What is your unexpected twist?

[Photo Flickr: Malkav]

My husband is the best cook ever and one of my favorite things about his style is his creativity. Like yesterday he made a stir-fry chicken dish, but instead of the usual soy savory flavor, he squeezed a fresh orange into the mix and served it with a fresh orange slice on the side. I loved the surprising flavor zing – yummo!

I think the same principle applies to your services, no matter if you’re a speaker, a consultant or a coach. Adding a slight twist to the expected can take your prospect from y – a – w – n to Y-E-S.

Quick story. I heard a speaker tell about a new restaurant that was off the beaten path. In spite of the location, the first few weeks of business were great. The owner knew his location was a disadvantage, and he didn’t have a ton of money for advertising so here’s what he did [this is brilliant].

On his busiest Friday night he stood up in the middle of the crowded restaurant and announced, “All meals are on the house tonight!”

What do you think this did for his business?

You’re right.

From that day forward his restaurant was a packed house every night. Everybody was hoping they chose the night for the next “on-the-house” announcement.

So what can you do to add an unexpected twist to your service package? You don’t have to do an “on-the-house” thing, but what if you offered something simple like a Starbucks gift card with every coaching package?  Or how about a complimentary subscription to Mindbloom for new clients.

Here are some questions to help you think about it:

• If you were to put a creative twist on your service package, what might it be?
• What will it take to integrate this new feature?
• What do you need to make it happen?
• What’s in it for you?

Let me know how it’s going for you, I’m with you all the way.