5 STEPS FOR CLARIFYING YOUR OFFERING

You can't sell your offering if it's not clear to your customers.

One of the biggest mistakes new business owners make is they're not specific enough about what they provide to customers. Even artists, musicians or bloggers need to clarify what they offer to their fans, followers and supporters. Whether you're selling tangible products or experiences or services, how you communicate it to others will determine your sales success.

In this article, we'll talk about how to be extremely clear about your offering so that your customers or followers understand what it is you provide, how it relates to their problems, and why they need your offering to make their lives better. Without delay, let's jump in!

1. CLARIFY FUNCTIONS
When I say functions, I mean talk about the kind of problems your offering solves. Talk about a tension it relieves. This is the purpose of why you offer the product or service that you do for your customers. Below are some examples of how clarifying the function of your offering could look like:

• Roofing - My service includes replacing your roof with strong, more durable shingles

• Coffee shop - My beverages are what your morning needs to stay alert and focused

• Massage therapist - My services will help relieve tension that builds up in your back muscles

• Homemade jewelry - My jewelry help your natural beauty shine even more

• Accountant - My services help keep your finances organized

Some industries have more obvious functions than others, but no matter what kind of work you're in, your product or service has a function - a purpose that solves some kind of problem. The more clear you can be about the function of your offering, the easier it will be for your potential customers to understand how it will help them, and move them closer to the buying stage.

2. CLARIFY BENEFITS
When I say benefits, I mean the positive outcome your customer will experience when they use your offering. It's the results they get to experience, the enjoyable effect they receive when your offering solves their problem. Benefits are important to clarify because they help the customer see the end result. Functions clarify the direction they need to take, but benefits clarify the destination. Let's build on the businesses we used in our previous point and see what their benefits might look like:

• Roofing - We provide the peace of mind knowing damaging leaks won't effect your house

• Coffee shop - Relax in a calm and inviting atmosphere where you can enjoy great tasting coffee

• Massage therapist - Enjoy the daily tasks and hobbies of your life without feeling muscle tension

• Homemade jewelry - Feel inspired through out your day wearing the sapphire of hope against your heart

• Accountant - Stay worry free knowing your taxes are being taken care of

Try putting yourself in your customer's shoes and imagine what the benefits would be for them. When my wife and I owned our cleaning business, we asked a few of our clients what benefits of house cleaning they enjoyed. We learned that less stress, more energy and extra time were all things they appreciated when they knew their kitchen was sparkling clean for the weekend.
If you have a difficult time defining the benefit of your offering, maybe reach out to some past customers and ask how your offering made them feel. Ask what they appreciated about it and why it was important to them.

3. CLARIFY FEATURES
When I say features, I mean the pieces that make up your offering - the attributes that define what makes it unique.

Some of my clients have mentioned that they've heard you shouldn't focus on the features of your offering when selling it to someone. This not entirely true. You don't want to start with the features. But they are critical for helping your customer cross the buying finish line. Below are some examples of features:

• Roofing - Our roof replacements take about 1-2 days to complete, include level 5 graded shingles and come with a 1 year workmanship warranty and 10 year manufacture warranty

• Coffee shop - Our beans are organically grown in Columbia and roasted with our own roaster here in our shop

• Massage therapist - The Swedish massage includes 1 hour of circular strokes, followed by deeper kneading into the muscles and vibration techniques.

• Homemade jewelry - The stainless steel ring is 10", comfortable to wear with a turquoise stone nestled on the front.

• Accountant - Full accounting services include monthly reconciling expenses and revenue, as well as quarterly tax filings

The key to successfully clarifying your offering's features is to focus on the features that mean the most to your customer. If you're a car sales person, show the car features off that your customer thinks is most important, like heated seats, surround sound, or cruise control. Don't pop the hood and talk about the cylinders, oil grade, or engine piston performance (unless they're interested in those things!)

4. CLARIFY EXPECTATIONS
When I say expectations, I mean communicate what the customer can anticipate during the entire purchasing process from start to finish. This isn't necessarily secluded to the checkout process where the customer purchases your offering. You want to help the customer understand what to expect next, whether the process is long (like installing a new roof) or it's short (like purchasing a coffee). Below are some example of this:

• Roofing - Our team will arrive Thursday no later than 8am. We'll need the driveway clear to park our trailer and tools. When the job is complete, we will do a final walk-through together.

• Coffee shop - Our shop includes multiples tables and cushioned seating with plenty of electric outlets to keep your laptop charged, as well gentle background music.

• Massage therapist - When you arrive, I'll leave you to prep yourself in privacy. After you're ready, you can choose a variety of essential oils to use if you wish. The session will take about one hour.

• Homemade jewelry - After purchasing your jewelry, make sure to use a certified cleaner to keep it clean. Clean it every few months or as needed. You can also bring it in for maintenance.

• Accountant - I'll have you give me your bank information to connect to QuickBooks. Each monthly I'll send you your financial statements via email. I'll email you one week before your taxes are due with the amount to send the IRS.

Expectations are important because they give customers a sense of control over their buying decision, and this leads to peace of mind. Customers don't want to purchase something that feels confusing and makes them unsure. They want to know what they can expect after they've made the purchase.

5. CLARIFY ACTIONS
When I say actions, I mean every offering you provide should have some kind of next step that your customer can take. This is especially important to have through out your website, but brochures, door hangers and mailers should include it as well.

A call-to-action can be anything from asking the customer to purchase something, signing up for a free coffee, or even scheduling a walk-through. Below are some examples of what this would look like:

• Roofing - Call this phone number to reach our project manager to schedule a free roof inspection

• Coffee shop - Sign up with your email to get your first coffee with us for free

• Massage therapist - Use our online calendar to book an appointment and pre-pay for your first sessions

• Homemade jewelry - Securely checkout online by clicking "buy now" and choose your shipping method.

• Accountant - Complete the online contact form to schedule your free financial consultation where we'll talk about your accounting needs.

Call-to-actions are important to provide for your customers because without them, we're keeping them stuck where they are. And having your email and phone number on your business card or website isn't a clear enough call-to-action. It needs to be obvious and eye catching. If it's on your website, make sure you have multiple call-to-actions all through out your pages so your website visitors don't have to waste time looking for it.

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