Define your first offer
Turn a general skill or product idea into an offer a customer can understand, compare, buy and receive without confusion.
What you will leave with
- A clear first offer with customer, result, scope and delivery defined
- A price structure that is easy to explain
- Boundaries that reduce disputes and unplanned extra work
- A reusable offer you can save in the LaunchBOS Catalogue
Step 01
Choose one customer and one main result
Your first offer becomes easier to sell when it is designed for a specific customer and a specific result.
A broad description such as “I do catering” makes the customer work hard to understand what to buy. A clearer offer might be “weekday lunch trays for offices of 10–30 people in Lekki.” A freelance designer might offer “a launch flyer and three social-media sizes for small events.”
You can add more offers later. At the beginning, one well-defined offer helps you learn what customers value, what it costs to deliver and where problems occur.
- Name the customer the offer is built for.
- Describe the result in plain language.
- Choose one common use case to start with.
- Avoid combining unrelated services into one package.
Step 02
Define exactly what is included
Scope protects both you and the customer because it makes the promised work visible before money changes hands.
List the deliverables, quantity, location, timing and number of revisions or visits where relevant. For physical products, state size, model, quantity, condition or variation. For services, be clear about the work that is part of the price.
Then write what is not included. If a standard cleaning package excludes external windows or heavy post-construction cleaning, say so. If a graphic-design package includes one revision, make additional revisions a separate charge rather than an argument later.
- Deliverables and quantity.
- Location or service area.
- Turnaround time or delivery date.
- Number of revisions, visits or support periods.
- Important exclusions and extra-charge items.
Step 03
Choose a simple pricing structure
The best first pricing model is one you can calculate consistently and explain in one or two sentences.
Common approaches include a fixed package price, price per unit, hourly or daily rate, and custom quotation. Use fixed packages when the work is predictable. Use a quotation when the amount of work changes significantly by customer.
Do not choose a pricing structure only because a competitor uses it. Choose the structure that matches the real cost and uncertainty of your work. A cleaner may need price bands based on property size; a caterer may price per person; a consultant may use a fixed project fee.
- Use fixed pricing for repeatable, predictable work.
- Use per-unit pricing when quantity drives cost.
- Use a quotation when scope varies materially.
- State deposits, balance timing and accepted payment methods.
Step 04
Set delivery expectations before the sale
A good offer explains what happens after the customer says yes.
Tell the customer what you need from them, how long fulfilment normally takes, when the booking becomes confirmed, how delivery works and what could cause a delay. Clear expectations reduce repeated questions and make a small business feel more dependable.
If your work depends on customer input—measurements, content, access to a property, approval of a design or payment of a deposit—state that dependency clearly so the timeline is not misunderstood.
- What the customer must provide.
- What confirms the booking or order.
- Expected delivery or completion window.
- How changes or delays are handled.
Step 05
Write basic change, cancellation and refund rules
You do not need complicated legal language, but you do need a consistent way to handle common changes.
Think through what happens if the customer changes the scope, cancels after you have bought materials, misses an appointment, requests a refund or asks for work outside the agreed package. The answer should be fair, easy to explain and appropriate for your type of business.
Keep policies visible before payment where possible. Do not create rules that conflict with applicable law or platform requirements, and seek professional advice when the transaction or risk is significant.
- When deposits are required.
- How scope changes are priced.
- What happens after cancellation.
- How defects, corrections or refund requests are handled.
Step 06
Turn the offer into customer-facing language
Customers should not have to decode your internal business terms.
Write the offer the way you would explain it in a WhatsApp message: who it is for, what is included, the price, the delivery time and the next step. Avoid vague phrases such as “premium service” unless you explain what makes the service different.
A simple formula is: “For [customer], we provide [result] including [main deliverables] for [price or quotation method]. Delivery takes [time]. To start, [next action].”
- Use short sentences and familiar words.
- Put the most important result before minor features.
- Make the price or quotation process obvious.
- End with one clear next action.
Step 07
Test the offer with real customer questions
The first version will improve once customers begin asking questions.
Show the offer to a small number of target customers and note what they ask before agreeing. If everyone asks whether delivery is included, your offer is incomplete. If several people misunderstand the quantity or result, rewrite it.
Do not keep adding features to answer every objection. First decide whether the person is actually your target customer and whether the requested change improves the offer for many customers or only one unusual case.
- Track repeated questions.
- Track repeated objections to price or scope.
- Clarify confusing wording before lowering the price.
- Keep one standard version and quote unusual work separately.
Step 08
Save the offer so you can reuse it
A defined offer should become an operating record, not remain only in a notebook or chat.
Add the offer to your LaunchBOS Catalogue with a clear name, description and price. That gives you a reusable item for future quotations and invoices and reduces the risk of giving different customers accidental versions of the same offer.
Review the price and scope after several real sales. Your first offer is a starting point, not a permanent promise.
- Create a Catalogue item for the product or service.
- Use the same offer name in quotations and invoices.
- Update the standard price when your real costs change.
- Keep custom work separate from the standard package.
Start → define → reuse
Turn the first offer into a product or service record.
Add what you sell to the Catalogue with a clear name and price so the offer can later flow into quotations and invoices.