A podcast helping independent marketers how to build a leveraged and profitable practice.
(This podcast was formerly named Mindshare Radio)
What to do if nobody is buying
your product as services.
So what our productized services,
productized services are typically
things that you offer on your website
for a fixed price and a fixed scope,
and they offer a fixed outcome or an
ideal specific outcome or multiple.
Uh, multiple outcomes with their services.
And ideally the benefit of that for you is
that it's easier for your clients to buy.
They can kind of see what they're
getting before they even talk to you.
And then they can kind of
think about the price and.
The price is right there.
It's published on the website.
They kind of know what they're
getting before they even talk to you.
So it's kind of an easier way
to buy, rather than reaching out
to a consultant or a freelancer
doing the whole custom thing.
And then worrying about getting
price gouged or worrying
about what the scope is.
Or people have all kinds of concerns when
they start talking to people because they
feel like they're going to get sold to.
So it's easier for the buyer.
It's also easier for you that the
seller to sell because the price
and the scope are fixed and other
that you want it, or you don't.
And if you don't, maybe
there's a custom option.
If you do here, it is.
There you have it.
But the downside is that if
it's not selling you, don't
always get that feedback.
So on, like with custom services.
Which is a hint as to what
some of the solutions will
be in this, in this episode.
But unlike custom services where you
actually talk to people and then,
and then hear their feedback and do
a proposal, you don't get that with
as much with a productized service.
So what do you do?
When things aren't, aren't selling.
Well, let's break it down.
Just like anything there's different
ways to break down the problem.
So, number one is, is your positioning.
Clear.
So I like the form of positioning.
If you're not, you know, you can
do this in any way you want, but at
least internally you should have a
position that says I am a X category.
So I am a business coach
helping target market.
So I'm a business coach helping
marketers, independent marketers.
Get X result.
Uh, two.
Grow and run a more profitable business.
And so I I'm a business coach
helping independent market has grown
run a more profitable business.
Great.
That's a, that's a value proposition.
That's your positioning.
And it has to be clear.
So you have category target
market and the business results.
That are measurable and ideally not
too ambiguous or not ambiguous at all.
You can point your finger to
at the end of your engagement,
say, yes, we got you there.
And this is not like a while
we did a bunch of stuff.
There's the stuff it's no, here's the
business results that you've gotten,
whether tangible or intangible.
Not just the deliverable,
separate things, benefits versus
deliverables, not the same.
So I'm a.
Category helping target market.
Get X.
Business results.
I'm assuming that's clear.
You should get enough people
coming to check out your offers.
Assuming you're out there, marketing,
getting in contact with people.
Educating your target market and
then driving them to your website.
You should get, you should eventually
start having people take a peek
at what it is you have to sell.
If your positioning is good.
Um, and then, so let's
take it to number two.
Number two is, do you have
enough visibility on your offer?
So.
Most problems begin with positioning.
If your positioning is fuzzy.
So to will.
Your market will be confused as well.
That's why we get into category for the
target market for the business results.
That way it's unambiguous it's I
help these people get X business
results and I'm a Y category
doesn't matter what order it is.
So as long as your positioning is
good, you should get some visibility.
And then the question, as I mentioned
is, do you have enough visibility?
And you just look at your services
pages or wherever you're publishing
this, your offers and saying, am
I getting enough eyeballs on it?
Ideally you want to get in the order
of dozens or, or, or maybe a, you
know, a hundred or more people.
Visiting your options per month.
Now, as a consultant, you
don't need a consultant.
You don't need that many.
You only need a few, take it to close and
then your, your business can be booming.
So don't let the numbers kind of slow you
up, but am I getting enough attention?
Am I getting people regularly
visiting my services page?
And that's going to be an indication
of your positioning as well as
your marketing efforts, which
is a whole separate podcast.
Then in terms of how
you get more visibility.
But do I have enough visibility?
So, if you think your positioning
positioning is good, people get it.
They nod their head.
When you'd say it to them,
they're visiting your website.
Maybe they're even signing
up to email newsletter.
You're seeing a lot of interest
in and traction in terms of the
things you're putting out there.
Great.
So then do I have enough visibility?
If not, I've got to go
back and get and put.
Put the word out there, create
more content, that sort of thing.
Um, and assuming you are getting
enough visibility, then the
question comes down to, well, am
I like why aren't people buying?
Right.
And so let's break that down a bit.
Number one is it might
be a credibility issue.
So do they see you as a credible
expert at solving their problem?
So, how do you remove that risk?
Well, one is by establishing credibility.
And, but in part of that is
by telling your story, why are
you selling to this market?
What makes you, you know, The right
person to, to teach and to help me
do this thing, what is your story?
And what is your background?
And what are those signals that have
led you to be the credible expert at
this thing that you're promising today?
And that that's part of de-risking
the engagement for your client.
So how do you do that?
One is credibility.
Another one is social proof.
Another one is, um, guarantees
and that sort of thing.
So are you credible and how do
you, de-risk the engagement?
That's one of the big factors that
are, is often invisible because
you might have a good offer.
You might have a right price points.
He might have a great scope.
You might even be getting in
front of the right people.
But if people are like, eh, I
don't really know this person,
I don't really trust them.
I don't see how they're.
I don't believe that they
are experts in this area.
Then you've got challenges, even if you've
got, you know, testimonies and all that
stuff will help, but how are you credible?
And that's your whole story and that's
what leads up to you being an expert.
And part of that is sharing content.
Part of that is.
Doing education-based marketing so
that people know they're credible
because frankly they hear you talk.
They hear you right.
They see you, right?
They, they get your content.
So they know, they know
you're talking about stuff.
And then the social proof and
the case studies and that sort
of thing really helps as well.
So number one, positioning.
Number two, are you getting enough?
Visibility, number three.
Are you credible?
Have you have you, are you
reducing risk in as many ways as
possible without being desperate?
And the number four, and this
is the most kind of the most
important probably place to start.
If you, if you have a productized service
and it's just not getting traction.
Maybe you've sold once, and then you
made it into a productized service,
or maybe you created a, a slew of
ideas and then you've put them on your
website and hoping that people buy.
Well, what you want to do
is probably put those aside.
Build a custom, very simple custom
services page that says, here are
the things that I here's, the I'm
the I'm this kind of person here are
the things that I offer here are the
things that I do in terms of outcomes.
Are these the pains that you have?
Here's what, how I can help.
Uh, reach out for more
information and we can talk.
And then here's some case studies
and here's some supporting materials
to get a sense of what I do.
Joined my blog, whatever.
I have ways for people
to consume your content.
But that way, you're
keeping it all custom.
You don't have prices you might decide
to remove if you're getting a lot
of interest, but not a lot of right.
Qualified buyers.
You may have a minimum
price or even a price range.
Or typical engagements
usually look like this.
So you might be able to kind of put
some, give, educate people a little bit
more what to expect in terms of minimum
pricing, pricing, that sort of thing.
But I would probably just try to leave
that off the table for now until you get.
Uh, until you have a little more
clarity until you create a more general.
Service offering for that target market
based on the outcomes that you promise.
So you're still offering the same outcome.
You're still focusing on
the same target market.
But the scope is remains to
be seen and then go, go back
to have them reaching out.
And when people reach
out, you have discussions.
What are your goals?
Why now?
Why me?
What are these, what, you
know, what are you looking for?
What's an ideal situation.
Look like what would be the
value of this ideal outcome.
If we were helping to help you get
there, what are the constraints and
limitations, really understanding
their business problems.
So you can create.
Custom options, ideally three
and one is the low level.
One is the high level ones in between.
And there.
They all go to the same place generally,
but they may require more DIY effort from
the client or more money or more time.
It might take longer or shorter.
They might have more access
to you in there for all those.
Implications still apply.
But a lot, at least it
allows you to create a PR.
Like a pricing tier based on the value
prop, the outcome that you're promising.
And then depending on the one people by.
That's the one you productized
and ideally you do that only after
you've sold a couple of them.
And you can jump the gate.
You can create, you can take
that proposal with all three
options and basically make that.
Your product ladder.
And I were productized service ladder.
But you run the risk of it falling deaf on
people's ears and all that kind of stuff.
So I would sell it custom a few
times before you go and productize,
because otherwise you're not
going to have enough data.
You're not going to have
enough conversations.
You might have qualified buyers who
would buy from you, who just don't
see themselves in your copy either
because the positioning's off or
because the credibility is there.
Isn't there.
Or a social proof elements
are aren't quite up to date.
I don't know, but what you want to be
doing is optimizing for conversations
and the way to do that, as you keep
your services page, very light.
Here's the problems I solve.
Here are the outcomes.
Here's some ways that I can
help reach out to me for more
information and we'll put together.
We'll explore the
potential to work together.
Uh, and then you do a deep dive
kind of audit and analysis of their.
Of there, there needs.
You don't have to do a full on
marketing and audit or analysis.
Um, at this stage, although you
could, in some people charge for
a discovery project to do that.
Some people will do that over
the course of an hour or two.
I prefer to do a discovery project.
I actually haven't done
one of these in years.
For my advisor work, but the first
few clients before I productized
my services, I did do discovery.
I did create three options and I
sold it custom the first two times
for my pro my fractional CMO stuff.
And then later I refined it as I
went into the coworking nation.
I anyway.
There was.
A whole process, a similar
process for that as well.
And, um,
So the whole point is.
Do you have good positioning
because that's the thing that's
going to get the right people to
your website in the first place.
And it doesn't matter how many
people come to the website.
You want the right people there.
Number two is, are you
creating enough visibility?
So are enough people seeing your offers
because you might have a great offer.
But if not enough, people are
seeing it, then you won't capture
that 3% who needs it today.
And, uh, because the odds are so
low and the numbers are so low.
So you need to get more people there.
Are you credible and, uh, and, uh,
are you offering enough social proof?
Do you tell your story somewhere to let
people know why they should trust you?
Do you have true credibility behind you?
A number.
Number four is then selling your
services custom, giving it general to
begin with and reaching out for it.
A custom quote, uh, give people
maybe if you want, for some comfort.
A minimum.
Uh, engagement fee or a price range.
Um, Some, maybe even some like
list of typical things that you do
for people so that they get clear.
Okay.
I can do a, I can do advisory retainers.
I can do.
Um, strategy.
Processes campaign build-outs whatever.
List that stuff out and
then have people reach out.
You know, uh, for, for a custom proposal.
For a quote from you.
And if none of those are working, then.
There's, you know, you have to think
about all those things all over again.
You know, are you positioned well enough?
You know, does this target market
actually want this, this thing?
Am I doing enough to get in contact with
people to bring them into my ecosystem?
And I'm actually sell them
through education over time.
So those questions will come up candidates
of that in the scope of this, but really
the takeaway here is have good positioning
so that you get enough attention.
To your offers be credible.
The other part is sticking
around long enough.
So that that 3%.
Who are on your list, who are in
your ecosystem, become ready to buy.
And sometimes that takes years and
a lot of people don't get that.
Um, so, you know, being around.
And consistent long enough.
Is is helpful.
Assuming there's signs of life,
things like people are opting
in, they're clicking your
emails, they're opening stuff.
You're starting conversations.
Those signs of life can tell you a lot.
And if you're not getting any of those,
then you've got to go back to the top.
Uh, and then number four is having
those custom engagements and, uh,
that's really going to help you
optimize for conversations, create
scopes of work that you probably
wouldn't have thought of based on actual
needs that people are looking for.
And, uh, I find that can be a lot more
helpful before you go and productize.
A lot of people productize too early.
They wonder maybe they copied my services.
Are they.
They remix it or they do something
and then wonder why it's not working.
It's okay.
To have multiple options.
But maybe don't over productize
the scope and the price and
maybe keep it high level.
You know, a lot of ways to do it,
either keep one general services page
or create a few service offerings.
Um, but I would, I would keep it a
super simple at the beginning with
an optimized for conversations.
Hope that helps.
And if you've got any other
questions around productized services
while you're selling them while
you're not, um, reach out to me.
They were playing the comments, email
me, Kevin and kevin.me, or head over
to the website, my website, kevin.me.
And on the homepage, I just put up a
crash course on how to go from, uh, doing,
to leaving, to teaching your expertise.
And that talks about all, about how to
create a product and service ladder.
Uh, how did you know the, the various
business models of the execution
advisory and outsourcing realm
as well as the education realm?
So check out all that stuff.
If you're curious about
creating a productized service
ladder for your business.
And, uh, let me know.
We think I'm always
interested to hear from you.
And as always this podcast
and this community only grows.
Through your word of mouth and
that's going to be the thing
that's going to propel it the most.
So if you get any value from
this podcast, if you listen to.
To my free content or you read my
emails and you get value out of
it, share it with somebody, know
a friend, a colleague, anyone.
I invite them into the community.
There's a space for everyone.
And, um, just love to
spread the good word and.
I hope this content reach more people.
That's it for now and i
wish you the best Bye.