Before you go pouring concrete on your productized consulting services, it helps to actually validate demand for your services using real-world clients and custom proposals.
It all comes down to the sales conversations.
There are three main things you want to cover during your sales conversations: objectives, measurement, and the value of the outcomes. (Credit to Alan Weiss for teaching me this.)
Once you’re clear on these things, you can begin to create a few options that will help them get there.
The options people consistently choose are the ones worth productizing. Any time I have tried to productize out of my head, I’ve had difficulting selling the service.
Why? Because it’s too theoretical to make up services from your head. Something about selling custom solutions to people’s actual problems makes them grounded in reality.
The language you use to describe the service, the scope you choose, and the prices you offer are all tied to real people’s needs and value equations.
So before you productize, sell custom.
Keep things general on your services pages. Sell custom proposals first. See what sells more than once with little to no adjustments.
Let real people design your productized services for you.
Next month, I’ll be doing a paid workshop on the specific steps involved in selling high-ticket custom consulting services.
If you’re interested, stay tuned for more info.
—kw
P.S. Once or twice a year, I open up an annual Mindshare group coaching membership option. It gives you the equivalent of four months free—a no-brainer price for anyone serious about growing their independent practice.
If you’ve been on the fence about joining, now is the best time to get in. You get access to my monthly workshops for free, twice-monthly coaching calls, a private Slack community, and more.