It’s still pretty cold in the Washington, D.C. area where I live. But spring is around the corner and every week I get flyers from landscapers and lawn mowing services in my mailbox at home. Even in the lawn care business, there are subtleties in the service delivered. Some will clean up the weeds, others include edge trimming, one or two might leave a receipt or note so you can keep track of when they stopped by.
I learned from one of my mentors, an accountant, long ago that even services can be packaged like a product to make it easier to sell. If you are not clear on your offer, fewer people will understand it well enough to buy.
The easiest way to package services this way is to create an outline of the services you will perform, what it will cost, and what the result will be. As an accountant, he created a product called an “Accounting Assessment” in which he would do a complete review of a company’s accounting and bookkeeping procedures, software configuration, and other financial elements and provide a thorough report of what is done right and what could be improved.
The best lawn service flyer I got had a similar format: number of mows per month, weed pulling optional cost, spring mulching and fall clean-up. It was a fixed price contract with a discount for up front payment. The company’s flyer, their first contact with me, was not the prettiest design but it was passable. Yet the content was so compelling that I picked up the phone and called. I loved the idea of a packaged deal for my lawn care – it was easy to conceptualize and comforting to know I won’t get nickel and dimed to death with extra service fees.
To package your product and service so it resonates with potential buyers, be sure each customer “touch” includes all of these elements:
- Clean, easy to read design
- Clear explanation of what you offer
- What’s included
- Call to action (i.e., “Call for free estimate” or “First month free if you sign up by March 31”)
Don’t miss out on sales due to bad email communications that lack focus. Stay on message and make it easy for prospects to digest what you offer.
