When people can’t afford what you’re offering

19 Jun When people can’t afford what you’re offering

Posted at 09:07h in Marketing, Sales by

Are you busy doing your Marketing activities but finding people can’t afford what you’re offering?

There are 4 things that could be going on here.

1. People genuinely aren’t prepared to pay what you’re asking for your product. This may be that you’re more expensive than other products that give them the same or similar result or there is just no market for what you’re offering. This can be checked by doing a bit of market research and checking out your competitors offerings and doing a survey of your ideal clients via Survey Monkey or similar, or on your Facebook page.

Before you go running off to do this though, I think that this probably isn’t the reason for your business and that it’s more likely to be one of the 3 below (or a combination of).

2. You’re not targeting the right people – in other words your ideal customers. Do you have a clear and detailed picture of the people who will want to buy your product and can you say (hand on heart) that you are focusing your Marketing on them? Your Marketing messages should all be talking to these customers in their language to connect with them. By the way, your ideal customers should also people who can afford your product.

3. It’s in your head. What I mean by this is that you are making the assumption that people can’t afford to pay. After all, times are hard at the moment aren’t they? People are cutting back on lots of things that aren’t essential. There’s no way they are going to splash out on your stuff right now.

If these are thoughts that are in your head then you must stop them right now.

NEVER assume what people can and can’t afford to pay for. If they are your ideal customer then chances are that they will want what you are offering as it will make some difference to them.

NEVER assume that someone can’t afford to pay. It is their decision on how they choose to spend their money, not yours.

If you have these thoughts in your head, then you will be giving off this vibe whether you realise it or not and the people you are communicating with will also start to think they can’t afford it.

4. People are telling you they can’t afford it but what they actually mean is ‘I’m not sure your product is going to make enough difference to me to make me want it enough to buy it. So, I’m going to spend my money on something else’

Have you ever had someone tell you they can’t afford your product only to find out a few days later they went and made a big purchase like a flat screen tv or an iPad?

This is because they didn’t understand the value/pleasure they were going to get from your product and so they choose to spend their money elsewhere.

When people really want something they can normally find the money somewhere to pay for it.

So, be aware, when people tell you they can’t afford it right now, there is usually something else going on that you need to consider.

I’d love to hear you comments on this so please leave me a message in the comments box below.

And, if you’d like to talk through how this is impacting your business please get in touch for a complimentary ‘find out more’ session by booking 30 minutes with me here

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Alison Bradford

Alison Bradford is a business coach who works with smart, ambitious business owners to get clarity about how they can grow their business and increase profit. Sign up here to learn 6 easy ways you can boost profit in your business today.
8 Comments
  • Helen Neale
    Posted at 20:18h, 29 June

    Thanks for taking part in the carnival, Alison. Some really good points, and a lot of things for us all to mull over. Its so critical to get your customer see the value of what you are selling, so its all about telling them what is going to make their life easier and better by buying this from you – then as long as you aren’t wildly over-priced, cost becomes much less of an issue.

  • Kizzy
    Posted at 17:51h, 29 June

    Great post and lots to think about. I do find I undervalue and think people will never be able to afford this or that but if it is good value and a quality product then you’ll be surprised what people will pay.

    • Alison Bradford
      Posted at 19:50h, 29 June

      Absolutely Kizzy. I know this because I’ve done it myself – said no to one thing and then gone and purchased something more expensive, because I believed it would solve a particular problem. The first thing is to make sure you believe in the value of your products and then go and clearly communicate this to your potential buyers.

  • Hannah
    Posted at 14:32h, 29 June

    Hi Yvonne,

    I love this point:
    “People are telling you they can’t afford it but what they actually mean is ‘I’m not sure your product is going to make enough difference to me to make me want it enough to buy it.”

    That’s so true! In my business (selling information products) it’s completely my job to convince people of the value of what I’m trying to sell.

    I’ll get there eventually…!

    Thanks for the great post

    Hannah

    • Hannah
      Posted at 14:35h, 29 June

      Meant to say hi Alison! Sorry I got confused with names…

    • Alison Bradford
      Posted at 19:46h, 29 June

      Thanks Hannah. (By the way I love your business name)

  • Yvonne
    Posted at 13:31h, 21 June

    Hi Alison
    Completely agree with what you’ve said here. I think sometimes, maybe if you’re feeling ‘a bit hard up’ yourself, stressed, end of the month etc..wondering how you’re going to pay your rent or your staff, you automatically presume that maybe your customers can’t afford it either. As you say, who are you to decide whether they spend the money or not or whether they can afford it. If you’re feeling a bit down or fed up, that will come across when you’re speaking to potential customers and if you don’t beleive in your product then why should they?

    • Alison Bradford
      Posted at 19:51h, 24 June

      Thanks Yvonne for your comments!