# Offer Design > 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". - Skill: `cspoerer62/offer-design` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cspoerer62/offer-design` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cspoerer62/offer-design/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: cspoerer62 (https://skillmd.com/u/cspoerer62) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cspoerer62/offer-design --- # 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) 1. **Buyer.** The named role/segment (from `research/lead-sourcing-at-scale` Phase 1). 2. **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". 3. **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. 4. **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. 5. **Time-to-value.** Days, not "ongoing". State the first milestone. 6. **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). 7. **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. 8. **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 1. **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. 2. **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. 3. **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. 4. **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. 5. **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 / / MODE: PAYMENT MECHANISM AVAILABLE? TIME TO VALUE: first milestone: ... RISK REVERSAL: PROOF: TIERS: $ / $$ / $$$ TRUE URGENCY: FLOOR CHECK: price vs 3×(delivery + CAC/n customers) = ... FIRST TEST: ``` ## 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.