Offer Design
A capability is not an offer. An offer is a specific buyer, a specific outcome, a specific price, a
specific timeframe, and a specific answer to "what happens if it doesn't work".
The eight components (all eight, or it isn't finished)
- Buyer. The named role/segment (from
research/lead-sourcing-at-scale Phase 1).
- Outcome, stated as a result the buyer would recognise. Not "AI-generated website" but
"a 5-page site that loads in under 1s and books appointments, live in 5 days".
- Mechanism. Why this works — the 3 steps. Buyers need a causal story, not features. The
mechanism is also what makes the offer hard to compare on price alone.
- Price + unit + payment mechanism. One number, one unit. Three tiers max; the middle tier is
where most buyers land, so design it that way on purpose.
- Time-to-value. Days, not "ongoing". State the first milestone.
- Risk reversal. The guarantee. Options, strongest to weakest: outcome guarantee ("we book
you N appointments or you don't pay"), partial refund, performance-linked payment, or a free
paid pilot. Only offer a guarantee you have computed you can afford — see
business/unit-economics
(assume 5–10% claim in the pessimistic column).
- Proof. What makes it believable: a concrete result, a named reference, a live artifact,
a relevant before/after. "We built X for Y and it did Z" beats any credential.
- Scarcity/urgency that is TRUE. Capacity ("3 builds per week"), a deadline that exists for an
external reason, a price that genuinely rises. Fake scarcity is a business-ending habit in a
small market — one embarrassed buyer costs more than the urgency gained.
Pricing logic, in order
- Anchor to the buyer's alternative cost, not to our effort: what does the problem cost them
per month (lost hours × their rate, lost jobs, compliance fine)? Price at a fraction of that.
A $3,000/month loss justifies $500–1,000/month.
- Then check against our floor: price ≥ 3 × (delivery cost + CAC/expected customers). If it
doesn't clear, either raise price or cut delivery cost — never cut the hours.
- Then pick the shape:
- Recurring > one-off whenever the value is continuous (retainer, subscription, management fee).
- Usage-based when value scales with volume, but only when the buyer can predict the bill.
- Value-based when the outcome is measurable and large — but requires measurement agreement up front.
- Price for the segment, not the average. Three tiers: a cheap "start here" (removes the
decision), a main tier (where you want them), and a premium tier that exists mainly to make the
main tier look reasonable. The premium tier must be actually deliverable if bought.
- Never discount silently. Discount in exchange for something concrete: prepayment, a
testimonial, a case-study right, a longer term, a referral. A discount with nothing in return
teaches the buyer the price was fake.
Offer one-liner formula
"I help [specific buyer] get [specific outcome] in [timeframe], using [mechanism].
It costs [price]. If it doesn't [measurable result], [risk reversal]."
If any slot needs a paragraph, the offer is not yet designed.
Objection pre-handling
Write the response to each now, so outreach and the page both carry it:
| Objection |
What it really means |
Pre-handle by |
| "Too expensive" |
Value not seen, or wrong buyer |
Anchor to their cost of the problem; show ROI |
| "Not now" |
No urgency |
Name the trigger event; tie a real deadline |
| "We tried something like this" |
Prior failure = trust debt |
Ask what failed; differentiate the mechanism |
| "Can you do it for less?" |
Testing the price |
Hold price, change scope |
| "I need to think about it" |
Unclear next step |
Offer a smaller, cheaper first step |
| Silence |
Message didn't reach or didn't land |
Change the channel/angle (see sales/outbound-sequences) |
Output template
BUYER: ...
OUTCOME: ...
MECHANISM (3 steps): 1) ... 2) ... 3) ...
PRICE: $X / <unit> / <period> MODE: <card | invoice | platform>
PAYMENT MECHANISM AVAILABLE? <yes | no — needs Carl to wire a processor>
TIME TO VALUE: <days> first milestone: ...
RISK REVERSAL: <guarantee, and the pessimistic cost of honouring it>
PROOF: <result / reference / live artifact>
TIERS: $ / $$ / $$$
TRUE URGENCY: <capacity | deadline | none>
FLOOR CHECK: price vs 3×(delivery + CAC/n customers) = ...
FIRST TEST: <cheapest way to find out if this offer sells — see business/experiment-engine>
Rules
- Only build the delivery after someone has said yes to the offer, or after a paid pilot. The
correct order is offer → yes → build. Building first is how agents waste a week.
- Ask for money, not for feedback. "Would you pay $X for this?" is the only question that
produces real information. Compliments are free and therefore worthless.
- Never present a price I have no mechanism to collect. If there's no payment path, say so and
escalate as a
surface_finding — pricing and money movement are Carl's calls.
- One offer per campaign. Two offers in one message halves both.
- Raise price before adding features. Most failed offers are underpriced, not underfeatured.
1---2name: offer-design3description: Turn a capability into a priced offer a specific buyer can say yes to — with the promise, the mechanism, the price, the risk reversal, and the proof. Use when deciding how to package and price anything we sell, when a buyer says "interesting but not now", or when converting a service into a product. Triggers on "what do we charge", "package this", "how do we sell it", "make it an offer", "guarantee", "tiers", "proposal".4---56# Offer Design78A capability is not an offer. An offer is a specific buyer, a specific outcome, a specific price, a9specific timeframe, and a specific answer to "what happens if it doesn't work".1011## The eight components (all eight, or it isn't finished)12131. **Buyer.** The named role/segment (from `research/lead-sourcing-at-scale` Phase 1).142. **Outcome, stated as a result the buyer would recognise.** Not "AI-generated website" but15 "a 5-page site that loads in under 1s and books appointments, live in 5 days".163. **Mechanism.** *Why* this works — the 3 steps. Buyers need a causal story, not features. The17 mechanism is also what makes the offer hard to compare on price alone.184. **Price + unit + payment mechanism.** One number, one unit. Three tiers max; the middle tier is19 where most buyers land, so design it that way on purpose.205. **Time-to-value.** Days, not "ongoing". State the first milestone.216. **Risk reversal.** The guarantee. Options, strongest to weakest: outcome guarantee ("we book22 you N appointments or you don't pay"), partial refund, performance-linked payment, or a free23 paid pilot. **Only offer a guarantee you have computed you can afford** — see `business/unit-economics`24 (assume 5–10% claim in the pessimistic column).257. **Proof.** What makes it believable: a concrete result, a named reference, a live artifact,26 a relevant before/after. "We built X for Y and it did Z" beats any credential.278. **Scarcity/urgency that is TRUE.** Capacity ("3 builds per week"), a deadline that exists for an28 external reason, a price that genuinely rises. **Fake scarcity is a business-ending habit** in a29 small market — one embarrassed buyer costs more than the urgency gained.3031## Pricing logic, in order32331. **Anchor to the buyer's alternative cost**, not to our effort: what does the problem cost them34 per month (lost hours × their rate, lost jobs, compliance fine)? Price at a fraction of that.35 A $3,000/month loss justifies $500–1,000/month.362. **Then check against our floor:** price ≥ 3 × (delivery cost + CAC/expected customers). If it37 doesn't clear, either raise price or cut delivery cost — never cut the hours.383. **Then pick the shape:**39 - Recurring > one-off whenever the value is continuous (retainer, subscription, management fee).40 - Usage-based when value scales with volume, but only when the buyer can predict the bill.41 - Value-based when the outcome is measurable and large — but requires measurement agreement up front.424. **Price for the segment, not the average.** Three tiers: a cheap "start here" (removes the43 decision), a main tier (where you want them), and a premium tier that exists mainly to make the44 main tier look reasonable. The premium tier must be *actually* deliverable if bought.455. **Never discount silently.** Discount in exchange for something concrete: prepayment, a46 testimonial, a case-study right, a longer term, a referral. A discount with nothing in return47 teaches the buyer the price was fake.4849## Offer one-liner formula5051> "I help **[specific buyer]** get **[specific outcome]** in **[timeframe]**, using **[mechanism]**.52> It costs **[price]**. If it doesn't **[measurable result]**, **[risk reversal]**."5354If any slot needs a paragraph, the offer is not yet designed.5556## Objection pre-handling5758Write the response to each *now*, so outreach and the page both carry it:5960| Objection | What it really means | Pre-handle by |61|---|---|---|62| "Too expensive" | Value not seen, or wrong buyer | Anchor to their cost of the problem; show ROI |63| "Not now" | No urgency | Name the trigger event; tie a real deadline |64| "We tried something like this" | Prior failure = trust debt | Ask what failed; differentiate the mechanism |65| "Can you do it for less?" | Testing the price | Hold price, change scope |66| "I need to think about it" | Unclear next step | Offer a smaller, cheaper first step |67| Silence | Message didn't reach or didn't land | Change the channel/angle (see `sales/outbound-sequences`) |6869## Output template7071```72BUYER: ...73OUTCOME: ...74MECHANISM (3 steps): 1) ... 2) ... 3) ...75PRICE: $X / <unit> / <period> MODE: <card | invoice | platform>76PAYMENT MECHANISM AVAILABLE? <yes | no — needs Carl to wire a processor>77TIME TO VALUE: <days> first milestone: ...78RISK REVERSAL: <guarantee, and the pessimistic cost of honouring it>79PROOF: <result / reference / live artifact>80TIERS: $ / $$ / $$$81TRUE URGENCY: <capacity | deadline | none>82FLOOR CHECK: price vs 3×(delivery + CAC/n customers) = ...83FIRST TEST: <cheapest way to find out if this offer sells — see business/experiment-engine>84```8586## Rules8788- **Only build the delivery after someone has said yes to the offer, or after a paid pilot.** The89 correct order is offer → yes → build. Building first is how agents waste a week.90- **Ask for money, not for feedback.** "Would you pay $X for this?" is the only question that91 produces real information. Compliments are free and therefore worthless.92- **Never present a price I have no mechanism to collect.** If there's no payment path, say so and93 escalate as a `surface_finding` — pricing and money movement are Carl's calls.94- **One offer per campaign.** Two offers in one message halves both.95- **Raise price before adding features.** Most failed offers are underpriced, not underfeatured.
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