Escape the Time-for-Money Trap: 4 Steps to Productize Your Services
Are you tired of trading your time for money? Many talented service professionals, consultants, creatives, and coaches, find themselves trapped by the billable hour, leading to burnout and a lack of work-life balance.
What if you could package your expertise into a product that you could sell at a fixed price, helping more people without drowning yourself in work? This is called productizing, and it's the key to building a more profitable and sustainable business.
Productizing means transforming your services into scalable products, often sold online for a fixed price or subscription. This allows you to stop selling your time and start selling value, giving your customers price certainty and freeing you to focus on strategic, high-touch work. It can even create passive income.
Here is the 4-step process you can use to start productizing your expertise.
The 4-Step Guide to Productizing Your Services
This process is about using design thinking to standardize and streamline your work into a saleable product.
Step 1: FOCUS
First, find a clear focus. A productized service should solve one specific problem for one specific type of customer. You must move away from trying to do everything for everyone.
Use customer research to map out what your clients need.
What solutions are they looking for?
What services are you already providing repeatedly to solve the same issue?
What are they already paying for, and what questions keep coming up?
The goal is to find one service your customers are willing to pay for.
Step 2: STANDARDIZE
Unpack your current service process. Write down the steps you take and the questions you ask your customers. Look for repetitive elements. Can a simple process with minimal customization serve the needs of most of your customers? The goal is to avoid customization that doesn't add significant value.
Create two key things:
A standardized template for your product, with variable modules for different situations.
A plain-language questionnaire for your customer to explain their needs and required outcomes.
Step 3: AUTOMATE
Once you have a standardized process, you can use technology to automate parts of it, such as document creation, to become even more efficient.
Hot tip: Even with automation, incorporate a quick call or meeting. The promise of personal service builds trust and reassures customers, making them more confident in their purchase.
Step 4: DOCUMENT
Finally, document your offer so it's ready to sell.
Create a service blueprint that describes the customer's journey and what happens behind the scenes at each step.
Write a compelling value proposition that clearly explains the problem your product solves.
Create clear sales copy describing the problem, the benefits, what the package includes, and the price. Be clear about exclusions and what costs extra.
A Real-World Example: My Journey into Productizing
When I started my business, I wanted to serve start-ups and small entrepreneurs who had compelling needs but minimal budgets. I knew they needed help with shareholder agreements, but my hourly price was too high. At the same time, I was a single mom with a baby who didn't sleep, so my own working hours were extremely limited. I was stuck: I had to sell my time, which I didn't have and which my customers couldn't pay for.
The solution was to productize the shareholder agreement into a fixed-price product with a standardized process.
I defined my target customer precisely.
I created a fixed-price package that included the first draft, a half-hour online meeting, and one round of modifications. I was clear about what cost extra.
I sent the client a questionnaire using plain language to map out their needs.
I then compiled the final agreement using pre-made, adjustable modules based on their answers.
The entire process resulted in a predictable service product that worked well from the start. I'll never forget the feeling of getting my first online sale. I had just gotten home and was feeding my hungry toddler when the payment notification came to my phone. It felt unreal, and it felt great. You can do it too.
Book a free discovery call with me to figure out the next step.