[00:00:00.24] - Speaker 1

Welcome to the Grit Reapers, the podcast for aspiring online entrepreneurs that cuts through all the crap in the online business world and dishes out the raw and real truth about what it really takes to have a successful online business. No sugar coating, no get rich quick schemes, just honest advice with a healthy dose of humour and hope.

[00:00:23.78] - Speaker 2

We're your hosts, Gail and Candice. Two online entrepreneurs who've been there, done that, and lived to tell the tale. So if you're looking for straight talk, practical tips, and the occasional reality check to get your online business moving, you're in the right place. Let's get down to business.

[00:00:46.34] - Speaker 1

Welcome back to the Grit Reapers to this week's episode. Welcome to our listeners. We're so happy to have you here today. We are talking, let's just get straight into it. We are talking all about something again, we hear all the time. And it's such a painful place to be in as a business owner. And that is really not understanding why people do not want your offer. Like, why are you getting no sales? There's no interest, like, what is going on?

So, Gail, I'm going to ask for you straight away. Let's just dive in and share your thoughts on why does this happen.

[00:01:27.505] - Speaker 2

Thanks, Cans. Yeah, this is a, as you said, it can be absolutely heartbreaking as a business owner. But, but I just want to say right at the beginning that if you are sitting in this situation, please do not feel alone. It is one of the most common complaints or sort of requests that we hear in our groups and when we talk to our clients.

And, and so where you are sitting is a very, very normal place to be in. And I think that there is just, we kind of feel like our offer is our offer. It's just this one thing. And when we offer it to people and they reject it or they don't take us up on it or whatever, we think it's the offer. But actually your offer is just so much more than just what you're offering.

You know, it could be a disconnect between the messaging. It could be that you just haven't been able to communicate the value of what you are offering, of what it can do for people. And these, it's, it's just so multifaceted that the offer is kind of, we call it on an offer and why don't people want it? But there's just so much more to it.

So I think that's the very first thing that, yeah, that I think is that it's not one thing. We need to talk about everything.

What do you think Cans?

[00:03:07.741] - Speaker 1

Yeah, I really like what you're saying because I think certainly the way that like I talk about it with, with clients, whether we working one on one or like, you know, in my content program, whatever it is, is really just explaining to people like you have this thing that you're really good at.

You know, you have a skill, you have lots of experience, you've got the thing that you're really good at, you love doing, you are super passionate about. And of course when we now coming to thinking about how do I take this online? Like how do I get people all over the world, I want more people.

I want to like not have to sit in a room to earn money. Whatever it is, whatever reason has prompted you to now start looking at a digital or online business, it is so normal that you're just going to start with what you know.

[00:04:11.119] - Speaker 1

You know you're going to start with here's the thing that I can do that I love doing. I'm good at it, I love it, I'm so passionate about it. And so again getting back to what you saying, it's like very often people think the offer is the skill or the expertise that they have. Right.

Sign up for my one on one coaching. Right? Yeah. Who scrolling on Instagram or YouTube is thinking, God, I just wish Candice would show up and offer me one on one coaching. No one's thinking that. Right. But yeah, a little different.

We don't know differently. We just start with what we know. So we think the offer is the thing we can do. Okay. And that is when I think what you're saying, it's like it's such a normal common complaint challenge like confusing place.

It's because people are starting with what they know and they try to sell the skill or the expertise. Okay. And like you saying is that what you quickly learn is oh my good God, I didn't like a digital marketer now because people are speaking about things like messaging and the words. What does that got to do with my one on one coaching, you know?

[00:05:34.077] - Speaker 2

Yeah, exactly. And I think also cans, you know, for many of us you come from a place of a face to face business. You've a lot of people are coming from an offline business where you know, you've helped so many people that you have that face to face.

Yeah. Interactions where you can tell people about it. You sort of, in the offline world people may sort of be seeking you out, you know, whereas in the online world there is just so much more noise and kind of distractions.

And while people may be seeking a solution, it's the person who can get the value of what, what they're offering their skills and show it as the solution, which is also really, really difficult. It's, it's to try and take what you know and show how and speak to how that is going to help the person.

And it's, and it's not just, you know, people are not, as you say, people are not online going, oh, I wish I could find a course on xyz. You know, they are online going, how do I solve X, Y, Z? And they're going to be looking at all sorts of different possible solutions.

[00:06:54.195] - Speaker 1

100%. Again, I think you, you've kind of touched on something that. So I know both of us want our listeners to know this, which is you, you probably going to have started or are going to start from what you know, you're going to think that what you need to sell is the thing that you can do.

And we also know, because both of us have also been there ourselves, that it comes from such a good place. Like, the intention behind it is so, like, heartfelt. Like, you just know that you can help people. You know, that you're good at what you do.

You know, like you mentioned, if you have got a history and maybe like a thriving practice or a very popular brick and mortar business that's very well known, you know, you, you know, you just know the impact that you can have. You get all this great feedback, there's word of mouth referrals. It feels much easier, right?

[00:08:00.531] - Speaker 1

So the intention we know is so like heartfelt. You just know you can help people with this thing that you can do that you really got at you love and that you're passionate about right now.

What, what you were saying around the value, like trying to communicate value just to make it practical. Because I heard these words all the time, like, oh, I better look at your blah, blah, blah, but you're not communicating value. And, and like, I would hear the words, but it just like did not freaking lodge itself in my brain until one day I like had this analogy in my head and you know, me and my analogies, but I'm gonna just share it with our listeners because maybe it will help somebody.

Like one day I thought to myself, if I was walking out of a store and I've got all my groceries, and as I exit the store, there are two ladies doing like a bake sale, you know, like they trying to sell their baked goods, and the one lady is set up at a table and on her table she has got a bag of flour, a carton of milk, you know, eggs, sugar, oil, carrots.

She has got everything she needs to make a carrot cake. The other lady is set up at a table, but what she has is this three tiered cream cheese frosted. You just want to shove your face in the Caribbean.

Okay, now what most people start off right because remember what we've just said is you're going to start with what you know, which is the thing that you can do. The skill, the talent, the whatever, the program. Maybe you've already like built out a whole program. I feel like sad when I say it.

[00:09:59.181] - Speaker 1

You've got this thing and what you're going to try to do now is because you know it can help so many people. Right. The intention is so heartfelt and you want to have impact. And, and, and you are going to probably try and sell the ingredients. Right.

You're going to be the lady with the flour and egg. So you're going to say things like, sign up for my one on one coaching. It's 60 minutes on Zoom. You're gonna get like all the fathom.

[00:10:28.005] - Speaker 2

Yeah.

[00:10:29.893] - Speaker 1

My road map, correct.

[00:10:32.837] - Speaker 2

Yeah.

[00:10:35.149] - Speaker 1

Now in my mind that is like trying to sell ingredients to people. Whereas what we have to learn, and this is a skill no one comes into the online space or very few people that I have certainly worked with actually knew how to do this before trying to start growing their businesses online.

The skill we have to learn is how not to sell ingredients and how to sell that three tiered cream cheese cake, which is things like telling people like, you know, I know that you're feeling so disheartened with all the content you're making online. Nobody's reading it, no one's watching it, no one's signing up for your offer.

You know, when you come into my program, you will walk away knowing exactly what to post. You know what to say in the post that we know will help people start to think about you as the. Now can you see the difference?

[00:11:39.101] - Speaker 1

The one is trying to communicate value. That would be your carrot cake showing people what. How the hell is this going to help me? That's actually what we're just trying to like communicate is. I get it, I understand where you are. I have the solution. But I also know what you want, right? Yeah.

Versus I'm really good. I've got four degrees. I've studied this, this and this. And so if you come to my 60 minute Zoom, goodbye. No thanks.

[00:12:11.999] - Speaker 2

You know and, and cans, I guess to add to that is that we want to show people the carrot cake so that we, they know that we've got the solution. Once they in our program, then it's the ingredients that we will be using to teach them the carrot cake.

So you will always hear people saying, you know, offer them what they want, but once they in your program, give them what they need to get to what they want. But people want to know the end. People want to know what's at the end of the tunnel or what's at the end. That's what they want the value. And that's the difficult part of it.

[00:12:57.533] - Speaker 1

Absolutely. And again, learning from someone that is in our booboo crew. Jamal, who is just like blows my brain every time I chat with her because she is so brilliant at helping people figure out what should be in their courses. Right. So she actually helps with the, the design and like the course creation part of this.

And what she speaks about a lot is. And it ties in. Guys, I hope what you're hearing a lot in our episodes is none of what we discuss sits in isolation. There's overlap between all these things.

But what she says is you have to know before you start putting your course together, what is the person at the end of your course going to walk away with? What is the outcome of your course? Right. And in a way, your content does the same thing. You constantly talking about the outcome, the value.

If you work with me, this is what I can promise you you will get. Now again, that opens another can of worms, which is when you saying, this is what you'll get when you work with me, you better dare make sure you can deliver that. Right.

[00:14:19.221] - Speaker 2

Exactly. And so for, for our listeners, they might have also heard it as the promised transformation. So the outcome, the promised transformation, you know, the value, it's the same thing. You need to be, you need to be telling them about that promised transformation, that promised outcome. That's what.

[00:14:44.665] - Speaker 2

So, so what we saying here is that your offer may be solid, but you're not communicating that promised transformation. And that's, that's where the difficulty lies.

[00:15:03.233] - Speaker 2

And I think Cans, you and I were talking about it and in fact the only way you're going to find this stuff out is if you actually offer it to people. Okay. And so depending on if you get.

So when you start talking about it, if you get people sort of engaging with it, saying, yes, that sounds great, exciting, you know, and then you go based on that, you go and you create it and then you get crickets then maybe what you need to realize is that your offer is solid because it was that interest, but that you are not communicating the value of that said offer now.

And that's another skill we cans. And I keep saying this is, this is just like a skills development journey for you.

[00:15:55.485] - Speaker 1

I think I should just, yeah. Tell you my recent experience. I just did a launch. It's the first time I've actually done a webinar launch. And I did the first launch. And yeah, I think it wasn't a great webinar.

It was actually somebody told me that I sucked and I was like, when I looked back at it, I was like, it did actually suck, you know, and then, and then I was very lucky to have met another lady who helped me and she just went through it with me.

And the second time I ran it, I sucked less. But I had never done a webinar before. And yes, the. You can follow the people who've got webinar frameworks and stuff like that. You can follow it.

It, but you never actually know what's going to sit well with your audience and what's not until you're doing it and then you have to tweak it. Yeah, according.

But also, just to add more context, because obviously I was behind the scenes with you, you know, for the last 90 days we were doing a 90 and 90 content run. And so I was privy to the back, you know, seen behind the scenes, just for more context for our listeners, is that you actually had great engagement on your posts.

You launched your Facebook group, you managed to grow your Facebook group, you had engagement in your Facebook group, you had fantastic sign up rates for your webinar. So what I'm trying to say is what we were looking at was, okay, so things are working great. Things are working.

We can see that because there's evidence registrations coming in for the webinar comments on your post. So we knew, okay, there's traction. There's traction. You had, you know, whatever that figure was for your actual how many people registered for the webinar, how.

Then we looked at how many people attended live and your conversion rate for that was out the park. It was, yep, way above industry standard. So we knew, fantastic. All the data is telling us we've got traction, this is working.

And then when it came to the actual delivery of the masterclass, that's where you identified a breakdown.

[00:18:29.359] - Speaker 1

So, yeah, that for context is why it's so important to have things like evidence and data because. And again, you and I were laughing about this how when we first started, it was like pissing in the wind. We weren't looking at.

You know, everyone was like, what's your conversion rate? But you so overwhelmed with everything you like. I don't even know what that means. I'm just trying to work out what words to use because people are talking about value and messaging and blah, blah, blah, blah. And registered for my webinar.

Oh, how many people came live? I don't know. You know, only now, four years in, we really refocused on let's keep track of the data. And it was through keeping track of the data that I think you were able to identify where the leak in your bucket was. You know, so it was like, oh, okay.

So actually, everything was working. We were. There was steam, there was traction, it was working. My conversion rate was out the park. Something happened on the webinar.

[00:19:37.465] - Speaker 1

Then you went, right. Which, I mean, just for our listeners. I told this to you the other night, and I said to you, this is why we created this podcast. Like, this is great, you know, to be able to have had a webinar that didn't go well, have the ability to watch it back yourself, acknowledge, actually, I did suck.

But you know what? I'm going in, I'm going to do it again, and I'm going to get. I'm going to call in some support, I'm going to get some feedback, I'm going to tweak, and I'm going to do it again. That is the grit, right?

[00:20:11.691] - Speaker 2

Yeah.

[00:20:16.739] - Speaker 1

So you realized something happened on your webinar. That's where the leak in the bucket was. So it wasn't that you had a shit offer, wasn't it? The offer was solid. There was something about the way you were communicating, what the offer was that fell a little short. And then you went back, redid it, and it was much better. So.

[00:20:37.755] - Speaker 2

And it was much better. And. And you know what? Can I also think that if I. Well, I did. Look at me. Four years ago, I launched. When I first came into the online world, I launched and I had a launch just like this first one, where it was just crickets, you know, and it's taken me four years to launch again because I was just so, like, yeah, rejected.

[00:21:01.901] - Speaker 2

Like, oh, my gosh, you know, I was a fool. I was out there. Like, people said I was going to fail, you know, kind of thing. And four years later, I think if I hadn't have had the data and if I hadn't have realized how this whole thing works, it's just so multifaceted.

I think I may have, after that first one, just gone, like, you know what? Launching is not for me. I'm going back to my services business. This is just too hard.

Yeah, but the fact that. That we could see and track what had happened and. Yeah, and you know what? People come into your world at the right time as well. And very nearly didn't take up the offer because I was feeling a little bit kind of like bruised and battered already.

And I thought, oh, now somebody's going to come in and they're going to tell me how terrible it was. And I was just like, no, you know what? It's. We had a technical glitch that was beyond anybody's control with the platform we were using.

And I was like, no, it's the perfect opportunity to practice what we preach in this podcast and be like, okay, it took me, like, two days in my head to go, like, I'm gonna just run it again. I'm gonna be like, because nobody got my emails, I'm gonna run it again.

And regardless of who shows up, I'm gonna run it full. And, yeah, the lady came in and she audited for me, and she was so kind, and she just built up my confidence, and she was like, you've got you. This is just amazing, what you've got here.

She actually said to me, I'm gonna write a testimonial for you because this information in this webinar was so amazing, but you just gave too much. And she pulled it all out for me and redid it a week later and to a much smaller audience, but converted at a much higher rate.

And I felt like, okay, now I have it. Now I'm going to just go. I've already set the next dates to redo the launch. I'm just going to do it over and over again, and I'm going to find that sweet spot until I don't suck anymore. And that's, yeah, amazing.

[00:23:10.699] - Speaker 1

I mean, we're speaking about data, you know, analytics, all that kind of stuff. And I think it's a nice. It's a nice kind of intro into another thing that I. That I think you and I, again, we know because, you know, hand up, been there, done that.

It's that again, if we just think back to what we're discussing today, we've got the sink. We really couldn't. We love it. You know, it's our expertise. This is our gem. Like, we are known for it.

[00:23:47.313] - Speaker 1

And sometimes the passion and the emotions, we feel really blind. Us, you know, that are so important. It is so important to be passionate about this thing because let me tell you, I personally feel like if you don't have passion, you aren't going to manage the punctures that come your way.

It's going to be easy to. It's going to just deflate you, like immediately. You've got to have some fire. The passion for what you do and the need and want to get it in front of people.

But sometimes the passion and the emotion people bring into their transition into the online space, I think sometimes actually hurts them. And I know you know this analogy, but when I, when I talk to people about this, I always, I had this picture in my head of like, you know, like the mob, the mafia, you know, and they like, they want to get rid of someone, a dead body or whatever it is, and they take it to some lake in the middle of the night and then they tie those cinder blocks around people's ankles and they dump them in and it sinks, you know, it sinks them.

And I often think people are like that with their offers. They are like these cinder blocks that are tied around the ankles and it's weighing them down, it's literally drowning them, like it's killing them. But they will not give them up because they are convinced this is the offer, this is what they are passionate about. Right.

And emotion is important. But I think, you know, you. You've just. And again, oh, my God, we sound like a broken record. It's a skill. It's something you've got to practice.

We have to learn how to divorce ourselves in some way because it's not possible completely from the emotion that drives your business and the decisions you're making. Because sometimes the evidence is blatant. It is like in front of your face and you don't see it because you're blinded by the feelings.

So I love that this time around you were like, actually your eyes were on the numbers, the data, but you were also, obviously you were emotional throughout the launch, pre launch, in the launch, post webinar. I mean, but you had both.

[00:26:10.883] - Speaker 2

Yeah, and you and I were just talking about this yesterday about. You have to be able to also look at that distinction between an offer that you just notice, communicating the value of it, and an offer that you were just talking about that is just like sinking you.

[00:26:31.213] - Speaker 2

And I think our listeners have heard about your membership, which is what. Your initial membership, which is what we kind of often laugh about as well, is that you, you had offered busy moms a cooking Membership that you would cook with them at 5 o'clock in the evening and you couldn't understand why nobody was coming to cook with you, you know?

[00:26:58.383] - Speaker 2

So, so that's. I, I just always love that because that was an offer that was never going to work.

[00:27:07.951] - Speaker 2

So that's just the distinction. So don't, don't check your offers out. You need to see, as we said, pre. Actually offering your offer. Like, is there interest? Are people talking about it? And then from there you can get a good idea.

[00:27:25.545] - Speaker 1

Exactly, exactly. It's like the walk of shame, you know, where we all hang our heads like, oh my God, I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I thought that.

[00:27:35.857] - Speaker 2

Anyway, we, well, that's just the thing. You did it, you launched it and you realized that it wasn't. So it's in the doing that you also get the feedback.

[00:27:52.883] - Speaker 1

100%. Yeah. All right, if we summing this up, what are some of the takeaways for our listeners? Like main points, Anything you want to kind of drive home?

[00:28:04.995] - Speaker 2

Yeah. Okay. So what I would love our listeners to take away is that you are in the same place as. I don't know the percentage, but I would say 80% of people at the moment.

So don't give up because you've, you think that nobody wants your offer. The next thing is to understand that your offer is not just that one thing. Your offer incorporates everything and in fact, it's a great time for you to, we always talk about it, to become curious and to try and figure out what part of it is not working.

And then that part of it you can upskill yourself, you know, so don't, don't get despondent. This is actually a, I say it's a good place to be, but you've launched an offer, you've got an offer, so you've got something. Now you need to just tweak it, look at it, decide and look at one aspect at a time.

Don't change too much because then you're not sure what's working and what's not. Change one aspect at a time. Yeah, and yeah, those are my takeaways.

[00:26:31.213] - Speaker 2

And I think our listeners have heard about your membership, which is what. Your initial membership, which is what we kind of often laugh about as well, is that you, you had offered busy moms a cooking Membership that you would cook with them at 5 o'clock in the evening and you couldn't understand why nobody was coming to cook with you, you know?

[00:26:58.383] - Speaker 2

So, so that's. I, I just always love that because that was an offer that was never going to work.

[00:27:07.951] - Speaker 2

So that's just the distinction. So don't, don't check your offers out. You need to see, as we said, pre. Actually offering your offer. Like, is there interest? Are people talking about it? And then from there you can get a good idea.

[00:27:25.545] - Speaker 1

Exactly, exactly. It's like the walk of shame, you know, where we all hang our heads like, oh my God, I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I thought that.

[00:27:35.857] - Speaker 2

Anyway, we, well, that's just the thing. You did it, you launched it and you realized that it wasn't. So it's in the doing that you also get the feedback.

[00:27:52.883] - Speaker 1

100%. Yeah. All right, if we summing this up, what are some of the takeaways for our listeners? Like main points, Anything you want to kind of drive home?

[00:28:04.995] - Speaker 2

Yeah. Okay. So what I would love our listeners to take away is that you are in the same place as. I don't know the percentage, but I would say 80% of people at the moment.

So don't give up because you've, you think that nobody wants your offer. The next thing is to understand that your offer is not just that one thing. Your offer incorporates everything and in fact, it's a great time for you to, we always talk about it, to become curious and to try and figure out what part of it is not working.

And then that part of it you can upskill yourself, you know, so don't, don't get despondent. This is actually a, I say it's a good place to be, but you've launched an offer, you've got an offer, so you've got something. Now you need to just tweak it, look at it, decide and look at one aspect at a time.

Don't change too much because then you're not sure what's working and what's not. Change one aspect at a time. Yeah, and yeah, those are my takeaways.

[00:29:16.415] - Speaker 1

And you can, yeah, very similar, I think, like sales, looking at the amount of sales you're making, how many people are buying the course, how many people are signing up for your coaching membership, whatever. Sales or the lack of sales are not the only indicator when it comes to whether or not you've got an offer.

Like you said, when you do start to think about your business with two, kind of like there's emotion. But then I also have to be a little bit like a scientist. Like, this is an experiment. They are variables I'm looking at, like, what are the results? And if we change this variable, does it impact on the result? Like, you've got to kind of have that balance.

When you do start thinking a little more like a scientist and you can start to identify those leaks. Right? So there's context. What did you do before, what did you do during and what happened after? And you've actually got evidence that cannot be tainted by how desperate or elated or frustrated you are.

And you can start to see, just like you did, like, oh, oh, my gosh. Okay. Actually, this wasn't a total write off. Everything was flipping, working just till the webinar.

What you then can realize is, you know what? So, okay, there's something about the webinar, like you were saying, it shows you. It almost puts a spotlight on where you need to upskill. Do I need to read more books on webinar? You know, launches? Do I need to upskill my sales technique when I'm moving from the educational bit into that the pitch is that smooth? Do I look awkward? Am I scared to talk about the offer?

Like, it's going to show you where the leak is so that you don't pitch a tent there and like, okay, on the day, go for it. Woe is me. Go get the ice cream. Phone your best friend, tell you, fucking hate this. You burning it, Go for it. But then pick yourself back up and then develop that muscle, you know?

[00:31:32.765] - Speaker 2

Yeah. So, yeah, I can see you. And I'm so glad you said that cans, because I took two days after the first webinar. I took two days to wallow in my sadness to blame the technical issues.

You know, I could have been. Well, I did. I was actually like, none of my emails went through, so that's why it was so bad. So I gave myself and I kept saying to myself, you know what? I'm giving you two days to just wallow in this.

And then I was like, okay, fine, that's over. Actually, now I need to look at how to make a better situation out of this. And I did. So, yeah, give yourself grace, guys. It's not. It's not an easy.

[00:32:16.145] - Speaker 1

Exactly. And I think the last thing, like I'm going to just end with is that if you do start kind of like hearing what we saying, we just saying you've, this is a balance. So many things are in the mix here and it's about balancing and having your eyes on many things.

And if you can become like a bit of a Sherlock Holmes and you've got a bit of that like scientist kind of like vibe that just remain open minded, don't be blinded by things like have I always say ears and eyes wide open.

You know, you've got to really have your eyes open to see what is the evidence telling me, you know, you've got self awareness. Like why don't I want to admit that this isn't working? You know, you've got to have that skill and the adaptability is part of being an entrepreneur, you know.

So what you come in and this goes full loop to how we started this episode. You come in thinking, here is this thing that I am so good at and I love and I'm gonna sell it in coaching, right?

But if you are adaptable and you're in the mud, I say it all the time, like we're saying, you gotta just do it, get in the mud, just do it. Because the only way you're gonna get through that mud pit is by taking the next step so that you can get to the shore and clean yourself off.

[00:33:46.231] - Speaker 1

If you're adaptable and you eyes and ears wide open that often, what you think the offer was going to be a few years in, it doesn't look anything like what you originally thought.

And so you can be like us and have a good chuckle at yourself. Like oh my God, I thought at 5:00 busy mom, we're gonna come and like cook, Cook, you know, like the tank, big tech.

Anyway, if you want to get hold of us, we really would appreciate hearing like from you. If this episode was just like the biggest. Hell yes. Please let us know.

You can email us [email protected] you can visit our site thegritreapers.com and you can always come and find us. We really do like talking to people. We don't want to be anonymous business owners. So shout if you have anything on your mind.

And other than that, I will see you next week again. Yay.

[00:34:45.583] - Both

Have a good week. Bye everybody. Bye.