One of the biggest challenges in selling services is that your services are intangible. Unlike products, it can’t be seen, touched, or tasted.

When customers buy a product, they know they’ll pay a fixed amount for that product and they pretty much know what they’ll get for their money.

Selling services however is a totally different ball game. When a client “buys” a service, they also know what they want to get from it, but they often don’t know how long it will take and how much they’ll need to pay in the process to get to the results they want. This is due to the fact that services are often charged for by the hour – the client pays for each hour or session they work with you until the desired results are achieved.

The problem is: charging by the hourly builds up some resistance and impacts on a client’s buying decisions.

Other negatives of charging by the hour include the following: it puts a limit on your earning potential because you won’t be able to raise your hourly rates indefinitely.  There are also just a limited amount of hours in each day, week or year that you can work with clients so you can really only work with a limited number of clients in a given time period.

Furthermore, selling services by the hour makes marketing and getting clients more difficult because clients are often resistant to pay high hourly rates as they are uncertain if they’ll receive value for the amount they pay per hour.

So, what’s the secret to solving this dilemma? 

The secret is to position your services as a product.

Today’s Tweetable Tip

The secret to selling services and making more money at it is to create services packages.

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Packaging Your Services

Packaging your services simply means that you group a number of services together and then sell them as a group deal or package.  This transforms your services and makes it look more like a product; having a specific outcome and fixed price and thus making it easier for clients to buy.

Benefits of service packages include things like:

• They help you to break away from the “time-for-money” trap;
• Involves a fixed and/or longer time period;
• They are based on the value a client will receive and typically “promise” a specific end result;
• You can charge higher fees than charging by the hour;
• The package has a fixed price, making it easier to buy.

To illustrate a services package, let’s say you are an image consultant. Previously you’ve been selling consultations at an average of $97 per hour and could effectively work with only 6 clients in a day.  So your income was approximately $582 per day. It all went well for a while but eventually you feel you work yourself to death and your clients do not really experience the full benefits of what you can do for them.

This is when you decide to look at your services differently and rather create service packages where you group a number of your most popular services into one package and offer it for example as a “One-Day Makeover” package for $997. This package now includes a wardrobe assessment, color consultation, a 3hr personalized shopping trip and some other nice goodies. This package allows you to spend more time with one client; they experience much more value and way better results AND it almost doubles your income per day.

Take note that with a service package, you’re giving your clients a defined result (a “make-over” as in our example). It has a clear time frame and a set price. So clients know what they will get and what they will pay for it, making it easier for them to buy.

With service packages, you in effect raise your income per day, work less and can focus on the work you enjoy more. Your clients get better results. They love you for it and are happy to spread the word about you and your services. It is a win-win relationship.

Create Service Packages at Different Levels & Price Points.

The idea here is to offer different services packages to give clients options to work with you.  E.g. you can create 3 different packages – Package 1 at a small investment, Package 2 at a medium investment and Package 3 as your top of the line option. You’ll often see these presented as Gold, Silver, and Bronze packages, but you can be more creative with your package names.

For example: Let’s take the image consultant again. She can for example create the following packages.

Package 1: Colour analyses (lowest priced package)

In this package she includes for example:

• An evaluation of the 12 different colour groups you fall in.
• What fabrics and patterns suit you best.
• Hair colour and Eye colour analyses.
• Face shape analyses to help you select eye-wear, hairstyles, earrings, hats etc.

Package 2: Figure and Style Analysis (mid-level investment)

This package can include for example:

• A full color analyses (everything from package 1) PLUS
• Figure and style analyses
• Wardrobe assessment

Package 3: The New You – One Day Makeover (most expensive)

This package can includes for example everything from package 1&2 Plus

• A personalized shopping trip
• Make-up lessons

**Please note I’m not an image consultant, and the ideas / examples presented here might not be spot on for a professional image consultant business. They are just used for illustrative purposes 🙂

The reality is that creating different packages at different price points make it simpler for someone to buy a service package that meets their needs at a price point they are willing to pay. It is also easier to “upsell” people into your higher priced packages because they can easily see the added value.

Thus, working with service packages makes marketing much easier. Your clients will perceive more value from working with you, and you will reap the benefit of greater sales and income.

And by the way… even if you think you don’t, you do have package solutions in your business! No matter what services you provide or what type of business you have – in some way, shape, or form you can package your services to solve one or more of your client’s problems!

Love & Success!

P.S. If you want more support with structuring and creating products and service packages to leverage your time and income, get in touch! I help my clients create offerings that sell, so that they not only make a difference in their clients’ lives, but in return are handsomely rewarded for making that difference!