jamesg1213
If you don't charge them, or charge too little, it devalues and dilutes the worth of the business for everyone else. Might seem petty, but it can have a small knock-on effect which gets bigger down the line, and sooner or later other people have to start dropping their prices. You'd be charging for 'what you know' and the value of that should never be underestimated.
EXACTLY!!!
I have seen this happen to my own industry (my day gig) over the time I have been working in it. (22 years) When I was getting started most companies were charging a fair market value for home and business security systems. As time went on and companies merged and got bigger and got bank financing, the price in the field kept dropping. Now, you can get one for free in some cases.... in most cases, somewhere around $100. Fact of the matter is my costs for a keypad can be that much not counting the panel and other devices. There's no way I can even come close to the price of the nationals and keep my doors open.
But the end customer with whom I set down and speak with, thinks I should be matching the prices they see on TV. Their perceived value of a security system is about $100... and here I am selling a custom system that is easily over 4 figures. Believe it or not, after speaking with them about their security needs and explaining service after the sale and why that is important, I still get my fair share of the work..... so never underestimate your value.