A common strategy I see business owners take on is creating a “taster” offer, usually a one or two session something, to help folks feel safer or have an experience before taking on what is considered to be the “real” program, something that is maybe a few months long, or longer.
While the general concept of having a shorter or smaller commitment offer isn’t a bad one, there can be some real problems with “taster” offers.
The first problem is the concept “taster.”
There is this idea out there that if someone just experiences your work, then they’ll buy more, kind of like having a bite-sized piece of brownie, and hoping that will entice folks into buying a dozen to bring to a party.
The issue with this is that although the experience of your work is important, it’s not the main point, unlike, for instance, the taste of a brownie.
The intention of your work is to help them with something significant. For the vast majority of the thousands of practitioners I’ve known, it’s unlikely that a single session will really solve something in a significant way.
Because of that, a single session may backfire, providing a moving experience, and maybe even some temporary relief or support. Yet, without lasting impact, the client may decide that your work doesn’t really work, since the problem wasn’t solved.
The second problem is solving for the wrong problem.
What I mean is that the same assumption behind the taster, is that someone needs to experience your work in order to feel safe enough to take on a longer commitment.
And that’s not necessarily true. They do need to trust you, and that can be achieved in a variety of ways.
Trust can be built with…
…having a strong referral from someone they know or trust.
…getting to know you over time, for instance through a newsletter like this, or maybe a free webinar or two.
…a thorough sales/information page, followed by a connecting, vulnerable, non-manipulative discovery/sales call.
This is not to say that shorter/smaller commitment offers aren’t useful.
What is the smaller/shorter offer?
Any time you are offering anything to a client, I want that offer to be intentional. I don’t want anything you do to be a “throw-away” so-to-speak.
If you craft a shorter offer, do it because it meets a particular need.
For instance, I’ve seen clients of ours, and I’ve done it myself, craft a one or two session offer that is meant to address an urgent need, or is crafted as an in-depth assessment of some sort.
These offers are powerful, they are full meals in themselves, and they really help the client in ways that are impactful. And, importantly, the expectations for what they are intended to address, and what the outcomes will be, are made clear to the person, so there’s a greater chance of them being thrilled afterwards
And, it’s true, as a smaller commitment, they are probably easier for folks who don’t know you as well to step into them, because it doesn’t require as much trust.
The big point here? Save “tasters” for your baking.
Make every offer thoughtful and crafted to help the client in specific ways, being clear about expectations.
Start to think about all the ways you can create safety for folks, and don’t think that everyone is necessarily adverse to making a commitment to more in-depth work when the situation warrants it.
I’m so curious to hear from you, if you have thoughts or questions. Or pushback!
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Two smaller, intentional, powerful offers.
One offer is my book, Heart Centered Business: Healing from toxic business culture so your small business can thrive.
I just received a love note from someone who has been reading my book: “By the way … your book? Dang. It loves me so much. It made me feel so cozy and cared for. Thank you for writing.” – Sage
And, you know what, it’s just a book, so not so expensive. Because nearly every business book I’ve read in my life leaves my nervous system activated, I wrote this book with the intention of being both extremely practical, but also to be soothing to the nervous system.
You can find it here:
Another offer is the single-session, in-depth work.
For a single, deep-dive session to be truly powerful, I’ve worked with folks in one of two ways. Either as an overall assessment of the business, what’s going well, what’s not, and my advice for what to prioritize on over the next 6 months to a year
Or, it’s a great single-session deep dive, to problem solve something thorny in your business.
There’s more to say about it, and you can find it on this page. Just scroll down to “Two alternatives to long term work.”
