I’ve run my business both with, and without, guarantees so I wanted to share with you what I’ve learned about what works. Here are three of the questions I’m most often asked about how to offer a guarantee that will help you get more business.
1. When should I offer a money-back guarantee?
The best time to give this type of guarantee is if you are offering a group event for example a training day or a series of teleclasses. This is because with the numbers of people involved you should still make a decent profit even if you do have someone asking for a refund. It’s a good idea to work out what your break even number of people is so that you can be sure you’ll be in profit.
The first time I offered a money-back guarantee I must admit it did feel like a bit of a risk. However the results were so good that now I’ve been offering one for years and I wouldn’t dream of not doing so for all my group events and teleclasses.
2. Does a guarantee help with marketing?
I’ve found when I offer a money-back guarantee it results in more people booking in. By giving a guarantee you lower the risk for people to join as they know that if they don’t like it, or it turns out not to be the right thing for them, they can get their money back. The benefit to you is that you are likely to attract many more people than you’ll ever have asking for a refund.
I’ve had people say to me that they came to the training day because they saw the guarantee and it helped them to make up their mind to register. Of course you absolutely have to stick to your word and refund people if they request it.
3. How do you word a guarantee?
A good guarantee offers people the chance to receive some of your workshop or training before they finally make up their mind. So for example you could offer people a refund at lunchtime of a one-day training if they decide it’s not for them.
It’s important to take the time to word your guarantee carefully so that you are happy with it.
Here is an example of the guarantee I’ve put on one of my marketing training days:
Satisfaction 100% Guaranteed
I’m confident that when you attend this training you will be delighted. Just to back that up if you attend and don’t feel you are getting great value by lunchtime of the event you can turn in all your materials at the lunch break, exit the training and get a full refund. 100%. No reason needed.
