Downsell

Rescue a declined offer by re-presenting the same outcome at a smaller scope the buyer can say yes to right now.

Pro moderate Funnel-Stage Offers

What it adds

The builder takes the offer that was just refused, reads your source files to find which constraint caused the refusal, and rebuilds a reduced version that removes that specific barrier — less scope, longer timeline, or split payments. It converts by treating a decline as information rather than rejection: the outcome stays intact while the obstacle is removed. The conversion event is recovering a transaction from a visitor who had already said no once.

What your builder is told to do

8

The actual instructions, in order.

  1. 1

    Read the declined offer's source files and separate its components into core outcome versus convenience, speed, and support layers; the downsell keeps the core and sheds the layers.

  2. 2

    Choose one reduction mechanism and commit to it: a narrower scope, a self-serve version of a supported product, a longer delivery window, or the same product split into payments.

  3. 3

    Acknowledge the decline in the first line without pressure or guilt, and state plainly what is different about this version — buyers who feel handled stop reading.

  4. 4

    Show the trade honestly: a short two-column comparison of what is included and what is not, so the reduced version never appears to be the full offer at a lower price.

  5. 5

    Price the reduction so the gap is explainable by the removed components alone, using only figures the source files support.

  6. 6

    Specify layout behavior: on mobile the comparison stacks into two labeled blocks with the reduced option first and a sticky accept control; on tablet render side-by-side columns at equal width; on desktop keep both columns above the fold with the decline link plain and unemphasized.

  7. 7

    Present exactly one accept action and one final decline that exits the sequence cleanly — no third offer chained behind it.

  8. 8

    Tag downsell buyers distinctly from full-price buyers for future ascension routing, and record decline-to-downsell conversion as its own metric.

Edge cases it handles

5

The things an agent skips when you only say "build a downsell".

  • The prospect declined for reasons of fit rather than price: the downsell should not appear at all if the source files indicate a disqualifying answer.
  • The reduced version undermines the full offer's perceived value: adjust what is removed until the full offer still reads as the better path.
  • The buyer later wants to upgrade: define credit or upgrade-path handling at build time.
  • Payment-plan variant: display the total of all payments alongside the per-payment figure.
  • Repeat visits to the downsell: show it once per declined offer, not on every session.

Definition of done

7

Your builder is required to check every one of these before reporting the work finished.

  • The downsell preserves the original outcome and removes only clearly named components.
  • A visible comparison shows exactly what is included and excluded versus the declined offer.
  • Price difference is attributable to the removed components with no unexplained gap.
  • Mobile, tablet, and desktop layouts each present the comparison legibly without horizontal scroll.
  • Declining the downsell ends the sequence with no further chained offer.
  • Downsell buyers are tagged separately and an upgrade path is defined.
  • The builder names the source files describing the declined offer and lists unresolved assumptions about the decline reason.

Related offer files

Funnel-Stage Offers

Lead Magnet

Turn anonymous cold traffic into named subscribers by trading one narrowly useful asset for an email address in seconds.

Build This Offer: Lead Magnet

Funnel-Stage Offers

Cart Recovery Offer

Close an abandoned checkout by returning the shopper to their exact cart and resolving the friction that stopped them.

Build This Offer: Cart Recovery Offer

Funnel-Stage Offers

Affiliate Launch Kit

Equip partners with dated assets, tracked links, and a run-of-show so they can promote a launch window without improvising.

Build This Offer: Affiliate Launch Kit

How it works

  1. 1

    Copy the link

    Grab the Markdown blueprint URL for this offer type.

  2. 2

    Give it to your builder

    Paste it into Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or whatever AI builder is already working in your app.

  3. 3

    It maps, then builds

    Your agent reads the blueprint first, then builds the offer into your app around the product, audience, and stack.

Works with your stack

These blueprints are written to adapt. They tell the agent to detect your framework, match your existing design system, and use your source files instead of guessing the offer.

Need it tighter than that? Customize the offer file and tell it exactly which source docs and stack to use.