offer less but be the best [PMP #273]

Offer less but be the best [PMP #273]

I usually get approached by people who need help with one of three tools: Asana, Pipedrive or Zapier. And because I offer support for a project management tool like Asana, I often get asked if I can help with similar apps like ClickUp or Trello. Similarly, with Pipedrive, I often get asked whether I support other CRM’s like Hubspot or Monday. People tell me all the time that I could grow my business if I offered more services. But I find it very beneficial to offer fewer services and to offer the best support we can for that particular tool.

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Why I specialise in Asana, Pipedrive and Zapier

My team and I use Asana and Pipedrive every single day. They’re the tools we use to run the business and because they’re part of our daily routine, we have a lot of experience using them and we’re always up to date with the latest changes and new features.

We don’t use ClickUp or Monday. So we would never be as competitive as another company that uses it internally and who’s offering support on that service. We could try and compete but what’s the point?

Even with a tool like Hubspot, which is very similar to Pipedrive I still wouldn’t want to offer support on it because I simply prefer Pipedrive. It would feel disingenuous supporting another CRM when I think there’s a better option out there.

Offering less simplifies your marketing

When you have a more focused offer, it makes it easier to market your services, stand out and charge more.

I’ve spent years making videos about Asana and Pipedrive and I engage in their respective communities. So when I get approached for help people often tell me that I ‘keep popping up’ and seem to be ‘the go-to guy’.

Even if my Pipedrive service is similar to another expert in my industry, because I only offer support on Pipedrive rather than trying to cover every other CRM, there’s a perception that we must be really good with Pipedrive because it’s the one tool we support.

It’s easier for a specialist to stand out and charge more compared to a generalist that tries to do too much. Think about when you’re sick or you have an injury, you pay more to see a specialist who’s very good in one particular field compared to a general practitioner.

And I’m confident this is why we’ve won Pipedrive Partner of the Year awards for the last 2 years running (since the inception of the awards).

Offering less aligns with my business goals

Now, could I hire a Hubspot or Monday expert to offer support on these tools? Sure. And I could grow my revenue by offering additional services.

But when I think about my business goals and how these align with my personal goals, I don't really want to grow my business and have a big team. I like that we only offer a few services and we do this really well.

Offering just one additional service would mean having to scale the team and hiring another expert. It would mean having to spend more time and resources on marketing and making YouTube videos. And we would lose our ‘specialist’ status.

Offering more won’t necessarily grow your revenue

For a solo consultant or freelancer, your biggest asset is your time. When I was getting started, I was working completely on my own and didn’t have a team to support more. At that time, I also offered support on Mailchimp as it was the email marketing tool I was using at the time which I felt confident enough on to help people with.

For a few reasons, I decided to stop offering support on Mailchimp and when I did, the loss in revenue from this service was quickly made up on the Asana and Pipedrive side of things. These engagements were more efficient meaning I could take on more clients and ultimately grow my revenue by offering less.

In this case, less was literally more.

Thoughts, questions, feedback? Leave me a comment below!