Every single new Online Business Manager (OBM) I have talked to has had the same question - what should I offer when I’m just starting out?
We get stuck wondering things like, “what kind of packages should I have?” or “what type of services should be included?”
When you’re unsure what to do, it’s hard to move forward.
The good news is, you can easily bring order to the chaos by starting out simple with your product suite and let it evolve as you evolve as an OBM.
In this post, I’ll define what a product or offer suite is, and provide 3 perfect offers to have when you are just starting out as an OBM. I hope that this will give you a roadmap so you can nail down your product suite and start selling it confidently.
What is the perfect Product/Offer Suite for new Online Business Managers?
What is a product or offer suite? Simply, it is what you offer in your business. Many businesses have multiple offers in their product suite to meet their ideal customers where they are at. Usually, the offers will follow some type of low, medium, and high pricing structure - with the lowest being a lower transformation, lower price; medium having a medium transformation, with a mid-price range; and high being the highest transformation and access to you, with the highest price.
In other words:
Your product or offer suite is going to be the main foundation of your business and how you provide your services to your clients.
The added benefit of having a clear and defined product suite is that you are not having to create custom offers to every single person you talk to. Yes, you can create special packages, but by having a product suite in place, you are able to take that foundation and build off of it.
The Strategy Session
A strategy session is exactly what it sounds like. Typically in the 60-90 minute range, a strategy session is where you are providing expertise to your client through a targeted approach. Depending on what you are offering in your strategy session, you will focus on 1-2 main items and dig deep into helping them solve their problems.
A strategy session is a crucial component to your product suite as a new OBM for several reasons:
- You are growing your skills as an OBM when you are just starting out, but typically you do have 1-2 skills that you are really good at. This is a great place to start when looking for strategy session topics. This will help you increase your confidence in providing strategic support, while also giving your clients experience working with you.
- Not everyone is ready to work with an OBM on retainer right away. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need strategic support. There are plenty of business owners that would look to a strategy session as an opportunity to get your brains on their business, without having to commit long term.
Many people who are new to being an online business manager start out on the right track but then get stuck when it comes to picking their offers because they overcomplicate it.
And then they wind up confusing their audience in what they are trying to sell.
The key to creating a product or offer suite that is going to be simple to sell is to start with the basics. A strategy session is a very simple way to share your expertise, get experience supporting a client strategically, while also making some money.
To get started with offering strategy sessions, think of something that you are really good at that business owners need in their business. Usually new OBMs like systems, so doing something like a systems audit is always a great place to start. You can do a full systems audit that would include the systems you recommend for their business, or you can focus on one system and dive deep into providing them strategy and resources.
The Project Package
I LOVE recommending new OBMs start with project packages in their business. It’s simple to put together, it’s enticing to customers, and it gives you experience AND testimonials.
Simply put, you offer a certain amount of hours or a very specific outcome in a package.
For example, you could offer 3 hour project packages (and in fact, this is exactly what I did to grow both my VA + OBM business each time). In those 3 hours, you could focus on one thing, or do multiple things that fit into that 3 hours.
Or, another example, you could offer Dubsado workflow set ups. You will set up 3 workflows, along with the canned emails, forms, etc. that go along with it.
What is great about these project packages is that there is a limit to it. You are only working 3 hours. Or you are only putting in 3 workflows. The boundary is already in place, so you can get experience doing the project without worrying about clients overstepping the boundary.
When I am working with new OBMs, I usually recommend that they do a project package at a no-brainer, reduced rate. So let’s go with the 3 hour package example - you would offer it at $100, and market it as a way for someone to get something that’s been on their to-do list off.
$100 to have something completed that’s been bugging at someone is a no-brainer.
And once you complete the project for them, you will both ask for a testimonial, as well as if they have any other projects going on they need support around. They have gotten to experience working with you, so they already know, like, and trust you - and it’s easier for them to make a longer-term commitment.
The OBM Retainer
When you think OBM offers, chances are you are first thinking about some type of long-term, month to month (or months-long contract) relationship with a client. And typically that is what an OBM is, and why this would be considered your signature offer.
There are many different ways you can set up your retainer, and they all have their pros and cons, but the most popular are:
- Hourly retainer - up to X number of hours a month with a predetermined set of tasks
- Project retainer - very clear expectations on what is included, but usually will be outcome based instead of hours based (ex. Systems maintenance on up to 5 systems, team management including 1 weekly meeting and up to 30 minutes of check in a day, etc.)
- Pay as you go - your client buys hours from you in increments of your choosing, and when they run out of hours, they purchase more
Creating your signature retainer offer is where you’ll really start to feel like an OBM in what you offer, but it can be hard to nail down what exactly you want to do.
But that’s the beauty of owning your own business and working for yourself - if something isn’t working for you, you can change it! If you decide you want to start with an hourly retainer because you don’t know how much time you should be allocating to different projects, but 6 months in you realize that you are getting things done a lot faster than you thought - you can switch to a project retainer.
Conversely, if your clients are “pay as you go” but you want more consistency in getting paid, you can switch your clients to a monthly hourly retainer (in fact, this is what I supported one of my mentoring clients with!).
It really is what works best for you and your life and business.
Putting it All Together for Your Perfect Product/Offer Suite as a New Online Business Manager
There you have it! The 3 components of your perfect product or offer suite.
It may sound overwhelming, but like most things, once you really start putting them into practice, you’ll find they all flow nicely into each other.
A strategy session could turn into executing what you recommend during a project package which could turn into an OBM retainer once they have more going on in their business.
Don’t overcomplicate the offers and focus on marketing one offer at a time to begin with. This will help you create content that will specifically speak to what that offer will achieve for your clients and help you keep your focus when talking about your offer.
What’s next? Download the VA to OBM Transition Guide
If you need help getting started, my VA to OBM Transition Guide will help you start mapping out your transition to becoming an Online Business Manager. Even if you’ve already started your OBM journey, this guide is full of so many helpful tips that can support you as you grow your business.
Click here to download the VA to OBM Transition Guide now >>
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