I started slow and small. When I had a new lead in my pipeline, I pitched him on my first productized service — a Website X-Ray — and he said yes. Then, slowly, I transitioned the rest of my clients to the productized consulting model.
Switching to productized consulting — or fixed price, fixed scope consulting offerings — doesn’t need to be an all-or-nothing switch. You can start to eliminate proposals by providing your prospects and clients the option of working with you on a ‘productized’ basis.
It’s as easy as saying:
Hey [client name]
I have a new offering that solves the [expensive problem] you’re describing. This project would be a fixed price quote, not an estimate, which means that you never pay more than I’m quoting you. That way, you’re safe in case it takes longer than I estimate. It’s also a fixed scope package, which means that if we want to tackle additional problems outside of this, we can set them aside from version two.
Here’s the description of the project. I’ll follow up with you at [time] on [date] via [phone/Skype] to answer any questions that you have.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
That way, you can ‘pitch’ clients on the productized offering and slowly transition from writing proposals to selling productized offerings.
Over the last year, I transitioned from entirely hourly work to entirely productized (fixed scope, fixed rate) offerings — with a majority of my monthly income coming from ongoing retainer projects.
