97. Why Premium Clients Aren't Buying your VA or OBM offer (And the Strategic Entry Point They Actually Want)

Ever feel like your content is solid and your offers are good, but somehow people just aren't buying the way they used to? You're not alone.

If you've been showing up consistently but wondering why your sales have stalled, this episode reveals the real reason behind slow sales (and it's not your expertise). Most VAs, OBMs, and service providers are missing a crucial shift in buyer behavior that's happening right now.

In this episode, I explore why people are more hesitant to invest than ever before and what you can do about it. I share the story of a copywriter whose sales stalled and the simple strategic shift that can turn things around - without lowering your prices or chasing clients harder.

The truth is, when everything feels economically uncertain and people have been burned by past investments, asking them to make a big leap into your premium services feels risky. But there's a solution that reduces their fear while showcasing your expertise.

Key Points Covered:

✨ Why buyer behavior has shifted and people are more cautious about investing

✨ The psychology behind why premium offers feel too risky right now

✨ What trust building offers are and why they work so effectively

✨ Real examples of strategic entry points for different types of service providers

✨ How to create offers that naturally lead to your bigger services

✨ Why trust building offers make marketing feel easier and more fun

If you've been wondering whether you should lower your prices or completely reinvent your services, this episode will help you see there's a much better path forward. The solution isn't about devaluing your work - it's about meeting people exactly where they are and giving them a way to experience your expertise before making a bigger commitment.

Thank you for being a part of the Soulpreneur Scaling Stories community!

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🎧 Podcast produced and edited with love by @FerAssists 🩵

Transcript

[00:00:00] Andrea Elibero: Andrea here, your host and passionate business coach and scaling strategist for soulful service providers and coaches. Welcome to another episode of Solepreneur Scaling Stories. Have you ever wanted to look behind the curtain of your fellow entrepreneur's business to see what actually went into scaling it?

[00:00:22] Well, you are in for a treat 'cause that's exactly what we are doing here. In each episode, we will be uncovering the truth of the lessons and the stories behind what it truly takes for sold entrepreneurs to scale their businesses intentionally. I'm hoping that their stories will help you to unlock the true potential of your business so you can create your own soulful, abundant, and aligned laptop lifestyle through intentional scaling.

[00:00:46] So whether you're just starting out on your scaling journey or you're a seasoned entrepreneur seeking inspiration, this episode has something incredible in store for you. Are you ready to rise, grow, and create a business that fully supports your dream life? Well, let's dive in. [00:01:00] Before we begin, make sure to hit that subscribe buttons.

[00:01:03] You never miss an empowering episode filled with real stories and soulful insights.

[00:01:10] Okay, so picture this. You've been showing up consistently. Your content is solid, your offers are good, but somehow, and you're not quite sure why people are just not buying the way that they're used to. And you're starting to wonder, is it me? Did I do something? Am I not good enough? Should I lower my prices?

[00:01:33] Should I change my offers? What's going on? So if this sounds familiar, this episode is for you. What is going on in the world right now? It's not about your expertise, it's about a shift in buyer behavior that most VA's OBM service providers are missing. So the inspiration for this. Podcast episode is that I was, I saw a.[00:02:00] 

[00:02:00] Thread. Okay. I saw a thread on threads. I saw a post on threads that was a copywriter who had noted that her sales were a bit stalled. She was, had been really successful in the past, selling her, I wanna say, around $2,000 a month retainer packages. But now she's like, oh, I'm hearing crickets. And she was asking, well, what's going on?

[00:02:23] And she was wondering if she needed to. Reduce her prices. If she needed to reinvent her services. She was trying to figure out what was happening, and this is a thing that I respond to. I was like, oh, here's. What's going on, right? Is that she was asking people to make a huge leap of faith, right? To go from never working together, not really knowing her into a pretty hefty monthly commitment.

[00:02:48] And this reminded me of my process that I learned years ago as an OBM, and this was to not necessarily expect somebody to hire me for this retainer where they're, you [00:03:00] know, where it's premium, where they're working with me, they're spending good money. Right away. So instead we, I always started out and that's what I was taught to always start out offering this 90 day office review, 90 day plan, which was a paid strategy session that gave them one immediate value and two, let them experience me how I work my thinking, kind of let me prove myself in a way.

[00:03:21] And the result of this was that 95%, and this is not an exact figure, but really a lot, most of my clients who had that session hired me. For a retainer going forward. And it's not because I convinced them, it's not because of any like weird things happening, it's because they were able to get to know, like, and trust me, they were able to see, okay, she knows what she's talking about.

[00:03:46] She did really good work and now I'm ready to make this commitment. So what is happening right now and why your sales might be slowing? Is that a couple of things. One is because of the economy, the general [00:04:00] state of the world, and because of a lot of really weird people have had really weird sketchy past experiences, negative things have happened to them when they have invested before.

[00:04:11] So people are more nervous to commit. They have been burned by service providers who have overpromised and under-delivered. They've signed contracts that felt restrictive. They've invested thousands to realize that the person didn't do what they had actually wanted them to do, and they've left with this feeling of, oh, like how do I protect myself from making this mistake again and again, especially when.

[00:04:39] Everything's very uncertain economically. People are extra cautious about where they spend their money. So when you present them with this amazing $2,000 a month retainer or whatever intensive, their brain is not like, oh, this is great. Their brain is thinking, well, how do I know that you're going to gimme what you promise?

[00:04:57] What if I hate working with them? What if this is a waste of [00:05:00] money and that fear, it's stronger than the desire for the result that you are promising. Now, don't worry. This is not all bad news. The good news is that it's not about your expertise, right? You could be the best at the world at what you do, but if you're asking somebody to take a massive leap of faith, then you're fighting a battle against their own fear.

[00:05:22] So what do we do? What we don't do is lower your prices, chase them harder, push more, market more. If you've already been. Doing marketing. If we haven't marketed anything, we need to talk. But marketing don't market more. The solution is to remo reduce the fear. And how do we do that? We do that by giving them a way to build trust with you and test drive your expertise first.

[00:05:50] And this is what I call a trust building offer. And now if you're rolling your eyes and thinking, oh, another way to devalue my work, it is not about [00:06:00] creating some $27 random template or some like thing that doesn't make any sense. We are creating a strategic trust building offer. And what does that mean?

[00:06:09] This is an offer that solves one specific problem that they're having right now. It gives them immediate, tangible results. It showcases your unique approach and expertise. And the most important thing is that it naturally leads them to want your bigger offer. So it has to be connected. So if you think about it like this.

[00:06:33] You're buying a car, you're going to test drive it, right? Your trust building offer is the test drive of your services. So what that copywriter did was introduce a trust building, offer a messaging audit that naturally led into her retainer packages. Yeah. And now I don't know the results for her, but I do know the results for my clients and from other people.

[00:06:59] And what [00:07:00] happens is that they see sales pick up. They see that people are not afraid to invest something that's a couple hundred dollars and then after experiencing how amazing you are, and then they sign up for the bigger offer because that felt obvious. So if your sales have slowed, if you are in this period, I invite you to ask yourself what is.

[00:07:22] The smaller version of your expertise that could give somebody a quick win and show them what it's like to work with you. Maybe if you are a designer, could you offer some sort of brand audit that shows them exactly what's working, what's not working, gives them a roadmap. Maybe you're an OBM, and you could do a similar type of operations review that identifies their biggest bottlenecks and gives them a plan, an action plan.

[00:07:47] The key is that it is substantial to showcase your expertise, but small enough that it does not feel risky. And again, most important to be connected to your main offer, your biggest [00:08:00] offer, your core offer. So that way it is an easy yes. And the fun thing about this as well, adding this in, is that I find a lot of my clients get really excited to talk about this offer and market this offer online, because it feels.

[00:08:15] Easier. It feels less scary than marketing something that's more premium, right? 'cause that feels, oh, what if nobody buys it? That feels like heavy and a lot of pressure. Whereas marketing, this type of offer can feel. Exciting and fun, right? Because you're like, oh, it's a couple hundred bucks. And then you get to play with it and that makes, it releases the pressure.

[00:08:34] So then it makes you show up online as your actual true self. And so that part I find to be really fun. And also people get really creative in what they do with their trust building offers. And anyhow, the whole thing I really, really love. So if you are nodding along, saying yes. This is the strategic entry point that I need into my business.

[00:08:53] This is one of the first things we do when we work together. When I work with my clients, especially one-on-one in expansion, this is a. [00:09:00] Big thing that we do, we don't just design your core offer, but we do that too. We create your entire client journey, including that perfect trust building offer that meets people exactly where they are.

[00:09:10] Because the thing that I want you to walk away with is knowing that your expertise is valuable, your offers are needed.

[00:09:18] But the today, especially today, right now, you need to have the right entry point to get people in. So if you wanna help designing offers that feel truly effortless because they meet your ideal clients exactly where they are, reach out to me, you have my links below, and let's chat about it.

[00:09:36] So with that, that is what I have for you today on trust Building. Offers a quickie, but a good one, and I will see you guys on the next one. 

[00:09:45] Thank you so much for joining us today. I really hope you found inspiration and insights from today's episode. You know, scaling your business intentionally and from the inside out is a [00:10:00] transformational process, but I'm here to support you every step of the way. Head on over to dancing leaf solutions.com/resources for free tools to help you do just that.

[00:10:10] And thank you again for being a part of the Solepreneur Scaling Stories community. Your presence and dedication to growth inspiring me every day.