So many times in business we’re looking for the next thing – the big thing that changes the game….so much so that we lose sight of the secrets of services business success that we already know.
I know as we’ve been here over the past year, going through the process of creating, launching and then ramping up Scoop.
And I’m willing to bet that either you’ve been here too or you’ve gotten waylaid with ALL THE THINGS and need a reminder.
Running a services business is harder than it looks, but when you focus on these fundamentals, or “success secrets” (sorry, no secret sauce here), things in your business will be simpler, more strategic, and definitely more scalable.
Here are four success secrets we can all use a regular refresher on:
Secret #1: Have a Process for Finding Clients
When you have a services business, clients are your lifeblood. When you don’t have clients, you don’t have a business, and your ability to grow hinges on your ability to finding and booking said clients.
There are typically a few ways this plays out for most business owners:
- You sit back and wait for clients to come your way.
- You’re so tied up with client work you don’t look for clients.
- You’re so desperate that you’re doing anything to get clients.
None of these are good for your stress levels, or for the bottomline. That’s why in order to succeed with services, you absolutely need to have a process in place for finding and booking clients.
There’s no one perfect way to go about this. The main thing is that you have one in the first place. Are you focused on getting clients by referrals? On collaborations? On being active in places your clients hang out?
If you don’t have a clear plan for where to find clients, you need to define one and stop leaving it to chance or to when you’re scrambling to fill a spot in your client lineup.
Secret #2: Be Clear on What You Sell & Don’t Sell
Can you just do fill-in-the-blank? Or could you do this as a one-off?
There are so many things that you’re going to get asked by would-be clients, so it’s up to you to get crystal clear on what exactly it is you’re selling.
A few questions to answer:
- What specific services do you offer?
- Who are these services best for?
- What’s included in your services?
- How much do you charge?
And that’s just the start. Next, think about what things you don’t do. As the saying goes, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
When you’re in the earlier stages of your business, you’re likely to say yes to more things, but pay attention to the difference between slightly out of your comfort zone and totally in over your head.
Taking the time and energy to get clear helps to make the sales process much simpler because you can approach the consult or proposal with confidence. (Which also makes clients want to work with you more as you have things handled!)
Secret #3: Make Working With You Easy
You may want to file this one under obvious, but it’s so much harder in practice on a day-to-day basis.
Once a client says “yes” to working with you, it’s your job to make that experience easy. This means everything from your onboarding process to how you communicate and deliver work to every other touch point, should be designed to be simple and strategic.
When you’re looking at this piece of your business, look at it from the client’s point-of-view and step out of what’s easiest or best for you. A client is paying you for a service and part of that is actually serving them by saving them time and energy.
Keep in mind that part of this is simply doing what you say you’re going to do and to follow-through on what you’ve promised. No amazing customer experience can ever make up for poorly executed service.
Secret #4: Stay Out of the Busywork Bermuda Triangle
The Busywork Bermuda Triangle is a very real threat to your success when you offer services.
What is it exactly? It’s that place where you find yourself “doing work” that’s not focused on a specific outcome or doing what’s most important – finding, booking and wowing your clients.
A common place this tends to happen is by obsessively focusing on things with a long-term pay off like the perfect website, building a huge email list or even a social media following.
It’s not that these things don’t matter or don’t have value, because they do. I’d never dispute that for a second.
Where the problem comes in is when you delay finding clients by spending four months on a website that’s not based on a tested concept. Or on building an email list when you don’t even have a package you can sell, let alone having nailed down your ideal client.
If you need to prioritize, activities that help you find, book and wow clients should come first. Being late with a client deliverable because you decided to play with Facebook ads isn’t cool, and neither is having a gorgeous website based on an idea that no one actually cares about.
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