What is a Services Guide?

Services guides are not the most common among creative freelancers but honestly they are a game changer.

A services guide makes the enquiries you get more serious because leads are already warmed up.

A potential client who's seen your services guide already knows your pricing and understands what you do and how you work. And this is before they have even reached out or spoken one word to you. Talk about a time saver…

Without a services guide, you're constantly explaining who you are, what you offer, how much it costs, and what the process looks like. And this is over and over again; for every single potential client who may or may not be a good fit.

So in this After Hours, we're talking about how to make a services guide and why it might be the simplest thing you can do right now to start attracting better clients.

What kind of problem is this?

Not having a services guide is a clarity and momentum problem.

Clarity because without one, potential clients don't fully understand what you offer, how you work or what it costs.

And momentum because when leads arrive without any knowledge of you, you'll spend your time educating and informing, instead of just closing the deal.

So a services guide fixes both.

What is a services guide?

A services guide is a document you send to potential clients that explains exactly what you do, how you work and what it costs.

It sits between a portfolio and a proposal in your client pipeline.

You send it early, usually when someone first reaches out or expresses interest, so that by the time you get on a call or send a proposal, they already know the basics.

Alternatively, you can have it as a download link in your social bios or on your website. This way you can also track your leads and see who has downloaded the services guide.

Services guide / Marketing → Portfolio / Call → Proposal → Contract → Onboarding

The problem with not having one

When Eden and I first started Boring Studios we had no services guide. Someone would reach out and then we'd spend an hour on a call or back and forth over email explaining what we did, how we worked and what it cost.

Then they'd ghost after hearing our pricing because most enquiries are not serious ones.

So basically, your services guide is a filter for the serious clients and the not-so-serious clients.

The clients who reach out after reading it are already sold on the idea of working with you. Saving you countless hours filtering out unserious clients.

What to include in your services guide

A services guide needs to be clear, simple and easy to read.

• About you. A short intro on who you are, what you specialise in and who you work with. Keep it short and sweet. Add a bit of your personality in here to ensure that the clients you're booking will align with you.
• Your services. List what you offer in terms of services and deliverables. Be clear about what is included, what is not included and any important details about how each service works.
• Pricing. Packages, not hourly rates (if possible).
• Your process. What does the journey look like from first enquiry to final delivery? This shows you have a process and sets expectations early.
• Timeline. How long do projects typically take? Clients always want to know this and it saves a lot of back and forth later.
• Next steps. What should someone do if they want to work with you? Book a call, fill in a form, send an email. Have clear actions at the end.

This week you will

Step one: List your services. Write down everything you offer. Then bundle it up into 3 packages to choose from.

Step two: Write your pricing. This is the part most creatives leave out because it feels vulnerable or like the client will run. Or maybe you're wishy-washy about your prices and that's another problem in itself.

Have clear rates or at least a range depending on what you're offering. Things like "Branding Package Starts at $2000+" is better than nothing. Putting your pricing filters out the wrong people before they waste your time.

Tip: Package up your services and have 3 to choose from. Don't put hourly rates.

Step three: Write your process. Discovery call, proposal, deposit, work begins, revisions, final delivery. Adjust it to how you actually work.

Step four: Put it together. Keep it clean, on brand and easy to skim. If you want a ready made framework to use, our CBOS Services Guide is available now.

Step five: Send it. Add it to your social bio as a download link, put it on your website and start sending it to anyone who enquires about working with you.

A services guide is one of those things that seems small but it will actually change a lot for your business.

Want the full picture?

CBOS is the complete creative business operating system. Every framework from services guide to offboarding, plus the workspace to run it all from. No subscriptions, no monthly fees. Just everything you need in one place.

Learn more about CBOS