Los Angeles Chapter
November Meeting: (3rd Monday)
Date: Monday, November 16, 2020
Time:
6:00 pm - Please note the earlier time
Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84918904101
Guest Speaker: Mark Purney, RPT
In our last meeting Jason Cassell laid out a strategy for growing a piano technician business. The approach had two major prongs: assuring existing customers turn into repeat customers, and growing sales of services across subsequent visits.
Cassell listed six tips for achieving these goals:
1) Do more than you are
asked -Technicians who provide a comprehensive piano service are more likely to
have customers who feel they have received good value. Tightening benches,
adjusting pedals and other quick extras leave a customer feeling well cared for,
increasing the likelihood of subsequent service calls.
2) Aurally verify your
tunings - Tuning aids are great, but the software is not perfect. Notes
sometimes move. Aurally verifying a tuning assures a customer is left with an
instrument that sings, rather than one that just sounds pretty good.
3)
Schedule future appointments - It takes just a few extra moments to schedule the
next service before leaving a customer's house, a step that will fill out your
appointment books in the future. Even if they cancel down the road, that
dialogue is a chance for further engagement.
4) Take a paid vacation - This
tip examines more than sunshine and drinks with umbrellas. Pricing structures
that include time off, insurance, maintenance and other costs associated with
running a proper business are more likely to achieve long-term success.
5)
Offer improvements - not just maintenance - Cassell told the story of his wife's
recent visit to an auto repair shop to demonstrate mechanisms for selling
services beyond tuning and lost motion adjustments. Carefully written estimates
and condition reports can help customers make the best decisions regarding their
instruments as well as increase a technician's sales revenue significantly.
6) Branch out - Spend one week a year learning new skills so you can grow the
number of services you sell to your clients.
Our next meeting will feature Mark Purney, a registered piano technician based in Phoenix, Arizona and owner of Supply 88, a tool company that creates innovative tools via 3D printing for piano technicians. Purney will explore his process for creating devices that make common tasks easier and more efficient.