Package Your Offer

⏰ Today in 5 minutes or less:

• Clients nowadays don’t want vague promises of growth, they need quick and tangible results.

• Consultants who will succeed will do so by packaging their expertise as clear, fast, and outcome-driven offers. 

• Introducing CashConvert+: a 45-day sprint to turn your aged receivables into working capital.

Heads Up, Indies: Productizing Your Consulting Services Might Be the New Playbook 

Selling consulting work is tougher than it used to be. 

Go-to pitches like “we’ll come in and help you grow” attract fewer bites because clients don’t just want a journey – they want a fix. 

Quick ones. Tangible ones. The kind that shows up in the P&L after a quarter. 

If that sounds like bad news, it’s not. It’s just different. And different could be good – especially for indies and microfirms. 

At my consulting business, Keenan Reid Strategies, we’ve taken this push to rethink how we scope and sell our services. 

The answer we came up with? Productized services. 

Let me show you how it works and how you can build your own product offerings. 

What Change Means for Indie Consultants 

We used to show up, ask the right questions, and collaborate on a strategy – all very elegant. 

But in today’s market, it’s not what the client always needs. 

They need performance – ROI. Proof. Something that shows up in numbers and doesn’t take months to see the light of day. 

They’re asking: 

• Why has my conversion rate dropped by 15%? 

• Can you fix this churn problem before the board meeting?

• How can we pull $500,000 in OPEX without derailing the team? 

This shift might feel limiting, especially if you’re deep and strategic. But I suggest thinking of it as a new constraint instead. And constraints, when approached right, make for great products. 

Which all brings me to this: I think consultants who succeed in this environment will do so by packaging their expertise as clear, fast, and outcome-driven offers. 

Offers that clients can understand, buy, and benefit from without a 12-slide proposal. 

What Productized Services Are (and Why They’re the Best Fit Now) 

Productized services are pre-defined, pre-scoped offers that solve a specific problem in a specific way – with clear price, timeline, and outcome. 

It’s like ordering the chef’s special instead of building your own dish from scratch. 

Now, I can hear the internal resistance: “But I’m not running a template shop. My work is bespoke and high touch.” 

But trust me, I get it. My work is too. 

And productizing offers doesn’t mean cheapening it. It only means being clear. 

When clients are under pressure, clarity is a consultant’s biggest asset – clarity around what you do, how much it costs, what the outcome is, and how long it’ll take. 

Think of productized service as your best work – stripped of ambiguity and optimized for action. 

You can still go deep or build custom engagements. 

But having product offerings means your entry point is more accessible. 

How to Design a Productized Service For Today’s Problems 

This isn’t a masterclass and I’m not exactly a coach. But I’ve seen many industries do this and succeed. 

We’re starting to experiment with it at Keenan Reid, and here’s what’s worked for us so far – and what might work for you too. 

Step 1: Find the Leaking Valve 

We started by looking at our past work. 

We’ve had a lot of interesting work but focused on cases where we delivered undeniable value fast. 

Pro tip? That engagement where the client said “wow, that really helped us big time,” is a good place to start finding the leaking valve. 

Let me give you a clearer picture: 

Recently, about 80% of your prospects are struggling with converting traffic into sales. 

If you’re a marketing consultant, maybe your best product offer would be a landing page teardown and rebuild. 

If you’re a retention strategist, maybe it’s churn diagnostic to spit out the best three fixes. 

Remember that you’re not just selling a relationship – you're selling a result. 

Step 2: Define the Offer Around the Outcome 

Clarity is your best friend, so spell everything out around your offer. 

What exactly is it? What does the client get? What’s not included? When will it show results? 

Let’s say you offer a “Revenue Roadmap” for B2B founders. The offer instead might look like: 

• One hour of intake call 

• Custom revenue growth roadmap with three prioritized plays

• Delivered in seven business days 

• For a $4,800 flat fee 

That’s it. No fluff, no mystery. 

And more importantly, no long email threads about the “next steps.” 

Step 3: Make It Easy to Buy 

Scope and pricing matters, but so does packaging. 

Your client should be able to explain your offer to their boss easily – in 30 seconds or it’s too complicated to get a yes. 

My advice? Cut down the jargon. Give it a cool name. Speak in a language they already use. 

And if possible, give them a sneak peek at what the results look like. 

Early buyers love seeing results. 

Mock it up and build a sample output. This makes the outcome feel real. 

Step 4: Launch it and Learn 

Your product offerings might not come out perfect on the first try, but there’s always a chance to improve it. 

Offer it to your next three clients and ask: “Would this solve something for you right now?” 

If it doesn’t land, tweak your value proposition. 

If it does, then you’re doing something right to keep going. 

Add testimonials if you can and sharpen the scope as needed. 

This is how the best products are built. 

Bonus: Position an Upgrade 

Product offerings are a great entry point for clients, and it’s the best solution in today’s consulting market. 

But you can always go back to selling custom services and longer engagement periods. 

What I would do is take advantage of these smaller offers to deliver quick results, so that clients would be more inclined to work with us on bigger projects. 

Always, always position an upgrade to serve your clients better and grow your business faster. 

How We Do It at KRS: Introducing Our Rapid Value Solutions 

We’re putting all these steps into actual productized service at Keenan Reid; into something we call Rapid Value Solutions. 

They came out of necessity, after we realized that we wanted to create services that solve real business problems tied to P&L. 

No strategic wish lists. No 6-month retainers. Just high-impact, fast-turnaround offers to help our clients move the needle. 

Here’s one we're especially excited about: 

CashConvert+: A 45-Day Sprint to Unlock Trapped Capital 

When DSO creeps up, it doesn’t just delay cash – it also tightens margins, ties leaders in knots, and hits the brakes on growth. 

And in this environment, a stuck cash cycle causes real pain fast. 

CashConvert+ is designed for CFOs who are under pressure to do more with less – like tearing through financial constraints, integration challenges, or just the typical cash crunch. 

What we do here is simple: we help you turn aged receivables into working capital.

The product deliver a discrete outcome: clients will know the dollar value of their DSO reduction opportunity, capture aged receivables, and know how to streamline their order-to-cash (OTC) processes.  

Inside the 45-day sprint, we’ll produce a set of standard deliverables: 

• DSO Reduction Plan with a clear dollar-value opportunity. 

• A/R Dashboard and KPIs for tracking performance based on customer, seller, and invoice.

• Recovery Plan to collect what’s outstanding and stay ahead of delays. 

• Order-to-Cash Playbook to fix the internal handoffs that slow things down.

• Automation and AI Blueprint to reduce manual work and get paid faster. 

We’ve already delivered a 10% drop in DSO for alpha clients, returning over $5M in cash and recovering half of an AR manager’s time through automation. 

This approach works – because it’s clear, quick, and tied to outcomes that matter. 

Build Something That Sells Itself 

Productized services aren’t the only way forward. 

But they’re a smart response to what the market is looking for right now. 

If you’ve been feeling the friction of longer sales cycles, harder closes, or general consulting fatigue, maybe try this: pick one you solved well, package it right, and sell the hell out of it. 

That’s what we’re doing at KRS. Not perfect yet, but definitely on the right track. 

How to Stay Connected (Using This Simple Networking Tool)

Last January, I started the 100 calls challenge. 

It’s where challengers and I attempted to expand our network by making 100 calls in 100 days. 

And to keep track of our progress, I created a Network Database tool. 

The challenge might be long over, but this template is still useful for biz dev, community building, or simply being more intentional about relationships. 

Back to Basics: Low Tech Fix for a High Impact Problem 

Our Network Database tool is a simple, low-tech, spreadsheet-based tracker for managing relationships. 

I developed it for the 100 calls challenge we had in January, but it’s also a useful tool when you’re in the first phase of the relationship building cycle.

If you’re building a referral engine out of your network, this tool helps you track who’s in your network, when you last connected, and what came out of the conversation. 

The best part? There’s space for notes, follow-ups, and even a built-in rhythm check so you can stay consistent without letting things slip. 

What to Do, Step-by-Step 

But how do you actually use this tool? 

It’s simple: 

1. Start with people you know. Before adding anyone new, I suggest starting with people who are already part of your network. They could be someone you’re regularly in contact with or want to reconnect with.

2. Categorize each entry. Are they a fellow consultant, client, or service provider? Label each one accordingly so you have an idea how you can mutually help each other. I also suggest marking those who can give you the yes, from those who can help in other ways.

3. Log your outreach. Use the outreach columns to record dates of contact. I also recommend adding notes for every outreach – were they productive? Did they lead to introductions? Are the leads getting warmer? You can use this column for a quick check and pick up where you left off for the next outreach.

4. Take advantage of the momentum. Aside from adding notes every outreach, you can also use the Follow Up Notes column to plan the next steps. This way, nothing falls through the cracks.  

What to Send to These People 

We’ve kept our own network database small yet really intentional. 

My rule of thumb is to only limit the list to people I would talk to if I ran into them in person. 

That makes it easier for me to draft emails when reaching out to them – because I know how to address them and what topics to talk about. 

I don’t spam anyone on this list. I just send a personal update to them every month. Something close to a digital version of “hey, how are you? Here's what I’ve been thinking about recently...” 

Many of these notes are customized to the individual.  

THIS is our low-tech, zero-cost way to keep in touch with the people that matter. 

Because Good Intentions Need a System

Lots of relationship building efforts fail because of a lack of planning – not the lack of care and sincerity. 

Instead of overloading your process with a fancy CRM tracker, our Network Database tool is designed to be a flexible tracker that helps you remember what matters for every outreach. 

It helps you pick up where you left off and grow your network with thoughtfulness and purpose. 

My advice is update the sheet weekly. 

Block a recurring 30-minute slot to log conversations, review progress, and plan your next few touches. 

Take the time to build your network with care and in the service of others. 

We’ve made it simple for you. 

Now, you really have no excuse not to do this. 

Download the tool for free here.

Remember, the path to success is paved with continuous learning and embracing fresh perspectives.

Let's stay connected, share ideas, and elevate your consulting business.

Stay curious, friends.

The 2×2 is brought to you by Keenan Reid Strategies

Having trouble viewing this email? Check out this and past issues on our website.

Was this newsletter forwarded? Someone is looking out for you. You should definitely subscribe!