Professional production consists of exploring an artist and song before recording begins to find the strongest presentation for it and then working with you to achieve that.   If your goal is to pitch yourself and your songs to the commercial music market, a simple recording with "stock" intros, outros, turnarounds and signature licks will not compete with what other professionals are pitching. 

Professional production also includes casting the musicians, studio, engineer and vocalists specifically for your project and goals.  Nashville has a rich pool of world class musicians to choose from in every genre. You should have the opportunity to meet and work with musicians who will elaborate on your creative ideas and work with your producer to bring your unique sound to your project.

A professional producer should have training and experience in vocal production and coaching. The vocal presentation of your song is the single most important element!  As an artist, the only chance you have to get noticed in a crowded market is to capture a unique vocal delivery in the studio.  As a songwriter, you are pitching your songs to artists (i.e. singers).  If the vocal performance on your recording doesn't make them want to sing it, you have wasted your money recording it, no matter how good the musical tracks are.

In the mixing process, a producer brings a second set of ears and is able to focus on different aspects than the engineer  would.  This assures that you get a final mix of your song or performance that is not only technically good, but also better sonically.  You can hear the difference that the expertise of a producer brings to a project. So can your audience.

In short, what a producer brings to your project is one person, who is skilled in all aspects of recording (from budgeting to casting to mastering)  who remains focused on the "big picture" and end goals for your recordings to assure that the arrangement, instrumentation and vocal delivery will reach the market you are aiming for.  To achieve this, it is important that each person on your session have one job to do and do well and one person (the producer) directing the creative energy of the project so that the integrity of the song/artist does not suffer. 

To compete with professional artists and songwriters, you must think like they do.  They understand the role and the benefits of professional production. Now you do too. 

Knowledge is power! Use it wisely.