To keep giving you relevant and timely content, we update our most popular posts. This article was last updated in May 2021.
After teaching tens of thousands of business owners with my programs and free trainings, I know what works and doesn’t work for building an online, service-based business.
Today I’m going to share with you the three mistakes most newer business owners make when they’re trying to sell their services.
The good news is, when you understand these and adjust accordingly, the results will come faster and more easily. (And who doesn’t want that?!)
Sound good? Let’s get to it.
Mistake #1 – Not speaking the language of your customers
Whether you joined me when I first launched jennyshih.com in 2011 or you just joined me recently, you probably know that I just can’t emphasize this one enough.
Most newer business owners who want to sell their services are stuck speaking coach lingo or industry jargon. They say things like “coaching for women in transition” or “empowering women to live their true potential,” and that kind of language doesn’t sell!
Why?
Because that’s your language (as an expert), and it’s most definitely not the language of your customers.
My Personal Recommendation for YouThe “Jargon Trap”: The Reason Prospects Aren’t Turning into Paying Clients & How to Change It FastThink about it this way: Are your potential clients walking around thinking to themselves, “I need someone to help empower me to live my true potential”? Of course not! Instead, they’re thinking something like, “What the hell am I going to do with my life? I feel like I’m stuck in and have no idea what to do about it.”
See the difference? The first one doesn’t sell. The second one does.
When I have my clients create their bite-sized offers, we spend a lot of time focusing on EVERY SINGLE WORD in their copy to make sure it only includes the language of their customers.
I also talked about this concept in more depth during The Business Momentum Builder: 5 Steps to a Full Roster, Sold-Out Programs, and Easy Passive Income.
Mistake #2 – Jumping to big packages and premium pricing from the very beginning
If you’ve taken an online business training program or worked with a business coach, it’s likely they told you to jump to multi-thousand-dollar, many-month packages right out the gate.
At first blush, it seems like a smart financial move. Unfortunately, charging premium prices too soon is a terrible mistake.
Why?
Because newer business owners don’t have the confidence, experience, marketing and sales chops, or testimonials to sell high-priced programs… yet. This means they’re basically setting themselves up to fail!
This is why I teach my clients to start with bite-sized offers (something my Make It Work Online clients affectionately call BSOs).
To give you a quick overview, a bite-sized offer is something I developed after helping countless people build their online, service-based business.
I saw individuals struggling to sell big offers at high prices and one day realized that the solution was to start really small. It seems counter-intuitive, but it pays off immensely when implemented correctly.
Click to DownloadHow to Create the Perfect Bite-Sized Offer for Your BusinessMistake #3 – Assuming that because it’s on your website that people will find and hire you
If you haven’t made the first two mistakes yet, there’s a chance you’ve made this third one, because I see it happen a lot. I even made this mistake when I first started out.
Newer business owners commonly (and incorrectly) assume that if they post their amazing, well-written, offer to their website that people will flock to hire them. Yet nothing could be further from reality.
Why?
The only way people find your website or learn about your work is if you find them and tell them. That’s right, it’s YOUR JOB to find your clients! This is why it’s so important to build your list, actively be of service, and engage with your audience.
Whatever approach you take to getting the word out about your work, remember that it’s your job to let people know you exist and can help them. It’s also not something you do one time; it’s something you must do over and over and over and over (and over and over).
Now I’d love to hear from you!
As always, I want to hear from you!!
What mistakes have you made early in your business that you now have learned from?
Are you making any of the mistakes listed above? Which ones?
What other tips or advice do you have for others based on your business journey so far?
Please share your thoughts, answers, insights, and ideas in the comments below. I look forward to reading them, and I always read every single one.
SO good Jenny! I TOTALLY made mistakes #2 and #3
I think the problem is that when you’re new, all you can see is the big shiny packages with all of the components. You can’t see how many years they’ve been in business or what they did before that gave them content for their packages. We just see the end result and it’s a shame really, because like you said, it’s setting new coaches and other business owners up to fail.
I now teach my clients that the “if you build it, they will come” scenario is a myth in the world of coaching, if you want clients. Why else do other companies like McDonald’s and Coke still have commercials? We all know about them, but they want to stay top of mind when you need their product. So if it’s a good idea for them to promote, it’s a good idea for us. (Maybe not in the same way, but you get my point).
It’s all a learning process and most people run into these challenges early — you and me included!
Wow TaVona, that exmaple of McDonald’s or Coke totally hit the spot for me. Thank you for sharing!
Anytime, Parijat. I have really been trying to think about business like a business owners so I don’t take things personally and continue to grow.
hi Jenny! These 3 are spot on. In the beginning I definitely struggled with #1-and even after several years of being in business have to check myself that I’m using THEIR words vs the ones in my spiritual relationship coach head.
I feel like that is the true cornerstone of business-speaking and relating to your people.
If you’re doing that and practicing that, people will buy because they will see that you really understand the fears and desires in their head and can articulate it in a way that leaves them with relief or a different outcome.
For all the newbies out there, have patience! Ask your favorite clients tons of questions and if they are open to it, record an interview with them so you can get the EXACT words they say down to use later.
PS: If anyone on here struggles with copy or how to say what you do in a way that is free of jargon that people will pay for, I moonlight as a psychic copywriter/editor and would love to help! you can just email me from my site and put in the subject line “jenny post” so I know who you are!
Love,
Diana
Great advice, Diana, to ask your favorite clients questions. In fact, often the best way is to look at the detailed feedback people give you when they first hire you and after they’re done working with you.
https://jennyshih.com/2012/06/steal-this-my-simple-system-for-getting-killer-testimonials/
A psychic copywriter?! I’m definitely checking that out, Diana.
Yes, Almost yes, and Yes! You are describing my experience perfectly.
It is taking so many iterations to get the right tone and words down to connect with people. I’m realizing just how casual the language has to because that’s how people think!!
And I’m totally disappointed when I put something new on my website and the masses don’t come flocking. 😉
#2 is “almost yes” because a few months back I spent a lot of money with another coach who taught exactly that: big packages at big prices or bust. But it never felt right to me. One night I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t figure out what else to do if it wasn’t this, even though this coach was saying this was the only way. In my Googling frenzy I stumbled upon something you had shared about a bite-sized offer (I forget if it was a video or a blog post) but it totally hit the spot. That’s when I became your fan!
Parijat, they got me too with the big packages. So glad my mentor turned me on to Jenny. I am forever grateful.
Great blog post! I am blogging and sharing content in English right now, altough my first language is German. I am totall unsure if I should start my business, my content, my products in German or English. On social media half of my audience is English and the other German speakers.
There are pros and cons to both sides. I would love to hear your thoughts on how to make that decision.
Hi Lisa. There’s no right answer here. You can do either. What it comes down to is who your primary target audience is. If you want to speak mainly to Germans in German, then do that. If you want to reach English-speaking folks, do that.
The upside to focusing on German folks is that your competition is smaller, and you’re able to reach people who can not be reached by those of us who don’t speak German.
I have a client from a few years ago who speaks perfect English but chose to speak to her audience in her native Italian. Although many of her clients know English, they love learning from her in Italian. Specializing in that way has been a huge boost to her biz.
I can speak similarly of a colleague who teaches in Norwegian. They’ve found that speaking to those who share the same native tongue has been great for them.
And, I can also list examples of folks who have done it all in English despite having English as their second language.
However you choose, don’t choose from fear or lack mentality. For example, don’t choose English because “writing in German limits my audience.” That’s lack thinking. Choose what feels true in your heart, because that’s what you’ll be excited to take action on.
All the best to you,
Jenny