Meeting tonight with Dr. for IT Support

[Edge Tech NY]

Whats up guys, pertty excited, I have my first meeting with a very potential client whos a dr... Hes looking for someone to support his office.. He has 1 server, 1 network printer and 2 computers... Im going to charge him

$150 - server
$25 - netwokr printer
$50 - per workstation (2)
$75 - an hr onsite (25% discount)
Unlimtied Remote Support
Server/Workstation Monitoring
---------------------------
$275/month


Does this seem normal and resonable? Is it common to accept first months payment the day we start? I also dont have a remote system setup in means of paying for one.. I'm most likely going to reinvest the first months pay into a remote support company.. I cant choose between any of the popular ones though.. =/ Some opinions appreciated.. Thanks guys!

 

[cmonova]

I think the pricing is reasonable. I would be more concerned with what "exaclty" I can provide for him vice what he is doing now, then pricing. It's great you have a pricing structure in place but if you can't assure him of the benefits of it then it's all for nill.

Only issue I have is the comment of "I also dont have a remote system setup in means of paying for one.. I'm most likely going to reinvest the first months pay into a remote support company"

You are going tell him you will provide "unlimited" support yet you have nothing in plcace to provide that support. Do you have a way to show him "example" monthly reports so he knows that you have your stuff together?

 

[weezon]

The thing that comes up a lot is how can you charge per server, workstation, etc. and then charge $75 an hour for on site. What are they actually getting for the cost for equipment? Is the $75 per hour additional to what hours are included? I believe some onsite support should be included with the equipment charge.

 

[MrUnknown]

The thing that comes up a lot is how can you charge per server, workstation, etc. and then charge $75 an hour for on site. What are they actually getting for the cost for equipment? Is the $75 per hour additional to what hours are included? I believe some onsite support should be included with the equipment charge.

many many things can be done without ever going on-site so on-site is an extra perk. I see nothing wrong with having an additional fee for on-site work which can save the client money.

 

[Edge Tech NY]

I cant charge him 275/month and not charge him for onsite work... Then there would be no point in the remote support..and id be spending time at his office for free.. I thought the way i strcutred my pricing was "normal"... no?

Im alos thinking aobut gonig with NTR global for my remote company.. good prices and nice software it seems like..

 

[MrUnknown]

hmm, maybe you should investigate the remote part more.

You normally use Kaseya or GFI type software that runs on their systems and notifies you of any issues. You can also script regular maintenance, like running CCleaner or something like that after they close.

 

[BryanLee]

I'm starting a landscaping business. If i get enough clients to pay me, I can afford to go out and buy a lawn mower. Sound smart?

I think you are putting the cart before the horse and advertising and taking payment for a service you cant even provide (yet). I would be very careful about proceeding.

As far as pricing, I would do this...

1. Meet with the client and discuss their needs.
2. Decide how much time you expect to spend servicing those needs.
3. Determine your price accordingly and set out a billing structure for anything not covered in the monthly price.
4. Present the terms to the customer.

I would never go into a meeting with a price in my head. How can you? You have no idea of what they want or need from you. You may also be selling yourself short. If someone presented me with a price immediately after talking to them about what i needed, i would assume that they didn't put much thought into it. Not always the case....just my thought.

Just my .02

Congrats/Good Luck!

 

[RhodyTech]

Sure, the method of pricing is typical of an "All You Can Eat" MSP plan but as others have said, I think you should sit down and ask questions, do a network assessment, and then leave w/out discussing any pricing. Instead, take the info from the interview back to your office and work up numbers accordingly.

You don't want to hung out to dry on an ACYE plan if the guy has a couple of ailing XP or NT boxes and a neglected Win2000 server. Do some recon, then come up with a plan of attack. You may want to quote a network "refresh" project to get the systems to a state where they can be managed and sustained first.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[weezon]

many many things can be done without ever going on-site so on-site is an extra perk. I see nothing wrong with having an additional fee for on-site work which can save the client money.

You're correct but I always show my face at least once every two weeks for a hour no charge. And you can't always install remote software on a server or work on a server remotely but if you can that works. So basically what's offered is software support because any hardware related issue is $75 an hour? That's not what I offer nor something I want to get into. I don't support accounting, engineering, or logistic software in a maintenance plan or for $75 a hour on site. I put a face to my brand and it works and leads to more business. I don't see why someone would refer a voice on a phone to anyone? I think us Techies think too technical sometimes and not like businesses.

 

[Edge Tech NY]

The only reason this guy needs a new IT company is because his old one moved to Cali.. His systems are fine, just needs the backups fixed.. I already spoke to him on phone for 30 mins asking about his setup and structure...

 

[MrUnknown]

You're correct but I always show my face at least once every two weeks for a hour no charge. And you can't always install remote software on a server or work on a server remotely but if you can that works. So basically what's offered is software support because any hardware related issue is $75 an hour? That's not what I offer nor something I want to get into. I don't support accounting, engineering, or logistic software in a maintenance plan or for $75 a hour on site. I put a face to my brand and it works and leads to more business. I don't see why someone would refer a voice on a phone to anyone? I think us Techies think too technical sometimes and not like businesses.

I think you are taking it wrong. The idea is to save the business money by providing off-site service and maintenance. The same idea can be seen with fixed-rate "in-shop" pricing compared to always charging by the hour on-site. You can simply charge a lower rate because you aren't there and can either automate many things or work on more than one computer at a time.

My current and most expensive "pricing" (which can change depending on the client, but I do have a reference number) is half of what only one-hour of on-site would cost the client. If I sold my hours and did all the work on-site, I wouldn't offer such a large discount, maybe upto a 25% discount. In the end this is cheaper for the client and even more beneficial because I know about problems almost instantly and can fix them and they save money. This pricing also includes unlimited on-site work if the need happens, but like I said, it probably rarely will. If it does, then over the cost of the machines I would come out ahead. There are terms to prevent the abuse of the "unlimited" offering, which basically amount to if it can be done remotely, then I can choose to do it remotely. They can't require me to come on-site.

However, you are right. You should never set up one of these things and never show your face. You should definitely setup face-to-face meetings at the very least monthly to go over what the client is actually paying for and to give recommendations and to see what problems they would like fixed. These meetings should definitely be free of charge.

Don't get me wrong, a face to your brand is great, but so is fixing something before it becomes a problem that the client even knows about.

 

[weezon]

I think you are taking it wrong. The idea is to save the business money by providing off-site service and maintenance. The same idea can be seen with fixed-rate "in-shop" pricing compared to always charging by the hour on-site. You can simply charge a lower rate because you aren't there and can either automate many things or work on more than one computer at a time.

My current and most expensive "pricing" (which can change depending on the client, but I do have a reference number) is half of what only one-hour of on-site would cost the client. If I sold my hours and did all the work on-site, I wouldn't offer such a large discount, maybe upto a 25% discount. In the end this is cheaper for the client and even more beneficial because I know about problems almost instantly and can fix them and they save money. This pricing also includes unlimited on-site work if the need happens, but like I said, it probably rarely will. If it does, then over the cost of the machines I would come out ahead. There are terms to prevent the abuse of the "unlimited" offering, which basically amount to if it can be done remotely, then I can choose to do it remotely. They can't require me to come on-site.

However, you are right. You should never set up one of these things and never show your face. You should definitely setup face-to-face meetings at the very least monthly to go over what the client is actually paying for and to give recommendations and to see what problems they would like fixed. These meetings should definitely be free of charge.

Don't get me wrong, a face to your brand is great, but so is fixing something before it becomes a problem that the client even knows about.

Well said. I cater to the employees as well as the client. I'm only as good as the employees say I am. But I totally understand what your saying.

 

[numnutz]

I would think a doctors office would have objections to remote support "depending I guess" they are dealing with private personal patient information and there are federal laws to take into account. I know several years ago I tried to sell it to a town cort and they were very against it. Be that as it may there password security on there computers, network and court databases were the weakest I've seen in an business.

You would need to know how to sell it and know if your meeting federal laws gaining access to computers with patients medical records

 

[MrUnknown]

I forgot completely about the doctor aspect. People do do it, but it requires signing an agreement that says you will comply with HIPPA or something similar. So yeah, the exact requirements is something you will have to look up.

 

[numnutz]

its something to invesitigate go to doctors offices in your area and see if there wireless networks are secure. a doctors office in CT one time was wide open a BIG NO NO. you could make some quick cash

 

[LAconsult]

Any update?

Any update on this? Sounds interesting, what ever came of it?
With the new HITEK/HIPAA regulations, it would be a good time to follow up with your doctor client and see if he has plans on going chartless, as per the regulation - which also will reimburse him to do it. Potential opportunity here, as the HHG is cracking down a lot more on compliance these days.
My dentist who is a friend but already has IT service sent out an email blast with everyone in plain text. Someone reported this to HHG and an investigation ensued. It wasn't a breach per se, because it was just an advertisement but it really opened his eyes - if clinics, doctors etc are going to utilize technology there is due diligence that must be done to ensure data is adequately protected. When it was all said and done he moved to something like contactcontact or mailchimp for email blasts, instead of his Yahoo account. Just a thought.

 

[7Digits]

The only reason this guy needs a new IT company is because his old one moved to Cali.. His systems are fine, just needs the backups fixed.. I already spoke to him on phone for 30 mins asking about his setup and structure...

Did you happen to ask him how much is was paying the other tech? Do you have an idea of what hes willing to pay?