[pianotech] Client List

[Scott Helms, RPT]

Hi Noah -

You might consider doing it like the deal that I worked out with a tech
who bought my business when I moved. Rather than paying a set amount for
the business, we agreed on a percentage of each job he did that he would
pay me for a period of time, after which the clients were "his" and he
kept all proceeds. I think our deal was for the first year, but I would
recommend making it over 2 years, since many customers only tune once or
twice a year. This arrangement required trust, though - you would have to
feel that he would be honest in accurately reporting all of his earnings,
and send you a check every month in a timely way to pay you your
percentage. Also, you have to trust that he is a good tech with good
people skills and good business practices, so that the clients feel
confident in continuing to use him as their tech. One way you can
eliminate those issues is if you keep the business in your name, and you
have a cell phone that's local to the area you're leaving. The customers
call YOU on that cell number, and you do the scheduling FOR the purchaser
for the first year or two. That way, you know exactly what business is
coming in, and how much he should owe you. You could even keep further
control over it by having the customers make checks payable to you during
the contract period, and he could mail them to you once a month. You would
then send him a monthly check for his "cut" of the work. Basically, it
comes down to whatever you and your successor can agree upon. The upside
for your successor is that they aren't having to come up with a big chunk
of money to buy your business all at once (a real attractive scenario in
these days of scarce loan availability), and also doesn't have to worry
about paying you for customers who might never call him. It gives you a
steady monthly income stream, rather than a chunk of money, which may be a
good or a bad thing, depending on how you like to operate financially.

I STRONGLY urge you, though, to put it all in writing, including details
of which of you has responsibility for fielding calls in a timely manner,
keeping written track of all work that's done and the amount customers
pay, doing quality work, pricing, who is responsible for advertising, etc.
The more detail you can put in a contract at the beginning, the less
stress and potential conflict you'll have once it's all in place. Keeping
good communication between the two of you is also paramount in making this
kind of arrangement work. Good luck!

Scott
------
Scott A. Helms, Registered Piano Technician
www.helmsmusic.net






> Hello all. I don't know what the rules are about talking about money in
> the
> PTG, but I have noticed conversations of the kind before, so I figured it
> was okay to ask for some advice.
>
> I am probably moving from NYC in February and have considered selling my
> client list. Now being in the business for only 3 years, it is not huge.
> However, I have worked very hard for it and have accumulated over 200
> names,
> many of which are reliable repeats. I feel it is worth money.
>
> Other than just throwing out a random number to a potential buyer, is
> there
> some sort of precedent for a reasonable price, or method of dealing with,
> this?
>
> Most of you will probably be wondering right off the bat "*how many*
> repeat
> clients?" so that you can give an informed answer. Well, most of the names
> in my address book are home pianos, and I have not kept up with the
> records
> as I should have (I did in the beginning though!) so I will guess for our
> purposes here that 75 are repeats (tuned at least twice) and 10 are
> frequents (tuned at least 4x/year). I think many of the others are
> potential
> repaeats, however I have not hounded them due to a 9-5 at a piano rental
> company.
>
> Thanks in advance to all responses,
>