If you’ve caught yourself saying the phrase, people aren’t buying right now, number one, you’re wrong because they are. Number two, I’m going to tell you how to change that in this post. 

What to do if you feel like people aren’t buying

Today we are diving into a topic that’s been on everyone’s mind lately, honestly, how to position your offer as a must-have even in the current market because let’s face it, people are still buying, they’re still investing and still seeking services that meet their needs. 

The trick is to make sure your offer is one that they cannot say no to. So let’s get into it how that is! So here’s the thing, people are still spending money, yes, even now, but they are being more selective about where they’re putting their money into. So they’re looking for value for solutions that feel necessary, and that’s exactly where you come in with your business and with your services. 

Consumer behaviors

First off, let’s talk about some current consumer behaviors because there are a couple different ones. First are ongoing investments. So despite the economic shifts, people continue to invest in services that bring them value, solve them problems, or enhance their lives. In general, the demand for quality and reliable services is still strong. So how can you position your business as reliable and high in demand and high quality? 

So for example, this can be as simple as I’m thinking in my life, what I continue to like to invest in because I know it brings quality to my life and I’m thinking about my protein powder that I order every month or my makeup that I always order because I know it’s the makeup that I really like.

Or on a more simple note, toilet paper. We all need it and we all want high-quality ones. Or even think of subscriptions like your Netflix or apps on your phone or having a cell phone and paying for that bill. There’s certain things that are reliable, high in-demand and we want high quality. 

We all have our go-to things that we just cannot get by without. And think and ask yourself why is that? Because we feel and directly see the value that it brings to our lives on a daily basis having it. 

Selective spending

And then on the other note there is selective spending. So consumers are more discerning these days, so they’re opting to spend on services that just truly resonate with their needs and their values and their aspirations. They’re looking for solutions that feel essential rather than optional. That also could play into, like I said, my makeup, my protein, my Netflix or Hulu accounts.

Whatever I feel is that I just want to selectively buy in because I feel like it helps the quality of my life. It’s something that I just enjoy investing in. But also just to give you guys some motivation, just look around you. I don’t know about you guys, but that Amazon delivery truck is making it’s stop at my house just about every single day. 

I’m driving around, I see the Amazon truck around, I see delivery truck trucks driving around. People are walking around in brand-new clothes. I see people at the store. When I go to the store, I typically choose to pay more for healthier food options or more just holistic products in general. People are still deciding to make those purchases. They might just be more selective in their spending habits these days because like I said, the demand for quality, reliability and expertise has not disappeared.

It’s just evolved. And what that means for you is an opportunity to adapt to that market and change with it honestly. 

Addressing immediate needs

So how do you make your offer stand out? How do you make it feel like a must-have rather than a just nice to have? We’re going to be talking about several different ways. Number one is addressing immediate needs. So it starts with addressing the immediate needs that your potential clients have. You’ve just got to frame your offer as the no-brainer or just the gap in the market that your ideal clients cannot get anywhere else. 

So make it clear that your offering is not just relevant, but it’s essential. What I personally don’t like to do is create a ton of urgency just because it’s okay to have every now and then, but I’d like to give a little nudge. I definitely don’t want to be running my business or my marketing from a place of urgency or scarcity.

So I want you to feel confident in that. And by being confident is knowing the immediate needs that your ideal client has and wants and desires. Now, how do you do this and how can it be done in different ways? It is the what that you’re offering, how you’re offering it, when you’re offering it, where you’re offering it, or it’s just the simple fact that you are the one offering it. 

So one thing I know to be true is to work and find that gap in your market that you can fill and that you are the only one that fills. Test it, figure it out, new ways to market it, all those things. But that’s what’s going to not only make you stand out, but meet the immediate needs of your ideal client. 

Highlight value over cost emphasis

The second one is highlight value over cost emphasis. The long-term benefits and maybe the ROI of your service really communicate how making your service is an essential investment. So how are you going to make their lives easier? How are you going to ensure that they do not have buyer’s remorse? How are you going to capture their moments in a way that no one else can? And what are you providing that no one else is? 

These are all things that you should just be prioritizing within your marketing and your messaging, not just the what or just the deliverables, but the how and the why and the value of it too. This is also why I’m just personally not a big fan of having prices on your website for a couple reasons. Number one, I personally like to offer custom proposals and have dynamic pricing in my strategy. And number two, it just feels a little more transactional to have prices on your website and a little less personal, therefore less connective. It skips over that essential step of connection that I feel like I can create, and it’s creating together with your potential client versus feeling like just another transactional vendor. So what I want you to do is highlight the value over just the cost and just the deliverables. 

Offer exclusive benefits

And thirdly is offer exclusive benefits or exclusive offers. Maybe this looks like doing limited-time offers, limited-time bonuses or time-sensitive bonuses, or even just exclusive features that make your service not just desirable but necessary to kind of act on. 

Now, this is where that urgency kind of comes into play a little bit. Now, like I said, I like to use urgency very, very little in my marketing and in my messaging and in my offers too, because I want people to be making purchasing decisions with me out of a place of confidence and not of a place of scarcity or urgency. 

But these are just some additional fun bonuses that you can have to offering exclusive benefits. Maybe it’s a sign on bonus if they book with you within a certain amount of time, maybe they get an extra album if they book with you within a couple days of inquiring and it could look anything like that.

So just think about ways that would elevate your services that you can offer to them. That would just be an exclusive benefit and an exclusive offer. 

Focus on emotional connection

And number four is focus on emotional connection. Understand what drives your audience and your potential client and your ideal client too. What are they looking for when hiring a photographer? What’s driving them to choose one option over another? Maybe what type of buyer they are? What is driving them in their purchase decisions? 

Think about how you’re making people feel in your marketing, in your messaging, communication, phone call offer, all of those things. When you connect your offer to these emotions, it immediately becomes so much more than just a service. It becomes a solution that speaks to their deepest desires. So understanding the emotional connection points of your ideal client and tie that into your offer and tie it into the feelings where you see fit, where you see that connection, and make sure it’s coming from a place of authenticity so it’s not feeling forced.

Just see where that gap is and see where you can bridge that connection together. This is why I personally just really love client experience and client connection so, so much you know that I’m a huge fan of that. If you’re a listener of the podcast, it’s just absolutely crucial for any type of business that you run. 

You need to think about the emotional needs of your client first and then bridge the gap to where they want to go. And if you think about it, you are the bridge of that gap. You are just connecting the two together, and you are the medium that are bringing the whole picture together for them. 

Demonstrate expertise and authority

And number five is demonstrate expertise and authority within your market. Build trust by showcasing your expertise. When you are seen as a leading expert, your services immediately become a go-to option. So chances are you have photographed other clients in your area, or at least just similar clients, or maybe you’ve shot X amount of weddings, maybe you’ve worked with specific vendors or specific types of clients, shot at certain venues, et cetera.

All these things that you can utilize to your advantage. So for example, you could say something like, maybe after photographing over 50 weddings, I’ve learned this about what brides truly desire about their wedding day and exactly how to make it happen for you. Sometimes it’s just as simple as people seeing that is showcasing your level of knowledge and expertise, therefore, positioning yourself as authority that people want and see you as an expert in. 

Or honestly, sometimes it’s just as simple as people seeing that you are in demand and realize, Hey, I want it on this too. She’s really booked. People really desire her. I want to see what the hype is about. But the tricky part to becoming in higher demand fast, I can speak from experience, is being able to live up to that expectation. You want to make sure that as your demand increases, especially if you’re someone that it happens really fast for that you are building the back end of your business to match that demand and to match your prices too.

This is something I work a lot with my coaching students on is they feel like their demand is happening fast and they want to raise their prices fast. Well, okay, that’s amazing for you, but we need to work on and build up the backend of your business first so that your business and your experience and your demand matches that price. So along with this growth, you need to make sure that you are communicating your knowledge and your expertise along with it. 

Tailor your messaging

And the last one is to tailor your messaging to current trends. So I know that this one can kind of be annoying because it’s like you want to stay true to yourself, but you don’t want to be too trendy, but you want to keep up with things as well. I know this just from being years and years in the industry that yes, you want to stay true to your own brand and your voice and your messaging, but you also want to keep up with the trends too.

So staying in tune with the current market trends and adjust your messaging to align with that so that you can stay top of mind for your audience. And this just makes your offer feel timely and relevant so that people are saying, oh yeah, she is an expert. She’s been in the industry for a while, but she also adapts to the changes in needs. She listens to the demand of the market and matches those. 

Again, bridging those gaps and knowing that you are the only one that can do that. So listen to the market, watch demands and changes and tailor your messaging to those current trends in demand because when you can pair those two things together, you are going to be a powerhouse of staying true to yourself and also connecting the demand of the market. 

Final thoughts: People aren’t buying right now

So just to kind of wrap all this up, yes, people are still investing in services and yes, you can still absolutely make your offer a must have versus a nice to have. So by addressing immediate needs, emphasizing the value offer, exclusive benefits, focus on the transformation, connecting emotionally, showcasing your expertise and staying current, but most importantly, finding your unique selling point approach is what’s going to ultimately make you stand out in the person that you are and become someone who only offers a specific thing in a specific way, making people need to come to you and need to invest in your services. 

So I really hope this was helpful, at least leaving you feeling inspired, getting the wheels turning. Hopefully you have some good notes from this episode. I love this topic, I think and believe so truly and so deeply that you have something amazing to offer that no one else does. We get so caught up in thinking that we all do the same thing the same way as everyone else when that is just simply not the truth. You just need to dive deeper!

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