"I prefer to compete by providing better quality." Then stop. Let them think about whether they prefer cheap, or good. Then whatever they decide to do will probably be right for both of you."-- Mark Schecter I love this line! It's quick and simple and says a lot. One thing we do is post our rates on our website. Because of this we get a lot less inquiries about price. Why don't more technicians do this? These days people want the information and they want it now! I don't want to beat around the bush. Posting your prices implies that this is the standard fee. Not posting prices may cause some customers to perceive that the rates are more flexible. I also highly recommend having another person handle your phone calls and scheduling. This is well worth it, and is one of the important steps in growing a business. I am fortunate to have a wife and business partner who was willing to quit her day job 9 years ago and take this on. The effect was almost immediate and our business has grown noticeably every single year since we made that decision. Having a buffer between you and the public really helps. 1) You can't toot your own horn as well as someone else, plain and simple. There is a different psychology at work when someone besides you plays you up, even if they work for your company! 2) Having a professional office manager makes clients feel like they are dealing with a professional company. You will come across as a more serious business to the public. You may get less "do you do this full time?" comments. 3) Since the office manager isn't the "boss", (although in many ways mine IS <G>) customers will feel less inclined to haggle. And the office person doesn't take it personally! 4) The time you save by having an office manager will allow you to service more pianos, which pays better than the office work. Besides, most of us are better at servicing pianos than managing the office! Ryan Sowers, RPT Puget Sound Chapter Olympia, WA www.pianova.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110103/2abb683e/attachment.htm>
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