How to win more projects as a service business

Most founders think they know why clients buy.

But guess what? They have no clue.

That’s why they focus on surface-level things like, “We build websites for SaaS companies” or “We run paid ads for e-commerce brands.”

It sounds good, but that’s exactly what hundreds of other businesses are saying… everywhere.

A small percentage of these businesses goes a bit deeper. Because of this, they win projects almost without effort.

What they do is talk about the small problems that prove the big problem is real.

I call these symptoms.

Symptoms are the everyday frustrations your ideal clients recognize immediately.

They’re the little signals that something isn’t working.

And if you want messaging that gets attention and content people actually respond to, this is the simplest place to start:

Make a list of as many symptoms as possible.

Here’s an example from messaging work:

The main problem:

“Our messaging isn’t clear.”

Now, symptoms:

• Prospects keep asking, “So what do you actually do?”
• Sales calls feel like explaining, not selling.
• Content gets impressions but no replies.
• Too many “let me think about it” emails.
• People show interest but never take action.
• Clients say “I didn’t know you did that.”

Once you have a list like this, creating marketing assets becomes easy.

Each symptom can be turned into:

• A LinkedIn post.
• An email.
• A webinar slide.
• A lead magnet.
• A landing page section.
• An outbound message.
• A case study angle.

That’s how good messaging scales across channels without trying to reinvent the wheel.

And the best part?

You don’t have to guess what to say.

People already feel these symptoms. You’re just naming them.

This is the simplest way I describe this process and what I tell my clients:

1) Define the main problem you solve.
2) Break it into an honest list of real symptoms.
3) Build your messaging and content around those symptoms.

Think about it:

People rarely take action because something “might be a problem later.”

They take action because something is uncomfortable right now.

• A website that no one understands.
• Sales calls going nowhere.
• Writing content but struggling to sign clients.
• Prospects not seeing the value.

These are the reasons someone reaches out, books a call, and pays.

If you want a quick win today, take 10 minutes and write down every symptom someone experiences before hiring you.

You’ll have more relevant messaging and more content ideas than you think.

— Sergiu