Why Marie Kondo Has the Perfect Service Offering.

Recently, a business consultant asked if I would be open to helping them write a service offering document for an upcoming conference. We spoke for a few minutes and then I responded with a

“No. I’m not able to help you. Here is why__________. I also heard your need, a leave behind handout. Instead of a service offering handout, let me provide a few different handouts to consider.”

The consultant was visibly upset and rightfully so. They had been working on building their consulting business for over two years and were struggling. Simply, they needed clients.

Every consultant needs to be able to articulate how they help their clients achieve what the client is looking to achieve. That means every consultant should have a?Perfect Service Offering. But what is a Perfect Service Offering?

A perfect service offering supports a consultant’s why and what (their focus) and a consultant’s who (their ideal client). A perfect service offering consists of

1. a philosophical and strategic perspective, a consultant’s Point of View,
2. an approach or methodology, and
3. a tactical aspect, the actual service offered.

It sounds easy enough to create that perfect service offering, but the pieces must work in conjunction with one another. If you miss a piece, you have an offering of some sort, but it isn't a perfect service offering.

Marie Kondo clearly states her philosophy: “clear away clutter so you can live the life you want.” The decluttering and tidying, which she takes seriously, is how she helps spark joy in a person’s life. Her Point of View, known as the KonMari Method?, focuses on people asking themselves what do they truly value. Her Point of View requires people to reflect and discard items that no longer provide joy; it requires them to be forward-looking. The result is an order within a person’s life and new found self-respect and confidence.

“Life truly begins only after you have put your house in order.” – Marie Kondo

Kondo expands or dives down into the KonMari Method? by providing 6 Steps or 6 Basic Rules of Tidying.

• Rule 1: Commit Yourself to Tidying Up
• Rule 2: Imagine Your Ideal Lifestyle
• Rule 3: Finish Discarding First
• Rule 4: Tidy by Category, Not by Location
• Rule 5: Follow the Right Order
• Rule 6: Ask Yourself If It Sparks Joy

Kondo’s website clearly communicates the 6 Basic Rules of Tidying as well as the KonMari Method?.?Here is a link?explaining the method and rules in more detail.

“When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too. As a result, you can see quite clearly what you need in life and what you don’t, and what you should and shouldn’t do.”?–?The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up?by Marie Kondo

With the KonMari Method? and the basic rules in place, Kondo defined her services. As her consulting business grew so did her services but her services did not deviate from her focus and ideal client criteria nor the KonMari Method? and the 6 Basic Rules of Tidying. Currently her services or her offers include:

1. A customized approach. A person needing help decluttering their home and life can hire one of the 6oo plus certified KonMari consultants.
2. A transformational system.?A person can transform their own environment with the help of the?KonMari Method? Fundamentals of Tidying?online course. In this 10-lesson course, Marie Kondo personally guides a person through her famous tidying method.
3. Best seller books on organizing.?Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up?and?The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing?are two of her books on the KonMari Method? and decluttering.
4. An award-winning Netflix series,?Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.?Marie Kondo helps eight clients with home tidying makeovers.
5. Other Resources.?In an effort to help people declutter, Kondo provides tools and organizing items.

All of Marie Kondo services, the tactical aspects of her consulting business, tie to her focus, her ideal client criteria, the KonMari Method? and the 6 Basic Rules of Tidying. Her?Perfect?Service Offering?ties together everything Marie Kondo does to help others, her clients. Moreover, she clearly articulates these points on her website making it easy for a client to understand how she (or her consultants) can help a person Spark Joy.

And that is why I say Marie Kondo has the Perfect Service Offering.

To Recap

It is easy to say to a potential client here is a list of my services and not realize you have overlooked something. When I started as an independent consultant, I followed my Big 4 Consulting experience “education.” Money was spent on a logo, website, and some great looking marketing literature that included a laundry list of services. However, I only somewhat spent time clarifying and tying my focus (why and what), ideal client (who) criteria, and services (how) together. I didn’t know I needed to, and that was a costly mistake because I didn’t have a solid consulting CORE.

This is one of several reasons why I told the business consultant I was not able to help them.?They only sought clients.?They didn’t have the basics, their CORE in place. They hadn’t tied, nor were they open to clarifying and tying, their focus (why and what), ideal client (who) and services (how) together.

Until next newsletter,

Laura Burford

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