On packaging, positioning, and pricing post-sale services

Welcome to the 10th edition of The Ascent! This month, we’re exploring best practices for packaging, positioning, and pricing post-sale services. Catherine Cantwell , VP of Global Professional Services & Partnerships at Showpad, shared her valuable insights in our recent Preflight Huddle. From knowing the right time to introduce service offerings to simplifying bundles for customer clarity, we’ve distilled the session into three actionable takeaways to help you optimize your post-sale services strategy. Let’s go!

Insight #1: Timing is key – know when to package post-sale services

The right time to introduce post-sale service offerings is when your product and documentation have matured. Initially, your professional services team may act as a stopgap, filling in for incomplete features or missing documentation. But as your product stabilizes, it’s time to shift gears and offer higher-value services. Two critical indicators for this transition include:

• Product maturity: If professional services are no longer needed to plug gaps, it’s time to focus on value-added offerings.
• Help center usage: High levels of customer self-sufficiency—indicated by a decrease in help center queries—signal that customers are ready to handle basic deployments, freeing your team to focus on more strategic engagements.

Insight #2: Simplify and bundle services for customer clarity

Packaging your services into easy-to-understand, flexible bundles is a game changer. Start by breaking down services into smaller components (e.g., workshops, training modules) and offer them as customizable bundles. This modular approach allows you to cater to different customer needs without overwhelming them with too many options. Catherine suggests:

• Component breakdown: Break services into smaller, digestible parts.
• Customizable bundles: Group these parts into customer-friendly packages by segment (e.g., SMB, enterprise), service type (advisory, technical), or specific use cases (common customer challenges).
• Clarity over complexity: Position services as comprehensive bundles rather than individual components to simplify pricing and ensure customers perceive the full value.

Insight #3: Offer the right level of support for each customer

One-size-fits-all doesn’t work in post-sale services. Catherine stresses the importance of offering flexible service levels, allowing customers to choose how much support they need. Here's how to guide them to the right service tier:

• Do-it-yourself (DIY): For customers with sufficient internal resources, provide extensive help center documentation and training, allowing them to manage deployments independently.
• Show-you-how: Offer advisory services or training to guide customers through setup, empowering them to manage the platform themselves after the initial engagement.
• Do-it-for-you: For clients facing budget or resource constraints, offer managed services where your team handles daily operations and maintenance.

This tiered approach ensures customers get exactly what they need, without overburdening them—or your team—with unnecessary services. By focusing on the right timing, clear service packaging, and customized support levels, you can drive better outcomes for your customers while maximizing the value of your services. Stay tuned for more insights in the next edition of The Ascent!

For the full breakdown of Catherine Cantwell’s session, go here!

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