(Step 5 of "7 Steps to Creating A Kick-Butt Outrageous Deal")

Have you ever done this:

You (talking to your friend Joe): "Sure, come on by our place anytime! We'd love to see you."

Joe shows up Sunday afternoon right in the middle of your daughter's bridal shower.

Ouch.

Only if you had made yourself a bit clearer in the first place – it would have saved embarrassment and hurt feelings all the way around.

An Ounce of Prevention....

It is vitally important to have well thought out "terms and conditions" for your Outrageous Deals. Not only do they help to avoid situations like you "had" with your now ex-friend Joe, they also help to:

• Create Clarity: Both you and your customer understand in no uncertain terms what is in the offer and what is not.
• Build an Audit Trail: This is very useful if anyone wants to try to have his day in court.
• Uncover Abuse: You get to think about how people might be able to take advantage of you, and you plan for it before it even happens.

Here are some things that might be appropriate to your Terms and Conditions:

• Validity Date: e.g., Mondays-Thursdays; month of April; 5:30pm – 7pm
• Expiration Date: e.g., This deal must be used by December 22, 2012
• Purchase Limits: e.g., limit 2 deals per shopper
• Other Requirements: e.g., cannot combine this deal with any other offer, you must purchase X in order to be eligible for this deal, may not apply against current monthly memberships.

There will be some standard "fine print" rules here at "Shop, Stay, and Play" (like, a deal voucher can be used once and does not carry over any remaining "value" for another purchase), though the specific ones that relate solely to your offer will need to be thought out by you ahead of time.

Action Step

• Set the terms and conditions for the "best" deal you created in Step 3

Your Two Cents

• Are there any terms and conditions you found useful in deals you've run in your business? 
• What terms and conditions do you think we should have as standard here on Shop, Stay, & Play? Write your comments below.

Next: Write a Killer Headline and Copy