Selling Service Contracts Ponte Vedra Beach FL
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Selling Service Contracts
Source: PRO AV Magazine
Publication date: September 1, 2006
By Barry Halligan
Attention systems integrators: Interested in adding a high-profit margin product that provides annual recurring revenue? What if this product could substantially increase your bottom line, increase customer satisfaction, and add recurring revenue in multiple areas of your business? The answers to these questions seem like a no-brainer, yet a recent Pro AV poll found that only slightly more than half of AV integrators currently sell service maintenance agreements.
Call it what you will — a fixed-price support contract, a service maintenance agreement, a service level agreement, a maintenance contract, a service contract, or even an extended warranty (although this term can be limiting) — but who wouldn't be interested in a value-add proposition like this, especially in today's market of dwindling equipment margins and increased competition? No matter what name you choose to call it, service can deliver an ongoing revenue stream — if you lay the proper foundation. So why do so many neglect to take advantage of this revenue-generating opportunity?
Success in selling service contracts takes commitment. You'll need an infrastructure, a customer service philosophy, and sufficient numbers of technicians and support staff to provide the high level of service your clients will expect after the ink is dry on their contracts.