Describe the result your customer gets, and stop leading with the process you use to get them there. Your customer cares about what happens to their business after they work with you. The course, the one-on-one call, and the bonuses are just how you deliver it. Put the result in your headline and let everything else back it up.
Why aren’t people buying when I’m offering so much value?
On a recent idea slam, a graphic designer brought me this exact problem. She runs a weekly group where owners bring what they’re working on and get feedback to improve it. The members get a lot out of it, but she was having trouble selling new people into it.
I asked her how she talks about it now. She described it as having a graphic designer in your back pocket, plus accountability, plus a one-on-one call, plus a free course. Then she said, “I almost feel like I’m muddying the waters or confusing people.”
What’s the difference between the process and the result?
I told her, “Let’s pretend that you were teaching people how to make cookies.” You could give people a course on making cookies. You could do a one-on-one class and tweak their recipe. But do those things sell more cookies? No. People may not buy cookie classes if their objective is selling more cookies.
Design works the same way. As the buyer, I don’t want to be a mini-me of the designer. I hate being in Canva, and I want to be in Canva as little as possible. “All I want to do is make a design that will sell something.”
I was being crude to make a point, because her work is brilliant. But the buyer doesn’t care about the process.
How do I find the result my customer is buying?
Ask one question. I asked her, “When someone’s better at making graphics, what happens to their business?” Swap in whatever you sell.
She had it right away. They attract more of the right clients because they’re communicating quicker. Their ads and graphics convert better because people understand them the first time. And they spend less time in Canva.
A member in the chat added one more. There’s inherent trust when something looks better, so you look like you’re worth what you’re trying to charge.
Her reaction was, “How come I didn’t see this?” We all do this. We’re in our area of expertise and we understand the value, but it’s not why people buy from us. This is why perspective is so important and feedback is a gift.
What should my headline say instead?
Keep the name of your offer if you like it. The headline changes. For her it became “quit spending so much time in Canva,” followed by an invitation to come learn the hacks you need to move faster.
Don’t cram every result into one message. I told her to think about two or three different campaigns, one for each result. You could spend a whole month on less time in Canva, then a month on the next one. That gives you fresh ways to talk about the same offer.
Does my price change who hears the message?
It does. She wondered if price was why the group hadn’t grown. I told her that at a low monthly price, you may be hanging out with the do-it-yourself people. “You’re not hanging out with the please do it for me people.”
An owner with two or three team members and no marketing person may delegate all of their graphic design to you. A much bigger monthly fee is a nothing burger to them because it solves a giant problem.
Where your business lives is a choice you get to make.
What should I do this week?
Here’s the homework. First, write down this question and answer it: when my customer gets better at the thing I sell, what happens to their business? List three or four results.
Second, rewrite one headline so it leads with one of those results and leaves the bonuses for later.
Third, show both versions to someone who’ll tell you the truth. Sometimes you need someone to turn the camera angle just a little, and everything you have may click into place.
This came from Businessing with Pat Miller. Watch the full May 20, 2026 episode.
More on this topic: What you sell answers from the Small Business Owners Community