Before You Buy Anything… Here’s How to Know Which Offer Is Really Right for You [2025 Replay]

Okay, y’all—this one’s a little different. I’m resharing a solo episode from May 2023 because it’s just that relevant right now. Whether you’re staring at someone’s offer suite trying to decode what’s right for you, or you’re the one with multiple offers trying to help people make a decision, this episode breaks it all down. I’m also sharing why I’m bringing back my survey (yes, the one I still hadn’t fixed 🙈), what I’ve learned from asking better questions, and a peek at my newest offer: Systems in Session.

If you’ve ever waffled between DIY, Done-With-You, or Done-For-You—listen to this before you swipe your card.

Find It Quickly:

00:24 – Why I’m resharing this solo episode (and what I still hadn’t fixed)

02:13 – The Systems Glow Up + CRM Blueprint launch recap

03:07 – The core question: how do you choose the right offer?

04:43 – Why clients don’t always choose the most expensive option

06:06 – Survey results: DIY vs Done-For-You preferences

07:25 – What I wish I had asked during client interviews

08:00 – How to help your clients make better buying decisions

09:08 – Introducing: Systems in Session (a new middle-ground, done-WITH-you container)

Episode Transcript

Colie (00:25):
Okay, so in almost three years that this podcast has been around, I
think this is the first time that Ihave ever shared a previous episode.
Yes, I've done the aff, the occasionalfeed drop, where I have shared
an episode with you where I was aguest on someone else's podcast.
But today I'm going to be resharinga solo episode with you that

(00:48):
originally aired in May of 2023.
It's particularly relevant because inthis episode I am talking about how
to choose the right container for youif the person that you're interested
in working with has multiple offers.
And I'm also talking about the valueof a survey that I had just distributed

(01:11):
back when the episode originally aired.
And it just so happens that yesterdayI sent out a survey to my email
list doing the exact same thing.
And as I listened to that episodethis morning, I realized I still
did not fix the question that Iwas talking about in this episode.
So I have corrected my mistake.

(01:33):
As a podcast listener, you may or may notbe on my email list, and if you're not,
I would really encourage you to visitthe show notes and join because when I
do a full launch, when I do a flash sale.
They are always to my email list.
I typically don't share themon the podcast, and I typically
don't share them on Instagram.

(01:55):
And so today I am on the backend of whatwas one of my biggest live launches.
Um.
In my business, 'cause Idon't live launch often.
So a couple weeks ago I did athree day email challenge called
the Systems Glow Up email edition.
And that went right into a launchfor the CRM blueprint and my upcoming

(02:19):
email course email, like you mean it.
And so yesterday I decided tosend out a survey to ask why
people chose to buy or not buy.
And I am still going through the results,but I am already finding out a lot
of information about who and who isnot in my email newsletter community.

(02:41):
And so if you are not currently a member,I would really love it if you would join.
But alternatively, if you would liketo fill out the survey, it's just a
few clicks and give me your opinions,please go to coley james.com/survey.
And you will be entered to win oneof three $50 cash prizes from PayPal.

(03:03):
All right, and now back into the episode.
Hello, hello, and welcome back tothe Business First Creatives podcast.
So today's topic, you find somebodythat you really want to work with
and they have multiple offers.
How do you choose whichone is best for you?
Now guys, some people offeronly one way to work with them.

(03:26):
Like they either do a one-to-oneservice, they only have a group
program or a course, or theyonly offer hourly consulting.
I mean, I'm sure there's otherways, but those are the three
ways that you can work with me.
And I know many entrepreneursthat only offer one of those
ways in order to work with them.
But so if you land on a website,where someone gives you multiple ways

(03:52):
to solve your problem, how do youchoose which one is best for you?
So if they say that a one-to-one, likelet's say Dubsado setup, is this price
tag or an online course, is this price tagor hourly consulting is this price tag?
How do you choose
and I'm specifically not giving youprices because, number one, I want

(04:12):
this, I want this podcast to not beoutdated when I raise my prices, but
also while I understand that a pricetag can totally dictate a purchasing
decision, for a lot of people,that is not the deciding factor.
I know many people who can affordto hire me, to do the one-to-one
service, but yet they buy my course.

(04:34):
They buy my course because they havean innate feeling that they want
to learn how to do something forthemselves, and in my case, it's systems.
But depending on what the other offeris, maybe you feel like a course is
best suited for you because it's notsomething that this person is gonna do
for you and that you're not gonna everhave to tweak or make modifications.

(04:58):
And so, I mean, that's whatI wanna talk about today.
I interestingly enough, sent a surveyto my email subscribers, which if you
are interested in taking this survey,please go to coliejames.com/survey.
Um, I asked my email people, becauseI make a lot of assumptions about the

(05:18):
people that I am speaking to, eitheron this podcast or on my email list.
Like, I make assumptions that themajority of you are photographers.
I make assumptions that the majorityof you do have a C R M and that
in a lot of cases it's probablyDubsado, but those are things that
I need to know while I make content.

(05:39):
Whether it's an email newsletteror it's a podcast episode, I like
to know who's in my audience andwhat you would benefit most from.
But, so one of the questions that Iasked was if you are trying to figure
out how to do something in yourbusiness, and I really wish I had the
survey up cuz I'm probably messing upthe wording, but if you wanna learn
how to do something in your business,would you rather: take an online course

(06:04):
or hire someone to do it for you.
And overwhelmingly with the peoplewho actually answered my survey, they
said, enroll in an online course.
Now guys, this is where the formerstatistics professor in me has
to come out and say, yeah, Ididn't have a large sample size.
Um, The data is definitely skewed.

(06:24):
I mean, is it that people who aremore likely to take an online course
are in my newsletter audience, or isit that those people are more likely
to actually fill out the survey?
I mean, there's a,there's a lot to go into.
But I will just say of the peoplewho answered my survey, the
majority of them said they wouldrather take an online course.
Now, did I ask them why?

(06:45):
No, in hindsight, I shouldhave asked them why.
And so I may actually tweak thesurvey the next time that I offer
it, or I may just send out anothersurvey that just asks people you know
about their purchasing decisions.
Now, I hired Melissa Harstine, uh, almosta year ago now, and she interviewed

(07:06):
several of my clients, people whohad hired me for one-to-one Dubsado
setup services, people who had justenrolled in my course, and then she
also interviewed just a couple ofpeople who had initially taken the
course and then upgraded to a VIP setup.
And all of the information that she gaveme at that point was super helpful, but

(07:30):
I don't think that I knew enough to askMelissa at that point, "hey, can you ask
them more about their buying decision?"
Like we focused on a lot ofthings, but I wish I had more
information on that buying decision.
So guys, as you create your offers,if you are someone who has more than
one offer, really think about how youcan communicate the benefits of each

(07:55):
of those offers, that will help peoplemake a buying decision for themselves.
Whether it is straight off your salespage or in a sales call, I think we
should all really think hard aboutthe differences between our offers and
who would specifically benefit fromeach one, aside from the price tag.

(08:15):
Because yes, guys, there is often andshould be a significant price increase
if someone is hiring you for a one-to-oneservice versus buying your online
course, doing your group program orhiring, hiring you for online consulting?
I mean, my, the difference betweenmy hourly consulting and my v i
P is 10 x, well, it's almost 10x.
The difference between my online courseand hiring me for a full setup is 5x.

(08:41):
So there is a significant investmentdifference between those offers, but
that doesn't always mean that justbecause someone has the money that a
full setup is the right choice for them.
So I encourage you to think about thisinside your own business and also if
you are looking to hire someone andthey have multiple containers in which

(09:03):
they're solving the same problem,figuring out which one is best for you.
Alright, y'all, back to the present.
So the reason that I went down thisrabbit hole today is I am in the
process of adjusting my offer suite.
I have a new program that fitsdirectly between the CRM Blueprint

(09:23):
and my full Done For You offers.
I am calling it Systems in Session andit is a new done with you container where
you and I will work together one-on-one.
I will be the strategy that guidesyou and you will implement these
things inside of your business andspecifically dodo or HoneyBook.

(09:44):
And so it is something that I amrunning with a very limited number of
beta people right now, but it's goingwell, and I am personally thinking
that this is where I'm going to puta lot of my effort going forward.
And so if you are someone thatdoesn't want a DIY course and isn't
quite ready for a full done foryou, this might be the perfect fit.

(10:09):
So if you would like additionalinformation on Systems in Session,
go ahead and come over to Instagram@coliejames and send me a dm.
Alright, that's reallyit for this episode.
See you next time.