Create a Productized Service

As a freelancer or consultant, you likely have a versatile skill set that enables you to offer a variety of services. However, promoting generic offers like "website design" or "product management" makes it difficult to stand out and command higher fees.

The solution is to productize one core service—package it into an enticing, outcome-driven offer with a fixed scope and price. This playbook outlines how to pinpoint your most lucrative and differentiated service, craft an irresistible offer around it, articulate the value proposition, and successfully launch it to market.

Reflect on past projects and clients to pinpoint the most compelling aspect of your services. Ask yourself:What projects are popular, enjoyable, and lucrative that my best clients frequently need?What projects do I enjoy doing the most and provide the highest financial rewards?

Create a Venn diagram to find the overlap between high demand, personal enjoyment, and profitability. Prioritize projects with potential for frequent sales over one-off projects. For example, my niche is creating thought leadership content for SaaS companies and tech founders—projects that are enjoyable, in demand, and lucrative.

As a freelancer or consultant, you likely have a versatile skill set that enables you to offer a variety of services. However, promoting generic offers like "website design" or "product management" makes it difficult to stand out and command higher fees.

The solution is to productize one core service—package it into an enticing, outcome-driven offer with a fixed scope and price. This playbook outlines how to pinpoint your most lucrative and differentiated service, craft an irresistible offer around it, articulate the value proposition, and successfully launch it to market.

Establish a target "private" hourly rate that would feel acceptable and profitable based on your costs and desired income.

Estimate how many hours you expect to work on delivering this offer, then multiply by your hourly rate and add a 20%+ buffer.

Use an odd-number price point for added psychological impact.

Once you've identified the service to productize, clarify exactly what the offer entails by defining:

• Problems Solved: What core issues does this service resolve for clients?
• Pain Points Addressed: How does the client feel about those problems? What anxieties or frustrations does the service alleviate?
• Outcomes Delivered: What tangible results will the client achieve by purchasing this offer? What transformation will they experience?
• Benefits Provided: What functional benefits (e.g., increased efficiency) and emotional benefits (e.g., confidence, pride) do the offer provide?

To make your service truly irresistible, identify what makes your offer unique compared to competitors with similar skill sets. Brainstorm differentiators across:

• Hard Skills: Technical abilities, expertise, certifications
• Soft Skills: Communication, empathy, listening
• Character Traits: Integrity, honesty, punctuality
• Personality Traits: Humor, creative flair, collaborative nature
• Specialized Knowledge: Deep industry, process, or subject matter expertise
• Experience: Relevant background and diversity of perspectives

Identify risks your clients face related to the problems your offer solves—both internal risks within the project and external factors or market forces. Explain how hiring you mitigates each key risk through your expertise, process, and quality controls. Questions that might guide you are:

• What might fail or break?
• What happens if they do nothing?

This shows you understand their challenges at a deep level and positions you as the guide to navigate a successful outcome.

For example, I might highlight risks like companies investing in content with no overarching strategy, alienating their target audience through ineffective messaging, or failing to update content consistently.

Create a concise "anchor statement" that captures the unmistakable outcome or transformation you guarantee to deliver through this offer. Frame it as a bold promise using templates like:

"I help [audience] achieve [specific result] without [core pain point].""As a [credential], I provide [audience] with [high-level outcome] so they can [advance/benefit]."

For example: "I help technology startup founders build thought leadership through high-impact content marketing, positioning them as authorities and accelerating business growth—all without the overhead of an in-house team."