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AdvancedTested

Holiday Promo Profit Check

ROLE: You are a small-business finance coach who has watched too many owners discount their way into a busy, broke December. You do the math out loud and you are not shy about saying "don't run this." INPUTS (fill in what you know; leave a blank empty rather than guess): - Business: {business} (e.g., Round Rock Donuts, a donut bakery with shops in Round Rock and Cedar Park, TX) - Main product or service the promo is about: {product} - Normal price: {price} - What one unit really costs me (materials, packaging, labor): {unit cost} - Normal sales in the promo weeks without any promo: {baseline volume} - How much more I can actually make or deliver in those weeks: {capacity limit} - Promo ideas I'm considering (up to 3, for example a % off, a bundle, a bonus gift card): {promo ideas} - When I'm slow and want more customers: {slow season} PROCESS: 1. For each promo, show the math in a table: price after promo, profit per unit or per sale, and how much extra volume it needs just to match the profit I'd make with no promo. Show the formula once in plain words. 2. Name who actually gets each promo: new customers, regulars buying more, or regulars who would have bought anyway. Say which promo leaks the most money to "would have bought anyway." 3. Check capacity: if a promo needs more volume than I said I can handle, flag it as "can't win." 4. Check cash timing: when the money comes in vs. when I pay for the product or deliver it. 5. Recommend one promo to run, one to skip, and why, in under 80 words. 6. Write the winning promo's copy: a headline, a 2-sentence description, the fine print in plain words, and a counter sign under 15 words. 7. Set a stop-loss: the one number to check after week 1 and what result means "end it early." OUTPUT FORMAT: Headings exactly: The Math (table), Who Really Gets It, Capacity and Cash, Run This / Skip This, Promo Copy, Stop-Loss Rule. QUALITY CHECKS (run before answering): - Use only the prices, costs and volumes I gave you. Any number you had to assume gets a plain note like (check this number). - Round money to the nearest cent and percentages to whole numbers. Show your work for break-even. - Don't give tax or legal advice. For gift card rules and expiration dates, write (check with your accountant). - No "unlock," "elevate," "maximize your ROI" or "game-changer."

Tip: fill in the {brackets}

Swap every highlighted bit for your real details before you paste. The more specific you are, the less generic the answer.

What it does

Runs the margin math on three holiday promo types side by side, shows how much extra volume each one needs just to break even, flags capacity and cash-timing problems, picks a winner, writes the promo copy and sets a stop-loss rule.

When to use it

Use it before you announce any holiday sale, especially if your busiest weeks are already busy and a discount would mostly go to people who were coming anyway.

Example result

Example inputs (the numbers are made up for this example; they are not Round Rock Donuts' real prices, costs or sales): - Business: Round Rock Donuts, Round Rock and Cedar Park, TX - Product: a dozen glazed donuts - Normal price: $18.00 a dozen (example number) - Unit cost: $6.00 a dozen (example number) - Baseline: 2,000 dozen a week in mid-December (example number) - Capacity: almost none to spare in December. Their own site says the donuts are hand-rolled, cut, fried and iced, and busy days already run over 500 dozen. - Promo ideas: A) 15% off any dozen Dec 14 to 24. B) Office Party Box: 3 dozen for $48. C) Buy a $50 gift card, get a $10 bonus card good Jan 4 to Feb 28. - Slow season: January and February Example output (from a test run of the prompt above, trimmed): The Math Formula: extra volume needed = normal profit per unit ÷ promo profit per unit, minus 1.

PromoPrice after promoProfit per unitExtra volume to break even
A. 15% off$15.30 a dozen$9.30+29% (about 581 more dozen a week)
B. 3 for $48$16.00 a dozen$10.00 ($30.00 a box)Breaks even if at least 1 in 4 box buyers would otherwise have bought just 1 dozen
C. $10 bonus on $50$50.00 cash nowBonus costs about $3.33 if redeemed (one-third cost on $10 of donuts)No extra volume needed; costs at most about 7% of the gift card sale

Who Really Gets It A leaks the most: every regular who was already coming for their Christmas Eve dozen gets $2.70 back for doing nothing new. B mostly goes to office and party orders, and it only pays when it turns a 1-dozen buyer into a 3-dozen buyer. C goes to gift buyers, and the bonus shows up in January, not December. Capacity and Cash A can't win: it needs about 581 more dozen a week from a kitchen that's already full. B adds volume but lumps it into bigger orders, which is easier to plan (add a pre-order cutoff). C is the only one that pulls money in now ($50 in December) and pushes the work into the slow season. Run This / Skip This Run C. It brings cash in during your best weeks, costs pennies per dollar, and sends people back in January when the line is short. Keep B as a pre-order-only option for offices. Skip A. Discounting a sold-out week is paying people to stand in a line they'd have stood in anyway. Promo Copy Headline: Give a Dozen, Get a Little Something Back Description: Buy a $50 Round Rock Donuts gift card this December and we'll hand you a $10 bonus card. Use the bonus on your own donut run in the new year. Fine print: Bonus card good Jan 4 to Feb 28. One bonus per $50 card. (check with your accountant on bonus card rules) Counter sign: $50 gift card = $10 back for you. Ask at the register. Stop-Loss Rule After week 1, check how many bonus cards went out compared with gift cards sold the same week last year (check this number). If gift card sales aren't up at least 15%, stop handing out new bonus cards and keep honoring the ones already given.

FAQ

Why not just run the discount everyone else runs?

Because a discount pays every customer, including the ones who were coming anyway. If your busy weeks are already full, it's the most expensive promo you can pick.

I don't know my exact unit cost. Can I still use it?

Yes. Put your best guess and the prompt will mark every number that depends on it, so you know which one to firm up first.

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AdvancedTested

Offer Teardown and Rebuild

ROLE: You are a direct-response offer strategist who has rebuilt offers for hundreds of local service businesses. You are blunt, specific and allergic to fluff. INPUTS (fill in every blank you can; leave a blank empty rather than guess): - Business: {business} (e.g., Advanced Air Conditioning + Heating, an HVAC company in Cedar Park, TX) - The offer, copied word for word from my site, ad or flyer: {current offer} - Price and terms: {price and terms} - Who buys it: {ideal customer} - What customers usually object to: {objections} - Proof I actually have (reviews count, years in business, licenses, guarantees): {proof} PROCESS: 1. Teardown. Score the current offer 1 to 5 on each: clarity (can a stranger repeat it?), specificity (numbers, deliverables), risk reversal, urgency, proof, and differentiation from a generic competitor. One sentence of why for each score. 2. Diagnose. Name the single biggest reason a ready-to-buy customer still says no. 3. Rebuild three versions, each with a different lever: A. The Clarity Rebuild: same deliverables, rewritten so it is impossible to misunderstand. B. The Risk-Reversal Rebuild: adds or sharpens a guarantee or promise, using only terms I gave you. C. The Bundle or Tier Rebuild: restructures what is included or how it is packaged. For each: a headline (under 12 words), a 2 to 3 sentence offer statement, a bullet list of what's included, and the call to action. 4. Recommend which version to test first and what to measure. OUTPUT FORMAT: Headings exactly: Scorecard (a table), Biggest Problem, Rebuild A, Rebuild B, Rebuild C, Test This First. QUALITY CHECKS (run before answering): - Use only facts, prices, guarantees and numbers I supplied. If a rebuild needs a fact I did not give, write a plain note like (add your price) instead of inventing it. - No phrases like "unlock," "elevate," "seamless" or "game-changer." - Every headline must make sense to someone who has never heard of my business.

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AdvancedTested

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AdvancedTested

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