Drop Servicing Guide: 10 Best Niches + How To get Started

If you are still going through this blog, then your intrigue for drop servicing is actually serious.

Some very innovative people keen on drop servicing, who actually have the potential to make it huge in the online service business, are stuck just because they don’t know how to get started. If you are among those, you landed in the right place.

Keep following these step-by-step strategies and tactics to learn how to start drop servicing, so you can create your own profitable business.

Step #1: Do a thorough market search for drop servicing business niche/ideas.

The first towards starting your drop servicing business is to conduct thorough market research to figure out what’s hot and for what services people are actually willing to pay.

For starters, you can pen your skills and the field you want to excel in. You can check out freelance job boards and Google Trends to find out the skills and services that are very high in demand.

Also, check for the profit margins that these services provide you (the approximate price of what the client provides you and what the freelancer expects).

I suggest you start by checking this post about niche research.

Note:  While searching for a niche of drop servicing business, you might be tempted to try on many niches at the beginning. However, take it slow and gradually grow your business once you get the hang of it.

Step #2: Build your team of freelancers and agencies.

If you want your drop servicing business to be a hit in the long run, the freelancer who actually does the client job must be proficient at what they do, accountable, time-efficient, and cost-effective.

So, after picking the felicitous niche for you, the second thing you have to do is look for prospective freelancers or agencies that you can outsource the project. If you have the service provider in your vicinity and you already know them, that’s great. Else, the internet has made things easier for you.

There are certain platforms where you can search for potential freelancers or agencies. Here are some platforms you can use:

• Freelance groups of Facebook and LinkedIn.
• Freelancer platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, People Per Hour, etc.
• Service/ skill-oriented job boards like Problogger for writers.
• Reach out to white label agencies that provide the service you are looking for.

Look out for the professionalism, proficiency, discipline, attention to detail, and authenticity of the freelancers that you come across.

Once you have built a team of freelancers or white label agencies, you might want to build a nice cordial relationship with them which can lead to recurring professional endeavors.

Also, settle how you are going to pay for freelancers (per hour, per word, per project, and so on). For this, you will need a rough estimate of how freelancers are charging so that you can turn on your negotiation game.

A great resource that can help you in making this step easier is Fiverr Business.

Freelancer or White label agencies for outsourcing?

Fledgling drop servicers might scratch their heads thinking whether to outsource the services to a freelancer or a white label agency. To be honest, both of them have a catch.

There are many white label agencies out there and they sell the services to middlemen like you. Plus, white label agencies are considered more reliable than a freelancer so you will be taking smaller risks.

However, white label agencies generally demand more payment compared to freelancers thus resulting in fewer profit margins.

If you take time and are able to find a reliable and capable freelancer, this will give you the benefit of better profit and also better quality.

However, a freelancer can disappear from you after taking the assignment. So, beware of both ways!

Step #3: Make an optimized profile or website and keep it updated.

Upon deciding your niche and service providers (Freelancers/ White label agencies), another step will be creating a simple yet effective profile or website as per your decision. If you are making a website, make sure that the website is responsive to all devices and easy to navigate.

Your profile needs to be appealing to the clients clearly stating the services you provide. If you can add your contact information in detail in your profile. Also, don’t make things too complicated and vague.

Keep up on updating your profile with credentials and reviews so that potential clients can trust you.

Learn how to create a niche website from scratch.

Step #4: Define your services and approximate your rates.

You have to mention the services that you are providing to the clients. This should not be difficult after picking a niche. For instance, if your niche is content writing, clearly state the services that you plan to incorporate like travel content, technical content, Hollywood content, and so on.

In addition to defining services, you also need to approximate and set the rates. Don’t rate too low or you might not even be able to afford the freelancers, let alone earn the profit. Don’t set extremely high rates that will scare away the customers at a first glance.

Step #5: Search for clients and build networks.

Finding clients is a vital step for drop servicing. For this, you need to know the target audience/clients for the service that you are providing. Upon knowing who your potential clients will be, you will know where to look for them.

Many might argue that building a website is the best way to search for clients and build networks. This is true to some extent. Having a website does show that you are legit and authentic. Ensure to make a nice relationship with clients so that you will pop into their minds next time they need a similar service.

Before finding clients, you need to set rates that will sustain you and the freelancer conveniently without going off the charts and expecting too much from clients.

If possible, justify the cost you have set with the service you provide.

Step #6: Direct and train your team.

As things start growing in your dropshipping business, you have to direct your team of business handlers and freelancers.

Form some code of ethics, guide the team and freelancers through the requirement of clients and even provide training if necessary.

Fiverr Business is a great starting point since you can start managing your team for free.

Step #7: Use convenient and flexible payment tools and methods.

This again is another crucial and rather easy step that has many beginners scratching their heads.

Given you might have both national and international clients as well as freelancers, you need to find flexible payment tools.

For national payment, you can use popular eCommerce sites or mobile banking, etc. For international transactions, some of the hottest tools are PayPal, Worldpay, Sage pay, and so on. Although most platforms have now payments integrated so this should not be an issue.

You just need to look out for the payment tools that work for you, your clients, and freelancers.

Personally, I use Payoneer and I couldn’t be happier. If you’re selling internationally through marketplaces like Amazon or platforms like Shopify, Payoneer will help you achieve better exchange rates when repatriating your global sales, make same-currency supplier payments and accept funds from anyone.

Step #8: Market/advertise your services.

You should start marketing your services from the very beginning.

In addition to broadening your channel and building connections, this step will help you to reach a bigger domain of people, people who might turn to potential clients or even service providers.

There are several tools and mediums to do this online like Facebook groups, LinkedIn, forums, etcetera.

The basic here is – while advertising your services, be persistent and professional rather than seeming desperate and pushy.

You can get some great ideas on how to market and advertise with my niche marketing hub.

Step #9: Offer credible services, customer support, and reliability as much as you can.

You need to know to make your clients happy so that they come back for more. Respond to their contact and email in time. Clear their confusion, provide them realistic deadlines and try to deliver reliable services.

These things might not seem like much at first, but over time the credible service, customer support, and reliability are going to help you establish a successful drop servicing business.

For this, I strongly suggest you consider Customerly. The simplest way to create and manage lasting relationships with your clients. You’d be surprised by the number of potential clients you can lose by the simple fact of not being able to answer simple queries. With Customerly, you remove that risk.

In conclusion, this section will provide you all the info you need on how to start drop servicing even if you don’t have previous experience.