What is a ‘Package’ . . . Really?
Unlike packaging for a tangible product — think ‘Book Cover’, the package for your intangible service is totally different. It’s not some container into which you pour your service, it’s not an image you use to promote your service and it’s not a set of ten (10) cassettes in which your service can be sold.
So, what is it? Good question. Here’s a good example to show what I mean:
“The Pure Powder Skiing Escape”
If you’re a serious skier who’s tired of the crowded, packed powder runs of New England and you yearn to ski in the wide open spaces . . . one day you make a decision to visit your friendly old travel agent. Once you’ve told her about your disappointment with the heavy crowds and the packed powder problems you’ve had skiing in New England, you hear, “I’ve got exactly what you want –– The Pure Powder Skiing Escape! (feeling excited already?)
It’s seven days of deep powder, no crowds, no phones, no fax machines, no kids (your option) and no demands on you except to have a great time! We’re talking Utah here — where the powder is deep, the crowds are gone and the people are great.
The Pure Powder Skiing Escape includes your airfare, hotel, and all lifts. You can stay at any one of six lodges and ski any day at any of three top-rated ski areas. Or, for an extra $450 you can have a 3 bedroom, fully furnished condo that’s just a 5 minute walk to the base lodge or the tri-area transportation bus station.
I can also include a meal plan that provides a hearty breakfast and dinner each day if you wish. Sound good or would you like the option of exploring the local restaurants on your own? (Yeah, I thought you would, too.)
To get around the area we include a mid-size rental car with free mileage; an upgrade to a full-size luxury car is just $85 more. If you like we can include some optional activities: ski lessons: group or private as well as horseback riding or snowmobiling day trips in the high country. Not for you, huh? (I understand . . . been there / done that. I get it!)
Now you can leave any day Monday through Friday. And, we include without charge, door-to-door limo service and all ground transportation in Utah. Naturally, we handle all baggage checks for you. The basic price of The Pure Powder Skiing Escape is $3,200 or $4,000 per person if you fly first class. You can charge it on your credit card — we accept American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discovery and Diners Club. So now . . . the only question I’ve got for you is this: “When do you want to go?”
My friend, THIS is what I call a powerful package!
If you’re a serious skier who’s had it up to here with crowded trails and packed powder skiing, I’ll bet this ‘package’ of travel services is very, very compelling, right? Could YOU do the same for your particular expertise? If you’re not sure, we’ll examine why this package ‘works’ and how you can apply the same principles to achieve success in packaging your expertise, too.
To recap this PART 2 on Packaging Your Services:
• a ‘package’ provides what your Ideal Client wants
• a ‘package’ includes everything needed to do that
• a ‘package’ is the FIRST thing a client gets from you!
In PART 3, I’ll deconstruct the Pure Powder Skiing Escape — so you can do the same
Don’t want to wait? Download the full Special Report . . . NOW!
If you’re providing a service and find you aren’t getting as many qualified prospects to become clients as you like, you may want to examine an often overlooked yet significant factor: the way you package your service.
Why You Need A ‘Package’ for Your Service
Let’s face it. Selling an intangible service is not the same as selling a tangible product for a lot of reasons. I won’t go belabor the details, but it is sufficiently different because when someone decides to become your client, they’re not (yet!) getting your service. You see, technically they can’t!
With a tangible product like a hot dog from a vendor, you immediately know what you’re getting. But, how can anyone know what they’re getting at the time they’re buying your service? Afterall, they haven’t experienced your service yet, right? And, they certainly haven’t enjoyed the benefits of your service, either. So, what are they buying in that magical moment when they commit to become your client and avail themselves of your service? It’s the implicit PROMISE . . . that they’ll (eventually) enjoy the benefits you offer them.
By the way, before we go any further, let me clarify two things. First, I’m assuming that you have adequately defined the benefits of your service so that qualified prospects can identify what’s in it for them if they buy it. Second, I’m assuming that you have already sold yourself to your prospect by intentionally developing a relationship with your prospect through the things you’ve said and done with your prospect starting from the moment you first met.
So, if you are acceptable to your prospect and your service’s benefits are truly attractive, but your otherwise qualified prospects aren’t buying . . . it might just be the way you’re packaging your services.
To recap this PART 1 on Packaging Your Services:
• prospects can’t experience the benefits of your service until some time passes
• a ‘package’ is how you make your intangible service . . . tangible
In PART 2, I’ll reveal how to construct intangible service ‘package’ — so you can do the same!
Don’t want to wait? Download the full Special Report . . . NOW!
“If you’re not standing out, maybe you’re just not that outstanding!”. Perhaps a tad harsh with a hint of truth (sounds like a good wine!). But the fact remains that differentiation is a key skill to develop for your business or practice.
It’s Not Personal, It’s Biological!
The author, A. K. Pradeep writes in his book, The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind that when there’s a plethora of similarities, our brain goes into what he calls “Repetition Blindess”. This is a condition of perception where, when faced with a number of similar objects or concepts, the brain ‘freezes’ or ‘goes blind’ and is rendered useless at being able to distinguish one item from the others.
Pradeep adds, “We are biologically programmed to seek out differences”. Why? The purpose is purely adaptive. We need to identify things in our environment that have the potential to harm us. So we scan and scan our environment to identify anything that appears ‘out of place’. So our brain renders anything similar in appearance as non-registerable and seeks to find the ‘exception’, not the ‘rule’.
Marketing Implication: Stop Being a Copycat!
Saying what your competition is saying is not only unimaginative, it’s ineffective. Why? Because ‘copycat’ marketing — saying what your competition is saying — makes you appear similar to them and that, as we just said, makes you invisible!
Marketing Implication: Honor Your Prospects’ Need for Differences
The way to capture attention of your prospective client is to ‘go against the grain’ . . . to ‘stand out’ from the crowd in what and how you say it. Remember that your prospects’ brains are craving for what is not like all the other messages out there.
Rather than putting out the ‘same old, same old’ . . . consider these ‘outstanding / stand out’ variations as noted copywriter, Tom Trush suggests:
Tutorials — popular way to attract interest. ”How To” never goes out of fashion!
Lists — short, sweet and fun to eat (oh, that’s baby carrots!) but you get the point, yes?
Interviews — with thought / industry leaders — they’re very popular for a reason!!
Statistics — charts and graphs render complex ideas quickly and easily!
Insider Views — show what ‘most’ can’t or don’t get to see and you’ll be very popular
Q & A — reveal your expertise and satisfy the need to compare ourselves with others
KEY POINT:
Don’t be a copycat! Saying what others are saying in their marketing is like getting wet in a dark wool suit — you may feel all warm and fuzzy but no one (that you care about i.e. prospects) are likely to pick up on it.
