“Nice to Have” Doesn’t Sell | How to Build an Offer People Actually Need

"If your offer is a nice-to-have, you're going to spend all your time convincing people they need it. Build an offer around a problem they already know they need to solve."

- Michelle Terpstra

If your sales team is constantly explaining, educating, discounting, or convincing prospects to buy, there may be a problem with the offer, not the sales team.

The truth is simple: “Nice to have” doesn’t sell nearly as well as “I need this.”

In this episode of the Revenue Rascals Podcast, we dig into one of the biggest challenges businesses face: creating offers that customers actually need, value, and feel compelled to buy.

Because a great sales process cannot rescue an offer that solves a problem customers don’t care enough about.

The Problem With “Nice to Have”

Many businesses build products and services around what they can do rather than what customers are actively trying to solve.

The result is an offer that sounds good on paper but doesn't create urgency.

The prospect may say:

• “That sounds interesting.”

• “Let me think about it.”

• “Maybe next quarter.”

• “We don't really have the budget right now.”

• “I'll get back to you.”

Those responses aren't always a sales objection.

Sometimes, they're a signal that the problem simply isn't painful enough.

When your offer addresses a problem that is urgent, expensive, frustrating, risky, or directly tied to an important business outcome, the sales conversation changes.

You don't have to manufacture urgency. The problem already created it.

Start With the Problem, Not the Product

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is starting with their solution.

They build a product, package a service, or develop a feature set and then go looking for someone to buy it.

Instead, start with the customer.

Ask:

What problem are they desperately trying to solve?

What is costing them money?
What is wasting their time?
What is creating risk?
What is keeping them from hitting their goals?
What happens if they do nothing?

The answers to those questions are where compelling offers come from.

Your customer isn't buying your methodology, your technology, your process, or your expertise.

They're buying the outcome they believe those things will create.

A Strong Offer Creates a Clear “Why Now?”

A powerful offer doesn't just answer, “Why would I buy this?”

It answers:

“Why should I buy this now?”

That distinction matters.

If the customer can easily postpone the purchase with little consequence, your offer is competing with everything else on their priority list.

But if delaying the decision has a meaningful cost, the conversation becomes very different.

That doesn't mean using artificial scarcity or gimmicky sales tactics.

It means understanding the real consequences of the problem you're solving.

The stronger the pain and the clearer the outcome, the easier it becomes for the customer to prioritize a solution.

Your Offer Should Make the Value Obvious

A common mistake is making the customer do too much work to understand what they're buying.

If someone needs a 30-minute explanation before they understand why your offer matters, you've probably got an offer problem.

A strong offer should make three things clear:

1. What problem do you solve?
The customer should immediately recognize the problem and understand that you understand it.

2. What outcome do you create?
Move beyond features and describe what changes for the customer.

3. Why is your solution worth paying for?
Connect the outcome to something the customer values financially, operationally, emotionally, or strategically.

The goal isn't to make your offer sound more impressive.

It's to make the value easier to understand.

Sales Shouldn't Have to Create the Need

This is where offer strategy and sales strategy intersect.

When salespeople are repeatedly told to “overcome objections,” they may actually be trying to overcome something that shouldn't have to be overcome.

If the customer doesn't have a meaningful problem, more sales training won't necessarily fix the situation.

Your sales team shouldn't have to convince someone that their problem matters.

The customer should already know it matters.

Sales then becomes about helping them understand whether your solution is the right way to solve it.

That's a much easier conversation.

The Best Offers Solve Expensive Problems

This doesn't necessarily mean your product has to be expensive.

It means the problem you're solving has significant consequences.

A $500 solution can be incredibly valuable if it eliminates a $10,000 problem.

A $50,000 service can feel inexpensive if it helps a company generate or protect hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Value isn't determined by what something costs to deliver.

It's determined by the importance of the problem and the value of the outcome.

That's why businesses should spend more time understanding the economics of their customers' problems.

A Better Question for Your Next Offer

Instead of asking:

“What can we sell?”

Ask:

“What problem would our ideal customer gladly pay to make disappear?”

That question changes everything.

It forces you to think about the customer instead of your capabilities.

It helps you identify urgency.

It clarifies your messaging.

And it gives your sales team something far more powerful than a list of features to sell.

It gives them a problem worth solving.

The Revenue Rascals Takeaway

If your offer is consistently being described as “interesting,” “helpful,” or “something we'd like to do someday,” pay attention.

Your customers may like what you're offering.

But liking it isn't the same as needing it.

The strongest businesses don't just create products people appreciate. They create solutions people prioritize.

Stop selling the nice-to-have. Start solving the must-solve.

Listen to this episode of the Revenue Rascals Podcast for a deeper conversation about how to identify real customer pain, sharpen your offer, create urgency, and build something your market actually needs.

To gain complimentary access to ALL workbooks, scrips, and playbooks that Michelle discusses on the Revenue Rascals Podcast, fill out the form below. It's just a one-time sign up and SUPER easy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a “nice to have” and a “need to have” offer?
A “nice to have” offer provides value but isn't a priority. A “need to have” offer solves an urgent, costly, or important problem that customers are motivated to address.

Why do some good products struggle to sell?
A good product can still struggle if it doesn't solve a problem customers care enough about to pay for. The issue may be positioning, urgency, or the underlying offer rather than the sales team.

How do you create an offer customers actually need?
Start with the customer's problem, not your product. Identify what is costing them money, time, opportunities, or creating risk, then build your offer around solving that problem.

How can you tell if your offer is a “nice to have”?
Look at how prospects respond. If they consistently say “maybe later,” “let me think about it,” or struggle to prioritize the purchase, your offer may not be solving a sufficiently urgent problem.

How do you create urgency without using sales gimmicks?
Focus on the real consequences of doing nothing. When customers understand what the problem is costing them, urgency comes from the problem itself rather than artificial scarcity or pressure.

Should sales teams be responsible for creating customer demand?
Sales can help customers understand the impact of a problem, but they shouldn't have to manufacture a need that doesn't exist. A strong offer gives salespeople a meaningful problem to solve.

How does customer pain affect the value of an offer?
The more important or expensive the problem, the more valuable a solution can become. The price of the offer matters less when the customer clearly understands the cost of leaving the problem unsolved.

What is the most important question to ask when developing an offer?
Ask: “What problem would our ideal customer gladly pay to make disappear?” That question shifts the focus from what your company can sell to what your customer actually needs.

Summary

A great sales team can't fix an offer nobody really needs. In this episode, we break down how to move beyond “nice to have” and build offers around urgent, valuable problems customers are willing to pay to solve.