Every day I talk to professional service providers who do great work, have a valuable service that really helps people… and fight to get their services used as much as they would like.
They get a lukewarm response after an initial conversation while connecting, referrals come in but don’t convert into real business as often as they’d like, and they can’t seem to get prospects to see them much better than others. professionals offering similar services.
Or they may catch the attention of prospects as a result of an ad, published article, or speech… but then the initial attention fades into phone tag and ultimately not a real customer.
So what is the problem? In most cases, they’re not going far enough with the prospect to reveal the quality of their work…so it’s not their professional work. And some professionals DO have decent positioning and things that build credibility like client testimonials and case studies on their websites (although the latter, done effectively, is rare, unfortunately).
There are many things that can go wrong in the marketing and sales process. But in most cases, the key I see missing is a decent approach to packaging your professional services. Part of successfully packaging your services means putting what you offer in a variety of formats and “packages” that your customers need, at prices they will pay.
Networking and asking for referrals is a waste of time (or much more difficult), if you don’t have something that prospects can easily buy…an easy “yes” option in the form of carefully packaged versions of your services. .
Real life examples that work
Here are some examples to illustrate what I mean. These are simple ways to repackage what is normally only offered as consulting services (whatever your specialty). Each format offers your customers a different level of commitment, time and money… increasing the chances that you will find the right one for your needs:
* Weekly training to get and stay on track: Good for prospects who are hesitant to take the first step or just need a little encouragement to start small. Ideal for people who need the structure and discipline of a regular meeting (phone or in person) to stay on track.
* Multi-hour strategy session – particularly useful if you sell to other companies. A fast and affordable way for potential customers to get targeted feedback and new ideas about your current approach to what you offer.
* 1-Day Start-up Retreat – A more detailed version of the previous idea. Especially useful if you bring together a management team.
* Multi-day or monthly workshop or clinic – a different way to impart your expertise and help your clients “learn to fish for themselves”.
* Quick Audit – A finite and affordable commitment to allow a prospect to get a small taste of your approach. It can often turn into a longer commitment.
* Strategy + Action Planning: A surefire way for prospects to get real value, without buying the whole nine yards. Again, this is a finite commitment that produces a model for future work.
* Implementation services: This is usually the main service offered by professional services companies. To make this more “shoppable”, break it down into phases and smaller incremental commitments.
* The Roundtable – Collaborate with trusted colleagues to provide a multi-faceted approach to helping your clients.
How do I know that these approaches motivate prospects to become customers? Because I use them all in my practice and they all get results. My business model represents a mix of revenue streams, none of which are completely tied to a traditional consulting model.
For more tips on getting your services used by offering choice through creative packaging, read on…
Give your prospects options and you’ll increase the chances that they’ll convert more quickly into paying customers. That is how:
1. Package your services to offer clients a variety of ways they can work with you. Think small, then gradually add steps in larger sizes. Before you know it, you’ll have a variety of ways to help your customers.
2. Give each service a catchy title that talks about how your customer will benefit. For example, I offer the program “More clients than you ever thought possible!” “Maximize Your Online Strategy” Website Audit and Marketing Clinic. Make the headline about your customers, not about you.
3. “Productify” your services to generate passive income. Record your public talks and sell them as tapes on your website. Combine sets of items and sell them as mini books. These are pretty easy and inexpensive things to do.
4. Bring back current and past customers with your new range of services and/or product-based solutions. Just because they’ve purchased a type of service from you in the past doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in new ways you can help them.
5. Make sure your pricing structure offers prospects a variety of options. Make it easy for them to take the first step by offering something small and relatively inexpensive. A lot can be said about pricing, which I’ll cover in a future issue of this newsletter.
6. Don’t be afraid to detail your range of services in your marketing materials and on your website. Demystify what you do by offering lots of information, including details of what your clients can expect in terms of deliverables, timelines, specific results, and what they need to do to ensure success.
7. The bottom line is to use customer-centric language and descriptions. Although it is about your services, it is not. It’s about how your customers will succeed and what problems they will solve by choosing a particular service. I just can’t stress this enough!
Experiment with various packages and see what works and what doesn’t. Play with the variables: title, size, price, description, deliverables, etc. You have nothing to lose except future customers.
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