Why You Should Treat Your Service Like a Product
For small business owners who only offer services, scaling your business isn’t exactly the same as scaling a digital or physical product business. Your offers are different, your pricing models are different, and how you work with clients and customers is different.
But what if – despite all these differences – you could treat your services exactly like a product?
What would that mean for your current marketing and sales tactics? And how would that impact your future business growth?
Here’s why we think you should treat your services like products.
You can grow your lists
When you’re in a dry spell or your leads have dried up, it can be really frustrating. This is something I hear from service-based biz owners all the time — and it’s totally valid!
But, we have to remember that you can’t expect audiences to go from zero to conversion like they might with a product. They can’t just “add to cart.”
Plus, your service is an investment – not something that’s delivered straight to their inbox or mailbox. But to get them closer to conversion, you can leverage a tactic that’s often used for products: growing your email lists!
Now, we don’t mean adding a generic “Subscribe to my email list!” form to your website and hoping that audiences sign up. We mean using sales tactics – like a freebie funnel or sales funnel – to showcase the value of your services and expertise, while capturing relevant information about your audiences.
I’ve seen people create templates, guides, even mini-courses or trainings to showcase their skills and unique frameworks. From there, they pitch subscribers to book a call about their services or let them know about special 1:1 offers they have.
However you choose to attract leads, just make sure you have a proper follow-up that nurtures leads into your offers. You can create a CTA at the end of your videos or PDFs, or even landing page, that informs new subscribers of your service(s).
You can include information like:
- Who you are and what you do
- What your service is / how the process works
- Pricing information
- Testimonials
- And more!
Whatever that call-to-action (CTA) looks like, make sure it’s clear, actionable, and lets you know that audiences are interested in what you have to offer.
You can nurture your leads
Now that you’ve got their interest and have grown your lists, it’s time to nurture all those new leads. When you’re selling products, a sales sequence might involve tactics like:
- Showcasing the value of the product
- Offering exclusive discounts
- Including bonus materials or resources
- Sharing reviews or testimonials
- Creating a limited window of opportunity
- Executing a full-blown launch plan
So, why can’t the same apply to your services?
Again, we have to remember that the road to conversion isn’t the same as it is with products. When you purchase a product, the risk vs. reward is fairly low. You buy the product, and it either suits your needs, or it doesn’t.
When you purchase a service, on the other hand, the risk vs. reward is higher. Services typically require more of an investment – of both time and money – from your audiences. As a result, the road to conversion isn’t as simple; your audiences need lots and lots of nurturing. But by following the same sales formula, you’re not asking audiences to go from zero to conversion. You’re providing them stepping stones along the way.
In general, a service-based nurture sequence might look like:
- Starting a conversation — “Hi, what brought you to my email list?”
- Sharing more about you and your expertise/experience
- Showcasing testimonials and transformations
- Highlighting your services and exactly how they work (and the deliverables included!)
- Addressing objections and letting people know you offer a solution to their challenges
- Sending value-based content that helps people with their challenges until they’re ready to work with you
You can expand your offerings
When it comes to creating new products, sometimes (actually, most times), it comes down to listening to your audience and customers.
For example, say an entrepreneur sells website templates that are simple, classic, and catered to a more mature audience. Along the way, they discover that younger audiences are interested in the templates, but they want something that matches their brand personality a bit more. As a result, the entrepreneur creates a brand-new website template that’s bolder in design and color.
The same model can be applied to your services.
What are your audiences’ hesitations when it comes to purchasing your services? Is it cost? Time? Whatever those roadblocks are, use it as an opportunity to expand your offerings that provide value and generate income. Maybe that looks like:
- Hosting a webinar or event
- Developing a course
- Creating a downloadable resource (like an e-book)
- Offering a free (or discounted) consultation
- Creating a monthly membership
- Hosting a challenge
- Offering tiered options for your service(s)
- Creating a “mini” offer with fewer deliverables and a shorter timeline
- Creating a VIP day or retainer offers to meet their needs
Now, this doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel or stop what you’re doing to create tons of brand-new offers. It’s about learning what your audience wants and needs and repackaging your service(s) to meet them exactly where they are. It doesn’t have to happen overnight!
Ready to get started? Create a freebie funnel for your services!
So, are you ready to start treating your service like a product? We have the perfect next step for you: creating a freebie funnel.
But before you’re like, ‘Uhh, I don’t know how to do that,’ we’ve got you covered.
With our customizable Freebie Funnel Kit templates, you can start generating leads for your services ASAP. Plus, with lifetime access, you can use these templates over and over again for every new offer you create for the future. How amazing is that?
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Grab your Freebie Funnel Kit template for ClickFunnels, Kajabi, and Showit right here — and choose from the design and style that works best for your brand.