How a Signature Service Will Help You Make More Money

Have you ever looked at someone else who does what you do and wondered how they’re booked out for months to come? Or how other service providers command top dollar for what they do — even though it’s the same thing you do?

It all comes down to how you position yourself and your services — and it starts with a signature service — as that will help you make more money.

A signature service helps you become known for something in your industry and has people coming to you for it.

If you’re raising your hand and thinking, “Yes, please! I want to have a wait list and people lined up to work with me,” you need a plan.

That plan is a signature service as there comes a time in your business where you need to move out of the “anything goes” mode when it comes to signing clients and start owning your expertise.

A signature service is a system or approach to your work (no matter what it is) that’s 100% you and is based on your skills and experience. It’s the thing that sets you apart from the other 99 people who do what you do.

Before your head explodes as you try to figure out what on earth you could stake your claim on, I want to tell you that this process can be challenging. It’s not something you’re going to come up with overnight or while you’re sitting here reading this blog post.

Why Creating a Signature System Is so Hard

Over the past five years, I’ve worked with a lot of business owners on their sales page copy — so many I can’t even count — and I’ve made a big discovery working with these clients…

They think they’re hiring me to write a sales page, but what they really want is for me to create their offer. Sometimes, that’s defining that offer or helping them figure out how they can stand out. And many times, this results in coming up with a signature offer as part of their sales page.

Why? Creating an offer — let alone a signature system — is hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Most of us are way too close to what we do to see the value of what we deliver, or it comes so easily to us that we think it’s not something people would pay for. Plus, there’s the added challenge of not really understanding what it is we’re selling.

For example, while I’m a content creator, the real value I deliver to my clients is being able to back things up and look at the 10,000 foot level as to what they’re selling and their experience and how to position that in the market. I bring business strategy to their sales page and website that goes far, far beyond their content.

Being able to understand the real value you bring and how that’s at a much higher level than trading your time for dollars is the ideal starting point for your signature service.

Creating a signature service is challenging, but it’s so worth it because:

#1. Selling Is Easier

Have you ever got on a consult call with a prospective client and stumbled over your pitch and totally botched the conversation about pricing? (I know I sure have!)

We’re not all natural salespeople, but when you have a defined, specific way of doing things, you’ll quickly find that you can sell it all day long. It’s like, suddenly, you have sales superpowers!

You’ll be able to walk your would-be client through the exact steps they go through when they work with you, and paint a clear picture of the results they’ll experience.

When you’re on the call, you’ll be confident in what you’re offering, and your prospective client will trust your ability to deliver as you’re not struggling to find the right words. This helps you stand out and close more business.

Plus, no need to keep writing proposals; your system is outlined and well-defined so it’s a take it or leave it proposition. (And yes, you can write a proposal, but you’ll have everything mapped out so you can create one in minutes.)

#2. You’ll Make More Money

If you’re tired of trading time for dollars or feel like your income is capped, you NEED a signature service. Having a signature service helps you make more money as you’re able to assign a premium, flat rate for the work you do.

As an expert, you’ve got a proven way of doing things that gets results, and that means you can charge accordingly. If the service only takes you five hours from start to finish, you don’t have to bill your client for five hours, but for the total value of that package. So where you may make $150/hour, you may be able to charge $500 for the same work as it’s a signature offer.

Plus, as you’re delivering this service time and time again, you can create systems to help make the delivery more efficient, and that makes the service itself more profitable.

Not convinced? Creating the Story Distillery, my signature service for storytelling in 2014, was a game changer. I was able to book clients for that at a premium price and more than double the price on my copywriting package by including this signature service.

#3. You Become an Expert

There’s a lot of challenges to our businesses, but one of the biggest is obscurity. If people don’t know who you are or what you do, it’s really hard for them to do business with you.

As a boss, you’re the one who’s responsible for sales and marketing. You and your business need to be known for something and stand out from everyone else.

A prime example of this is my client and friend Crystal Butler. As a marketing pro, she could be lost in a sea of thousands that do the exact same thing. But she’s focused her services and signature process around marketing for financial advisors. Thanks to that, people know exactly who to go to for help with marketing in her industry. Plus, her business is systematized in a way that she’s able to make an amazing living but work a schedule that works for her and her family.

If you find yourself struggling to stand out, a signature service will help you attract more of the right clients to your door. Plus, it helps you create a service that’s productized, so it’s much easier to deliver, and ultimately, more profitable for your business in the long run.