While many business owners start their companies with clear ideas of who they are and how they fit into the marketplace, way fewer business owners begin their entrepreneurial journey with clear offerings in mind.

But the truth is that clarifying your services or products is key when it comes to demonstrating the value of your business to potential clients.

If you’re not sure whether you have created clear offerings as a business owner, or you’re looking for somewhere to start as you develop your offerings, here’s a simple roadmap to get you started:

Get clear on what it is that you’re selling.

This sounds so basic, but it’s often confusing when there is so much you can offer. The first thing to consider is the distinct difference between a service, a support offering, and a modality.

If you’re selling a service, you have a tangible offering you’re selling that someone else can purchase from you. That’s not the same as a support offering — for example, if you were a massage therapist who offers an add-on like aromatherapy, the add-on is the support offering that you are presenting to potential clients.

A modality is probably the most confusing concept to explain, but many people don’t realize that they’re trying to sell a modality. Think of it this way: there’s the overall service that you sell, and then there are modalities within that service. For instance, if you’re a massage therapist, a coach, and a Reiki master, you could sell all of those individually as three separate services, or you could sell one overall healing package that uses those three modalities within it as they are needed. Creating a package as a service and then selling separate modalities within that package might make the most sense if you offer a lot of different services as a business. This can also help to personalize the package to each client individually.

Define the terms of your clients’ progress.

This is the part where business owners really get to understand what changes a client will experience when utilizing their services. When you can describe the progress a client will make when they hire you, it helps them to understand the benefit of working with you.

You’ll want to identify a few key things in your marketing. First, understand how a client comes to you. Get a true understanding of what the client is struggling with before they work with you so you can help them see that you get it and maybe even that you’ve been there.

Then, identify what the end result is that your client is seeking. What do they truly want for themselves?

From there, you as the practitioner can help them see how they’ll transform as they work with you.

One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make is telling their audience what they “can” do for them, focusing on their backstory and all of its shiny benefits — but, and I hate to say this, that isn’t what clients are focused on. They want to know what’s in it for them. Their question is almost always, “Where do I want to be, and how can you help me get there?” That’s the key.

Craft your process.

Think of crafting your process as a way to help your client understand how they will progress through your offerings. It’s what makes your services irresistible to buy. This is the point where a client should be able to see what you’re offering and say, “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”

Most of your clients will go through the same general shifts as they progress with you. And realistically, what you want is to help your client to see the transformation that you’re going to guide them through as they work with you, and to clearly visualize what the end result will be.

The important thing to remember here is that most business owners talk nuts and bolts (for example, “You’ll sign up,” “You’ll sign a waiver,” etc.) but what the client really wants to know is “How am I going to change as I work with you?” “How will you make my life better?” “What are the shifts I’ll experience?” “What’s the benefit and outcome of me working with you?”

Create your list of services.

What are you actually selling that is going to provide real results and keep your clients talking?

Often when you start a business, or even when you just create a new offering within your business, you have to test the market. So what I recommend is that you use the first three steps in creating your offerings to define each of your services. If you’re already offering services, pause and ask yourself if you’re overwhelming potential clients and whether you might need to offer focused packages for what they’re struggling with instead.

There are many ways to do this. Click here to take our free quiz on the best business model for your service based business. If you’re stuck, I suggest you start by creating three packages of (1) basic offer, (2) midline offer, and (3) premium offer. Our next blog will be all about setting your sales strategy — we’ll outline different ways to sell, so you shouldn’t think that this “three packages of basic, midline, and premium offers” is the only option! But this is a tried-and-true place to start if you’re not sure how to clarify your offerings to your audience.

What are your clear offerings? How will you share them with your target demographic?

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