Be Trusted This Black Friday

It's that time of year when your inbox begins to creak under the weight of Black Friday emails. 

It's not something we do here at Lucy Legal (more on that another time).

BUT what we do is promote selling legitimately all year round, not just on Black Friday. Do you know how to do that? 

Legitimate selling is about transparency and sticking to the rules. Yes, there are rules, laws and legislation which cover how you can and can't sell and promote your Black Friday offer. Fail to stick to the rules and you could have a refund request on your hands. 

The flip side, when you stick to the rules, you create a much better buying experience. Potential customers will know know their rights, they want you to be transparent and clear with your terms and they are looking out for this when deciding who to invest in, these are such easy wins for you to create an incredible customer experience. When you're shouting in a really crowded market place like Black Friday you want to do everything to ensure that don't put people off working with you.

Legal Tips For Selling Legitimately 

1. Watch out for incorrect terminology - Selling something new should not be described as an "offer", a "discount" or a percentage off if it's never been available for purchase before. It is entirely disingenuous and incorrect to label something as a "discount" if you haven't discounted the price. For the same reason you may want to avoid "launch offer" and instead use "launch price".
2. Previous Pricing - To create an offer or promotion, it's a legal requirement that you have had the product or service available at the higher price previously for a "reasonable period". This used to be 21 days but that time from has changed. There isn't now a set time as to how long the reasonable period is but 21 days still acts as a good guideline of how long a "reasonable period" may be.
3. Extending the offer - Adding additional time to your deadline for when the promotional period is due to end is a big no no. I know that it can be disheartening if you haven't hit your goals. It totally lacks integrity and it looks to potential clients like you can't keep your word, and like you're a bit desperate. Plus if you've induced someone to purchase as a result of a lower purchase price then you're actually in breach of sales legislation. 
4. Cooling off period - Do you need to give your customers the chance to change their mind? Many people assume that you can change your mind within the first 14 days following a purchase but that isn't always the case. Depending on what you buy (perishable goods/digital downloads/customised products) and your status as a purchaser (consumer/business) you may not have the option to cancel your order. Where products are custom orders, you can't just cancel them - UNLESS the sales terms failed to tell you that. The default position is that consumers have 14 days to cancel their order, but this right can be limited at the checkout.
5. Like for like - When you put something on offer it has to be the same quality and quantity. So for example, you can't discount a power hour by 25% and only offer 45 minutes. You can't make people wait for 6 weeks to get their order, unless, you are clear at the point of purchase that there will be a wait. If you find yourself out of stock, then you would have to notify people of new shipping deadlines

If you've read these tips and you're now thinking "I wish I knew this" or "How on earth could I know these legal things?" then I have two ways to help:

1. GET THE TERMS & TIPS YOU NEED FOR LESS

Grab all of the sales T&Cs, for digital products and physical products, 1:1 power hours etc. all in one bundle. PLUS, get access to our short bite-size video course which covers the tips above with more context, tips and examples. The course includes easy to implement tips on the legal side of selling and strategic ones too. It also includes everything you need to know about protecting your business from refund requests and how to handle one if it does arrive.

To buy all of these elements separately from our site it would cost you £537. Earlier this year we bundled everything up to create an amazing package - Package One - for £199. To help you out even more, because we know that you want to be legitimate in your business (why would you be here reading this if you didn't?) You can get the package for just £99. Simply enter "LEGITPACKAGE" at the checkout and the discount will be applied, saving you £438!! The coupon will expire Sunday 1st December at midnight.

Grab Package One Here

2. JOIN THE GET LEGIT HUB

If you still wish you knew a little bit more about how this and how all of the other legal components of running a business works then 'Sell Legit' is our super simple, clear and easy to understand course which covers off the legal things every entrepreneur must know about running a business. 

If you'd love to feel less alone with the legal stuff and have a lawyer by your side to ask your questions, however small, you need the Get Legit Hub. Join us at the weekly Q&A sessions and bring your contract to live co-working to review, tweak and improve. Knowing how the legal elements all fit together isn't an optional part of business it's essential and you need to have the correct things in place. If you're tired of winging it and wish you knew how to run a "proper" business then the Get Legit Hub will really help for you to understand how to handle those trickier aspects such as refunds.

You can find out more about the Hub by clicking here. 

I would love to know what you think of this post. Is there anything in here that you didn't already know? Let me know in the comments below.

Lucy x