One of the suggestions that appears often in marketing information is that a businesses should offer a guarantee. On the surface, this sounds sort of scary. If I offer a 100% money back guarantee or even a partial discount, how will I ever make ends meet? Won't people take advantage of it and me? In this article I discuss some of the ins and outs of guarantees and why I offer a guarantee, making it a win-win situation for both me and my clients.

What are the benefits of offering a guarantee?

• A guarantee reduces the risk a client/customer feels they are taking by either hiring us for a service or buying our product(s). Ask yourself of you are ever swayed by a guarantee. I know I am, even though in all my years of buying I think I have only returned one item.
• A guarantee shows that we have confidence in our product and/or service. A well known speaker, Fred Gleeck, who sells thousands of tapes and other says that if we are afraid to offer a guarantee, it means that we don't think our products are good enough. He offers a lifetime, money back guarantee on any tape or tape series. Very few ever come back.
• A guarantee will make us work even harder to please. Subconsciously if we know that there is a guarantee, we will be adverse to cutting any corners or overlooking the small, usually insignificant details.
• Every entrepreneur who has started offering a guarantee has told me that their sales of products and/or services have at least doubled. Yes, a few people have taken advantage of the guarantee, but the extra sales have more than compensated.

I am worried that people will take advantage of the guarantee.

• Yes, unfortunately, there are those who will take advantage of the offer. I know people who buy tapes, make copies and return them. There are others who will wear a gown to a party and then return it the next day. My feeling, however, is that the majority of people are honest and will appreciate our willingness to offer a guarantee.
• For years I worked in a restaurant where we offered a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We had our own standards, and even if a guest didn't realize it, if their meal didn't arrive at their table by our time specifications, a manager would visit their table and tell them that we were buying everything. We never had to advertise. Our message of excellent service was broadcast for us.
• For my Special Reports and my Presentations' e-book, I offer a 100% money back guarantee if buyers are not pleased with the quantity and quality of the information contained. And, for my Development and Design business of Custom Websites, I offer the guarantee that I will continue working and tweaking until my client is completely satisfied.

What can you guarantee, or do you guarantee? I feel that the stronger the guarantee, the more confidence and credibility we exude. If we are afraid to offer a guarantee, is it because we are not sure of the value of our work? And, if we are not sure of the value, how can we convince others to buy from us and/or hire us? If we do offer a money-back guarantee, and a large number of people use it, it probably means that we need to re-evaluate and upgrade our work, our prices and ourselves. Weighty questions, I know, but to jump to the next plateau, we need to ask them.