Lead with customer service
Human perception is a funny thing. I used to provide free support for the work I did for my clients. Like if I installed a unified communication system, I would support it and any problems from that point on. I could tell clients sometimes felt guilty calling me for help knowing I was supporting their system for free even though I made it clear that I stand behind my work.
It was difficult to get clients and prospects to call me for free support, which could lead to an additional project for me to do. They felt guilty or even unsure if they would see a bill in the mail.
Now that I’m charging a (very minimal) fee for support, I’ve received many positive responses like:
- “I can’t believe your prices are so low!”
- “You should raise your rates.”
- “Your Guilt-free IT service takes a huge bogeyman out!”
I’ve completely reversed the way in which my business is marketed. Rather than lead with solutions and provide support later, I lead with the support and provide solutions later. I call it "Guilt-free IT." It’s about proactively maintaining my client’s systems to prevent problems and improve reliability. I think people like this kind of service because there’s a lot of perceived value in a fixed monthly service. Even if their entire system were to crash and burn, they know exactly how much it’s going to cost for Guilt-free IT because they’ve already paid for it.
Now I’m a savior rather than a salesman. I like that!
