Module 2, Step 2:

Stop the race to the bottom – Productizing your services

What is productizing?

Productizing our services is kind of the sister step of niching down and finding our unique specialization — both of these guide us away from competing against every area competitor for generalized services. Thus, the only differentiator is… price. And winning over a portfolio of these bottom feeders will suck the soul out of you and your company.

I suggest, if you haven’t down so already, that you have a price attributed to your specialty services. Two or three price points — entry level, value level and premium would be even better. This range of services lets a prospect haggle amongst themselves over which solution is the optimum value for them.

A strong productized service also requires defined solutions, value propositions and trust factors

• A product name and description of the outcome (and preferably a captivating picture)
• Fixed price
• Clearly defined solutions received
• A differentiating statement (VP) that tells the prospect why YOUR solution is special
• Testimonials/reviews: Hearing our peers vouch for a product/service increases our trust immensely.

Why the resistance to productizing

Like niching down, the reason so many people are resistant to publicly announcing their price for a specific service is because:

1. you don’t want your competitors to know your pricing and…
2. you want wiggle room to haggle with your customers because you know you can make up some ground on a few people here and there to get you square from the ones who beat you up on price.

Competitors – when we have our niche defined properly, with our Value Propositions and Unfair Advantages fully defined, it is up to your competition to undercut your price AND convince this same customer that they can provide your service to the same level of expectation that you can. In other words… they’re just going to end up with the bottom feeders.

As for wanting to haggle with your customers so you can make up some ground here and there? That’s no way to build long term customers… nor a quality reputation in your community. Leave that to your competitors as well.

Example 1: Heating company features their leading furnace line/service

Packaging your services together provides you the ability to guide your prospects to your preferred offerings. I’m using this fictitious line of furnaces as an example, but this method can be used for nearly any product or service line.

1. Entry line of furnace:

Name/description of outcome/price: “Home Sweet Home” 40,000 BTU energy-efficient furnace + installation = 800.00.
Solutions: AFUE rating of 80% (80 cents of every $1.00 of heating energy expense warms your home)
5 year warranty by one of the nation’s top suppliers
Value Proposition: Expertly installed by bonded and insured ABC –  specialists in optimizing “Home Sweet Home” units to their environment
Testimonial/review: “I was so delighted with ABC’s attention to detail. They even insulated the wall behind the furnace to ensure better efficiency!” — Wendy Smith

2. Value line of furnace:

Name/description of outcome/price: “Home Sweet Home Plus” 80,000 BTU energy-efficient furnace + installation = 1200.
Solutions: Pays for itself in gas saving 30% faster.
8 year warranty by one of the nation’s top suppliers
Value Proposition: Expertly installed by bonded and insured ABC –  specialists in optimizing “Home Sweet Home” units to their environment
Testimonial/review: “ABC Co is amazing. They even inspected my duct work to ensure better efficiency!” — Bill Johnson

3. Premium line of furnace:

Name/description of outcome/price: “Home Sweet Home EXTREME” 100,000 BTU energy-efficient furnace + installation = 1600.
Solutions: Pays for itself in gas saving 30% faster.
10 year warranty by one of the nation’s top suppliers
Value Proposition: Expertly installed by bonded and insured ABC –  specialists in optimizing “Home Sweet Home” units to their environment
Testimonial/review: “The HSH EXTREME has cut my heating bills by a 3rd in the 3 months since ABC Co. installed it!” — Amanda and Lesley Garrett

Like niching down, when you have wholly satisfied a customer with your flagship product/service, you can then expect to up sell future services as the trust and relationship has been established without disrespectful price haggling.

Note that I only need ONE Value Proposition for all 3 product/services — it is after all the same service for all 3. Only the product enhances.

Example 2: Business or life coach:

Like the heating company above, most business or life coaches have a monthly, quarterly and/or annual fee for one-on-one coaching, but have you given thought to expanding this to include small groups? Maybe even large groups?

Many people would like to “kick the tires” before committing to a larger investment. You may want to commit to holding weekly (or bi-weekly) Facebook Group events for larger, but inexpensive group work.

This can become the second-tier of your sales funnel (the top tier should be a freebie video series or lead magnet). But, again, having a few standardized (productized) services will prevent the haggling down in price. You can always politely respond with, “I think you’d be perfect for my group coaching — it’s really inexpensive…”

Final thoughts…

Think of productizing as simply packaging an extra service (or two) and possibly a freebie (consultation, lead magnet, inspection…) together. Create a definable process around this new package. This is another way to raise your company above the mundane and play at a higher level.

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