Why Narrowing Your Services Will be The Best Thing You Do For Your Business This Year
Episode 636: Show Notes
Today we’re going to talk about offering too many services and how to transition out of your Cheesecake Factory phase, namely, having way too many items on your menu. In a recent episode, we discussed narrowing down your services, and what it would look like to have conversations with your existing clientele about changing their service or potentially even eliminating their service altogether. Today’s episode is for those of you who are too scared to even consider this option!
Tuning in you’ll hear us tackle how to make this transition and why it doesn’t need to entail massive sacrifices. We realize that everyone has different needs and limitations. So whether you want to make your transition in twelve days or twelve months is completely up to you! In our conversation, we break down how to streamline your packages by asking yourself the right questions and what you should know about clients when creating your offers. We also talk about the immense possibilities that open up from living in your expertise, and what it means to make your life your career. If you can't even imagine reducing the number of options you have available to your clients and want to discover how to overcome your fear, then this episode is for you!
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Why You Should Never Let Fear Stop You From Narrowing Your Services
It’s normal to start out like the Cheesecake Factory, that is to say, offering a huge selection of services. This is by now means a bad choice, in fact, it can be a really effective starting strategy, but at some point, you’ll need to narrow your services. Whether you’re an agency, or an independent photographer, designer, or copywriter, taking on any type of project, whether it’s a wedding or a portrait series, is a great way to gain clients, earn more income, and figure out what your niche is. But for many of you when you get to the point where you are ready to narrow your services, the fear comes up that if you have fewer options, then you will have fewer clients, and no one will be willing to pay you. We’re here to tell you that isn’t the case. That there are always people willing to pay you. Once you step into your expertise and get clear on what you can offer and the results you can give, then the clients who want those results start sprouting up like little flowers. And once you have one dreamy client, then they will connect you with more great clients!
The Evolution of Learning How to Guide Your Client
The best marketers and service providers are experts in what they do and have the confidence to be aware that they know more than their clients. This type of expertise comes from years of experience. We want to remind you that every client you work with, and every project you finish, builds upon your efficiency and expertise. Your clients are not going through that learning process, you are. You're the one perfecting your skills and acquiring hacks, tricks, and strategies that are going to actually make the process and the product better. And as you go through this evolution you need to learn to guide them through the experience, rather than just letting them pick and choose their own adventure. Being a guide to your client is immensely valuable, so be sure to master it!
How to Identify and Streamline Your Offerings
If you’re struggling with conversion rates, or not enough people booking a discovery call, then ask yourself what exact problem you are solving for your clients, and the results you want to provide. If you are having trouble answering that question then we encourage you to start with a solution that feels like a total no-brainer that you know you can deliver on. Do an offer-audit of your offerings to streamline your deliverables. Ask yourself what each line item in your package is contributing and whether it’s helping you achieve the result that you want it to and then make adjustments accordingly. Viewing your packages through this lens will be hugely beneficial for streamlining your offerings and giving your clients great results!
Overcoming the Fear of Transitions
We understand that slimming down can be scary — especially when you need to say ‘no’ to a bunch of potential clients — and everyone has different needs and expenses that limit the decisions they can make. But we want you to bear in mind the immense possibilities that open up for you when you allow yourself to shine a light on your expertise. We want to help you shift into a business that you're actually happy to show up for every single day. While we absolutely want to help you envision how to get to this point, not everyone needs to follow the same path. For some people, the transition will need to be slow, while others may have the wiggle room to do it much faster. You don’t need to make enormous sacrifices to make an intentional transition.
Small Shifts Rather Than Giant Pivots
Narrowing down doesn’t need to be about giant pivots. It can very easily be about making small shifts to make your offerings clear and streamlined. By making small tweaks to your marketing you can get the clients you want without sacrificing a massive portion of your existing customer base.
The New Shift of How To Look at Your Business and Life That Can Help You Reprioritize
Often business owners experience a desire to pivot out of a sense of boredom, or because something has piqued their interest. Your job and your business can’t give you everything, and you can’t use your business to explore and express all of your interests, that’s what hobbies are for. This is part of the reason why we’re experimenting with the approach of ‘making your life your career’ to see how it will help us reprioritize.
The traditional approach would be to have your job as your career and to organize your life and your weekends around that. But when you make your life your career and prioritize your life, then that can have a major impact on how you make decisions in business. No longer does everything else need to adjust to your business, but your business needs to adjust to your life.
Quote This
I don't think you need to make a massive sacrifice to get here. I think you need to transition, which is intentional. And some of you are going to do it faster than others.
Highlights
Why You Should Never Let Fear Stop You From Narrowing Your Services [0:06:30]
The Evolution of Learning How to Guide Your Client [0:12:02]
How to Identify and Streamline Your Offerings [0:13:32]
Overcoming the Fear of Transitions [0:20:49]
Small Shifts Rather Than Giant Pivots [0:27:35]
The New Shift of How To Look at Your Business and Life That Can Help You Reprioritize [0:28:50]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Niche, Expertise, Offerings, Services, Clients, Scaling down, Customers, Shifts, Narrowing Focus, Niche Down, Streamline Offer
