IT Service Agreements: Creating the Package

IT service agreements can be a great help to your computer consulting business. However, if you don't know what you're doing right from the outset, you can really mess up your company's IT service agreements.

Think about how you're going to package your IT service agreements. For example, are you going to make them fixed- price, retainer-based or based on pre-paid blocks of time?

IT service agreements that are fixed priced are tricky because you have to forecast what people need and want. Most small business computer consultants don't have the skill to accurately predict these needs, because these kinds of predictions are usually better left to actuaries.

Factors To Consider When Packaging Your IT Service Agreement

Think about how you're going to package your service agreement program. These are real important things that you need to think about BEFORE you're out on the sales call and present this IT service agreement offering to your customers and clients.

What tangible benefits you can offer?

What can you provide that's going to make signing that service agreement beyond compelling?

What is going to make it a no-brainer that your customers will want to sign service agreements?

You want to have some killer benefits in there.

What Kind of Benefits Should You Offer?

One of them typically has to do with response time, whether it's response time for on-site service, response time by phone, or response time for remote support.

Another benefit is proactive maintenance, whether it's remote and VPNing in, or dialing in to check their logs from time to time.

Giving an hourly discount is a huge benefit that usually gets most customers off the fence with signing IT service agreements.

Waiving premiums for after-hour service or emergency service can be another huge issue that can get people over the fence.

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