Steinmetz has some great advice and his seminars are worth looking into.
He focuses more on supply businesses than he does service businesses, and some of his answers are simplistic and not always applicable in all cases.
Nevertheless, I recommend anyone who can take one of his courses or buy his program.
Two of my favorite positions that he takes that apply very well to the cleaning and restoration industry are:
1. Most companies who attempt to justify higher prices based on quality are put in the difficult position of selling/justifying quality, as few people have cheap competitors who say that they AREN'T a "quality company" or don't sell a "quality product". Instead he recommends that you sell service. Service (in our case the things we do, showing up on time, answering the phone, etc) are more easily measurable by the client.
2. His diatribe on why the price customer is the most "expensive customer you can have" fits the cleaner/restorer's world perfectly. I can't say it like him, but here are some of his reasons he says to be careful catering to price customers:
They require the most sales time and effort
Not wishing to pay much, the expect more than the average customer once you convince them to pay more
They often complain the most afterward
They waste the time of management, sales, and service with negotiations and complaints
They pay the latest
They do not respect business relationships
They are the most likely to write a bad check
These are generalizations of course, but most ring true for the cleaner/restorer.
