As a service-based business owner, what do you do when a potential client inquires about your services?
Do you smile from ear to ear? Do a little happy dance? Pump your fist in the air?
Or are you like me a while back when fear would start to sink in?
I don’t know about you but from my experience, a client inquiry isn’t always a client guarantee.
I remember thinking:
What if they don’t book my services? What if they’re not my ideal client? What if my process confuses them and they back out? What if they don’t understand how my service package can help them? What if they hire someone else?
Sound familiar?
If so, you’ve come to the right place because in this post I’m sharing how you can actually book your ideal clients using a Services and Pricing Guide or in my case back then, a Coaching Package Pricing Guide.
You can think of a pricing guide as a handy PDF brochure that can help you:
Make a stunning first impression on potential clients
Position yourself as an industry expert and a professional
Outline all the details and benefits of your service package or coaching program
Clearly identify who is a right fit to work with you (and who is not a right fit)
Stand out as a premium service-provider in your industry
Remember, your potential client probably has no clue what it’s like to work with you (or maybe even anyone in your industry) so it’s up to you to explain how things work and how your service package/s can benefit them.
When done effectively, your pricing guide should be able to help you attract your ideal clients and repel the people who are not the best fit to work with you (goodbye, nightmare clients and hello, qualified inquiries!).
It should be able to help you provide an amazing client experience right from the start.
It should be able to properly showcase the value of your services, not just the features or benefits.
It should help your potential clients see the price of your services as an investment in themselves and in their future (instead of an expense).
Ready to get started?
Here are 9 must-have details to include in a Services and Pricing Guide and Coaching Package Pricing Guide.
1. Welcome Message & Introduction
I encourage you to begin by thanking the person inquiring about your services.
Start your relationship off on the right foot by showing appreciation for their effort in contacting you (when they could have easily gone to someone else) and immediately set a professional but friendly tone in your communication.
Introduce yourself to your potential client and establish rapport by briefly sharing your story, values, and credentials so that they could get to know you, like you, and trust you enough to hire you or at least, to continue reading your pricing guide.
PRO TIP #1: Include a photo of yourself to be more personable and to establish trust with your potential client.
PRO TIP #2: Use language and messaging that is in line with your brand — do you want to come across as professional? Friendly? Funny? An authority?
The words you say and how you say them can be a strong driving factor for people choosing to hire you or not.
2. Your Signature Service Package
Make no mistake, your pricing guide is meant to sell your services so in this next section, introduce your signature service package or coaching program and focus on its benefits for your potential client.
Pull out all the stops and treat this section like a sales page.
Don’t beat around the bush, don’t undervalue your amazing services, and don’t distract your reader with unnecessary information or external links.
(This is exactly why we do not include social media icons in our Services and Pricing Guide and Coaching Package Pricing templates — it’s a strategy to keep your readers on your sales page and not go elsewhere!)
Put yourself in your reader’s shoes and answer the following questions:
What is your service package all about? How does it work?
What problem does it help them solve or what goal does it help them reach?
Why should they hire you instead of someone else?
Why should they hire you now, not later this month or next year?
What’s really in it for them?
For example, if you’re a web designer, instead of saying you will simply make a website for your client, illustrate how you can help them get more clients using a strategic and well-designed website that you could build for them.
PRO TIP FOR COACHES: If you’re a coach, we recommend sharing what makes someone a good fit for your coaching program or not a good fit to work with you. This important step would qualify serious candidates and avoid wasted time and headaches for both parties. See our Coaching Package Pricing Template for more details.
3. Deliverables or Outcomes
Next, clearly list the deliverables included in your service package or the outcomes/transformations your clients can expect from booking your services.
If you’re a designer, does your service package include a website?
If you’re a photographer, does your service package include raw files?
If you’re a health coach, does your service package include a weekly meal plan?
Aim to answer this question that is most likely racing through your potential client’s head:
What exactly will I receive, gain, or achieve after working with you?
Ready to book your ideal clients?
No need to start from scratch — we’ve got you covered with our Services & Pricing Guide and Coaching Package Pricing Templates in easy-to-edit Canva format!
4. Previous Work or Portfolio
Next, showcase your previous work or portfolio to give your potential client an idea of your skills and experience.
Needless to say, only include your most impressive work and make sure to only include the work you want to be hired for.
For example, if you want to be hired to design a full brand and website, don’t include your previous projects that included only a logo design or a business card design.
This will help eliminate the kind of work you don’t want to continue doing and also help you focus on a niche set of services that you could become known for in your industry.
5. Client Testimonials
Next, be sure to share testimonials from your previous happy and satisfied clients. This helps boost your image and makes you more reliable and trustworthy.
PRO TIP: Share testimonials in a way that a client had objections or hesitations before hiring you but you were able to solve their problems and put them at ease.
For example, if a client was worried about investing thousands of dollars in a web designer, you could share a testimonial from a client who had this same concern but with your help, the client was able to grow their website revenue 3x all thanks to the new well-designed website you designed for her.
6. Your Process and Timeline
Another crucial detail to include in your Services and Pricing Guide or Coaching Package Pricing Template is your client process and timeline.
Remember, time is important to both of you so here you can show potential clients what to expect and how long it will take for them to see the end results you’re promising.
This is helpful for you too since you can manage your client’s expectations and see if you're both a good fit to work together.
You can “vet” people and weed out those who want to see results unreasonably fast or those who might unintentionally take advantage of your time and boundaries.
For example, if you’re a coach, share how many coaching calls are included in your coaching program, when these meetings will take place, and for how long.
If you’re a web designer, share the number of days or weeks it will take for you to build a fully functioning website and how many revisions are included.
If you’re a photographer, share how long your sessions usually last and how long after they can expect the raw files or prints.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
At this point, your potential client might have some concerns about your service package or coaching program so be sure to share some frequently asked questions.
Also take this opportunity to anticipate and address any and all objections your potential client might have, including those that might discourage them from working with you.
Some common objections are usually about price, communications, timeline, project scope, and your cancellation policy so try to share your answers without overwhelming your potential client.
8. Other Services
Depending on your list of services, consider sharing your other less-than-premium service packages (if you have any) in case the potential client isn’t ready for your signature offer.
This would make sense if you think your potential client is still a cold lead and he/she still needs some time and more nurturing before investing in a more pricey package from you.
On the other hand, if you think your potential client has already been nurtured and he/she is a warm lead at this point, it might not be wise to distract them with a cheaper package.
9. Call to Action
Last but definitely not the least, don’t forget to invite your potential client to take the next step using a strong call-to-action or CTA.
In marketing terms, this is where you “close the sale.”
By now, your potential client should already know all about your service package or coaching program and how it can benefit them.
They should already know what they’ll miss out on if they don’t book your services or join your program soon and they should have had their objections already addressed.
This is no time to beat around the bush or be shy about your offer.
With a strong and clear CTA at the very end of your Services and Pricing Guide or Coaching Package Pricing Template, there should be no confusion as to what your potential client should do next — hire you, book a call with you, apply to join your program, join your program, or reserve their slot.
Pro Tip
Lastly, it’s important to treat your pricing guide as a sales page because that’s what it is essentially.
In most cases, information or text-based content won’t be enough to book your client. At least, it won’t help you stand out from the hundreds and thousands of other service-providers out there.
In order to set yourself apart and present yourself as a leader in your industry, you need to provide a pricing guide that also looks professional and well-made.
If it looks cheap, messy, or made by an amateur, you might risk attracting bargain-hunters who are only looking for the most inexpensive services. I’m guessing they might not be your ideal clients either (and a waste of time for both parties).
For this reason, I encourage you to spend considerable time in creating a well-designed Services and Pricing Guide or Coaching Package Pricing Guide in order to attract, impress, and convert your potential client into a paying client.
Here’s a preview of our Services and Pricing Guide Template:
Here’s a preview of our Coaching Package Pricing Template:
These templates are also part of our Client Experience Templates™
Launched in January 2019, the Client Experience Templates™ is our proprietary 3-template system designed to help service-providers and coaches provide an amazing client experience from initial inquiry to final send-off. It includes our Services and Pricing Guide Template, Client Welcome Packet Template, and Client Goodbye Packet Template.
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