SALESMonths to result

Win Your Money Back Offer

Customers pay now, and if they meet defined criteria, they get their money back — turning risk into a competitive advantage.

Problem it solves

low close rates

Best for

Service businesses, coaching, fitness, education — especially things people start and quit

Not ideal for

Businesses with refund rates above 5% (fix the product first) or where customer effort is not required for results

Overview

Why this framework exists

The customer pays upfront, and if they meet defined criteria, they get their money back as cash or store credit. This has generated over $1 billion in sales industry-wide. It works with new, current, and previous customers. The criteria must be easy to track, designed to get customers results, and ideally advertise the business. About 10% of customers will ask for money back based on data from thousands of gyms. Store credit converts equally well as cash refunds in testing.

Core principles

6 total
  1. Criteria must be easy to track, get customers results, and advertise the business
  2. Offer store credit instead of cash — testing showed equal conversion rates
  3. Don't Take Blood Money — if someone asks for a refund, give it back
  4. Make Everyone a Winner — halfway through, treat them as if they already won
  5. Let the Losers Win — even if someone fails, credit them toward a long-term commitment
  6. All meetings and calls during the challenge are opportunities to make more offers

Steps

4 steps
  1. Choose Your Winning Criteria Type
    Pick one of three variants: Results-Based (customer hits a measurable result like losing X lbs), Actions-Based (customer completes required actions regardless of results like attending all sessions), or Actions + Results (customer must follow directions AND hit the result).
    Pro tipActions-Based criteria work best because the customer bets on following directions, not on outcomes you cannot fully control.
    WarningIf criteria are too easy, everyone wins and you lose money. If too hard, nobody enters.
  2. Design the Challenge Structure
    Create a time-bound program (typically 21-28 days) with clear daily or weekly requirements. Include attendance requirements, progress tracking, community engagement, and a graduation event.
    Pro tipInclude social posting requirements — this turns every participant into an advertisement for your business.
  3. Set Up the Store Credit Application
    Apply store credit over a longer period rather than giving free months upfront. For example, $600 credit applied as $50/month discount over 12 months keeps skin in the game.
    Pro tipSpreading credit over time dramatically reduces churn compared to giving free months upfront.
    WarningDo not give the full credit amount as free months at the start — customers churn immediately after the free period ends.
  4. Pair with an Unconditional Guarantee
    If offering store credit instead of cash, add an unconditional satisfaction guarantee so you can still advertise as free. This gives the risk-averse an out while keeping most customers in the funnel.
    WarningOnly use this offer if your refund rate is already below 5%. Otherwise, fix the product first.

Checklist

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Examples

2 cases
B2C: Free 28-Day Blueprint

Customers deposit money and get it back as store credit if they attend all consulting calls, post progress weekly on social media, journal daily, and attend feedback and transformation sessions.

OutcomeAbout 90% of participants do not complete all criteria, keeping their deposit. Those who do are so engaged they readily convert to ongoing membership.
B2B: 5 Customers in 5 Days Challenge

Participants deposit money and get it back if they send 100 outbound messages per day, report stats daily, attend daily training, post homework in the group, and attend the Day 5 consulting call.

OutcomeThe intense activity requirement generates real business results for participants, making the upsell to a full program an easy conversion.

Common mistakes

5 traps
Setting criteria that are hard to track or subjectively measured
Giving store credit as free months upfront instead of spreading over time
Not making all meetings and calls into offer opportunities
Using this when your refund rate is above 5%
Treating customers who fail the criteria as losses instead of offering them a long-term commitment

Origin story

How this framework came to be

Hormozi discovered this offer structure while scaling his gym launch business. By making customers bet on their own ability to follow directions, he removed the risk of buying while creating accountability that actually improved results. The model spread across thousands of gyms in the Gym Launch portfolio.

Source

Traced to primary
Source · BOOK
$100M Money Models
Alex Hormozi · 2025
Open source →

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