I’ve tweaked my core offer more times than I can count.
At first, I felt a bit of shame about this — wondering ‘why my offer isn’t selling’ or if people would catch me out and think it hadn’t sold well, that it wasn’t as valuable, or that I had no clue what I was doing.
But if I’m honest with myself, this experimentation was not a sign of failure or indecision. It was actually me getting closer and closer to something that genuinely works for me and the incredible clients I serve.
What I’ve discovered about why some of my offers don’t sell (and what has actually worked)
Over the past two years, I’ve been on a journey to create an offer that feels sustainable, aligned, and actually enjoyable to deliver. It’s been a process, so I thought I would share what I’ve learned along the way:
It starts with understanding your numbers (even when it feels scary)
I think sometimes I’ve avoided looking at my numbers properly because they feel overwhelming, which made it hard to understand why my offer isn’t selling or how to structure it properly.
I’m not a numbers person (they just don’t really excite or motivate me), or someone’s made me feel silly.
That is why I think so many of us focus on revenue and just kind of hope that we will get to a magical number (usually what’s trending on Instagram) and everything will automatically feel better and easier (or ________ insert your own desire here)!
I realised that I was working towards numbers with no real meaning other than what I thought I should be making.
This changed when my accountant created a lovely spreadsheet where I can plug in my offers and expenses, and it calculates what I’ll have left after tax and expenses.
Suddenly, I understood my numbers and could play around with different offer ratios to see what would work best for me and my energy (as opposed to a number I didn’t even come up with).
(Quick tip: get a good accountant. You won’t regret it!)
This led to the pivot in my business in the first place — although my revenue goals have decreased, my profitability and what I take home have increased.
Looking beyond your numbers when your offer isn’t selling
Numbers are great, but don’t let them define you.
Even with a fancy spreadsheet and knowing my numbers, I had to realise that this isn’t an exact science (nor a guarantee)!
Sometimes, the offers I created were harder to book than I expected. Or life happened, and I couldn’t work as much as I needed to. Other times, the offer sounded good but felt really hard to deliver (and not worth all the energy I was putting in).
So, while it’s helpful to do this exercise, it’s hardly worth making these numbers mean anything about your “worth,” and they aren’t there to obsess over.
It might take some time to get your offer right. Sometimes, you don’t sell enough, and sometimes, you have to build your way up to more sustainable pricing.
Sometimes, it will feel like you’re working for less than you need or want to charge. And that’s okay. It’s a process.
The hidden costs of offers that drain your energy
Don’t just focus on the money; think about what happens once that payment hits your bank account.
Ever taken on a client or agreed to do work that didn’t feel like a good idea, but the money sounded good?
Yeah, me too!
I have definitely fallen into the trap of becoming consumed by what to charge more than what an offer/package would actually involve in day-to-day execution — how much time it’s going to take to deliver, whether I have the capacity or energy to deliver it, or whether it’s even worth having that much income if the offer feels exhausting to deliver.
Creating sustainable offers by treating yourself well
Build in a buffer, and treat yourself like the CEO (and the employee). For me, this meant getting radical about how I treat myself in my business.
I approach my work schedule and needs as I would if I were employed – with proper time off, reasonable expectations, and treating myself as a valued team member rather than someone who should always be working.
Stepping into the role of my own CEO has shown me how to work with myself instead of against myself. I now know where my strengths lie, what motivates me, and how to guide myself back to centre when I feel lost and out of alignment.
Being an employee allows me to know when to step away, giving myself permission to pull a sickie or put that OOO on with zero guilt.
If your offer isn’t selling – Listen to what clients actually value
One of the most eye-opening things I have done in the last few years has been sending out regular feedback forms to my clients.
Sometimes, we think more is more, but you could be overwhelming your clients or including things that drain your energy that your clients don’t really value. When questioning why my offer isn’t selling as well as I’d hoped, I discovered the things I thought clients valued were often very different from what they actually valued!
This knowledge helped me design a better service and realise where I was over-delivering on things that didn’t really matter to my clients. Talk about wasted energy!
Stop copying other people’s offers (they might not be selling either)
Yes, it’s good to see what others are charging and how they’re packaging their services. But it shouldn’t be a copy-and-paste procedure.
This creates a cycle of a whole bunch of offers that no one is selling or offers that are not structured around what you’re actually good at.
For example, if you’re a photographer and you’re great at helping your clients plan for their shoots and spend hours helping them 1:1 with the concept but not charging for it, versus another photographer saying they offer this but deep down hate delivering this part, neither of you are setting yourselves up for success.
Also, remember that just because someone has services listed doesn’t mean they’re always selling them. That’s just reality. We don’t often know what’s happening behind the scenes in people’s businesses – it always looks much easier from the outside.
Finding your offer sweet spot through experimentation
Experiment, experiment, experiment!
My sales page is currently on draft final-final-final-please-god-let-this-be-the-last-time-I-tweak-this-copy-final.
I’ve tweaked it, changed it, offered more support, and offered less support. I’ve been constantly refining it until I finally feel like I’ve reached a point where it really works for me and my clients.
This is probably only going to be for a season in time. It won’t be like this forever, and there will come a point when I’ll have to do this whole exercise again.
But now that I have all the foundations set up, all the systems in place, and a repeatable process that works for both my clients and me, I feel so much lighter.
Now, I can focus on finding the 12 clients a year that I need to support and make my business decisions based on that instead of other people’s businesses.
(PS. Knowing when to stop experimenting is also a good idea – I have committed to not changing my offer for the next 12 months. Because creating offers is easy – marketing them is the hard part)
Creating a business model (and offer) that fits your definition of success
Sometimes, I feel shy around my numbers, like I should want more or have a money mindset problem. But my business is intentional – I value working by myself, having someone who supports me behind the scenes but not having staff, and doing 1:1 client work is very intentional for me.
That doesn’t mean my business isn’t “good enough.”
Yes, I could sell a digital product without having client work, but that’s actually the part I love the most. Neither of these business models is right or wrong. It’s about knowing what model and offers work best for you.
This realisation helps me not feel like I’m running out of time, not doing enough, or that my stuff doesn’t look fancy enough. We tell ourselves we need all these things in our business — if you dig a little deeper, you probably don’t.
Finally finding that offer you love to sell
This journey has led me to create an offer I’m super proud of that truly supports my clients and that I love delivering. It feels cosy and comforting to have a business that fits me rather than trying to squeeze myself into someone else’s business model.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or like your business is running you (rather than the other way around), I hope these insights offer a gentle reminder that there’s more than one way to have a business. A way that honours your energy, gifts, and the beautiful work you’re here to do.
Reflection prompts for when your offer isn’t selling
🍄 What parts of your business have you been approaching based on what others are doing rather than what feels right for you? How could you recalibrate these areas to better align with your natural way of working?
🍄 If you treated yourself in your business the way you’d expect to be treated as an employee (with proper time off, reasonable hours, and fair compensation), what would need to change about your current business model?
🍄 What’s one small experiment you could try in your business over the next month that might bring more ease and joy to your work?
Let’s transform how your offers are delivered (and sold) behind-the-scenes
P.S. If we don’t know each other, I’m Stacey. An (anti) productivity guide & business manager, helping deeply feeling photographers & solopreneurs reshape their businesses so you can go from feeling stuck and drained to knowing how to manage your business and energy in a way that supports you! If you want to learn more about my 1:1 work, click here.
P.P.S. Thanks so much for reading – If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it with a friend who will love it too!
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