The sales mistake that doomed them

Doesn’t matter the size of the business — the same mistakes can trip you up! And in 2011, JCPenney made one of the biggest: They decided to stop offering sales. Now, you might be tempted to think the mistake was that without sales, their prices were too high. But that wasn’t it. Because at the same time, they also lowered their prices to what they would have been without the discounts anyways! Turns out, the most attractive thing about JCPenney’s offers — at least to their paying customers — was the joy of the sale itself. And not realizing why their customers actually bought from them? Cost them a $163 million loss in just one quarter alone. Of course, the CEO responsible for the mistake was quickly fired. But get this: The board replaced him with...the guy who’d originally been CEO before him. Ouch. But here’s what’s even more painful: Can you imagine having a business where people only buy because you’re offering a sale? It seems kind of ridiculous, right? Until you realize that that’s exactly what a lot of online marketing advice is teaching you to do... ...Offer a huge discount if someone buys right on the sales call! ...Tell people that you only have a few spots left (even if it’s not true) ...Do a limited-time sale to sell more of your products! …Offer a special price only available on the webinar! To be clear: I too love a good sale from time to time. But the problem with this advice is when it becomes the main way you make sales. Because then, you’re essentially setting yourself up to be just like JCPenney. Where ultimately, it ends up being the only reason people buy. It was too late for JCP. But, if you know you don’t want a business that relies on having to offer discounts to make sales, it’s not too late for you. Because with a service- or information- based product, you can turn things around like that . So the very next time you share an offer: * Your ideal clients could start responding right away, because they actually want the thing you’re selling, not just the discount * You could start making sales within just a few days, without some sort of price deadline in sight. Because you know how to create something that speaks to people’s internal sense of urgency, which is a lot more powerful anyways. * It could feel a lot easier and faster to create the emails and posts that talk about your offer — where it feels like magic how well they resonate with your audience. * You could wake up every day excited to check your inbox and DM’s, because you’ve likely either made another sale while you slept, or have gotten questions from interested buyers. And here’s the best part… That “next time” can be as soon as tomorrow. Right after you implement the 5 elements to an offer that sells (especially element 1, which is what makes an offer “irresistible”), which I cover in the very first lesson of my Offer. Set. Sales. training. Starting around 6 minutes in. If you want the training, you can get it right here: [luisazhou.com/offer-set-sales]( Luisa Zhou If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click here to [unsubscribe]( Zhou Ventures, Inc. 459 Columbus Ave #4049 New York, NY 10024