If you're a busy freelancer or consultant working directly with your clients on a 1-to-1 basis, you've inevitably made the realization: I'm so busy with client work that I can't take on more clients, but I need more clients to hit my business income goals.
So, client-service business owners face a significant challenge: how do you scale your web design business (or any client-based business) without selling more time for money?
The answer, my friend, is by productizing your services.
In this complete guide to productizing your services, I will show you how to convert your 1-to-1 services to a scalable "off the shelf" offering that can sell in your sleep, even if you don't know how to pronounce productize (hint: it's "product-eyes").
We'll explore:
- the five different models of productizing
- my exact formula for coming up with 6-figure productized service ideas
- and strategies for validating your thoughts with your picture-perfect customer.
Plus, you'll learn how to launch your first productized service, and I'll also provide dozens of real-world examples of productized services that generate freedom and build wealth for their founders.
Let's go!
What is a Productized Service?
(and will it revolutionize your web design business?)
To answer that question, let's start with this:
What would happen if your freelance or consulting practice grew by 10x overnight? Could you handle it?
For most freelancers and independent consultants, 10x growth overnight would be a disaster, leaving them overwhelmed. The influx of new clients would be too much to handle, and they would not be able to provide the same level of quality service they've come to expect from you.
I like this question because it forces freelancers and consultants to see major "breaking points" in their business so they can fix them before it's too late.
- Are your sales processes inefficient and different for every client? Time to streamline it.
- Is your client onboarding a manual process and too time-consuming? Automate it.
- Do you have a crystal clear client avatar? Define one.
- Are you bogged down by fulfilling low-paid client minutiae? Eliminate that type of work.
- Is every single client project different, and therefore impossible to systemize? Time to dramatically raise your rates or create a productized service that you can sell and fulfill at scale.
Freelance web designers and consultants who primarily work with clients 1-on-1 often struggle to scale their practice because their time and focus are tied up in fulfillment work when they land a new client. This leaves little room for other practice growing activities like marketing, client acquisition, and skill-building.
The problem here is an inability to scale due to your operations being "tied up" with client work. Unless you're charging premium fees for your freelance and consulting services, you'll quickly "plateau" in your business and wonder why you are busy but not thriving. An excellent term for being buried in client work is "service debt."
"Service debt" is when you've made endless promises to your clients, and you're so busy playing "catch up" with client work that you can't take on any new projects, preventing you from growing your business. This often leaves freelancers and consultants feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, even closing up shop.
The remedy to the 10X growth problem and service debt is productized services.
A productized service is an outcome-oriented service that solves a specific problem at a fixed price and timeline.
It’s having something to sell. An “off the shelf” offering you can sell, rather than selling your time, yourself, or your skills.
Your marketing, sales processes, client avatar, project fulfillment, and referrals are entirely standardized and scalable.
If you get 10X growth overnight for a productized service?
Well, congratulations, and enjoy the paycheque!
(Assuming you've set everything up correctly. More on that below).
The Different Business Models of Productized Services
There are a few different models of productized services. In general, productized services are outcome-oriented and solve a specific problem at a fixed price and timeline. However, there are different ways to package productized services, and each has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Let's look at five of the most common models for productized services.
One-off project
One-off projects are outcome-oriented projects where you deliver your work at the end of the project during the "delivery" phase. The goal is to get it done within your specified timeline so you can move on to another client immediately after finishing this one off productized service without having any downtime in between clients.
Some examples of one-off projects might be writing a blog post, creating a social media campaign, building a website, designing a brand package, or setting up an email marketing automation.
One-off projects provide a low barrier of entry for clients to get started with you since they're not obligated to continue paying you on a monthly or subscription basis.
Examples of one-off productized services:
Done in 1-Day ConvertKit Overhaul is my productized service in which I build a complete automated email marketing system within their ConvertKit account in a single day.
Predesign is a productized service by Oblik Studio in which they provide branding and visual identity for startups for a reasonable fee in a short timeframe.
Subscription / Recurring Services
Subscription or recurring services are productized services where the client pays you a fixed amount of money regularly (weekly, monthly, etc.) for a tangible, valuable outcome.
Some examples of recurring services might be website maintenance, social media management, content marketing, email marketing, or graphic design.
The main benefit of subscription services is that they provide predictability and stability for both you and your clients. This makes it easy for clients to budget for your services, and it also allows you to plan ahead and forecast your income.
The disadvantage of recurring services is that you can quickly "burn out" if you're not careful and don't have a solid system in place to manage and fulfill orders.
Examples of subscription-based productized services:
DesignJoy provides unlimited graphic design for a monthly subscription.
Bean Ninjas offers best-in-class bookkeeping, accounting, virtual CFO, and tax services for 7- and 8-figure eCommerce businesses looking to scale for a monthly recurring fee.
Daily Content Machine helps content creators top of mind with daily videos, seven days a week, on the big five platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn) for a monthly fee.
Done With You Services (DWY)
Done With You (DWY) services are productized services where the client pays you a fixed amount of money (or recurring fees) to work with you on a specific project or goal.
Some examples of DWY services might be business coaching, mastermind groups, or workshops.
Done With You Services are a great way to scale your 1-to-1 coaching or consulting business since you can work with more than one client simultaneously, delivering value to them at scale.
By systemizing your expertise into a standardized coaching curriculum, a workshop, or a mastermind group, you can then deliver your knowledge to more than one client simultaneously. For example, instead of one coaching client paying you $1000 per month to hold them accountable to their goals, what if you standardized your coaching into a program of 10 clients who paid you $1000 per month? For the same effort and time on your part, you're receiving 10x the income and facilitating a valuable professional network for your clients.
Examples of Done With You Productized Services:
The FFFam is my private community of high-performing freelancers and indie creative entrepreneurs who pay $9/month for weekly office hours, support, accountability, and networking. Whether there is one person attending sessions, or 100 people attending sessions, my effort remains the same.
Group Coaching with Jonathan is a membership community for business owners who want to make more money without working more hours.
Unlimited Services
Unlimited services are a form of "recurring services" in which the client pays you a recurring fee to access your services whenever they need them.
Some examples of unlimited services are WordPress security, website maintenance, social media management, video editing for YouTubers, content writing, direct response copywriting, or graphic design.
The advantage of unlimited services is predictable income, and your income can quickly grow with each new client you sign on. Additionally, you won't need very many clients to generate significant cash flow depending on your monthly fee.
For example, the founder of DesignJoy runs an unlimited graphic design productized service with pricing from $2500 / month and has reported earnings of more than $300,000 per year from this service alone.
The disadvantage of unlimited services is that you can quickly "burn out" if you're not careful and don't have a solid system in place to manage and fulfill orders and create clear definitions of what "unlimited" truly means.
Examples of unlimited productized services:
DesignJoy provides unlimited graphic design for a monthly subscription.
beCreatives provides unlimited video editing and motion design services for creators.
Service on Software (or Software with a Service)
Software with a Service (SWaS) is a type of productized service in which you offer a software product as part of your service.
Some examples of SWaS services include website building platforms, CRMs, eCommerce platforms, and task management software.
The advantage of SWaS is that you have a built-in target customer base who use and pay for the tool you're offering services upon. This can be a great way to quickly generate income from productized services, as your customers are already familiar with and using the tool you're offering services for.
Another advantage of SWaS is that it can help you get "in the door" with higher-value clients. For example, suppose you're a web design company offering services exclusively for Photographers using Squarespace. In that case, you may land more prominent Photographer clients looking for a web design company that specializes in Squarespace.
One final advantage of SWaS is that it can help you bootstrap a software product you want to build. Suppose you're a web developer who regularly builds landing pages for photographers. In that case, you may build a landing page software for photographers that includes all of the features your clients need. Then you can use your productized service as a way to generate paying customers for your proprietary software! Now that's cool.
The disadvantage of SWaS is that you are reliant on the success of the software you're using. Some may call this "building a business on rented ground" (that is, of course, unless you're using your software!)
If the software company goes out of business, loses out to its competition, or changes its pricing model in a way that makes your productized service no longer profitable, you're in trouble.
Examples of Productized Software With A Service
Done in 1-Day ConvertKit Funnels I offer Productized Services based exclusively around ConvertKit and Teachable, two popular tools amongst Course Creators and Coaches (my target audience for my productized service).
Marie Poulin offers programs and services based on her expertise with Notion, a popular productivity tool.
Brennan Dunn offers services and programs around his software companies, RightMessage and Paladio.
Squaremuse is a web design company offering services and templates exclusively to Photographers using the Squarespace platform.
The process for converting your 1-to-1 services to productized services
There are a few critical steps to converting your freelance or consulting practice to productized services. Here are the steps I recommend:
- Find patterns in your business, your services, your clients, your skills
- Define your target client
- Identify an urgent and common problem your target client suffers with
- Define a tangible outcome your productized service will provide
- Set a specific timeline
- Set your price
Let's dig into each of the steps.
#1 – Look for patterns in your business
The first step to doing this is to analyze everything in your business. What are the common themes and trends in the work that you do? What services do you offer that are most in-demand? What kinds of clients do you serve? Are there common problems you solve? Once you have identified these patterns, you can begin the productization process.
#2 – Define your target client
If you're used to offering tailor-made, custom solutions to your clients, you're going to need to challenge yourself to think differently. A productized service is the exact opposite of customized solutions.
Your productized service is for one type of customer. That's it.
For example:
- Food Truck Owners
- Instagram Influencers
- Social Media Marketing Agencies
- Business coaches who use ConvertKit
- SaaS Founders
- Podcasters
So who is your one specific client? Once you've defined them, let's move on.
#3 – Identify an urgent and common problem your target client suffers with
The mark of an excellent productized service is how it solves a specific problem for the target client. When you can identify an urgent and common problem that your target client suffers from, you know that you're on to something good. This is what you'll want to focus on when creating your productized service.
For example:
- Instagram Creators struggle to get their content seen by their audience
- Food truck owners don't have time to manage all of their digital marketing
- Busy coaches are overwhelmed with setting up effective ConvertKit automations
- SaaS founders don't have the budget for branding and logo creation but need it to be taken seriously by angel investors
- Podcasters struggle with creating quality show notes for each episode
- YouTubers struggle to repurpose their content for other platforms to increase brand exposure
These target clients have repetitive problems that are begging for a productized service!
So what are some common and urgent problems with which your target client suffers?
#4 – Define a tangible outcome your productized service will provide
Now that you know your target client and their unique problem, it's time to determine a tangible outcome they are looking for.
For example:
- ConvertKit Automations for Coaches
- Hashtag Strategy for Instagram Creators
- Social Media Manager for Food Truck Owners
- Done For You Shownotes for Every Podcast Episode
- YouTube Content Repurposing
- Brand Package for SaaS Founders
- Teachable Sales Pages for Course Creators
Notice how these examples provide precise and valuable outcomes, rather than:
- Email marketing services
- Social media services
- Writing services
- Content marketing services
- Branding services
- Web design services
Are you beginning to notice the value in productizing?
Let's move on.
#5 – Set a specific timeline
Productized services almost always have a fixed timeline to achieve the promised outcome. This is one of the major selling points of productized services – clients know exactly what they're getting and when they'll get it.
For example:
- ConvertKit Migration in 24 hours
- Brand & Logo Package for SaaS Founders in 5 days
- Podcast Shownotes in 2 hours
- Teachable Sales Page in 1 week
- WordPress to Webflow migration in 2 days
- Unlimited Graphic Design Revisions, 48-hour turnaround guaranteed
- Website Refresh in 1 day
When you productize your services, you need to be very clear about how long your target client can expect the promised outcome.
#6 – Set a Fixed Price
The final step in productizing your service is to set a fixed price. This will ensure that both you and your target client are clear on what the productized service costs.
For example:
- ConvertKit Funnels for Coaches in 1 Day – $2,500
- Social Media Manager for Food Truck Owners – $500/mo
- Podcast Editing Service – $99/mo
- YouTube Video Repurposing into Daily Content – $1,500/mo
- Brand Package for SaaS Founders – $2000
- Teachable Sales Page for Course Creators in 1 Day – $2,500
- Website Refresh in 1 day – $1,000
When pricing your productized service, make sure to consider all of the value that it provides.
What is the value of the outcome to your client if you save them 30 hours of frustration trying to build their website by themselves?
What is the opportunity cost for Coaches who are wasting effort messing around with ConvertKit Automations instead of coaching clients?
Now that you've established a target client, a common and painful problem, the outcome you'll provide for them, a timeline, and a pricing strategy, it's time to put your productized service idea to the test.
Wrap Up & What's Next?
Now that you understand what productized services are and how to create your own, it's time to take the next step: launching your first productized service.
This process can seem daunting, but with a bit of effort, you can validate your idea with potential clients and get started on building out your offering.
Remember to consider all of the value that your productized service provides and price it accordingly – this will help ensure that both you and your target client are clear on what they're getting. With a solid foundation in place, you're ready to start scaling your consulting practice by productizing your services!
Need some help productizing?
If you'd like to start productizing your services so you can finally scale your income without scaling your effort, join the Build with Brad mentorship and we'll coach you through it.