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Growing the small technology company

The easy growth days of the late 90's are long gone. The competition has grown, and it's being fed by very small (one man operations). businesses that are really just self employed techs. So how do we grab the market share back from them? The first thing we need to do is target the enemy. So who is the enemy? The one man bands that are content to charge $40 per hour for network services or consulting. It's impossible to compete with them on price. Many of them don't provide themselves health insurance and avoid paying workmans compensation and in some cases don't even file a tax return. Thier customers are happy because they're getting service that traditionally cost $85 to $120 per hour.

But we can get the business back!

I know you're never supposed to go negative when selling. But I think there are acceptions. Especially one that so clearly puts the customer at risk. The businesses that rely on this lone wolf consultants are not only risking the health of the network, they're losing out on viable opportunities to grow the business through the effective use of computers and software.

They also put themselves at risk by entrusting thier entire network to someone who may find a job at anytime, or in a worst case scenario become sick and unable to work. Then the business dealing with this lone wolf is left without not only support but often access to passwords and configurations, backups and a whole host of other problems.

To sell to these businesses and knock loose the 1099 consultants we have to stress the huge advantage that a company with just three or four people has over a single individual. Not only will response times be quicker but the number of people you have also allows you to stretch your knowledge of different hardware, applications, and ways of operating and utilizing the network that will ultimately lead to better profits for the customer.

So how do you do it?
I'd recommend attacking the problem head on. Don't wait for a phone call back, address the problem in your marketing materials. Do a mailing that flat out admits you can't compete against these self employed techs, but let the customer know in no uncertain terms, you get what you pay for. There's nothing wrong at all with going negative if you're putting a rational fear in the customers mind. They're literally entrusting thier business and all of its data to a single technician with limited capabilites.

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