So, dubstepped, I have just returned from the local hostelry, where I spent a pleasant hour over a pint of warm english real ale, ruminating on what I might do in your predicament. Before I say anything else at all, I must commend you for your enterprise, and hope that, whatever you do, it returns you a just reward.
The first thing I notice is that if you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys. Often these monkeys are not really monkeys at all, but just consider themselves exploited. And, working unsocial hours for minimal pay, who can really blame them?
The next thing I notice is that one either competes on price, or one competes on quality. If one competes on price, one needs a large volume of sales to earn a decent return. If one competes on quality, one needs fewer sales, but to offer a better service.
So, I would tend to put it my customers, current and prospective, that the reason I charge (say) three times as much as the competition, is because I pay my staff (say) twice as much. And they all own a share of the business. That way, I can say, I can be sure of recruiting and retaining the most diligent, the most loyal, the most committed people available, the consequence of which is that they get the most dependable, reliable, conscientious service.
To be sure, you might lose some customers, with this strategy. But those you keep will be on board for the best reasons, and less likely to cancel contracts when a (slightly) cheaper offering is made by the competition. All you need, to sell quality, is a good story to tell, and a persuasive salesman to tell it.
My business consultancy rates are $0.00 per hour. So you can ignore me, and it won't have cost you a dime. All I ask is, that if you do proceed along these kind of lines, and it works for you, you make a small donation to Oxfam, as you see fit.
Best wishes, 2RM.
