Offers

---
name: offers
description: Design or fix the offer itself — the value equation, six-component offer anatomy (deliverable, bonus stack, guarantee, scarcity, name, payment structure), diagnostic loop, banned-vocabulary rules. Use for "my offer isn't converting," value stacks, guarantee design, scarcity/urgency, productizing a service. Best for services/coaching/high-ticket B2B; for self-serve SaaS see the pricing skill.
---

# Offer Design

You are an expert in offer construction. Help the user build offers that move — not by writing better copy on a worse offer, but by improving the offer itself.

## Before Starting

If `.agents/product-marketing.md` exists (created by the product-marketing skill), read it first.

## Core Philosophy

**The offer is the thing, not the page.** Better copy on a weak offer compounds slowly; a stronger offer with average copy converts immediately. Most "we need better copy" requests are actually "we need a better offer" requests in disguise.

### When this skill matters

You sell: services (consulting, agency retainers, productized services), courses, coaching, info products, high-ticket B2B ($5K+ ACV with a sales conversation), or direct-response offers.

### When pricing/tiering does more of the work

Self-serve SaaS with tiered subscriptions and marketplaces — skim the value equation here, then use the pricing skill.

---

## The Value Equation

The single most useful frame for offer design (popularized by Alex Hormozi's *$100M Offers*):

```
              Dream Outcome  x  Perceived Likelihood of Achievement
  Value  =  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
              Time Delay     x   Effort & Sacrifice
```

| Lever | What it means | How to increase value |
|-------|---------------|-----------------------|
| Dream outcome ↑ | What the customer actually wants | Connect to the bigger goal behind the surface ask; specify and name it |
| Perceived likelihood ↑ | Do they believe they'll get it | Proof (case studies, named customers, data), guarantees, methodology specificity |
| Time delay ↓ | How long until the result | Faster onboarding, faster first win, faster end-to-end timeline |
| Effort & sacrifice ↓ | What it costs them besides money | Done-for-you, simpler process, fewer decisions, lower learning curve |

**Implication:** most "lower the price" requests are actually "raise the numerator or lower the denominator" requests. Price is the comparison, not the value.

---

## The Anatomy of a Complete Offer

Six components. Skip any one and conversion suffers.

| # | Component | Question it answers |
|---|-----------|---------------------|
| 1 | Core deliverable | What do they get? |
| 2 | Bonus stack | What else makes the core feel undervalued? |
| 3 | Guarantee | What happens if it doesn't work? |
| 4 | Scarcity / urgency | Why now, not later? |
| 5 | Name | What is this thing called? |
| 6 | Price + payment structure | What do they pay and how? |

Most weak offers fail on bonuses (none), guarantees (none or wrong type), or scarcity (none, or fake). Most cringe-aggressive offers fail on guarantee (over-promising) or scarcity (fake countdown timers).

### Component notes

- **Bonuses** should each solve an adjacent problem the core deliverable creates or leaves open (a course on cold email → bonus: a deliverability setup checklist). Additive, not inflated — "$50K of bonuses" on a $497 product reads as a scam to sophisticated buyers.
- **Guarantee types** by risk profile: unconditional money-back (highest trust, works when refund rate is naturally low), conditional ("do the work" guarantee — refund if you completed X and got no result), performance-based (keep working free until outcome), or anti-guarantee ("all sales final" — only for truly commoditized/low-ticket). Pick the strongest one your economics survive.
- **Scarcity must be real**: cohort start dates, genuine capacity limits, price increases with a named date, bonuses that expire because they're time-coupled (e.g., a live workshop). Fake countdown timers destroy trust permanently.
- **Naming**: name the outcome + timeframe + mechanism where possible ("The 90-Day Pipeline Sprint" beats "Consulting Package B").
- **Payment structure**: payment plans widen the funnel for high-ticket; a premium for the plan and a discount for pay-in-full is standard.

---

## The Diagnostic Loop

When the user says "my offer isn't converting":

1. **Identify the business type** — service, course, coaching, info product, SaaS, agency, B2B. The playbook is type-specific.
2. **State the current offer in plain language** — name, price, what they get, guarantee, deadline. Write it down even if it currently lives in scattered places.
3. **Run the value equation** — score each of the four levers 1-10. The lowest is the binding constraint.
4. **Audit the anatomy** — which of the six components is missing or weak?
5. **Pick ONE lever to fix this iteration** — don't rebuild everything.
6. **Draft the changed component** — new bonus, guarantee, scarcity, name, or payment plan.
7. **Project the lift honestly** — most single-component changes deliver 10-40% conversion lift. Anyone promising 5x is selling something. Two consecutive iterations on different levers can stack to 2-3x.

---

## When NOT to Use Offer Tactics

- **Manipulative scarcity** — fake timers, "only 3 spots left" lies. Short-term lift, long-term trust collapse.
- **Over-promising guarantees** — "double your revenue or refund + $1,000." Refund risk eats margin; public failures nuke reputation.
- **Bonus inflation** — stacked fake "$X value" claims. Sophisticated buyers see through it.
- **Course-bro aesthetic on a serious product** — gold logos, "secret method," fake urgency pattern-match to scam.

## Banned Vocabulary

When drafting offer language, avoid:

- "Game-changing," "revolutionary," "disruptive," "next-level," "10x" — pattern-matches to AI slop / course-bro
- "Secret," "hidden," "what they don't want you to know" — clickbait
- "Limited time" with no actual time limit — lying
- "Worth $X" / "$Y value" with no comparable — inflation
- "100% guaranteed" without specified conditions — legally and brand-wise risky

Use specific numbers, named customers, concrete outcomes, real timelines. Specificity beats superlatives.

## Related Skills

- Use the **pricing** skill for price levels, tier structure, value metric, and freemium
- Use the **ab-testing** skill to measure offer changes
- Use the **cold-email** skill when the offer travels via outbound