Pricing And What Houses To Leave?

[buzzing]

Going to do some canvassing this week, are two 2 litre ex-coke bottles filled with water enough to start out with as I don't have any customers yet- lack of confidence on my ladder.

How do I price? Time myself on own house then charge say £30/hr so if takes 30 mins charge £15? And with my 6 metre ladder which houses do i not bother with because the windows are too difficult to reach? What houses do i look for to ignore?

 

[MikeJP]

working out an hourly rate for yourself is a good place to start. the trick with this i find is not to go OTT on the rate though. if you new like me then you may want to accept a lower hourly rate for now but make it your goal to increase the hourly rate as you go on and get more experience. its difficult to give a straight answer with this though as cost of living differs up and down the country and that can dictate hourly rates.

another way of pricing is to use the £1-a-window method and take it from there. people even add £££ onto the overall price for distance traveled and the amount of ladder work involved etc.

i personally ignore the blaggers too mate. the ones that want a 3 bed semi doing for £2.50....pfffft!! be generous to yourself! /emoticons/wink.png

Velux style windows may be worth avoiding if your just trad?? purely because they tend to slope from the roof and are awkward to reach. some windows are just not worth the risk. i dont bother if it means i need to over stretch - not worth the risk at all.

stick to the good ol' 'three points of contact' rule and you'll be reet...........

 

[Bingo]

Going to do some canvassing this week, are two 2 litre ex-coke bottles filled with water enough to start out with as I don't have any customers yet- lack of confidence on my ladder.

How do I price? Time myself on own house then charge say £30/hr so if takes 30 mins charge £15? And with my 6 metre ladder which houses do i not bother with because the windows are too difficult to reach? What houses do i look for to ignore?

I know I'm new to this Forum and to window cleaning but :huh: .......

2 litres of water should last you all day while out canvassing.

If it's realy hot and sunny, you can always buy more in a local shop to quench your thirst /emoticons/biggrin.png .

If you lack confidence on a ladder, maybe you should stick to bungalows.

Don't think customers would be too impressed with a window cleaner who has no confidence on a ladder /emoticons/ohmy.png .

 

[All Round Cleaning]

Firstly good luck with the canvassing mate .

Secondly ,

Start by watching a few vids on YouTube my wagga etc there's loads of valuable information available

You just need to look around .

Do not be afraid to ask for help if you need help someone on here if they can they will help you .

The rest !!

Well with you just starting out don't be under the impresssion that you are going to be making £30 an hr because

Unless you are really really lucky and find 200 customers within the first week it's not going to happen !!

The rates that people quote on here are when they are actually on the glass say for example if they have quite a few

Houses compact together then yes you can earn decent money .

But don't worry what other people are earning as long as you are earning enough to make do with when starting out then that's all

You need to worry about .

Where you live also stipulates largely what you may be able to earn for example if you live in an area that has lots of brand new 3and 4 bed detached houses or 3 bed semi council houses .

Your rate can be higher or lower than if you live in a little town that has rows and rows of terraced houses .

What to do when canvassing , well that all depends on yourself really .

You need to be able to sell your service don't just knock someone's door and expect the best or worst of a person as it doesn't

Work like that.

Make sure you look smart and casual have a shave and put some smelly stuff on .

Im always polite and respectful at the end of the day customers demand respect as they pay our wages .

Before you knock the door have a quick look at the property to see if it is maintained well etc .

Are the windows dirty ??? Do they look like they have been cleaned recently ???

Don't bother looking to see what cars they have how big the tv is etc as that means nothing %90 of the time

As its more than likely on hp anyway and are stretched , this is how I have found it other people on here may say the same .

You also need to be a good judge of character too as some people can get really arsey with you just for knocking on the door

They give you right attitude as though you have just danced on a grave !!!

You need to know what you are going to be charging its pointless going to quote a job and not have any idea whatsoever

What your pricing structure is . I use the general rule of thumb £1 per window but not all windows are the same so if it's a smaller window say 50p if it's a bay window say £3 if it's a patio door say £2 etc etc .

Then tott it up in your head and you will have a rough price on what to charge but if you are in an area that is over run with windies

Don't expect to earn top dollar as its not going to happen .

I always try and round up to the nearest £ as I hate walking round with loads of change don't bother charging £9.50 instead charge £10

It's easier to put a tenner in your pocket than a fiver and some change .

Your sales pitch depends on yourself really I can give you the basics of what to say but if your a bag ov knackers when someone

Answers the door it's pointless you knocking and may as well get a canvasser .

If you need help let us know .

 

[M.K Cleaners.co.uk]

I found this trhere the now while I was looking for templates. May be of some use to you

Quote Calculator.xls

 

[John B]

Some very good points have been made here. As you are lacking in confidence and experience with ladders, it is vital that you address this before unleashing yourself on the public.

You must ensure that the ladder is placed at the angle of 4 to 1 (ie for every four feet vertical, it is no more than 1 foot away from the wall), and that you maintain 3 points of contact (both feet and one hand) at all times. You also need to take into account the ground (wet or mossy flagstones, wooden decking, etc).

On top of this, whatever you do, don't try to work too fast. This is where accidents with ladders are most likely to happen, and if it happens to you it really will spoil your day.

If you take your time, build your ability and confidence up, then in time you will become faster without compromising safety, and your earnings will increase accordingly.

Best wishes,

John

 

[C-THROUGH]

Good luck and remember that safety is the most important thing!!

It doesnt matter how much you earn, you wont earn if you are injured and not working.

As for £s per hour.. the more you work the faster you will get.

Its like anything..... Practice etc etc etc...