Defining Terms of IT Service Agreements

In order to gain the trust of your customers, you need to plan in advance for IT service agreements. Important items such as clear benefits and prices will help you sell IT service agreements to future clients.

RATE CARDS

A rate card is simply a short, one-page sheet that displays your typical prices in contrast to prices you offer under IT service agreements. This is your chance to display a marketing summary of your benefits. You should brainstorm at the very least six benefits to signing IT service agreements instead of paying hourly.

Most important is that you know what you are doing well before you go on the sales call and communicate absolute professionalism. You will want to offer IT service agreements for smaller clients that only cost a couple hundred dollars per month. For slightly larger clients, $800 to $1000 is a competitive rate, whereas the biggest clients will expect to pay $2,500 monthly.

TRAVELLING DISTANCE

If you typically serve customers that fall within 10 to 15 miles away, you might have to expand your reach. Most of your competitors will be happy traveling 45 minutes to an hour outside their immediate range, and you will have to find a way that economically lets you do the same. You are acting reasonably if you charge for travel time, a VAN charge or a fixed charge for showing up. These extras will compensate for some of your travel time, gas and transportation expenses. Minimums can also be enforced, which can range from one hour up to a half-day’s worth of rates.

SMALL BUSINESSES AND IT SERVICE AGREEMENTS

Solid small business accounts are the lifeblood of your company. You would have to have a couple hundred home networking customers to equal 10 or 15 IT service contracts purchased by small businesses. Since all customers expect the same service, whether they are paying you $300 a year or $300 a week, it is more worth your time and effort to find small business customers that will purchase IT service agreements with you and spend regularly. With these types of regular customers, you will be able to give the best service and response time.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg