How to Improve Your Consulting Business by 327%

J D — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:18:23 +0000

Do you know why H&R Block became so successful? They took an arcane service like Taxes and turned it into a product. They packaged the services into different products with increasing price and created accounting software to streamline the process. In short, H&R Block productized their service.

You should “productize” too.

Many people hesitate buying services on the internet because they don’t know what they’ll get. They’re dealing with something new and they have no way to assess its value. Marketers overcome this by productizing their service. They take the necessary steps to turn their intangible service into a tangible product.

Yet, there are thousands of bloggers selling their services the wrong way. They charge hourly, fail to specify benefits, and keep their service or consultation as arcane as possible.

But, do bloggers keep their service arcane to hide what they do?

No, not always. There are several great bloggers offering great services. They write great blogs and offer great value. Unfortunately, they are limiting their success because they are not selling their service the right way. They are leaving good, profitable clients on the table and losing them to people with lower pricing, and lower quality.

Now lets help you grab those extra clients.

Service Product Packages

Don’t offer “blog coaching.” Instead, offer specific “blog coaching” product packages. For example, “Crafting Killer Headlines,” “Working Social Media,” or “Increasing Blog Traffic in 30 Days.” Not only will this keep people more interested, they will know exactly what they’re paying for and exactly what they’ll get.

(Bonus: Many large corporations demand product packages so know they know they’re paying for).

Create Tangible Products

Don’t expect clients to take notes throughout your consulting session. Instead, give them key takeaways. For example, send them a PDF of “Next Action items,” or “Things to Remember,” or a “consultation summary.” While you run the risk of people sharing it without your permission, you will create several happy customers who will be willing to use your consulting services again.

Offer Free Samples

The internet shareware industry used this to the max. They offered 30-day free trials so people became accustomed to using their software and then asked them to buy it. This increased sales substantially.

So, once you create your service product packages, create a bare-minimum free product package to get people interested. Please note, a regularly updated blog can be considered a free sample and so is a free e-book.

Don’t Charge Hourly

Personally, I hate hourly charges. I always think, “are they padding their hours” – even with reputable companies. This means I go into a sales call on the defensive and the salesman needs to break through my defenses before I’m willing to buy. It is just plain uncomfortable and is a huge waste of time.

You are the expert. You are selling the consulting services. Once you productize your service, you will know how long each project will take since you will be using the same process. This allows you to charge per project instead of per hour.

Offer Testimonials and User Feedback

One of the reasons eBay became the largest online auction website is because they used user-feedback to determine the credibility and trust of buyers and sellers. When you’re packaging your service, you can do the same exact thing.

You should create a forum where you encourage your clients to write honest reviews of your service. Additionally, encourage them to write what they didn’t like about your service. Remember, the world of selling is changing since everything is transparent, so you might as well be the person offering the transparency. This will show you have nothing to hide and immediately build trust with potential clients.

Offer Specific Promises

If you’re not willing to “productize” your service, you need to offer specific promises because people need to know what to expect. For example, while SEO masters can’t guarantee #1 rankings, they can guarantee some number of links or exposure.

The Open Challenge

Are any of you making a living off of services like consulting or coaching? I dare you to justify the way you are currently running your consulting or service business if it doesn’t conform to these best-practices.

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