5 Steps To Creating Profitable Services
As clients we like to think we are unique, special.
We are all individuals and we need a individual solutions!
However when you've been in business long enough you soon discover that very rarely is anything truly unique.
In fact you'll find there's maybe only a handful of scenarios or challenges that 80% of your clients fall into.
What you'll probably also find is that most of the clients who WANT a bespoke solution can't actually afford a bespoke solution.
And that's because bespoke is expensive.
Doing something brand new is expensive.
Doing something unique is expensive.
Why?
Because you have to factor in time for first figuring out what you need to do.
You need to allow time for the unknowns you know about, and all the unknowns you DON'T know about.
And because, like learning to ride a bike or baking a cake, the first time you do something will ALWAYS take you longer than when you've done it so many times you could do it in your sleep.
And all that time adds up.
And your time is valuable.
Your knowledge and expertise is valuable.
The unique, bespoke experience you're about to create for your client is valuable.
But when faced with the REAL price for all this value, many clients (especially if they're not your IDEAL clients) will struggle to justify the price-tag.
So what do you do?
You don't wanna lose the sale. You need the work right?
So you reduce your price so you don't lose the deal.
But while delivering high-quality services at budget prices does keep the revenue coming in, it isn't actually REVENUE that pays your salary - it's PROFIT.
And profit ain't made from selling your services on the cheap!
But what else do you do?
Well there is an alternative.
This is where having pre-defined packages and services, that meet most clients price points, becomes really powerful.
A bit like offering 'off-the-rack' wedding dresses along with custom designs.
It's powerful because it gives more of your clients options they can afford.
Without YOU having to take a pay cut.
We call this process Productisation.
This is how I made an extra hundreds of thousands of pounds of profitable revenue for companies in London by creating products that more clients could buy more often, and that they could deliver PROFITABLY with the resources they had.
It's was a game changer.
And a really powerful model to get more profit in your business.
So, how do you create value-based products, that more clients can buy more often...?
This is something I teach in How To Nail Your Pricing And Pay Yourself What You're Worth.
However you can get started by following these 5 Steps To Creating More Profitable Services
STEP #1
Understand your clients' biggest pain-point.
Think about your ideal client.
Ask yourself:
"What is it they are trying to achieve? When ideal clients come to you what is the most common problem they want you to solve for them?"
Yes, you could do this exercise for your most common type of client to help them purchase more.
However, this exercise becomes even more powerful when you focus on your IDEAL client (which often isn't the client you work with most) as it's working with ideal clients that really builds the business of your dreams.
STEP #2
Work out how you make the biggest impact.
Ask yourself:
“If there was only ONE thing I could do for that client to provide the biggest impact, what would it be?”
Creating valuable services that more clients can buy isn't about 'boiling the ocean'. It's not about overwhelming them with 110 different things you can do.
It's about being the expert, knowing your clients and putting on the table just those things that will make the biggest impact to their lives or businesses.
STEP #3
Work out the right price point.
Ask yourself:
“Enabling them to make that one change, how valuable is that to them? What’s the price-point that represents the value they're getting that they can justify purchasing?”
There is definitely a psychology in pricing.
There will be certain price-points that are perceived as being good value for money and others that are not. This is part of Value-Based pricing, and it's subjective.
However, by now you will have an idea of the budget your ideal client will have for the services you provide. One that is fair for what you enable them to achieve, that also represents value for money. This is the number you want.
STEP #4
Work out how to deliver it.
Ask yourself:
“What would I need to do in order to deliver THAT service for THAT price?”
This is flipping the standard approach on it's head.
Normally when we think of pricing we work out how much it COSTS us to deliver it and then charge accordingly. OR we work out what we think our clients are willing to PAY and deliver it for that, even if we lose money in the process.
Working backwards to ask "what would i need to do to deliver that service for that price" is a really powerful step.
Because it puts you in control of delivering what the client needs and a price point they can afford without you having to take a pay cut in the process!
Now, more than likely you will need to look at doing this differently.
Very rarely does the normal cost to deliver a service conveniently equal how much someone else is willing to pay for it! If it did, you probably wouldn't be reading this post.
So often you'll need to get creative about how you deliver.
What can you automate to deliver more for less?
What standard templates can you create so you're not doing repetitive work?
What can you outsource to get more done faster?
Are there any activities that add time but not value that you could remove?
You don't have to stick with how you've currently been delivering. This is your chance to ask 'blue sky' questions and come up with new and sometimes innovative solutions.
STEP #5
Now use your pricing calculator to cost up that new service.
This is where you want to make sure you're using a Healthy Charge-Out Rate - one that ensures you're earning enough for every hour you work to pay all your bills AND pay yourself the salary you deserve.
You also want to ensure your documentation is thorough enough to manage client expectations so you don't end up feeling forced to deliver more than what you anticipated. You can learn more about that here.
And that's it.
5 Steps to create more services that more clients can buy more often that YOU can deliver for a profit.
Adding these value-based, pre-defined services to your product offering is a really smart and powerful way to increase your profitability, without increasing your workload.
I would love to hear how you get on!
How did this work for you?
Did you get stuck anywhere?
Drop a note in the comments below to let me know where you're at!
Need help sorting out your Value-Based pricing or creating that Healthy Charge-Out Rate?
Ready to pay yourself what you're worth without burning out?
Check out How To Nail Your Pricing And Pay Yourself What You're Worth and learn how.
