One of the issues that I see many local PC repairmen (or women as the case may be) facing in their work lives is competing with companies like Dell and HP for customers. Now I am not talking about competing to repair PCs. No, I am talking about making sure that when your customers are thinking of a PC upgrade, they come to you and not to the big name companies instead.

Now I need to be clear on something here. A large number of your clients will flat out refuse to buy from you when they can save a few bucks from a larger company. Frankly, this is difficult to compete with. And because of this, you will likely feel that your options are limited.

Well I am here to tell you that there is some hope. Look, it is unlikely that clients in their senior years are going to be pumped about spending a grand on a new gaming machine. It’s great for those who are into gaming, but demographics tend to point away from people in this group spending large sums on something like this. Having said that, I do know of many people in the 50+ crowd that happen to be very interested in photography and are also curious about exploring video editing.

Here is where your skills come in: Consider offering a PC that is custom made for that client’s ambitions! If they are interested in photography, custom build them a machine with built-in card reader, etc. Same goes for video editing. By creating a machine that reflects their needs, you can provide something that might be a little bit more challenging for companies like Dell to match.

Now the real challenge! How do you know what their interests are in the first place? Simple, just ask! Frankly, you should be doing this anyway. It’s part of keeping your repair business strong and healthy. Well that and it allows you to anticipate the potential needs of your repair clients before the need even arises.

So, the next time you hear your client say something along the lines of exploring a new hobby or even something as vague as ‘learning more about their PC’, consider it an opportunity. Think I am nuts? With sincere interest and no pressure information, you could end up creating a sale for yourself quite easily. Back when I was in repair, I did it frequently. Just something to consider…

[tags]gaming,hp,dell,video editing,demographics[/tags]