Successfully Selling Services

If traditionally most business owners have focused their energy on selling a product, more and more are trying their hand at offering services rather than goods. Recent data shows that service firms – which offer expertise in areas as diverse as Web marketing, financial analysis and freelance writing – recorded revenue of almost $3 billion in 1998 in the U.S alone.

So what can a small service-oriented business do to capitalize on this increasingly profitable industry?

According to Isabel Isidro, a small business expert, any company which has been successful in selling a service will have the same answer to this question.

Isidro says that the crucial ingredient for success in this area is ensuring that your business remains entirely client-focused, and that your fortunes will also hinge on how you package yourself.

“You are your own product,” Isidro says. “More than any other business, your success will greatly depend on how you deal with your customers and how you package yourself.” Excellence in client focus requires attention to be given to a number of areas. Among the most important is communication. By communicating well with your clients, you will be able to determine exactly what sort of services they require. You will also give your clientele the opportunity to express their opinion about the service your business provides.

In this way, both parties should be satisfied with the business process and end result, or will feel comfortable in speaking up that an issue requires more attention.

Respect for clients is also vital. Terri Seymour, founder of entrepreneurship website Web Success Central, says that clients anchor your business – and should be treated accordingly. “The customer is the reason for your business success,” says Seymour. “Treating people with respect and building those personal relationships is one of the most effective ways of providing your business with a solid foundation.”

A successful service-oriented business also realizes the importance of consistency. That is, each time you agree to complete a task by a certain date, make sure it meets deadline. This will catch the attention of existing clients – and may well lead to new customers as word spreads of your dependability. “If you build a reputation for dependability, you can rely on repeat, as well as referral, business,” writes Isidro.

For small businesses especially, understanding your limits is important too.

If you accept assignments that are beyond your firm’s capabilities, you may well find that you have a number of dissatisfied clients, as well as a static bottom line. On the other hand, by limiting your clients to those whose goals match your abilities exactly, you will be able to offer a superior product, and growth should follow. “Under promise and over deliver,” is the advice given by Deborah Brown, a career coach and founder.

Incorporating technology into a service business is another way of increasing awareness of your firm and hopefully pushing up profits. The Internet can be a useful tool for your business, even though you sells skills rather than products.

A 2001 SME Internet survey by Gallup found that, increasingly, small firms are taking note of the web’s worth – and not only to sell products. Thirty-six percent of small businesses with a website used the site to advertise their company and provide information about their operations, the survey found. Additionally, 57 percent of businesses surveyed said their website had provided at least a 100 percent return on their investment.

The relevance of the Internet to a service-oriented business is that it provides a means to disseminate company information and advertising widely and relatively cheaply. The fact that you are selling a skill rather than a product shouldn’t be a deterrent either. Just because you are not selling a commodity or impulse product does not mean you should not have a presence on the World Wide Web.

Through careful thought and planning you can create a web presence for your business that will enhance your goals and bottom line in hundreds of ways.

Copyright 2003, RAN ONE Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from www.ranone.com.