Ep 14: What to do when your offer doesn’t sell - and how to build a business you love

00:54 You're listening to The Business of Stories with Susan Paton, showing you how to share stories that do the selling in your business so you don't have too. Bit of a different episode today because I've worked with hundreds of business owners over the last 10 years and I've seen the things that stop them and frustrate them and make them feel overwhelmed And I could talk to you about storytelling all day long, but if there are other things going on in your business that aren't working for you then we need to talk about those things too.

01:32 Also, lots of people ask me how I run my business and while I would never tell someone else to run their business the same way that I do just because it works for me. I know that sharing the journey and stories of ups and downs helps other business owners feel less alone and they're doing okay. That this is what business looks like and they can work it out and achieve what they want to achieve So I'm throwing some bite-sized business episodes into the mix because this podcast is called The Business of Stories. And that's because it's about stories, yes but also it's about business and mindset! Because all three have to work together for your business to give you what you want. The right stories will give you the connection you want

02:25 The right mindset will give you the confidence and clarity to take the action you need to take. And, the right business is a business that works for YOU! That can take some working out... It's taken me a long time to find the business that's right for ME. Not that I was doing it wrong but I had to go through a period of exploring and discovering to find what i did want I had to work with clients to get a good understanding of who my ideal client is. I had to work in different ways and offer different things, to get clear on what I loved doing and how I love working – and what gets the best results for my clients!

03:11 I had to create a methodology that i could teach to be able to transition from working one-on-one, mainly done for yous. To working with groups which is what i wanted to do creating courses and programs process had to evolve based on my own experience of how i helped clients what worked and what didn't? What got them to where they wanted to go in the best way possible Everything I've done has been a journey of finding my way and my voice. And, I've loved it all because I knew it was all helping me get to where I wanted to go even though I didn't know what that looked like when I started out! I think it's hard to know what you want your business to look like when you first start out It's a bit like asking someone what they want their meal to look like in a restaurant when they haven't even seen the menu yet

04:10 So when I say it took me a long time to find a business that's right for me, I wouldn't change anything about the journey that i've been on. To work with the people I work with now and coach people the way I coach them and create this stuff I create now...I had to walk that path first so I wouldn't change anything but it's really important along the way to keep checking in with yourself Is this what I want to be doing? Is this the client I want to work with? Am i leaning into my strengths, is this giving me what I want my business to give me. Does it feel aligned does it feel good It's such a simple question but one I think is really important to keep asking in business. Does this feel good am I enjoying even when it feels hard

05:07 Business is not a straight line to success. It's a roller coaster of ups and downs, backwards and forwards twists and turns And there'll be great days and days that make you question everything Sometimes you'll be riding high and feel in flow and know exactly where you're meant to be doing exactly what you are meant to do sometimes it will feel messy and exhausting like swimming upstream against the tide even then When you know that you're exactly where you're meant to be, when you are totally committed to making this thing work. When you are prepared to go through the tough times and do the things that feel uncomfortable or cringy because in your heart you just know that you'll figure it out and you will get to help people who want to help and make a difference then it can still feel good even on bad days

06:06 But let's talk about the times when it feels uncomfortable or cringy. Because I don't think you can run a business and not have times that it feels like that! We all have the posts that no one comments on, the emails no one replies to, the offers you put out and get crickets, or people who follow up because they said they were interested but then ghost you… which happens to us all. I've never understood why people do it – but they do It's all part of running a business. And even then, you can check in and ask... One of the most destructive things you can do is think that things that don't work mean something about YOU! That post didn't get engagement because no one is interested in what you do

07:08 Or that offer that no one bought means you're not good enough. Or that people ghosting you means you should quit? It's Not True! What is true, is as long as people have a problem that you can help them solve – you have something of value and building a business around it is simply about finding what does work and learning and moving on from what doesn't… And also realising everything is feedback An offer not selling simply means you need to look at your messaging or what you're offering because that one didn't quite land the way you wanted it too. It doesn't mean anything other than, okay that wasn't it let's try something else until we find what is it? I've put out posts I thought would get huge engagement and they didn't get any but I don't get emotional about it

08:05 In fact, I blame Facebook for only showing my stuff to about 2% of my followers which is apparently what happens and that's on a good day. And I move on! I don't give up. I've put out offers that no one bought but i don't stop making offers and I'll always give any offer a good go before I change it or give up on it I usually create a whole campaign around anything I offer and show up 100% for the duration of that campaign, even if no one's buying. Because people need to see things lots of times not once or three times they need to see your offer multiple times And whenever i do any kind of launch I have found something to be true every single time

08:57 The more emails I send, the more sales I make. It's a fact! Ask any email marketer. You have to get comfortable with sharing your offer lots if you want to be in with the best chance of people buying it And I always bring lots of energy and excitement to my offers right up until the deadline has passed and the offer has finished No matter how the sales are going. In fact, I have a motto that's printed and framed in my office to keep it front of mind and i'm gonna share with you so you can keep it front of mind too because it will help you bring the right energy to everything you do And the motto is... Proceed as if success is inevitable! I remember doing a 5 day challenge where no one bought for the first 3 days Not a single person

10:00 And I was starting to lose my nerve, I must admit. And wondered what I was doing wrong! But then I reminded myself that I was presenting an amazing opportunity, a ton of value. A solution for all the people who I knew were struggling with their messaging and content and getting people to notice them and see them and hear them So i kept going! I kept my energy high. I kept sending emails and sharing stories And answering the questions I thought people might have And when the offer closed on day five, I'd made 24 sales and it was a 30k launch. But imagine if I had stopped on day three because I started telling myself that no one was going to buy? That i was just embarrassing myself! That no-one was interested in what I was offering... It wasn't true! Of course sometimes an offer doesn't get much interest or any interest and that is super helpful feedback

11:01 If I went all out with an offer and had no sales, I would think... OK that's interesting. Something didn't connect. Maybe it was the messaging? Let me speak to some more of my ideal clients and see how they're describing the problem or how they're talking about what they want. Or maybe it was the offer itself! Maybe three months felt too long for this particular thing. Maybe it should be 30 days for people who wanna quick win and wanna make this a priority for next month I wouldn't think, I'm the problem. No one wants to work with me! Because if that's where your mind goes it will knock your confidence and you'll start to question yourself rather than simply look at what you're doing and work out the best next move. Marketing is an experiment – to see what works and what doesn't. Running a business is an experiment – to see what works and what doesn't for you AND your clients

12:02 And if you're committed to finding the right path for you, and you're prepared not get emotional about the feedback that you get then you'll keep going until you find a way. I love the quote, failure isn't the opposite of success it's the path to it! Although I never use the word failure myself – I only ever see stuff as feedback Because that allows you to get creative and say things like, I wonder if some of the people who haven't bought from me yet are waiting for something else from me. The first time I ever put out an offer for my VIP day someone bought it within the hour! I recognised her name when it came up because a couple of times she'd replied to emails in the past saying she was interested in something I was offering but then never bought

12:56 So when we were chatting about my VIP day, I asked her why she bought it so quickly and she said... But the minute I read your post about your VIP day. I thought that's it! That's perfect for me and I didn't hesitate So some people in your world are waiting for you to put the right offer in front of them, in the right way. And some people in your world will never buy from you! They might love your stuff, comment on everything even recommend you to people but they're not going to buy and that's business Those people you see doing huge launches their conversion rate is often less than 3%

13:52 That means 97% of their audience don't buy. I remember Denise Duffell Thomas, a hugely successful money coach with a multi-seven figure business saying that her conversion rate was around 2%. So for every two people that buy her offer 98 people don't! But do you think that stops her or knocks her confidence? No it doesn't She just works with those numbers and knows that if she wants to get 100 people into her program, she needs to put her offer in front of 2,000 people. But your numbers might not be anything like that! You might want two or three clients and to do that you just need to work out what offer is the right one for you and your ideal client? And that usually takes trying a few things to see what works

14:51 What message and stories will land with them? And again, that takes a bit of work to make sure your content and copy really speaks to the right people. How many leads how many people do you need to get that offer in front off to get the two or three clients that you want? That really is how it works! When you understand that it takes all the emotion out of it so all that to say Finding a business that works for you is a journey of discovery. And whether you're right at the beginning of that journey, or you're a few months in, or a few years in... You get to do this! You get to explore. You get to discover. You get to experiment. You get to lean into this and be curious and understand that you don't have –and can't have– all the answers yet

15:50 But you can enjoy it for what it is. Embrace all the learnings, look for opportunities to get feedback go all in! Find ways to be creative whatever that looks like for you and keep checking in with how you feel at each step And don't do things just because you think you should or because someone else told you you should I was in a mastermind a few years back when i kept being told to start an agency and outsource all the copy and content writing to other people, and just be the face of the agency. And I hated that idea! There wasn't a single part of me that got excited about that business model...and I ended up leaving the mastermind because I could see it wasn't going to serve me

16:39 And it wasn't until a couple of years later that I did something called Motivational Maps and realized why. We all have seven motivators, apparently... My top one was the spirit which is all about freedom and autonomy. And my bottom one – the one i am least motivated to do – was the director which is all about managing people I don't want to be in charge of other people, so an agency model was never going to work for me. And if I'd gone down that route because someone convinced me that it would be quicker or better or easier or more profitable... ...I would have found myself trapped in a business I hated!

17:25 So wherever you are on your business journey, take the time to check in and make sure you feel aligned with where you're heading. Check in with what lights you up and what doesn't – and know that YOU can do this! It's never about whether you're good enough… it's simply about finding what works And if you haven't already, I highly recommend listening to episodes 3-9 of this podcast and going through my process because it can really help you shortcut the learnings and the journey quite significantly.

18:03 Unpacking and exploring your stories, and finding the connections to your customer stories. And understanding your sweet spot! And feeling into your why...and understanding who you really want to work with…and communicating your value will massively help you fast forward a lot of the stuff that it took me a long time to work out Be okay with getting uncomfortable at times. Try new things, embrace the feedback, the takeaways, the insights and keep going so that you can get to make the difference you started your business to make and keep the emotion for your stories not your business! So as always before I go let me give you a quick action step that you can go away and do

18:58 Here's your action step for today. Share a story about something that didn't go so well, trying to be productive and organized and supportive and efficient and focused and creative and analytical and responsive and compassionate... And all the things that we do in business is tough! It's okay to admit that you don't always get everything right because nor does anyone else No one succeeds all the time. None of us are perfect and I found over and over again that the more honest i am about that, the more people connect with me If you run a business You will be experiencing things that work And things that don't So share them both Share the ups and downs Because that shows people your real and human and relatable and that you get it

19:59 I've shared lots of the curveballs that have knocked me off track over the last few years. I've shared the launches that didn't go so well and what i did afterwards to try and get things back on track, I've shared about spending too much time on my laptop and not enough time on self-care, I've shared about how I burnt out years ago and how I can still forget at times how important it is to get help both in my business and in my personal life And that it's okay to say I can't do it all. And every single time, I share something vulnerable... ...I get messages from people thanking me for being so honest and transparent People tell me how much it helps them see that they're not alone and this is what the journey looks like for most people

20:52 So that's your action step for today. Simply share something that shows people you are human, you're real, you're learning, you're growing! You're not perfect, you don't get everything right and that's okay. And I'll see you next time for more stories that do the selling for you so you don't have to Thank you so much for being here. I love that we get to do this together! Would you do me a huge favour and please rate, review and follow this podcast in Apple Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts? And i'll see you next time for more honest conversations meaningful connections and of course stories