5 Lessons Learned From Creating New Services
Hi you!
How do you grow your business?
Well, you can start by reaching new people who could benefit from your products and services. That’s marketing. You can also improve your ability to inspire others to hire you or choose your company by having conversations with prospects. That’s sales. But there’s another form of marketing and sales that’s often overlooked to grow your business: and that’s developing NEW products and services!
Seth Godin famously said, “It used to be that marketing meant advertising. Now marketing is everything.” I agree! You might know that before I became a Richmond-based personal branding and executive headshot photographer, I was in marketing. So I lean on those skills to help me innovate how I serve my clients.
In the last 90 days, I launched two brand new service offerings. And I’m grateful to say that these services have been “winners” according to my clients. I recently hosted my first-ever workshop dedicated to helping people take amazing pictures with their iPhones. My first workshop sold out in a few days … so I added a second workshop date and that workshop sold out, too! (FYI: I just added a new workshop date in case you’re interested in learning more!)
I also launched a new service offering: my Social Branding Solution. It was my answer for clients who wanted more than a headshot but weren’t ready to invest in my complete Personal Branding Solution. Since launching the service, I’ve had several clients sign up for private sessions and I recently hosted my first Social Branding Party, in which I filled my open appointments.
I don’t share this to brag. Not at all! I’m sharing because if you want to grow your business, put on your marketing hat and brainstorm new products and services to help your clients.
I want to share five lessons I learned from creating my new services.
Creating New Services: 5 Lessons Learned
Appreciate your clients’ pain points. Those pain points are those challenges your clients face. What keeps them up at night? What’s in their way of achieving their goals? By appreciating what your clients are going through, you may discover you have new solutions to offer. In my case, I kept hearing my clients say they struggled with taking great photos on their own. Most of my clients use their phones as their primary cameras, especially the iPhone. Since many of my clients need to keep their social media library full of great images, I thought, Let’s see if people want to learn how to take better photos with their iPhones. And that’s when I developed the idea for the iPhone workshop!. So appreciate your clients’ pain points so you can help them relieve that pain!
Remember ABE: Always Be Evolving! I’m not the same photographer I was when I began my business. I think I’m better at my work, how I work with clients, and how I serve my clients. I bet you’re the same way, too. Creating and updating your products and services is the natural flow of business. You don’t want to keep delivering the same thing year after year. Look at your business as a work in progress, and keep evolving!
Fear is normal. Hey, I’ll admit: creating new services and promoting them isn’t always comfortable. Any time you try something new, you step out of your comfort zone. But that’s where growth occurs! All of us benefit when we make the decision to grow. It may take a while to reap the benefits, but don’t let the fear of rejection or failure stop you from helping more people achieve their goals with your new products and services.
Welcome feedback—even negative feedback! All of your new endeavors may not catch on right away. That’s okay. Last year I put together a workshop that I thought would bring a lot of interest and value with my clients … and it didn’t catch on. That’s valuable marketplace feedback. Instead of taking it personally, I re-calibrated my ideas and developed something new and my clients voted yes by signing up for my new service. Keep going till you find the right combination of services and pricing that work for you and your clients.
Me teaching my first iPhone Workshop
5. Don’t overlook or discount your skills. People often discount their gifts, skills, and abilities. We can be so focused on what we think we should be doing and selling that we overlook other services that we could offer. My iPhone workshop is a good example of this. I knew how to use my phone to take great photos. I didn’t think much of that skill. But when I listened to my clients, I realized that my skill at taking great iPhone photos could be of value in teaching others what I know. That’s what led to my new workshop.
I don’t care if you’re a coach, realtor, or fix cars: there are things your clients and customers want and need that you could do for them that you’re currently not offering or selling. Take some time this week to brainstorm ideas.
Next: talk to your customers! You could say, Hey, I’m thinking about offering XYZ. Could I pick your brain to see if you find any of these services of value? Those conversations are gold!
And most importantly: don’t give up. My 2020 mantra is "Live Your Potential.” That’s why I wanted to write this article for you: so you can live your potential and reap amazing benefits.