How To Demonstrate Why You Charge More Than The Tech Down The Road

If you have been following Technibble for any length of time, you will already know that I recommend that all new computer businesses should raise their prices to something more sustainable.

Once you have been in business for a year or two you may want to raise your prices again because your experience is now greater than it was when you first started.

In fact, you usually need do this because can fix problems faster. If you charge according to time, you will actually make less than when you first started because you can do it so much quicker.

Of course, raising your prices is the easy part. The hard part is convincing your clients that you are more experienced than the guy down the street who charges half what you do per hour. The client often doesn’t know any better so you need to educate them. Here are a few ways to go about it:

Mention you experience in your sales pitch

I often do this when someone asks me to quote them a new computer. My computers are definitely not the cheapest around but I would say something like:

“As you know, I work as a computer technician and because of this I get to see which parts are troublesome and unreliable out in the field, because, well, its my job to go fix them. The salesmen at the big brand stores may know the features of the product he is selling, but he doesn’t know how reliable the product is once it has been used.

I only use brands that are known to be the most reliable and easy to setup.”

I know of some businesses that also mention their experience in their slogan (and having a stab at Geek Squad at the same time) by saying “Why hire a geek when you could hire an IT Professional?”.

Advertise that you are insured and/or certified

Advertising the fact you are insured looks great in the eyes of business clients. If you have any certifications, it might be worth listing them in small text down the bottom of your advertising material. Don’t focus on the certifications though since most people don’t know what CCNA or A+ means, but just having them listed helps build credibility.

Guarantee Your Work

When a customer is choosing a tradesman in just about any job they are taking a risk. Will this plumber be any good? Will this mechanic try to rip me off? and will this computer guy be competent in what he is doing?
By guaranteeing your work, it helps takes the risk out of potentially getting scammed by an inexperienced computer technician.

Look The Part

Looking professional isn’t just one thing, it’s actually an entire package that comes together to give a professional image.

A professional looking website can massively help with credibility. However, keep in mind a poorly made website can actually damage your company’s image. If web design isn’t your forte then don’t be afraid to pay a professional to make one. Computer technicians like to figure out anything computer related by nature and believe they can design a good looking website. The problem is while our technical minds can create the backend code, but most struggle with the design side of things resulting in a bad looking page. It’s kind of like the equivalent of your client’s 16 year old cousin doing tech work because he “knows computers”. Unless you have design skills, just get a professional to do it.

The same thing applies to your business cards. The ones made and printed at home just scream amateur. Get some cards professionally made at a proper printer for around $150 to $300 depending on volume. It’s well worth it.

To further separate yourself from those who charge less than you, wearing a uniform makes a massive difference. While some technicians wear a proper suit (though these guys are usually technology consultants) but I personally wear a nice black, long sleeve collared shirt. I believe it look professional, but not overpriced.
I have seen technicians do computer repairs in tracksuit pants and hoodies and it just looks unprofessional. I am sure you would question your dentist’s ability if he was wearing a hoodie and trackies rather than a white dental gown.

To further push the official look of a uniform, it might be worth getting a few shirts embroidered with your logo as it only costs $5-10 USD per shirt.

Lastly, having paperwork such as Work Orders with your logo up the top makes your business look very official since just about all of the “fly by night” businesses don’t have any paperwork at all.