Hello, and thanks for your interest in the Homehammer.com home improvement network. This email course is designed to help folks like you, specifically those in the home improvement industry, the inside information they need to turn their business up a notch, make more money, and watch your profits grow.

HomeHammer is a website that allows users to find professionals like realtors, general contractors, plumbers, framers, and electricians more quickly and easily, so this course is part of our commitment to you, to help you connect with your customers, generate business and improve your bottom line, so that you can provide a better service to our users.

Lesson 1: Why it's important to charge more, rather than less. Charge more? Yes, you heard right - you should charge MORE for your services.

You deserve it. People like Donald Trump and Richard Branson charge more for their services every single day, and there are many people out there who are willing to pay their outrageous fees, and why is that? Because the perception is, they charge more because they're great at what they do.

When people get ready to buy something, they often buy out of emotion, not logic. No matter whether you are a contractor, a plumber, a realtor, or an architect, companies who charge more are generally considered to offer a higher quality of service, while those that undercut are perceived as being more likely to do a shoddy job.

Think about it: Would you rather do one job for $10,000 or ten jobs for $1,000?

That is the real key to charging more - sure, you'll get more customers going elsewhere for their projects, but those that accept the higher rates will make up for that loss of income, and you will be doing LESS work.

In short, you will be working smarter instead of harder.

Of course, charging more does not mean you should swindle your customers, or get outrageous with your fees. If you plan to charge more, you must also offer more value for the customer's dollar. Offer them little things - small improvements in quality that they might not have expected, a little extra work beyond the brief, maybe even just a smile and a kind word when it would be easier to keep your head down and stick to the task at hand. Sure, it's extra effort, but it's MINIMAL extra effort, considering you're bumping your rates up considerably in return.

When you decide to take the leap and increase your rates, try adding 15% to your usual fee for a month. At the end of the month, evaluate your profits and see whether you think you could raise your rates even further without losing work.

Remember though, you must offer the product you have promised at the price you have promised. Customers won't be back if you are not offering a top of the line product. Do not underestimate your customer's intelligence level. They will know if they are being taken and not receiving the product they should, but if you do give them what you said you would, at a high quality level, your customers, even your regulars, won't mind paying that extra cash for your great service. And in fact, they'll probably tell their friends about you.

You work hard. Because you work so hard, you should dedicate yourself to becoming the best professional you can be. That means learning along the way. Taking the initiative to sign up for this short course shows that you would like to better yourself. The better a business professional you become, the more you can charge your customers, and if you step up to the gold standard, customers will not only pay a higher rate, but they'll beat a path to your door.

The next lesson in this series will help you understand how to close the sale while charging more money. This quick two minute read can double your income instantly, so keep an eye out for it!

Now that you're on the way to a healthier business, be sure to visit the HomeHammer website and sign your business up in our directory today. We are the world's largest home improvement site, and the way we stay large is by making sure we have the most extensive database of contractors and home professionals around, so make sure you're on that list!



About the author:



Kris Koonar is President of Crack Marketing leading a team of Internet Marketing Consultants with over 5 years of experience and 100's of projects. He is also writer of an Internet Marketing Course called "The Website MBA"

Kris can be contacted at 1.877.270.7170

or kris@crackmarketing.com