Productized services are all over the place, it seems like this new model has quickly become the go-to way of generating crazy numbers.
Examples such as DesignJoy, which generated $1.15M as a one-person agency, Baked Design, a design studio achieving over $100K in monthly recurring revenue (MRR), or Hunter Hammonds, a serial entrepreneur who launches new productized services monthly, generating seven figures in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in less than a year.
What do all these productized services have in common? What can we learn from them and apply to our own businesses to sell more?
They sell more than a product, they sell a story, let me explain.
Story is king
The number one thing productized service owners ask me is advice on how to get their first clients.
While every business is different, something that's not, is the psychology behind a customer subscribing to a service.
When someone subscribes to DesignJoy’s, Baked Design’s or Hunter’s services, they are not subscribing directly because of their landing pages or their pretty designs.
They are subscribing to a desired state they envision for themselves, attracted to the narrative they see online about those services.
They are subscribing to a story.
Their stories create trust, establish them as key players in the industry and because of that, people believe in them and love them, in their mind, their lives will be better after they subscribe.
How to write your own story
Every good story starts somewhere and for you as you’re getting started, it probably means that you need to start to create this narrative around you and your service.
Stories can be conveyed in different ways, whether through writing, speaking, or sharing videos; the medium isn't what matters most. What matters is to craft a narrative that speaks to your target audience and more importantly that doesn’t sounds fake or forced.
The secret sauce is then simple: slow authentic growth. (The #buildinpublic movement on twitter is perfect for that)
Show up every day, do the work, share the work with everyone online and ultimately people will start to notice, will start to follow and will start to crave your story.
Let’s take Baked Design’s example: they didn’t start with tons of followers or even clients. They roasted landing pages and redesigned them for free, without permission and did it in such a good way that people LOVED it.
They slowly increase their prices, expended their offering until becoming what they are today. This is not luck, this is pure work and it paid off.
Productized services offer many, many advantages, but, as with any business, they demand a well-crafted marketing strategy—and the most effective strategy is a compelling story.
