It’s the part of the sales page (and business) that we often dread… the “money-back” guarantee.
Spoiler alert: you have other options that may be even better.
We’re going to look at 7 different types of guarantees and how to decide what’s the best fit for you.
If you’ve got a product, you can guarantee it will function properly and get a result as long as the user follows the directions. That’s an easy “money-back” guarantee situation.
But if you’re providing a service, or coaching, or something that requires your client to DO something or listen to your advice… you can’t guarantee “results or your money-back” unless you want to end up in some sticky situations.
So what is it that you CAN guarantee?
What promise can you make to your potential clients with full confidence you can deliver on, that you’ll feel great about?
And how can you share it in a way that gets your clients excited?
Their goal is that result. They don’t want to regret the purchase.
And with that in mind… a money back guarantee is LAZY. “If you don’t get result X, I’ll give you your money back” works if it’s a toaster oven that didn’t toast. Give me another one. But if I’m hiring you for your support, knowledge and expertise – I want that applied to my success!!
If your client’s goal isn’t really about that investment, your guarantee shouldn’t be either. You can make it even more powerful than money-back! Make it regret-proof, results-focused.
Pro tip: this is about more than your guarantee… money-back guarantees are the lazy way to avoid putting the work into creating case studies, gathering testimonials, and demonstrating PROOF to your clients that you can deliver.
Now, with all that in mind, let’s look at guarantees…
If you’re not 100% happy, we’ll give you your money back.
Simple, clear, and potentially devastating for your business if you don’t sell toaster ovens. (And if you do, you’d better be sure they work!)
This guarantee is everywhere–and customers almost expect it at this point. So if you DON’T offer it make sure you’re CLEAR what the guarantee or promise is.
But it only works well on things that are easily returnable. Your time cannot be returned. And if you sell furniture you’d better consider how that return process works or it won’t help conversions to tell clients they can send the couch back if it doesn’t match their style or colors…
Make the terms clear and how it works clear for this guarantee to as well as it can (and it does work!).
This is a popular (and effective) guarantee for subscriptions. It doesn’t have to be money-back, it can simply be “cancel anytime.” It may also include a “test it first” option like a free trial.
If you’re offering a membership or coaching program, this is one to consider. (And, be sure you know and are clearly defining whether your program is a monthly payment for a subscription, or installments on a year long program – very very different!)
If it’s not working or the person changes goals/directions… do you really want to force them to stay in your program and risk a chargeback? The smarter move is to combine a “cancel anytime” with requirements.
Decide what the terms are for cancellation. Make them clear with clients. Do they have to test it out? Show up for X or Y? Send in proof they tried it?
Works great with subscriptions like software (SAAS) or low-ticket membership programs. It can also work well for higher-ticket programs with monthly billing.
Popular with service businesses like hotels, you’ve probably seen this one – “we promise you’ll be 100% happy or you don’t pay a penny.”
Think this one through if you’re offering it. Some clients are impossible to satisfy completely. How competitive is your space and how far backward are you willing (and capable) of bending over backwards? Bigger companies have the resources to pull this off far more easily than smaller companies. They know 99% of people won’t use it and the 1% who do they get valuable feedback from.
Sometimes this is combined with “or we’ll do X” instead of money back. A free night for your next stay if your current stay didn’t make you happy.
A twist on this is “If you aren’t totally happy, and the program isn’t the right fit for you, you can gift your membership to a friend or colleague, or apply your investment to any one of our other programs.”
“You’ll never need another X! This one will last a lifetime!”
Popular guarantee for tools (Snap-On is one of the brands offering this) and cookware.
You could use this in your service or consulting business with a twist – lifetime access, lifetime support, or “these strategies are so fundamental they’ll work today, and a decade from now”.
Be sure you define “lifetime” or “forever” if you use this one, especially with a membership or digital product. Will you really keep it up to date “forever”? If you move hosting or membership website programs, will you move that program or product every time? Do you want to offer it “forever”?
If you’re offering something that people can comparison shop for (DON’T but that’s another subject all together), consider the “lowest price” or “best deal” guarantee.
You’ve got the lowest price and if they see it somewhere cheaper or you put it on sale in X time period, you’ll refund them the difference.
This one does increase sales for online stores and can work well in the right situations if you’re competing on price.
Sometimes this guarantee includes a “you’ve got to do X to claim this guarantee” and sometimes it doesn’t. But it always promises a result.
What result can you promise? If a client doesn’t achieve it, what are you willing to offer? Will you refund? Or provide more support to help get them to that result?
Apple’s got a “no refunds” policy on digital apps and music… an Amazon’s got an “oops didn’t mean to buy this, I didn’t watch it” refund option (no refunds if you start binging that series you impulse bought). Why? Because you’ve got the digital files. You’ve got access.
Both are successful and plenty of us shop with them despite the no-refunds policies. Now we all know Apple and Amazon have the tech to block your access (unless most smaller companies that allow downloads–once the clients has those files, there’s no forcing them to delete them or “return” them).
A money-back guarantee doesn’t always make sense. And that’s okay! Just EXPLAIN why there’s no money-back option. Sometimes that direct honesty can HELP your conversions and build faith in potential clients that helps them decide to work with you or purchase from you.
We all know Zappos’ guarantees: free shipping, free returns, free 365 day return policy. You can buy a pair of shoes with free shipping and you’ve got a full 365 days to wear them… and on day 365 Zappos will still give you a postage paid label to return them free for a refund. And it works to create insanely happy, loyal clients (over 1 billion in annual sales).
Other companies combine results and money-back (you’ll achieve X within X days or I’ll send your money back).
Combine any of the guarantees above into a RESULTS promise and less risk for clients!
Guaranteed Support Every Step of the WayI can’t guarantee your results, because the action is up to you! But what I can guarantee you is that I will be there every step of the way to support you. You’ll get access to all of the resources and information promised above. If you’ve got questions, I’ll be there to answer them. Because I know what you want is the support to get to your results–and that I can promise to provide! |
Guaranteed Results–Or Here’s What We’ll Do!This system works. The clients featured on this page are proof of it. If you show up and do the work, I know it will work for you, too. So here’s my promise:
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Guaranteed Results–Or You Get to Go Again!This system works. The clients featured on this page are proof of it. If you show up and do the work, I know it will work for you, too. So here’s my promise: If you complete this program and you don’t achieve the goals we set together in our first call, you get to come back into the program LIVE and participate a second time, totally free! ($XXX Value) |
Happiness Guaranteed–Or We’ll Do It Again!We know it can be scary to hire a team to (insert service: “write your copy”). But we know we can make you over-the-moon happy! So, here’s our promise – collaborate with us to make sure we’ve got all the info and details we need, and if you aren’t happy with the X we deliver… tell us why, help us understand, and we’ll do it over again at no cost to you! Because we want you to be so thrilled with what we deliver, we’re willing to do it twice. 🙂 |
