As a service provider, it’s your business to understand what motivates your audience to invest in your services. But the line between feeling pushy and wanting to only highlight the benefits has become skewed.
Painting the dream isn’t working as well as you thought it would.
And that’s because in your mind and from your POV, you can already see the outcomes that lie on the other side of your services. You’ve done this before with clients and have witnessed the transformation.
But for future clients and browsers, they haven’t personally experienced this.
That means, no matter how vividly you paint that dream, they still can’t picture it manifesting in their day to day lives.
Risk aversion is the practice of showing your audience the cost of inaction. You’re going to hold up a mirror, showing them their current cycle, their current processes, and the exact point of friction that your services are going to disrupt and alter.
Because when faced with the reality of our own daily decisions, our brain starts kicking into safety mode. All of a sudden, your offer isn’t something “unfamiliar” and therefore “unsafe”– it becomes a way into healthier, financially expansive, and more aligned daily practices.
You’re not judging their current process. You’re recognizing the pattern and showing them a different way to do things that – if at the very least– will get them out of a cycle that’s ultimately hurting them, and at the most, will accelerate them into an entirely new chapter of their lives.
I opened up the conversation in my Instagram Stories (if you want to get in on exercises like this, follow me here) and invited followers to submit their industry and an offer so I could provide specific insights to help better connect and turn attention into action with their audience.
Big Fact:
If your business doesn’t have a website, you’re actively losing clients who were already ready to buy.
Let’s break down the risk aversion angle.
Their target audience is either:
The risk of having no website or one that’s outdated/ incomplete is lost clients and therefore revenue opportunities.
That’s because a strategically built website with cohesive branding establishes an instant layer of credibility and trust. It has the power to elevate a brand even if it’s new. Websites help sign clients faster because they handle objections and showcase proof of results for you.
And if the business is utilizing blogs, that website is getting them found without extra marketing involved.
And over a third won’t buy or invest for the same reason. Meaning, a browser could absolutely love you and your offers and your social presence, but if you don’t have a website, they’re going to take their money elsewhere. And probably still binge your content because they like you and your free resources.
Despite the glaring risks of inaction around getting a website, over 20% of small businesses still don’t have one.
I can personally attest to this because in my first year of business, I didn’t have a website and as my audience interest increased, I had several potential clients share (bless their honesty) that they’d be going with someone else because of the fact I didn’t have a website.
Did it sting? For sure. But it also lit that fire under my butt. A website signals instant credibility and trust. And without those two things in your corner, your browsers are going to scroll on.
This is the gap I see constantly when I audit websites—
the design and the offers can be locked all the way in, but if the messaging isn’t making the risk of inaction clear enough, the copy won’t convert.
Their target audience is typically business owners who:
They are motivated by wanting to make more money but also needing to cap their output or even lessen their output.
The risk aversion angle is rooted in revenue gaps and output limitations.
If they don’t change anything in their current process, they’re going to continue leaking money because their capacity is capped. Every month leads are lost and current client experience threatens to suffer because of the overexertion– leading to less referrals and repeat customers and/or clients.
Research shows that over a quarter of businesses that implement CRMs have an increase in revenue.
It handles leads and manages client experience, tightening the gaps between potential growth and retention.
That’s because when left to do it all manually, over 30% of leads aren’t followed up with at all and even more aren’t handled correctly.
People who are ready to buy aren’t waiting around forever for a personal invitation. They want solutions now and CRMs make sure businesses are on top of every lead that comes in.
This is where most offers fall flat.
They explain what they do, but they don’t show what it’s costing someone to not do it.
If you want to apply this to your own messaging, start here:
What is the current process your ideal client is stuck in?
What cycle are they repeating?
Where is their growth being stalled?
And how does your offer disrupt that pattern to create a new one?
Write it out:
+ Current Process
+ The Blockage (how it’s hurting their growth, revenue, energy, etc.)
+ Where Your Offer Fits
+ How It Disrupts
+ New Pattern Created
When you clearly articulate your understanding of the cycles and patterns someone is currently stuck in and then show them how your approach disrupts it in a supportive way, it builds credibility and trust, which in turn become easier sales and confident referrals.
You’re not poking at an open wound, you’re offering information that’s rooted in facts.
So whether that browser decides to DIY the solution or invest in your services, you’ve just demonstrated why you’re an authority.
Don’t stop with just understanding your audience. Push it further by translating that comprehension into messaging that moves them to act–now.
That’s one of the main things I look at inside my copy and positioning audits. I show you where you’re holding back from showcasing your authority and how you’re going to disrupt cycles to get your clients the results they’ve been wanting.
If you want help identifying the exact points where your messaging is losing people, book a copy and positioning audit here.
