That $10,000 Black Friday revenue day might feel like a win – but the long-term damage is real. Here’s what most business owners don’t calculate when it comes to creating Black Friday offers in their business – and smarter options to choose instead.
When I was working as a Director of Operations at a global home services company, I came in just one week after their “best sales day ever.”
Black Friday had just wrapped. The CEO was thrilled. And for good reason: they’d done around $100,000 in a ingle day by offering 50% off the entire store.
The team was buzzing.
The numbers looked amazing.
Everyone felt like they’d won!
My first event with them was their annual Christmas dinner. Sitting at a nice restaurant, listening to them swap “war stories” about delivering on that massive sales day, I could feel how hopeful everyone felt for the year ahead.
Everything was looking up…
until I dug deeper.
The Real Cost of a $100K Day
As I onboarded, I pulled year-over-year sales data. And it didn’t take long to see the fallout.
January and February (my first months in the company), sales were way below forecast.
Sales that normally flowed in during the “new year, new me” energy didn’t come in that year.
The customers who would’ve bought?
They’d already loaded up on Black Friday – at half price.
But that wasn’t the worst part…
By July, It Got Weird
On our weekly team meeting call, a customer success rep flagged something odd.
Customers were sending emails and DM’s asking about Black Friday.
In July.
They weren’t curious – they were waiting.
Waiting for the next Black Friday sale… waiting to buy.
And that’s when I knew what was coming.
By Fall, It Hit Hard
September and October sales were lower and declining fast.
Normally, people had bought at full price in years past… but now, sales were trickling in.
Why?
Because they’d been trained to wait. That one mega sale rewired their behavior.
And it didn’t just impact winter – it pulled sales away from the entire fall the next year.
To make matters worse, we began to see something new. In the comments section and in the Facebook group, an alarming trend unfolded:
Happy customers were talking new followers out of purchasing in the fall.
“Great products! But don’t buy it yet! They do a 50% off sale on Black Friday.”
The business struggled and I’m sure you can guess what happened next. The CEO ran the same sale again out of desperation.
And the cycle repeated itself.
Let’s Break Down the Real Cost
Let’s say you sell a product for $199.
For Black Friday, you slash it to $99 – and it sells like crazy.
You sell 500 units, which brings in: $99 × 500 = $49,500
Whoa baby. Feels like a major win, right?
But here’s what actually happened:
- Many of those 500 people would’ve paid full price at some point in the next 12 months but now? They just didn’t have to
- You gave up an extra $100 per sale in revenue
- That’s $50,000 in unrealized income
- And now those customers are done… they’re not buying again anytime soon
But it gets worse.
Come December and January, sales aren’t what they were last year. Because that huge surge of business in November? Those customers likely don’t need to purchase from you in December, January, February.
People stocked up early at a discount. And in case you didn’t take the lesson from what I experienced at the home services company:
By September and October the following year, the cycle is very likely to repeat. Because your people are now waiting for Black Friday again.
Let’s say you normally would’ve made:
- $20,000 in December
- $20,000 in January
- $15,000 in September
- $15,000 in October
That’s $70,000 in missed or delayed full-price revenue.
So What Did That “Huge Day” Actually Cost You?
- You made $49,500 in sales
- You could have made $99,500 more at full price
- You also lost $70,000 in seasonal revenue the following months
Net loss: $119,500
And just like that, your “best sales day ever” quietly wrecked your revenue for the next 12 months. Maybe longer. Because your customers are now trained to wait for Black Friday.
Now, do Black Friday deals work? Sometimes.
But in my experience with small business owners (not billion dollar companies), it does far more damage than a business owner expects.
There is a famous social media coach on Instagram. She did something similar to what I’m writing about – it was her first time offering a Black Friday special. Lo and behold, she did over $100,000 in Black Friday sales. She even did an entire podcast episode about it.
Now, me being me, I watched pretty carefully in the year ahead. Sure enough, she was coming out with new offers, coaching programs and even a membership. I am not sure but I would guess she had to do this because she found herself in a sales slump.
The following year? Another Black Friday deal (not quite as juicy as the first but still…). No doubt, she realized if she didn’t do it, she wouldn’t make her revenue goal for the year.
Black Friday deals, when they are percent or dollars off, hurt a small business far more than they help.
So am I saying you should never offer a Black Friday deal? No. Of course not.
But I want you to do it smart.
7 Better Things to Do Instead of Discounting Your Prices on Black Friday
1. Add a Bonus (Don’t Slash Your Price)
Give them a value-add: a mini course, a PDF, a bonus asset, etcl. You preserve the full price while still offering more.
For Black Friday 2024, I offered a ticket to a January goal setting master class to anyone who purchased a course in the shop. It was extremely popular and even led to some of the attendees signing up for The Success Squad because of how much they enjoyed my coaching style. This is not to toot my own horn. I am using this as an example to encourage you to think about what you do extremely well and ask: Is this something I could offer as a bonus on Black Friday?
2. Create Something Just for Black Friday
Exclusive offer, limited-run workshop, or short-term experience. Any of it works! It doesn’t devalue your main product – it builds excitement. A warning about this one though: create it well in advance of Black Friday. I don’t want my business owners ruining the holidays by scrambling last second to make something for a one-day sale.
3. Bundle Strategically
Sell 2–3 products together for a slightly lower rate. Yes, it’s a discount but the reason it can be wise to do is that they’re spending more than they would have otherwise. We track our average order value. If we can increase that by 50% on Black Friday, it feels like a no-brainer.
And oftentimes what happens is that a customer who was interested in 2 of your products but on the fence about a 3rd (and likely wouldn’t buy it) will then buy the whole bundle on Black Friday because it’s a good deal and everyone loves a bundle.
4. Add Goodies (Not from the Shop)
Give them something extra that costs you nothing to fulfill. Bonus templates, private podcast episodes, behind-the-scenes content, a course you started but didn’t finish (only pull out the part that is done exceptionally well and can give them solid results!).
If you offer physical products, throw in a branded logo item. They get a goodie – and then advertise your business wherever they live. Win/win.
5. Offer a Payment Plan
Sometimes people don’t need lower prices. They need your item to be accessible. A solid payment plan can increase conversions without touching your pricing.
6. Offer Early Access or Concierge-Style Upgrades
Black Friday becomes the VIP door to what’s coming next. I’ve seen this work really well for service providers and coaches. They feel special without you undercutting your work.
7. Offer Access to You – Or Others
If you’re an expert in your field, consider offering a group coaching call, master class ticket, or 10 minutes “ask me anything” style session with you.
If you offer physical products, consider offering a private/behind-the-scenes tour not accessible to anyone else (the tour can be streamed or in-person).
If you’re in an industry that lends itself to community-building, offer a private Facebook group (or similar) for a set number of weeks.
A quick note: don’t do 1:1. Offer the bonus to small-to-large groups. You don’t want to spend your entire December in a bad mood because you promised too much of yourself.
Final Thought
Can you run a discount? Of course.
But know this:
A massive sale might feel like a win today. But if it trains your audience to never pay full price again, you’re building a discount brand.
One of the best decisions you can make in business is a decision on what you will never, ever do. Hard lines in the sand create clarity and reduce the need to make decisions all the time.
My clients know that I don’t discount courses and calls. They’ve been trained that full price is the way this business operates. And they are willing to pay full price. They don’t wait for discounts.
Every client I have worked with who has made the decision not to discount has been happy with that decision.
The ones who discount? So often, they tell me a year later: “If I could go back, I wouldn’t have done it. But now I’m stuck because I can’t make sales unless I do.”
The decision, of course, is yours. Just remember that Black Friday does not have to mean radically slashing prices.
Want Help with Structure and Strategy?
I teach all of this (and more) inside The Success Squad — my 8-week business coaching program for entrepreneurs who are ready to scale with systems and strategy, not discounts and desperation.
