Main Benefits of a Productised Approach

Facilitate the Shift from 1:1 Service Delivery to Scalable Advisory Solutions

With the traditional approach to the delivery of professional services, every  engagement requires your direct involvement.

But in today’s digital-first world, clients have increasingly come to expect just-in-time service, made possible through digital products. Both your prospective and current clients are increasingly unwilling to wait for scheduled consulting calls or pay hourly fees for consulting work. Instead they would like to gain access to your professional expertise and guidance without delay; through the use of a structured, self-serve digital product.

• Instead of advising clients one-by-one, imagine offering a premium online advisory program

• Instead of writing the same reports over and over, imagine selling an AI-driven system that automates the presentation of insights to clients based on their individual circumstances.

  
  

• Instead of charging per project, imagine licensing your expertise in a way that generates revenue every month.

  
  

  If you look at the most influential professional service providers today, it’s plain to see they’re no longer content with offering standalone consulting services. Instead they’re switching up their offerings, incorporating digital products that generate revenue without the need for their continual involvement. 

1. Tony Robbins – Scaled his expertise with online courses and programs
2. Donald Miller (StoryBrand) – Productised his consulting into a self-serve framework
3. Blair Enns (Win Without Pitching) – Turned his knowledge into a book, courses, and scalable training

They’ve freed themselves from reliance on hourly billing for revenue generation by creating digital products that provide clients with actionable guidance and value predictably and at scale.

And this approach is no longer the preserve of high-profile industry leaders with vast sales and marketing budgets and access to technical expertise; with the advent of no-code platforms designed for ease-of-use it’s now readily accessible to professionals in many specialisations notwithstanding their experience level and budget.

You’re probably thinking by now – is it really that simple to productise my expertise when this is a significant departure from how I’m used to doing business?

When you begin the process of productisation, it’s normal to encounter some roadblocks:

Many services professionals appreciate the benefits of productisation for rapid scaling but get stuck on the same challenges:

A. “I don’t know how to scale without hiring a team.”
B.  “I worry that clients won’t pay for a digital product.”
C.  “I don’t know what kind of product I should create.”
D.  “I’m too busy serving clients to even think about building a product.”

These are all valid concerns. But here’s the truth.

(I). Clients will pay for structured, on-demand solutions if it saves them time.
(ii). You don’t need a large audience—just the right offer for the right people.

(iii). You can build products alongside your core services—it doesn’t have to be all or nothing; in fact we encourage you to implement productisation alongside your services in the initial stages at least.

This blueprint will show you how to overcome the aforementioned challenges and more step by step—so you can create a product that works for you, not the other way around.

II. Hedge Against Market Shifts and Economic Downturns

As a seasoned professional in the modern business environment, chances are you’re all too familiar with the evergreen challenges associated with scaling your practice – and you may have experienced the following scenario already;

Phase #1: A prolonged downturn arrives and business confidence nosedives
Phase #2: In the recessionary environment budget cuts are in order and there’s a drive to minimize the use of external professionals.
Phase #3: Your clients with whom you may have transacted for many years are left with little choice but to pause or cancel many if not all of your services.

If your entire income depends on one-on-one client work and charging hourly fees - market dips and the ebbs and flows of the business cycle will always have the potential to curtail the income you generate. 

This underscores the importance of diversification through productisation:

Productised professionals benefit from:

Leveraging multiple revenue streams.
The sale of knowledge, not just time.
Creation of scalable solutions that generate revenue notwithstanding the current  economic environment or the stage of the business cycle and can be priced flexibly in consideration of client circumstances. 

The bottom line is...when clients cut back on hiring professionals for in-person services, they still have willingness to invest in affordable digital products and self-serve solutions.

This is why productisation isn’t just a growth strategy—it also prepares your business for addressing the uncertainties of the market.

Your Action Steps

1. Identify the biggest challenge you face in scaling your professional services business. It could be client acquisition, marketing and positioning or branding and reputation management – these are common challenges but take the time to identify those which are particular to your business in the context of the target market you serve, your industry specialization and team.

2. Then...Write down what you currently offer that could be turned into a product (a process, system, methodology, or framework you use).