16: Stop Cheapening Your Yoga – 3 Simple Strategies To Charge What Your Worth, And Attract Your Best Students

What Is This Episode About…

In this episode, Chris is going to share what every yoga entrepreneur can do to increase the value of the services they offer so that they can charge more and make more money. He will talk about how they joined OfferLab and attended OfferMind, and share how implementing the strategies they learned has been the biggest game-changer in their business.

Listen in as he teaches you how to make a better and more valuable offer so that you can completely revolutionize what you’re doing, how you’re offering it, and the results that you’re getting for your clients.

Key Points Discussed:

• Joining OfferLab and implementing the marketing strategies learned (00:54)
• Solving the valuable problems to make more money (04:22)
• How to add crazy value perceptually so that clients are willing to pay more (09:22)
• Solving a problem creates other problems and it’s a good thing (13:28)
• The importance of adding a guarantee to your offers (18:07)

Learn More About The Content Discussed…

Join The Facebook Group –> http://bit.ly/yogaentrepreneur

When Was It Released…

This episode was released October 9, 2019

Episode Transcript…

Disclaimer: The Transcript Is Auto-Generated And May Contain Spelling And Grammar Errors

00:00          There’s a concept that money follows value. So the real question is, how do you increase the value of what you’re offering so that you can charge more and make more money? Well, that’s what we’re going to dive into today, and there are three simple strategies that will completely revolutionize what you’re doing, how you’re offering it, and the results that you’re getting for people.

00:23          What’s up everyone? You are listening to Yoga Entrepreneur Secrets. I am Chris Yax, and I’m John Yax. We are part of a small group of yoga entrepreneurs who are committed to making a living, doing what we love, without feeling guilty about making money, or ashamed of being successful, because we know the real value of yoga and how the world needs it now more than ever. This podcast is here to teach the strategies and tactics so we can thrive financially as yoga entrepreneurs. We are the Yax brothers and welcome to Yoga Entrepreneur Secrets.

00:54          Alright, welcome, welcome, welcome. Christopher Yax here. You are joining us in our Yoga Entrepreneurs Secrets Facebook group. And, today I’m super excited. This is something that John and I have been like nerding out on for probably close to five years. And, so a little backstory. Earlier this year in March, we joined a mastermind group called OfferLab. And in that, the whole intent of this organization, of this mastermind, was to help people, business owners, entrepreneurs, understand like, the core of what marketing is, which is, like a sales message, an offer, and then a campaign. And so, we’ve just been like, brain being… like brain dumped, and like understanding this whole new thing. And so, this year what we’ve been doing is, implementing in our business, Hot House Yoga, a little… and actually, not just Hot House Yoga, but Yax Yoga Concepts, little tweaks here and there to just simply… the message that we’re sending out to people and the offer.

01:57          And what I really want to focus on today is… and this is what’s so interesting to me, is that, in the yoga community itself. I think it’s a blind spot. I think you have a bunch of like wonderful, like heart-centered, like passionate artists who believe wholeheartedly in what they do, and they know the power of it, and they know what it’s done for their lives. But they, and this is where John and I were when we started, it’s like, we thought like that was enough, that being really good, and really talented at something, was going to be enough to bring people through the doors, and to continue that flow of new people and to… for people to sign up to memberships. And, all we realized is that it’s not the case. There’s like, wonderfully talented people in this world, not just in the yoga community, but in like any other entrepreneurial field who aren’t doing well, and they are like the most talented.

02:46          And conversely, there are people who like maybe aren’t the most talented people in the world, but are doing crazy good. Like meaning, they’re making lots of money and they’re impacting people’s lives, and you’re like, “Wait a second. What’s the difference?” And the difference is what the mastermind group that we’re a part of helps us teach is, it’s the marketing. And, not like meaning Facebook ads, not like all the Google campaigns, and the logos, and the branding, and all that stuff, but the… the specific message that you’re sending. The offer, making it irresistible, and then how you bring it out into the world. And so that’s what those people who may not be as talented are doing really, really well. So, back to the yoga industry, I think there is a fundamental blind spot with people, either not leveling up their game, in the… the business end of it, the marketing understanding of it, or just a fundamental blind spot.

03:34          And we had it for years. We had it for years. And so, today we’re talking about yoga offer creation. Yoga offer creation. I’m super excited about it. And the first concept I want to talk about is that money follows value. And so, the question then becomes, if money does follow value. And what we’re saying is that like people have problems. Like if you look at it in the yoga world, like the three main problems that people are coming to yoga to fix our stress are a pain, like low back pain, very specifically in flexibility. And there’s a fourth one that’s like, just generally want to do like a general alternative fitness. And so the problems are like, man, I’m stressed out. And so they’re coming to yoga to fix that problem. Or they have back pain and like they’re coming to yoga to have like to for yoga to fix that back pain or they feel super tight.

04:22          And usually the tightness is what’s creating the pain. So like they’ll come in and get more flexible to be out of pain. And so what we’re saying with money follows value is that the problem that they have is a valuable problem. And if you can solve that problem for them and it’s valuable enough to them and you’re articulating and presenting it in a way that’s valuable to them, then they will pay you money for the solution that you have. So the question then becomes is how do you increase value? Right? So they have the problem and it’s to them the perception of this is valuable in as much as like it’s debilitating and it’s inhibiting what I’m doing in my life. It’s like creating this film in between relationships. If it’s stress, I feel my body breaking down. If it’s pain like so the degree to which they’re suffering over this problem creates the value in their minds.

05:14          What we need to do as yoga entrepreneurs is understand how to frame for them the value of the solution that we’re presenting to them. And so one way of doing it, and this is the way that yoga has done it forever and ever, and it’s crazy to me. I think the like, I don’t know, like when we opened up hot house yoga back in 2005 we didn’t look at other yoga studios to see what is the price points that they’re using because we didn’t like, we cared, but we didn’t care more specifically we looked, but we didn’t model it after them because we weren’t sure if they were successful or not. And I think what happens is like people that are like opening up a studio and looking into the industry, they’re modeling what they’re like, what the industry, the people around them, their competition is doing.

05:59          And then they’re just like basically saying, well, if they’re charging $150 for a 10 card, I’ll charge $140 and if their membership is $99 a month, I’ll do $79 a month. And what happens is what they know under like the intrinsically they understand is they’re trying to increase the value for the people they want to attract. But the way they’re doing it is by decreasing the price. It’s the old way of doing it. And you can see like studios just competing on price and it’s a race to the bottom. There’s commoditization of our services because everyone is just cheapening by lowering the price, which is one way of increasing the value. But what ends up happening is you end up not being able to make enough money to keep the doors open, to pay the teachers, the wonderful teachers that are there teaching your studio.

06:42          So the other way of doing it, and this is what we’ve been like doing in the last year, we’ve been learning about it, but really implementing and understanding on a much deeper level. The past year and it’s increased like we’ve been open for 15 plus years, we’re grossing over $1 million a year, right? We have like the margins are awesome like in the online world, but like it’s still phenomenal. And over that time, this year we’re projected to increase by 20% our revenue. That is not an easy feat to do with a mature studio already doing really well to increase that. And but it’s so funny that it’s just a couple of few tweaks and that’s what we wanted to show you today. So the second way is make a better offer, right? Understand if money follows value and you have this offer that is solving a problem for somebody, how do you make that offer even better so that they’re like, man, I want to go there.

07:37          And what happens when you make a better offer is that you don’t have to then compete on price. By decreasing it, you can actually increase the price, charge a premium and people will like, they’ll appreciate it because here’s the thing when people pay, they pay attention. If they pay more money for something, they pay more attention, they value it more perceptually, right? The commoditization of decreasing price over and over again, it totally kills the perception of the value that they’re going to receive within yoga, within the studio, regardless of what it is. So how do you make a better offer? That’s really the core teaching today. You make a better offer in three weeks. So this is not our, our like information that we came up with personally. This is information that we’ve learned from the mastermind that we’ve been in, that we’ve implemented that has given us crazy success and get the mastermind like the developer, like the man is Steven Larson.

08:31          So I give him credit because that’s where credit is due. So three simple strategies to add massive value to your offers. And look, it’s not like when you see it, you’re going to be like, that seems super simple, but the simplest stuff tends to be the most potent stuff. So, uh, your core product is like the main thing you want to sell somebody. All right, the main thing, whatever it is. So if like a membership to your yoga studio or if it’s like a class package that you’re putting and you want to like emphasize that this month as a promotion or whatever it is, like are you doing a teacher training or like, so there’s a core product that you want to sell, which is solving a very specific problem for a person. Right? So that’s the frame that we’re saying because what I want to go into is you’re always going to have that core product because that’s the main thing you want to sell.

09:22          Now the first way you add crazy value perceptually so that someone will then be willing to pay more for that core product is come up with a awesome sales message, right? The sales message is very specifically the story, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, have someone already succeeding and having gone through the same issues they’re going through now having used the product that you’re trying to get them to buy. And then they’re on the other side of it and they’re experiencing the result of using this core product. And there was a, there was so interesting. So I was listening to NPR the other day and they were talking about foraging. Foraging is like, you’re just like walking around in like a forest or on the beach and finding edible food. Just lying around in nature, not food that phones like thrown out. Like you’re not eating a half eaten sandwich.

10:14          It’s like seaweed and mushrooms and things like that. There’s like a legit, my group of people who are foragers who go out and they collect food. Now there’s a restaurant, I believe it was in France, I can’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure it was in France. Their whole niche is selling foraged food, meaning they have people go out, they buy the forge food from the people, they prepare it and then people come into their restaurant and they purchase board’s food. What she said in the interview Ballou my mind, but it correlated with everything that we’ve been learning and that is, as she said, a lot of the food, like we prepare it but it doesn’t taste awesome. And then if he was like, Whoa, Whoa, excuse me, it doesn’t taste awesome, but you’re a restaurant. People come in because they want awesome tasting food and she’s like, no, you know what sells the food is the story.

11:05          It’s the story of how it was brought about and brought to their table of who went out and where they went and saw it and what they had to go through to get it and how it became a dish that they get to now enjoy the sales message, the story behind the product that they’re getting increased the value so they can charge a premium even for food that didn’t taste as good now. So you may ask like, well like, okay, I don’t doubt that I’m a yoga entrepreneur. I’m like teaching classes. I’m going into a retreat and I’m doing teacher trainings, whatever that is. That doesn’t make any sense to me. We’ll then look at it in the terms of like, okay, if you are just trying to get people into your doors as a yoga studio, like how do you create a S, what is the story that people who you want to come into could listen to that would connect to them and relate to their own story.

11:52          So would compel them to say, Whoa, what they’re doing. That’s a whole nother level. I’m willing to pay a premium to go there versus a discount to go there because I already know that what they’re doing connects with me and it’s going to solve this. The problem that I have and the way you do that is through social proof testimonials, right? Adding people like asking your people who are coming in, like what were you dealing with beforehand? And like tell me now, like what, what was it that like really triggered the transformation for you and how does it feel now to be on the other side? And like you just get these testimonials so that you can tell stories wrapped around the core product that articulate the path that someone has already gone through because you’re attracting these people who are having that similar problem and they see someone who has gone before them and has experienced the result that they’re looking for.

12:42          It increases the value simply by telling a better story around it. That’s one. Number two is this one has been like so good. It’s so good, but it takes a little time for you to like sit down and think about it and like interview people if that’s where you’re going to go get some like get some market data and that is, so I kind of talked about it. When someone comes in to buy anything, right? They are buying it to solve a problem. What happens when someone solves that first problem so they say, yes, I’m in. That was an awesome story. I feel connected. I’m coming in and I’m going to, I bought the introductory special that you have. There’s another problem that just came up. If it’s yoga now what we’ll do, I I need water. Maybe Ann or I need, I don’t have a map but I need a mat.

13:28          Like I don’t know what clothes to wear. I don’t know. It’s like do I need, is there any like dietary things I need to know about? Do I need to like eat something specific? So solving a problem creates other problems, which is awesome for us because then we get to think about it and be like, all right, if someone comes into practice yoga, what’s the next problem for them? Now, you may not think of it, it’s not a problem, but it is. It’s an issue that they now have to figure out how am I going to like practice? Now it’s hot yoga. If that’s what you teach, like, do I need a towel? Do I need to bring my own towel? Oh no, no, don’t worry about it. So what you do to add value, crazy value, this is like so, so good is whatever the core product is, come up with what the followup problems are going to be and start stacking the solutions to those problems in the offer.

14:15          So you’re like, Oh, guess what? You get this introductory special and it’s whatever the price is for. However the duration is right, it’s $99 for a month, or it’s like $100 for two weeks, whatever it is. But guess what? You also get unlimited mat rentals or you know what? We’re going actually going to give you a mat at like the value of it is $30 but we’re going to give it to you for free, no extra charge. And Oh by the way, during that period of time, you’re also going to get towel service and you’re going to get a shower town. You’re going to get a a mat towel. So don’t worry about that at all. And Oh, and by the way, you also get this water bottle because you know you need to be hydrated and it’s gonna like has value. So now, guess what?

14:53          Yeah, I know you’re thinking when you come in, you’re gonna have this problem, this problem, this problem. I’ve already thought about it for you. Don’t worry, you’re going to come in and do the two week unlimited, but then you’re going to get the mat Reynolds, you’re going to get the water bottle, you’re going to get all these other things, and all of a sudden you’re just like, the person looks at that. You, then you can charge more for that same core product, adding these followup problem products and all of a sudden you’ve created an offer that people will pay a premium for. Now, third one, I don’t want this to be too long, we’re training, but this is so good. Third product or third strategy is you have the core product, but you add a guarantee. There’s a psychology, a human psychology that people go through when they’re purchasing something.

15:31          The first thing is like they look at it like, man, is this gonna work? Like does that thing work? Like generally like this does yoga work and all of a sudden you have like a solution. Excuse me, a, a social proof of someone saying, yeah, it worked. And then they’re like, well, okay, it worked for that person, but can I do yoga? Is that, is it possible for me? And then that same social proof like, Oh yeah, that person did it. Oh, and they, they weren’t like the quintessential Yogi, right? They didn’t look like flexi bendy, Gumby person. They look kind of like me and Oh then that person did then okay. I think I can do it. And then it’s like, well, like it’s a lot of money and like I don’t know if I can afford it. I don’t know if I can get support from my like significant others.

16:08          I don’t know if I had enough time and if they jump through once they get to that third hurdle, like this is how people process every sale they make is like, Oh, does it work? Does it work? Can I do it? And then like how are people gonna like perceive me and do I have enough money and time to do it? Like once they get through that, the last thing is like, man, I’m going to give this person money, but what if something happens? What if I don’t like it? What if it, I don’t get the results? So all of that, there’s still this like lingering little objection. What a guarantee does. It says, you know what, don’t worry about it if you’re for whatever and you can structure the things however you like. So don’t like take exactly what I’m about to say and say it.

16:43          That’s the guarantee that I learned from this training and I’m going to do it. You have to get make it right for you and get very specific and like get very detailed about what the guarantee actually means. But essentially it’s reversing the risk that they feel of being taken or losing some like the money and not getting what they actually paid for. And so a guarantee, what it does is right at the end you’ve gotten this awesome sales message and like, yes I feel it. I know this is like this is what I need. And you have all these stacks like man, they thought of everything. That is a crazy irresistible offer. I’m so ready. But there’s like, ah, I just don’t know. The guarantee is what pushes them over the edge on the like cause they’re on the fence, pushes them on the other side of the fence and says, okay listen, don’t worry about it.

17:23          And for whatever reason, by the end of this introductory special, if you feel that you didn’t get what you’re looking for and it may, you may need to go more specific than that. If you don’t feel younger, if you don’t feel more flexible, if you don’t feel like you’ve gotten whatever the promise was, then we will give you your money back. You can even double down and say, not only we’ll give you money back, but we’ll give you 10% extra. There’s a great case study of this. There’s a man named Tim and he was selling, it was a supplements and those was a specifically, I couldn’t even call brain ignite or something like that. Brain Quicken and he was selling. He was doing, he had like pretty good success and all of a sudden he did a a, it’s called a loose win guarantee where he said, I forget the exact numbers.

18:07          He said, listen, if you take this and after seven or 60 days, you don’t feel a difference, I will not only give your money back, but I’ll give you 50% more so I’m actually gonna give you money to try it. Everyone’s fear when they hear that, it’s like, man, people are just going to take me. I’m going to lose money. My business is going to go out. And the real reality of it is, especially if like you’re delivering really well and the product that you’re selling, like yoga, if you’re doing it really well and you’re getting people the result, what this does is just gets people who are like a little like, ah, I don’t know. It gets them to say yes and then if you’re delivering what you promised really well, what you’ve just done is given them the opportunity to actually solve the problem they have and very few.

18:51          And like there’s been case studies upon case studies, upon case studies where there is yes, there’s some people that just try to like police the system and then they’re just gonna try to like do it just to get it. And then they’re going to like, I didn’t feel anything. I want my money back. But then they’re not your person anyway. Right. They’re not your, they’re not going to be a part of your tribe anyway. And so adding a guarantee to your offers is so important because it pushes people over the fence to say yes, especially in like this is something if you have, there’s fear around it because there was a lot for us in the beginning like just remember what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you’ve delivered. Like for us, we’ve been open for 15 years. We’ve got testimonials upon testimonials about how what we do in the room and the yoga that we teach is just utterly transformed people’s lives.

19:34          So I can say, listen, I know wholeheartedly this is the right thing for you and this is going to be the best thing for your life. Comes back. I’m so confident in it that I guarantee the success of it and all of a sudden you’ve now created where most people are just like, Hey, I have this intro special that’s like $5 for two months. Like, okay, that’s one way of doing it, but then people don’t value it and they don’t come in. Or you can say, you know what? I’ve got this awesome message for you because I know what you’ve gone through and I actually was there too. And if it’s your own story, it’s even better. But if it’s someone else’s story, man, and check out what so-and-so went through and if you’re feeling this and like you just go through this process, the system that we created, this is how they experienced it.

20:12          And so, the same potential for you. And then you add all these followup problem products to that core offer and you say, you know what, and I’m so confident in it that I’m going to give you this guarantee. It will totally transform. For us, like 20% is hundreds of thousands of dollars for us that we have increased, just using these simple strategies with the offers that we’re creating, and the people that we’re helping. And this is the other thing, like, so it’s… this is very money-oriented. Right? It’s very like structure and package. It’s very tactical. But, remember, people are hurting, they have a problem, they need yoga. Right? And what we know is that, when people pay more for something, they pay more attention, they’re more vested, they will like, jump over hurdles more, they will go through the difficulty, the struggle, the strain of getting to class, because they’ve invested their money on the front end, and now they want the transformation that they’ve invested. They are more invested. In fact, doing this, you will give them more results, and they will stick with you longer. It is an utter transformation for us, and what we’ve experienced within the yoga studio. So that’s it. Three simple strategies to add massive value to your offers. Sales message, it’s the followup problem products, and it’s the guarantee. Add those to your offers and I guarantee that you will see a huge difference in your sales, and the people that you’re attracting, and if you’re doing this as a yoga studio, in your memberships.

21:39          Yes. thanks so much for listening to Yoga Entrepreneur Secrets. Do you have a question that you’d like us to answer raw and uncut on the podcast? If you want your questions answered, all you need to do is head over to Apple Podcasts, and do three simple things. One; rate and review telling us what you think of the podcast. Two; in that review, ask anything you want related to yoga, and three; if you want to shout out, leave your Instagram handle or name and that’s it. Then listen in to hear your question answered Live, raw and uncut. Join us next time on Yoga Entrepreneur Secrets Podcast. Thanks