How to sell services online : The winning strategy

Looking for the right strategy to sell services online?  Follow these 10 steps to sell services online and expand your business.

Winning strategy to sell services online :

Select your target customer:

Many people think that selling online is easy. It is not. I am not trying to disappoint you. I am trying to save you from the mistakes many online entrepreneurs do make. Online business is more than a few clicks. The key to success in online business is choosing your target customer and reaching out to them first. You can expand your business anytime.

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.”

• Peter Drucker

Decide your set of services:

Once you choose your ideal customer, write down all the services you want to provide online. You may want to advertise your business online to local customers only. On the other hand, you may go global and sell out of your country. The choice is yours. I recommend that you focus on only one service first and then move to other services once you get a sizable client base. Choose the most profitable service and stick to it. This is crucial for better cash flow in the business.

Decide the right pricing for your services:

“The moment you make a mistake in pricing, you’re eating into your reputation or your profits.” – Katharine Paine

The next step is to decide the right pricing for your customer. Do online competitors ‘ research. Remember, pricing online is sometimes cheaper than offline business as cost reduces when you sell online. Do not go too low with your pricing, as your customers may assume that you offer low-quality services. Consider the value you offer your customers in exchange for their money. Suppose you are PPC marketer. You might consider charging a high price for per hour involvement, as benefits from PPC marketing are tremendous.

Pricing can be divided into 2-3 tiers and should be tested periodically.  Read this post from Conversionxl about the different type of pricing and its effect on the conversion of customers.

People take the time to trust your brand online, so try to sell a small package to them first. Later, they will happily purchase a more costly package from you. People are not hesitating to buy $99 packages than $499. Do not price yourself too high compared to your competition unless you have the solid reason for doing so.

Choose right online platform:

The sad thing is that there are very few options for selling your services online. Services are different than goods. You cannot upload photos of your services and encourage shoppers to add them to their cart.

I recommend WordPress for setting up your site, as you can do it yourself or hire someone else. You can get prepared a great landing page by spending $200-$500. Let your client contact you via an inquiry form. After receiving the full details of your prospective client’s requirements, you can provide a quote that outlines the pricing for your services, and can collect payment via wire transfer or credit card.

Regarding accounting software, I suggest using Xero, as it accepts stripe, credit card, PayPal and other popular payment options while also enabling you to issue repeating invoices each month. If you are new to Xero, try Xero here.

Choose the right client communication platform:

I have conducted extensive research into the best CRM/ Client communication platforms, and have found a number of suitable options. However, I suggest Flock for service providers who are just starting out.   By building a team, you can communicate with your clients while exchanging files. Flock is also a team collaboration tool, which you can use on PC or mobile devices. Flock can also be integrated with popular apps and your mailbox. At just $3 per user per month, Flock offers affordable pricing and a great option for those who are just starting out and don’t want to invest too heavily on CRM. Check out all of Flock’s options here .

Choose the right online marketing strategy:

Once you’ve set everything up, you need to have a good online marketing strategy. Read Wordstream’s post about online marketing strategy.  If you are the solo entrepreneur and are on a limited budget, focus on one or two marketing sources online. You can’t be everywhere, right?  I recommend going with paid advertising first. Adwords is the best option for it. Social media is also good. SEO is slow but effective in the long run. You can use one or more than one online marketing option.

You can also hire someone from an outside agency to market your business online. This service generally costs you $500-$5000 per month.

You can also hire an agency to market your business online. This service generally costs you $500-$5000 per month. Remember that online marketing takes time. So be patient.

The important thing is that you should set quarterly and yearly goals and set reasonable expectations. Be clear about what you want before you hire someone. It takes around 1 to 3 years to get success in online business, so don’t lose hope early.

Get your first customer online:

Your first goal should be to get the first online customer. This is not only vital for your business success but also required to fuel your motivation. Try to provide the best service to the client and do not forget to ask for a review. Do not be shy. Ask him to recommend your service to friends and families. Request him to give a short review about your service and use this as the testimonial on your website.

Provide high-quality service:

No matter how attractive your website is, you’ll lose the customer if you do not provide high-quality service.

“Customer service is the new marketing.”

Derek Sivers, Founder CD Baby

Provide high-quality service consistently to your customers. Get their feedback and improve more and more. Do not compromise in quality ever. The service business depends on the value that you provide. People are willing to pay more if you solve their problems and improve their lives by your service.

Build brand of your company:

Try to build a solid brand for your company. Write great posts about your field and publish them. Guest posting is also a great tool to drive a good amount of people to your site. Try to help others and build a solid brand for your company. Establish yourself as an expert in industries. You can write a long resource post or white papers related to your field. A press release is also a good option, though it can be a bit costly.

Build connections:

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people.”

• Steve Jobs

Solo, we are nothing. This is true in offline and online business. Build good relations with your team and good connections with people in your industry. If you are selling to a small business, try to make a connection with small business owners and people who also sell to small business owners.

Use social media as a tool to establish your brand and make a good connection. However, be careful about using social media as it can be time-consuming. You can use a virtual assistant to set and promote social media posts. There is an awesome post on social media marketing by Neil Patel. Read it here.

Expand:

Once you have enough clients, it is time to expand your business. You can expand your business by getting more customers or by providing additional services. It depends on opportunities available for you. I recommend building your brand on one service and adding additional services gradually. The expansion also requires more resources. You need staff, funding for marketing and other expenses. You can get funding from angel investors or a bank. Before planning for expansion, you should establish a strong system for your business so that it can sustain the expansion.

Create a system:

If you have read the book Emyth, you surely know what I am talking about. The creating of a system for any business is important in the first place. To create the system, build an organisational chart, decide various positions and create systems and processes for each position. This is a time-consuming process but it helps a lot. It guarantees your customer unique business performance every time which helps you to outrank your competition. Read more about creating the system on Emyth’s blog.

Wrap Up:

Internet gives us enormous opportunity to grow our business. Using the right strategy, we can certainly crack the code.  By focusing on only a few online marketing options, you can save time, optimize cost, build your brand, and increase the number of customers.  What is your ideal strategy to sell services online? Please share your thoughts by commenting below.