A question I get all the time about starting a professional organizing business is “how do I price my services,” and “should I offer packages?” I know a lot of people in the industry who offer Professional Organizer Packages and I sometimes bundle sessions into multiple day packages for unpacking jobs and KonMari lessons. If you are just getting started and are unsure about professional organizer packages, keep reading to learn if it’s best for you and your business.
Although professional organizer packages can be great, I do not recommend that new organizers offer complicated packages. Let me explain why.
I believe that there is a very simple way to sell and pitch organizing services to clients without complicated proposals and hours working up estimates. Long gone are the days of trying to fit a prospect into a predefined package as a mere beginner.
However, once you have an established business and a roster of clients that keep you in steady work, offering packages can be a way to increase cash flow and stabilize your schedule. But if you are just starting to book your first paid clients, there is no need to have the pressure of selling thousands of dollars in services when you are just getting comfortable with organizing homes for a living.
Here is my super simple way to sell clients without professional organizer packages:
- Step 1: Start a conversation
- Step 2: Book a paid consultation + create a plan
- Step 3: Book your first project session
- Step 4: Follow up + book additional sessions
- Step 5: Move to maintenance status
Keep reading below for more details on how each step works.
If you prefer to watch my YouTube video on if professional organizer packages are a fit for new organizers, click the video below. Otherwise, keep scrolling to read on!
Step 1: Start a conversation
The first step in selling to clients is to simply start a conversation.
For me, this means booking a free phone or video consultation. It’s so important to get your potential lead talking by asking them open-ended questions such as:
- What areas in your home cause you the most stress?
- How could an organized home change your life?
I’ve created a list of sample questions to ask in the client questionnaire in my Essential Forms course. You can enroll HERE. You are more likely to book your client if you can get them talking.
When it is time to explain your process and give them pricing information, offer them a no-obligation planning session.
Related: 5 Professional Organizing Forms Essential to Your Home Organizing Business
Step 2: Book a paid consultation + create a plan
During the consultation session, you will essentially organize their home “on paper.”
This means you will give them space planning and product recommendations, as well as various ways to reduce clutter and create systems of organization.
I let the client know they can either take this plan and organize their home on their own, or we can schedule sessions to work on an area together like the kitchen, closets, or home office.
Get my consultation questionnaire HERE, which is included in my Essential Forms for Professional Organizer’s Course.
How to Charge for Home Organizing Services
I find that the paid consultation is of more value to the client if I create a written plan outlining all the steps and recommendations for decluttering and organizing their home.
You can create this on paper or in a Google Doc, but my favorite way is using Trello, a task management and project planning app. There is a free version, and both I and my client have access to the plan from any device.
Having an action plan allows them to do some work on their own and between sessions like taking donations to charities, listing items to sell, reviewing categories of things, or purchasing storage containers.
To learn how to use Trello for your business, check out this post here: This One Simple App is a Key to Organization (Organize With Trello)
Step 3: Book your first project session
During your first consultation with your client, this is the time to set the stage for any future organizing work. This is also the time to understand your client’s challenges, budget, and priorities. You also get a chance to become familiar with their stuff and the space they have.
Once you are done with this consultation, you are ready to book a project session. See, no professional organizer packages are needed!
Related: 7 Ways to Find Clients for your Professional Organizing Business
Step 4: Follow up + book additional sessions
Since you have created an action plan for organizing your client’s entire home, booking additional sessions is simply a matter of keeping in touch. To do this, you can make simple recommendations for the next logical project that you outlined during the initial consultation.
Recommended: Why I Chose to Become a Certified Professional Organizer
Step 5: Move to maintenance status
After you have completed a few sessions with your new client, they may move into what I call maintenance mode.
Maintenance mode is where you can book sessions with them that are a little less structured. Maybe you touch up some high-functioning spaces you have already organized like the kitchen, main bedroom closet, or home office.
There is also the option to conduct sessions that are part consultation and part product research. You can also simply meet with your client and give them emotional support to sort more tedious items like paperwork, photos, and other keepsakes.
I’ve worked many sessions with established clients where we just focus on time management or teaching them to use a productivity app.
There are so many ways you can help your client organize their home and their life. And the best way to do this as a new organizer is to make that first connection and book your first appointment. When you’re just starting out, there is no need for professional organizer packages.
Check out these additional free resources for aspiring home organizers.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER?
If you’re someone who LOVES organizing, consider starting your own organizing business.
Get a copy of my free guide “Professional Organizer’s Launch Guide” HERE.
There are many things to consider when starting an organizing business including:
- When will I name my business?
- Where will I find clients?
- How do I become an organizer?
- Do I need to be certified to get started?
- How will I structure my business?
You have come to the right place!
When you are ready to start your own professional organizing business, check out all my courses on working as a home organizer. My course bundle has the best prices on courses so that you can create and market your organizing business and design a system of organization that will work with all your clients no matter how small or large their volume of clutter is! Check out the course bundle here: Online Boot-Camp for Organizing Bosses
You can also check out my other blogs on how to start a home organizing business:
- How to Start a Professional Organizing Business in 2021
- The Ultimate Reading List for (wannabe) Certified Professional Organizers
- How to Create a Name for your Organizing Business
- 7 Ways to Get Clients for your Professional Organizing Business
