Let me tell you the story of the time I hired a house cleaner. It’s relevant to your packages, I promise!
I had never had our apartment cleaned by a professional, and I was ready to invest the money to have someone get it ULTRA CLEAN! So, I went to the internet on the quest for someone who would deep clean my apartment within my budget.
I found that MANY of these home cleaning companies had about a thousand packages. There was one in particular that had 5 different services, with 5 packages within each service. It was overwhelming, confusing, and left me thinking “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I just want my house deep cleaned!”
By having too many options, they left me, as the non-expert here, confused about which one of their many packages was right for me. The options all felt so similar, and I didn’t want to choose the wrong thing and be disappointed by the results. I wanted my house deep cleaned for the best possible price, and their myriad of options left me having no idea how to do that.
Ultimately, I went with the company who told me “This package is ALL that you need to get your home spotless.” That’s something that I as the new buyer can get on board with.
We often think that people want a ton of options, but really they just want you to solve their problem as quickly and painlessly as possible.
We live in a world where we constantly have to make hard decisions, and it’s SO wonderful when someone comes along and tells you “here’s exactly what you need”. I truly believe that by doing this in your business, you’ll ultimately be MORE successful.
Often we hear things like “Give people multiple ways to pay you!” and “Have options at every price point!” I’m NOT saying to have just one stream of income or that you can’t offer a bunch of different products or courses. I’m saying that less is more when it comes to your service offerings and what you focus on as your area of expertise, and let me tell you why…
WHY YOU NEED TO OFFER FEWER SERVICES AND PACKAGES:
1. You are the expert. Lead people by telling them what they need.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been thanked by potential clients for having just ONE package. They’ve told me that it’s a breath of fresh air for me to just tell them “with this package, the end result is a beautiful, strategic brand and website, and I cover all the little things you might be forgetting about too.” Remember YOU are the expert. They are considering paying you for this service because you know more than they do and they can’t do it on their own. They want your guidance. And whether or not you realize it, your guidance starts the minute they land on your website.
2. When many confusing options are presented, people will go for the cheapest or quickest.
If you have a bunch of different packages that don’t make sense to your buyer, they will naturally gravitate towards to cheapest or quickest. Because remember they are not an expert in what you are offering, YOU ARE. By keeping your options simple, you ultimately help your potential customer make a faster decision.
3. You will be able to create a better experience for your clients by offering fewer options.
As a service based business, you are offering an experience to your clients. And, every different package or service likely requires a different experience.
- A different contract
- A different workflow
- A different headspace for you
- An all around different system!
It takes more effort on your end to systemize everything, and you’ll create a better experience if you can truly nail down that ONE THING. I have experienced this first hand in my business. When I cut out the fluff and started just offering one package, I was able to get REALLY GOOD at creating an amazing experience for my clients.
4. Having too many options will make people ask the question, “What is she actually an expert at?!”
Let’s talk about The Cheesecake Factory — the ultimate chain restaurant right?! They have everything from burgers and pasta to quinoa salads and omelets and steak, and of course, cheesecake. Their menu lasts PAGES and always leaves me as the customer asking “what do you do best?”. With so many options, you have to guess their kitchen is hectic and whoever is buying the ingredients has a lot of work to do. And, I’ll be totally real, I’ve never been impressed by a single thing I’ve ordered there except for the cheesecake.
On the other hand, have you ever noticed how the incredible fancy-pants restaurants have a small, curated list of menu options? They are telling the customer “Here’s an easy to navigate list of what we do best!” BE A FANCY-PANTS RESTAURANT, and curate your offerings.
By doing this, you’ll communicate to the customer what you’re an expert in, and you’ll be able to become the person that’s KNOWN for something.
To be honest, my business has not always had curated offerings. Having a bunch of different services worked ok for me in the beginning when I was figuring out what I wanted to do and what I was best at. But now, I benefit from being the “website design and branding” girl. I think you would benefit from curating your offerings too.
5. If they can’t figure out what to get, they won’t get anything.
Lastly, you may be losing more customers than you realize by confusing them with all of your offerings. When someone is thinking about hiring you, they are likely looking about your services and the services of others within your field. If you’re too confusing, too complicated, and too unclear, you’ll get passed over fast. Not only do fewer options simplify your life, but it also simplifies your marketing too.
I know this concept can be confusing, so I’ve got a couple examples of packages and service ideas:
Photographer:
- Service 1: Wedding Photography
- 2 packages:
- Elopement/Destination Wedding
- Local Wedding
- 2 packages:
- Service 2: Couples/Family Photography
- 1 package = everything you need
In this example, they are specializing in photography, and have just 3 total packages, and 2 many services. This doesn’t mean that they can’t customize a package, it just means that they are keeping things simple when initially pitching their services.
Copywriter:
- Service 1: Website Copywriting
- 1 package that is everything you need
- Service 2: Email Marketing / Sales Copy Writing
- 1 package that is everything you need
- Service 3: Online Course
- 1 course that teaches you to write your own copy
In this example, there are 3 distinct offerings all relating to the expertise of copywriting. The pricing may still vary client to client depending on their copywriting needs, but the options are simple.
Designer:
- Service 1: Branding and Website Design
- 1 package that is everything you need
- Service 2: Premade website templates
- Template shop offering DIY-able websites
You may recognize this example as this is what I do! I have 2 main ways to work with me, and like I’ve said before this doesn’t mean that I don’t customize these offerings. For example, I sometimes will just do a brand for someone or just a website. But, I’m pitching one main package that offers both. I also do other things in my business like coaching and speaking, but those aren’t the main offerings that I’m pitching to you from my services!
Event Planner:
- Service: Wedding Planning
- Package 1: Full Planning
- Package 2: Partial Planning
This is the way my fabulous wedding planner’s options were, and it made things so clear and simple! In this example, they are clearly specializing in planning with 2 packages, likely at 2 different price points.
Hope these tips are helpful! No matter what you decide to do when it comes to your services, one final reminder would be to treat your website like a first date. Your potential customer doesn’t need to know all the nitty-gritty details of your services. They can reach out if they want more details, so keep your website to the point. Sell them on your offerings, and keep it simple!
