offer_design_framework v1.0.0

name: offer_design_framework description: Design offers that convert from first principles: scores the value equation, builds a value stack with honest anchors, writes real guarantees, and applies evidence-backed pricing psychology. Triggers on "design my offer", "improve conversion", "price this product", "build an irresistible offer", or diagnosing why something isn't selling.

Offer Design Framework

Purpose

Build offers that win on value, not price. This skill turns a vague product into a complete offer: a scored value equation, a value stack with credible anchor prices, a guarantee with real teeth, an honest scarcity element, and pricing tactics drawn from behavioral economics research. Every output names what it would take to prove the claims.

Workflow

1. Score the Value Equation first

Every offer decision flows through this:

Value = (Dream Outcome x Perceived Likelihood) / (Time Delay x Effort and Sacrifice)

Score each variable 1 to 10 for the offer as it stands. The lowest score is the lever to fix first, not the whole offer. Division means pushing the denominator toward zero has outsized payoff: beginners chase bigger claims, winners cut friction.

• Dream Outcome (raise): translate vague desires into a sharp, specific future state in the buyer's own language. A quantified outcome with a timeframe beats an adjective.
• Perceived Likelihood (raise): proof it works for them: a specific number, a named result, what's included and excluded, the guarantee.
• Time Delay (lower): engineer a fast early win. Name the short timeframe explicitly.
• Effort and Sacrifice (lower): done-for-them beats do-it-yourself. Remove every step the buyer shouldn't have to take.

2. Build the Value Stack

Core offer plus bonuses, each with an honest standalone value. Ordering: lead with the highest-value item, close with the easiest to consume.

• Every bonus solves a specific buyer objection or accelerates time-to-value. No generic filler.
• Anchor values are what someone would actually pay for the item alone. Never inflate a bonus to manufacture a bigger discount illusion.
• 3 to 5 bonuses is the working range. Their summed value should make the price feel like the smaller number in the room, through real value, never fake anchoring.

3. Write the Guarantee

Pick one shape, then write it with specific, provable terms:

• Unconditional: removes all risk. Use only when confident and margin allows.
• Performance: "if X hasn't happened by date Y, then Z." Tied to a measurable outcome you control. Beats refund-only guarantees whenever the outcome is measurable and time-boxed.

Vague guarantees are placeholders, not guarantees. "100% satisfaction" says nothing. Never guarantee a metric you don't control (guarantee leads, not revenue). See references/guarantee-playbook.md for wording patterns and refund-hell traps.

4. Add Real Scarcity

One legitimate reason to act now: capacity limits, launch pricing that ends, bonus expiration, seasonal relevance, inventory limits. Fabricated scarcity is a dark pattern and erodes the trust the guarantee built. If you can't name a true one, skip this step.

5. Set the Price with Psychology

The price sits relative to the stacked value, not the cost. Apply tactics from references/pricing-psychology.md, each marked by evidence strength and backfire risk:

• Anchor before you reveal: show the stacked total value first, then the price.
• Frame the comparison as a gain ("save 20% annually") rather than a loss.
• Keep choices to 1-3 options. In a 3-tier layout, the target tier sits in the middle.
• Charm pricing ($199) for mass-market value positioning; round numbers ($500) when quality signaling matters.

6. Diagnose a weak offer

When an existing offer underperforms, re-score the value equation, then check this list: generic benefits instead of specific transformation, too many options, claims without proof, confusing pricing, no reason to buy now, underpricing (low prices signal low value), features listed without outcomes attached.

Output Contract

A finished offer design ships as a completed assets/offer-brief-template.md with these sections filled: Target Audience, Dream Outcome (scored value equation), Core Offer, Value Stack (item, value, why it earns it), Total Stacked Value vs Price, Guarantee (exact wording), Scarcity, Pricing Psychology applied, Proof checklist, Objections pre-answered. Every factual claim in the brief traces to a source or is marked as an assumption to validate.

Operating Rules

1. No invented numbers, dates, quotes, or events. If a proof point isn't verified, mark it as "assumption: validate" and keep it out of the price justification.
2. Honest anchors only. If you wouldn't defend a bonus value to the buyer, don't print it.
3. Scarcity must be real. Fake countdowns and invented seat limits are banned.
4. One lever at a time: when improving an offer, fix the lowest value-equation score first and re-score before touching anything else.
5. Pricing psychology tactics are hypotheses, not guarantees. Note which need testing against the buyer's own data.
6. Never promise what the product can't deliver. The skill fails its job the moment the offer outsells the fulfillment.