Normally I say within one business day, some options for how we can work together.
And what I like to do is I like to give them a couple of options. So one would be a smaller package. So in my case it might be a VIP day or we can go into a longer term package where maybe we work together for three or four months and here's what it would look like. And I do always start with at the top. You know, from what we discussed, here's what I heard is most important to you and here's how I think we could, here's how I think I could support you to get you to where you want to be and then I do include what is included in the package. But I also again I always stress with like here are our intended outcomes for our work together. So again we're really focused on here's how I'm going to help you. It's not about here's my signature program, it's more about the client and here's how I can support you and it's showing them. I listened, I heard you, I care about helping you. Here's my commitment to how we can do that. I like giving them a couple of options. So that one, they do have a couple of price points to choose from. So if your longer term commitment is a big stretch for them financially, they could potentially still work with you with that smaller package.
I also like it because sometimes people are a little bit unsure if this is the next right step or not. So giving them a smaller package allows them to say yes to a smaller commitment. So that way if they aren't completely sure they can take that first step and they can work with you and they can get that experience and see what it's like and then what I always do is if they sign up for that smaller package, I always say, you know, if assuming everything went well with that, I would always offer them the opportunity to upgrade to that larger package. And I personally, this is up to you. I personally do credit what they have paid for that smaller package to the larger package. So for example, if I'm just throwing out numbers, if the smaller package was $200 and the larger package was $1,000 and they decided after completing the smaller package they really did want to upgrade, I would already cover the $200 and they would just owe $800.
That being said, I do have the two packages closely tied together, so. So that the smaller package on its own would be included in the larger package anyway. So I don't consider it like a loss of money or anything like that. It's just a way to give a potential client different options.
So with this, I don't have a signature offer. I don't recommend that you spend time worrying about creating a signature offer or a signature process that you work through.
I recommend that you speed things up by connecting with people and focusing on how you can help them. With this, it does not need to be overly complicated. I can think back to when I was a VA or when I was an online business manager, or even now as a consultant.
Most of what I'm offering is fairly similar. There's nothing that's like wildly different for a particular client. So as you're doing this, you will most likely have different templates you can build off of. So putting these offers together for each person, it will vary slightly what you want to offer them based off of what they told you. But it shouldn't take a great deal of your time to create different proposals because they're not going to vary that greatly. There's not going to be something you've never offered before that you're going to do for this one client. You have general things that you include for clients and you're going to just tailor that a little bit more for that individual client.
Okay, so with all of that, the last part with that is I do email them the offers and then if you don't hear anything within a couple of days, make sure to follow up. I have had times where I follow up with a client or a potential client and they said, oh, I've been waiting for this email, but I didn't see the first one. So sometimes we can self sabotage by assuming, oh, they don't want to work with me. When really life gets busy, technology doesn't cooperate, any number of things could happen. That is the reason why they're not responding. So please do your job and follow up with them.
You don't want to risk losing someone who wants to work with you because you didn't follow up. So with that being said, that's my recommendation. And the biggest thing is to keep showing up. I think the biggest thing that holds business owners back is that we start something, we don't see results, so then we start doubting ourselves and we move on to something else, and then that isn't showing the results we want as quickly as we want. And so we start doubting ourselves and we hear about another way of putting an offer out there or reaching people, and we jump to that. And because we keep jumping because we're not seeing the results right away, we never give anything we're doing time to actually play out, to see results. So if you're starting this and you're thinking this is going nowhere, please stick with it. I just did an episode the other week all about mindset. I highly recommend listening to that if you. You can recognize that you struggle with sticking with things when they don't appear to be working out. But the biggest thing is just keep reaching out, keep connecting with people, keep being intentional with it. Really listen to what they're telling you you need. And what I will say is, as you do this more and more, it's going to be easier to identify people who would be a great fit for a client. It's going to get easier to talk about what you do. It's going to get easier to get people on the phone with you. And it's going to be easier for you to be able to recognize if you can help them or not. And if you can, it's going to be easier for you to explain to them about what it would look like to work with you and how you can help. And with all of this, you don't have to have a special process or a signature offer. You just have to be committed to showing up and being of service. So with that, if you have been in your head and you've been trying to figure out your offers, your packages, a special offer, a special process. I invite you for the next 90 days to set that idea aside for now. If you have more ideas for it, feel free to give yourself some time to just brainstorm if that helps. But set that aside for now and take the time that you would be spending working on creating an offer, creating packages, creating your signature process. Take that time, focus on connections. Focus on getting people on the call. Focus on following up with people and inviting them to work with you and to giving them offers that resonate with what they need right now. And I really believe that if you do this for 90 days, you're going to start seeing results, you're going to start seeing more connections, more calls, and. And you're going to start signing more clients as well. So thank you so much for being here. I am so grateful for you. As we wrap up today, I want to invite you to join us again in the Solopreneur Sisterhood free community. The link to that will be in the show notes for this episode. And if you are listening and thinking, you know what, I want more support with this. I want to speed up my results. I would love to invite you to schedule a free strategy session with me. It's free. It's no obligation. It's simply a chance for me to learn more about you, learn more about your business, and to give you my best recommendations for what to focus on and what to move forward with in order to reach your goals. And then if we're talking and you want additional support beyond the free session, I can give you a couple of offers for how we might be able to work together to help you reach your goals.
[00:21:34] Speaker B: Thank you so much for joining us and listening to the Solopreneur Sisterhood podcast. I hope this episode has offered you some encouragement, some insight, and some new ideas to support you in building a business that works for you. Remember that our world needs you, your gifts, your vision and your work. And I'm cheering you on as you bring your vision to life and build a purposeful, profitable and sustainable business that supports what matters most to.
