Why Your Offer Isn’t Converting: The Pre-Sale Checklist Every Online Entrepreneur Needs

Are you about to launch a new offer but worried whether it’s actually going to sell?

Let’s cut to the chase: If your offer isn’t converting, you probably don’t have a marketing problem—you have an offer problem.

But here’s the good news: That’s not a bad problem to have. Why? Because it’s one of the most fixable issues in your business.

As a business strategist and coach, I’ve seen too many women spend hours tweaking Canva graphics, changing brand colors, and writing email sequences—only to wonder why the sales aren’t coming in.

Spoiler alert: if your offer isn’t clear, compelling, and easy to say “yes” to, no amount of marketing will save it.

Before you hit publish on your next sales page or launch another campaign on Instagram, let’s walk through the five crucial checkpoints you need to have in place before launching any offer.

1. Is Your Offer Solving a Specific, Urgent Problem?

Think of your offer like a glass of water.

If someone is parched and dehydrated, they don’t want a six-month hydration protocol.

They want a drink—right now.

That’s how your audience feels. They don’t want a massive, life-changing transformation plan. They want something that solves their immediate problem today.

Here's what to ask yourself:

• Is your offer solving a specific and urgent problem your client knows they have?

• Are you speaking their language—or relying on vague messaging that makes them scroll away?

  
  

If you aren't sure if your language will land, do your homework. Seriously—go search Reddit threads, Facebook groups, and YouTube comments where your ideal clients hang out. Look for the exact words they use to describe their pain points. Your ideal clients are already telling you what they need. So use those exact words in your copy.

2. Are You Selling Outcomes or Features?

Let’s be real: No one buys “six coaching calls.” They buy clarity, relief, momentum, etc.

Too many entrepreneurs list out what’s included in their offer (the modules, the templates, the Slack group) without ever explaining why it matters.

The features are important—some buyers need all of the details before they're ready to commit.

But ultimately, people don't buy based on logic—they buy based on emotion and results.

Instead, tie each feature to a tangible outcome:

• You get weekly calls so that you never feel stuck on what to do next.

• You get an email template pack so that you stop staring at a blank screen for hours, etc.

  
  

If your features can’t pass the “so that…” test, you either need to clarify the benefit or cut it altogether.

3. Does Your Messaging Sound Like a Real Human?

Let’s be honest: We’ve all seen that copy that reads like it was 100% written by ChatGPT (because it probably was).

Your clients aren’t robots. They don’t want “transform your mindset to reclaim your inner goddess.” They want “stop waking up with anxiety about whether you’ll land a client this week.”

Here’s how to humanize your message:

• Use real language from real people. (Refer to your research from Facebook, Reddit, etc. from Step 1)

• Read your copy aloud. If you wouldn’t say it to a colleague or friend, don’t put it on your sales page.

• Trade vague words like “unstuck” for specific outcomes like “finally finished that damn sales page.”

The goal is to have your reader saying, "OMG it's like she's in my head!"

4. Is It Easy to Say Yes?

This is where too many entrepreneurs unknowingly lose the sale.

If your checkout process is clunky, if your sales page buries the offer under 17 paragraphs of text, or if you haven’t addressed obvious objections—you’re creating friction.

Instead, make it ridiculously easy for someone to buy from you. Here’s how:

• Lead with the win: What transformation is waiting for them? Say it in the first 10 seconds.

• Simplify checkout: Use clean, mobile-friendly payment pages.

• Add social proof: Even one testimonial adds trust.

• Address objections proactively: “Will this work if I’m just starting?” “How much time does it take?”—answer those questions right on the page.

  
  

Tool to try: Add Hotjar to your site to get heatmaps and visitor recordings. Watch where people pause, skip, or bounce. This insight is pure gold for optimizing your conversion rate.

5. Have You Gotten Real Feedback?

You are too close to your own offer to evaluate it objectively. Period.

Your brain knows what you meant to say, which means it fills in the blanks your audience can’t. That’s why you need someone else’s eyes on your page—ideally someone who gets your business and your audience.

Ask for feedback on:

• What confused them?

• What excited them?

• What made them hesitate?

• How would they describe this offer to a friend?

  
  

Better yet, have them sell it back to you. Their description reveals what actually stuck—and what didn’t.

Wondering Why Your Offer Isn't Converting? Review This Checklist

1. Solves a specific, urgent problem

2. Focuses on outcomes, not features

3. Uses real, human-centered language

4. Makes the yes an easy no-brainer

5. Revise based on feedback

Final Thoughts: Fix Your Offer, Fix Your Sales

If your sales page isn’t converting, it doesn’t mean your business is broken. It means your offer likely needs tweaking.

No fancy photoshoot or massive ad budget can save an offer that’s unclear or irrelevant. But with this pre-sale checklist, you can create something people genuinely want to buy—and say yes to with confidence.

Ready to Take Your Offer from “Maybe Later” to “Heck Yes!”?

Stay tuned—I’ve got something coming that will help you get expert feedback and optimize your offer without spending weeks rewriting every word of your sales page.

Until then, use this checklist to give your offer a powerful tune-up—and watch what happens when your message finally clicks!

Want more tactical tips like this? Subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss a thing.