[00:00:00] Okay, this podcast topic is going to be a little bit different than most of my stuff. In fact, I haven't really heard any other creatives, photographers, videographers, designers talk about what I'm about to talk about. We're talking about money back guarantees as a service based business. Now, this is going to be a game changer for a lot of you.
Keep an open mind throughout this podcast episode. And you're going to get a lot of value by the end. Welcome to the creative biz launch podcast, where we talk about how to grow your creative business and scale it to six figures, whether you're a photographer, filmmaker, or designer, you'll find something of value here.
This podcast is all about how offering a money back guarantee in your creative business will actually make you more money by standing behind your service. You will lower the risk of clients wanting to work with you. And in turn, Sign on way more clients. Now this podcast episode is going to be a bit controversial, but if you're a beginner, especially this will differentiate you from other beginners out there.
Risk is the greatest objection that potential clients have with working with [00:01:00] beginners. And if you have a money back guarantee, you lower that risk significantly. The risk in working with you is the biggest hurdle to overcome and guarantees are one of the best ways to overcome that. Guarantees are very powerful if you're a beginner, intermediate, or even pro level creative as a beginner, they lower the risk of working with you, which means you can get a lot of new clients and build up a portfolio, get testimonials and have that social credibility.
If you're an intermediate or pro, they will help you land more clients, which means you can either charge more money or scale your business because you'll have more revenue coming in the door. Imagine what Amazon would be like if you couldn't return the products you bought. You probably wouldn't shop there.
You order something, it's not what the listing claimed it was, so you return it and get your money back. If there is no return policy, the risk of buying something on Amazon would be really high. Well, the same principle applies to your business. A guarantee pretty much says that you are willing to stand by your service.
100% you do what you say you do. The guarantee just makes those stakes real. Anyone can make [00:02:00] a website and say they take great photos, especially with AI these days, but if you put a money back guarantee there, then people coming to that website will be more convinced. A lot of you are probably scared that clients are gonna be able to abuse this guarantee.
What if I take photos for them and they ask for all their money back every single time? A few things here. One, if you always try and see the negative in people, you're not gonna have a great life. Most people don't want to abuse your generosity. I believe that people are inherently good. Two, if you can have a guarantee that states we'll give you your money back, but we'll also revoke your license to use the photos since you don't like them anyways, well then this pretty much solves the issue of people abusing your guarantee.
This just means if you do really, really great work, people aren't going to use your guarantee, and if you do mediocre work, then they shouldn't be working with you to begin with. Now that you've lowered the risk of people working with you, You should be able to attract a lot more clients with them. No longer risking their money on you.
All they're risking is their time. It does take some effort on their [00:03:00] part to coordinate with a photographer or videographer. There's an email back and forth, sending product approvals, all that stuff. There's always going to be a time risk. The money back guarantee can't solve this, but if you can figure out how to give people back their time.
And please let me know
quick pause. How did you stumble upon this podcast? A message from a friend or maybe an Instagram story. This podcast relies solely on word of mouth. I don't rely on ads or sponsorships. I'm here to help people. I'd be grateful if you could share it with another creative person, you know. A review, an Instagram, or Twitter post, or a casual mention will go a long way.
It could be a game changer for another entrepreneur. Thank you. Are you actually good at what you do? Now, I'm not trying to be mean here. If you're trying to sell your service to someone, you need to be good. You need to believe in what you're selling. You may claim that your photos help drive conversions.
If you claim this, then your photos better be amazing. Believing in your service is instrumental in running a successful business.
Clients will hear in your voice whether you actually believe in your product or if you're trying to sell them snake oil. [00:04:00] Having a guarantee will actually show clients that you believe in what you're selling. And if you actually believe in it, then why would people need to take you up on your guarantee?
If you can deliver the results that you promise, then your guarantee only exists as a way to increase your sales. Your service is good, and you know it will help clients. Therefore, it's your job as a business owner to help as many clients as possible. You'll have a net positive effect on their business.
The guarantee only exists as a way to lower the risk with working with you. And since your service is excellent, clients won't take you up on your guarantee because you're actually doing what you say you will do for them. The guarantee here exists to increase your sales closing rate. Maybe you're not the best photographer in the world.
I know I'm not, but I match my services to the appropriately sized businesses that need my photos. I don't work for Coca Cola. I work for smaller brands that I know I can help with my photography. And I know that the work I do for them is the best that they'll get for their budgets. I have this belief in my work and I know that will help those businesses.
My guarantee exists to lower the risk barrier [00:05:00] and allows me to help more of these businesses. So ask yourself, Are you actually good? Do you need to improve your service before you can sell it to businesses? Or maybe you just need to sell to smaller businesses until you get really good. In any case, a guarantee will increase your sales numbers.
Okay, I actually practice what I preach here. My program Creative Biz Launch has its own guarantee. If my students want all their money back within the first 45 days, that's what I do. I deliver on my promise. The reason I have a guarantee inside my program is because I think it's the best training on the internet for photographers and videographers.
It's just the best training out there and that's why I put a guarantee on it. If you want help growing or scaling your creative business, check that out below. Creative Biz Launch would love to have you. What happens when you deliver a great product, but the customer still wants their money back? Well, you got to eat the cost.
The idea behind offering a guarantee is that you'll be able to sell. More to clients and your revenue will go up. So if you have a few people that want their money back, [00:06:00] you'll still come out on top. Yes, you'll have to put in time into production for this client, but that's all part of the game. I just hope that you're not charging hourly.
Charging hourly is a mistake here. Always charge per project rather than hourly. The rule of thumb for keeping these guarantees effective is to make them bold. Clients don't expect to see a guarantee from a service based business. So make this a selling point. Have this on the landing page of your website.
A basic guarantee goes something like this. We offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you're not happy with the results, we'll give you your money back. Just let us know within 30 days of receiving the final assets. Now, this is super simple in your actual contract. You can go into more detail about this.
The whole point of a guarantee here is to reduce the risk in working with you. If you want to make more money. And get more clients. Start using a guarantee today. My name is Chris Pieta. Hope you found this valuable. If you have an extra 10 seconds here, please give a show rating. It'll really help another entrepreneur out.
Thank you.
