Price increases is it wise?

[Pjj]

No disrespect but you probably get shot down because of some of thee ludicrous comments you make on here.

You often tell us how you're not the cheapest in your area and now your telling us your pricing jobs several times your normal rate and still getting new work weekly at that price.

Last time I was on Cornwall it was nothing like the Monaco you describe with people desperate to through money at window cleaners.

Any one in business knows that if you get every quote you price you're to cheap but to have 90% turn you down is mad and any business would question their quoting and pricing strategy especially for a growing business like mentioned.

Different areas in the country will differ I accept that but down hear it’s very difficult to get a decent reliable window cleaner so many are prepared to pay a premium when they find one , next time you are down hear let me know I’ll take you out for a couple of days and show you what we are doing . Also there are a lot of retired or semi retired people with plenty of money it’s not like an industrial area ware ones maybe on low wages , there is areas of poverty like the rest of the country but not that much compared to some areas . If ones choose not to believe what I say that’s fine I don’t really care as what they thing doesn’t affect my buissiness or income , it takes time to build up a successful round and after 23 + years if I haven’t done it by now I never will . I just try to offer advice based on my personal experience for years I was to cheap but since changing strategy and listening to bigger more experience people and applying what they have done I have benefited no end ime just trying to share that with others but on hear there are to many green eyed monsters beacause they cannot do it they think it cannot be done , there are several people on hear who have done similar to me HWCA and DPD are just two examples.

 

[Chris34]

I think PJJ has been very open and honest in all my time I've been on here, I don't feel he tells people what to do, he just gives his advice on what he does based on his experience, it's up to the individual what they do.

Personally from my experience, I have been going just over 3 years. It was PJJ's advice on pricing that I used from day one and it's served me well and it does work. Some of the quotes I've done I've actually been trembling saying the price because I thought it was way too high but when the customer says yes to it, it gives you confidence and then that high price sets the target for the rest of the work.

It's up to the individual how they run their businesses, but from my perspective I like to hear of all the business models and prices, all the advice on pricing from super cheap to super expensive, without hearing about the possibilities it would be hard for me to make up my mind on what to charge.

All the advice on here is relevant, we don't learn anything by just doing and listening to what we have always known. New fresh ideas, fresh pricing, different methods should always be welcomed on here, not beaten down and dismissed.

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

Yes but it depends what your trying to achieve.
If you have plenty of work then quoting very high rates makes perfect sense.
As far as I can tell Pjj has far too much , so it would be foolish to be too competitive on price.
If your starting out , or trying to grow, then you’ll need to to be reasonably competitive in your area, without going too low.

I fully understand that if you're a one man band and maxed out then to price high or really high and keep refining makes complete sense.

When you have staff or multiple vans it's a case of bringing the work in and repeating the process.Your profit margin or percentage you make will remain the same.
Basically the more vans and staff the more profit the business make the less manual work the owner does.

The guy that owns nationwide has 100 vans out. Do you thing when he got to 10 he tripled his prices because he had too much work?

 

[Chris34]

Most PAYE wages won't rise with inflation there will be hardly any who got a 10% rise or any where near that this year in the private sector or even public.
The same goes for the self employed the forecast for inflation was not 10% at the start of this year.

I put the price up on some jobs in January this year for the start of April contracts.That increase was not 10% and these jobs are now in contract so can't be changed.

Just because certain customers have money doesn't mean their going to through it away.No ones not replaceable.

Just seen this on my news feed. It's companies like this that will set the trend, other companies making good profits will be pretty much shamed if they don't put up wages. Lots of ifs and buts, but if we see more of this then the prices won't come down, they're only going to go up and inflation will keep going up.

Cadbury staff win whopping 17.5 pay rise amid cost of living crisis

The rise will benefit 1,000 members of staff according to union Unite

www.birminghammail.co.uk

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

Different areas in the country will differ I accept that but down hear it’s very difficult to get a decent reliable window cleaner so many are prepared to pay a premium when they find one , next time you are down hear let me know I’ll take you out for a couple of days and show you what we are doing . Also there are a lot of retired or semi retired people with plenty of money it’s not like an industrial area ware ones maybe on low wages , there is areas of poverty like the rest of the country but not that much compared to some areas . If ones choose not to believe what I say that’s fine I don’t really care as what they thing doesn’t affect my buissiness or income , it takes time to build up a successful round and after 23 + years if I haven’t done it by now I never will . I just try to offer advice based on my personal experience for years I was to cheap but since changing strategy and listening to bigger more experience people and applying what they have done I have benefited no end ime just trying to share that with others but on hear there are to many green eyed monsters beacause they cannot do it they think it cannot be done , there are several people on hear who have done similar to me HWCA and DPD are just two examples.

Thank you for the offer.With travel back open I have no plans to return to Cornwall for quite some time.

My comments are not a dig or aimed at you direct.Like your self I have been in this for quite some time.I just see things slightly different

I speak and know window cleaners from different ends of the country from one man bands to multi nationals and no where seams to be quite like Cornwall even central London.

My opinion and it's only an opinion is based on what I see.It's very easy for people that are stacked out to say charge double ,triple etc but reality can be something different.

It's easy for people on the internet to say how good they are or how well they do wile hiding behind an alias the truth is will mostly never know.

People are welcome to put their prices up and charge what ever they see fit it will make no difference to me.I've survived previous recessions and i'm sure this one will be no different.

For people asking the question I just think they should tread with caution that's all.The free money being thrown about buy the government has long gone.The rising costs not just in living but as mentioned even getting tradesmen like builders are pointing to a slow down.I know quite a few companies that have folded lately.This will eventually transfer down to house holds and income.

There's no green eyed monster with me or disbelief in what can or can't be done.Whilst I took a decision to slow down I do ok
If any one interested you can view the type of work I do on here
www.cghwindowcleaning.co.uk the instagram page will have more pictures but both are in need of an updated but it gives you an idea.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

@Pjj You've stole my crown, I used to be the one with the daft comments ? Must because we are successful and folk are hurting. Sometimes in life everything goes for you rather than against you. Even today I managed to keep my Checkatrade membership by buying an affiliated (£250 a year) membership so I keep the stickers on my van. There is plenty of work out there but its trying to hook it can be the problem.

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

@Pjj You've stole my crown, I used to be the one with the daft comments ? Must because we are successful and folk are hurting. Sometimes in life everything goes for you rather than against you. Even today I managed to keep my Checkatrade membership by buying an affiliated (£250 a year) membership so I keep the stickers on my van. There is plenty of work out there but its trying to hook it can be the problem.

Trust me no ones jealous of your success Scottish with the amount you spend on things like wood chippers,Scafolds and check a trade stickers I'd be surprised if your business made a profit at the end of the year.

It's caused a difference of opinion or looking at something from a different point of view.

 

[Pjj]

Thank you for the offer.With travel back open I have no plans to return to Cornwall for quite some time.

My comments are not a dig or aimed at you direct.Like your self I have been in this for quite some time.I just see things slightly different

I speak and know window cleaners from different ends of the country from one man bands to multi nationals and no where seams to be quite like Cornwall even central London.

My opinion and it's only an opinion is based on what I see.It's very easy for people that are stacked out to say charge double ,triple etc but reality can be something different.

It's easy for people on the internet to say how good they are or how well they do wile hiding behind an alias the truth is will mostly never know.

People are welcome to put their prices up and charge what ever they see fit it will make no difference to me.I've survived previous recessions and i'm sure this one will be no different.

For people asking the question I just think they should tread with caution that's all.The free money being thrown about buy the government has long gone.The rising costs not just in living but as mentioned even getting tradesmen like builders are pointing to a slow down.I know quite a few companies that have folded lately.This will eventually transfer down to house holds and income.

There's no green eyed monster with me or disbelief in what can or can't be done.Whilst I took a decision to slow down I do ok
If any one interested you can view the type of work I do on here
www.cghwindowcleaning.co.uk the instagram page will have more pictures but both are in need of an updated but it gives you an idea.

I agree with what you are saying , the reason I made the offer to come out with us it to show what we are doing so ones can see for themselves that it’s true several have taken up the offer and have enjoyed the days out with us , I have a guy out with me today who is having some work from me , I wasn’t having a go at you with my comments either but just a general observation, the old adage if you don’t try you do t get comes into play some don’t have the confidence to price higher so they will never know what can be achieved, and that’s fine but

Thank you for the offer.With travel back open I have no plans to return to Cornwall for quite some time.

My comments are not a dig or aimed at you direct.Like your self I have been in this for quite some time.I just see things slightly different

I speak and know window cleaners from different ends of the country from one man bands to multi nationals and no where seams to be quite like Cornwall even central London.

My opinion and it's only an opinion is based on what I see.It's very easy for people that are stacked out to say charge double ,triple etc but reality can be something different.

It's easy for people on the internet to say how good they are or how well they do wile hiding behind an alias the truth is will mostly never know.

People are welcome to put their prices up and charge what ever they see fit it will make no difference to me.I've survived previous recessions and i'm sure this one will be no different.

For people asking the question I just think they should tread with caution that's all.The free money being thrown about buy the government has long gone.The rising costs not just in living but as mentioned even getting tradesmen like builders are pointing to a slow down.I know quite a few companies that have folded lately.This will eventually transfer down to house holds and income.

There's no green eyed monster with me or disbelief in what can or can't be done.Whilst I took a decision to slow down I do ok
If any one interested you can view the type of work I do on here
www.cghwindowcleaning.co.uk the instagram page will have more pictures but both are in need of an updated but it gives you an idea.

i haven’t taken what you said personally or as a dig , the reason I made the offer I have is so ones can see first hand what’s achievable, this isn’t boasting or putting anyone down but I do feel many don’t have the confidence to charge higher prices ,I had a very long chat with a person who runs one of the largest exterior cleaning firms in the country don’t want to name him on an open public forum but happy to pm you if you are interested, he came out with a lot of stuff that I initially poo pooed , but then I thought about what he had said and have tried it myself and it does work I accept ones building a round cannot do it as they need work rapidly but when full with work it’s great at refining what you do and boosts what you earn in any given time , as window cleaners we see what we do as an easy job Evan difficult windows are easy using wfp the customer cannot do it and sees it as a difficult job and most expect to pay a reasonable amount to have the work done , but for us it’s an easy job and we undersell our services I genuinely believe that and have found this myself over the years so we should price accordingly. I also accept that different parts of the country have different income groups of people , Ime know Ime lucky there are a lot of retired or semi retired people who have sold up moved down hear and have huge amounts of disposable income it’s just a case of finding them once you have a few they recommend you to there friends and it becomes a lot easier , Ime not saying every job we do is a multi million pound house far from it, there are also some very deprived areas but there are more middle to high income people here if you pick the right spots .
What I say on hear I don’t want it to come over as boasting or being big headed or what ever else you want to call it I just try and share my experience from how I started off and what it is possible to achieve I don’t profess to be anything special or some business guru if I can do it most can , there are several on hear that have done very similar to me but in much shorter time than I did @HWCS is one and cannot remember his name on hear but he was working in a factory in a very short time both have got full rounds with very good pricing beacause they worked hard and charge higher prices .

 

[Pjj]

I think PJJ has been very open and honest in all my time I've been on here, I don't feel he tells people what to do, he just gives his advice on what he does based on his experience, it's up to the individual what they do.

Personally from my experience, I have been going just over 3 years. It was PJJ's advice on pricing that I used from day one and it's served me well and it does work. Some of the quotes I've done I've actually been trembling saying the price because I thought it was way too high but when the customer says yes to it, it gives you confidence and then that high price sets the target for the rest of the work.

It's up to the individual how they run their businesses, but from my perspective I like to hear of all the business models and prices, all the advice on pricing from super cheap to super expensive, without hearing about the possibilities it would be hard for me to make up my mind on what to charge.

All the advice on here is relevant, we don't learn anything by just doing and listening to what we have always known. New fresh ideas, fresh pricing, different methods should always be welcomed on here, not beaten down and dismissed.

I agree with what you say every one is different in their approach to work etc , but until you try it you don’t know if it will work or not , Ime glad it’s working for you I have had many pm ,email or phone me saying that they have tried it and it does work I feel it’s better to grow slowly with good priced work rather than rapidly with cheap work that was the mistake I made I was way to cheap when I started and it’s then difficult to up your prices as ones say oh but you do joe bloggs place for xx and mine is the same as his why is it that much dearer , by sharing theses experiences hopefully ones won’t make the same mistakes.

 

[Chris34]

I agree with what you say every one is different in their approach to work etc , but until you try it you don’t know if it will work or not , Ime glad it’s working for you I have had many pm ,email or phone me saying that they have tried it and it does work I feel it’s better to grow slowly with good priced work rather than rapidly with cheap work that was the mistake I made I was way to cheap when I started and it’s then difficult to up your prices as ones say oh but you do joe bloggs place for xx and mine is the same as his why is it that much dearer , by sharing theses experiences hopefully ones won’t make the same mistakes.

When I first joined this site I was surprised at how open and honest everyone was with how they work and pricing etc, it's made it very easy for me to build my business. I don't think I would still be going if it wasn't for the advice given from yourself and others on here. Like you say, you've made the mistakes and then just passed on that knowledge so I don't have to make the same mistakes. Lifes too short to waste years learning the lessons, especially as you get older, you only have to look at DavyG's journey to realise that.

So to see the mistakes everyone has made and then avoid making the same mistakes... it's unbelievable how much of a help that is. Anything from the correct brush, speed, customer quotes, best van, working in the rain... it's made it incredibly easy for me and I've just taken that advice and added my own methods / pricing etc to it as I see fit.

In all honesty I don't think pricing higher has slowed my business down by much, I think maybe the total customers might be lower but the income is probably the same, however I've got plenty of time to do more jobs so the potential to earn a lot more is there. My biggest downfall has been my effort on driving it forward, I've been lazy in going after new customers, I'm pretty sure I'd be completely full by now if I had given it my all. However there is more to life than work and that's what I'm trying to balance, I've missed out on a lot of life over the years through working too much and that's what I'm trying to balance before life is over.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I agree with what you say every one is different in their approach to work etc , but until you try it you don’t know if it will work or not , Ime glad it’s working for you I have had many pm ,email or phone me saying that they have tried it and it does work I feel it’s better to grow slowly with good priced work rather than rapidly with cheap work that was the mistake I made I was way to cheap when I started and it’s then difficult to up your prices as ones say oh but you do joe bloggs place for xx and mine is the same as his why is it that much dearer , by sharing theses experiences hopefully ones won’t make the same mistakes.

I think you are right about growing slowly. I know many companies and people who grew too fast and it seems to lead to bankruptcy or burnout. The book called psychology of money was saying the One reason folk and companies go bust is because of borrowing, They borrow too much to expand and then the money coming in slows down so eventually they can't afford to pay back the instalments and they need to throw in the towel. Everything I bought I had to save up and pay cash so no borrowing but I'm over fifty so no interest in growing bigger, I believe it's more stress. I'm happy to tick along and make a few bob each day. Starting to notice money makes money by having the gear that makes our life so much easier.

 

[Bart90]

To answer the OP - is it wise to put up prices? You have to or you'll end up with no business. Do it smartly. I do my price rises in stages over many months. Gives time to adjust if a few drop off. I haven't had too many drop off, thankfully.

I have noticed a drop in new enquiries. In all honesty, I do very little advertising but compared to previous years, it's been notably quieter. I sold off some work at the beginning of the year. I've gone from overbooked to just right so could be slighly vulnerable if there were cancelations to come this winter. Having said that, I'm sure if I put some time in to canvassing, I'd soon pick some more up.

I can't say I'm too worried about interest rates. I'm not convinced that rates will go up to 7-8% as some have suggested. I'm not sure the goverment want to control inflation. Inflation has the added benefit of eroding goverment debt. If interest rates are high, then the goverments repayments are higher too. The other thing is that interest rate rises will likely only have limited effect if the cause of inflation is outside of the UK's control.

As for the property market, just get on the ladder. It goes in cycles and always has. Buy and sit tight, and fix for as long as possible.

No one knows what's going to happen for sure, just be sensible and don't worry too much. Life's too short.

 

[Pjj]

I fully understand that if you're a one man band and maxed out then to price high or really high and keep refining makes complete sense.

When you have staff or multiple vans it's a case of bringing the work in and repeating the process.Your profit margin or percentage you make will remain the same.
Basically the more vans and staff the more profit the business make the less manual work the owner does.

The guy that owns nationwide has 100 vans out. Do you thing when he got to 10 he tripled his prices because he had too much work?

But if you are happy with 3 vans and don’t want more the only option to up your earning capacity is to increase job prices and if you do it right your earning potential is the same as having more staff and vans with no more expenditure.

 

[Chris34]

To answer the OP - is it wise to put up prices? You have to or you'll end up with no business. Do it smartly. I do my price rises in stages over many months. Gives time to adjust if a few drop off. I haven't had too many drop off, thankfully.

I have noticed a drop in new enquiries. In all honesty, I do very little advertising but compared to previous years, it's been notably quieter. I sold off some work at the beginning of the year. I've gone from overbooked to just right so could be slighly vulnerable if there were cancelations to come this winter. Having said that, I'm sure if I put some time in to canvassing, I'd soon pick some more up.

I can't say I'm too worried about interest rates. I'm not convinced that rates will go up to 7-8% as some have suggested. I'm not sure the goverment want to control inflation. Inflation has the added benefit of eroding goverment debt. If interest rates are high, then the goverments repayments are higher too. The other thing is that interest rate rises will likely only have limited effect if the cause of inflation is outside of the UK's control.

As for the property market, just get on the ladder. It goes in cycles and always has. Buy and sit tight, and fix for as long as possible.

No one knows what's going to happen for sure, just be sensible and don't worry too much. Life's too short.

This is an excellent point you have made. The government will like inflation as it increases tax take but the cost of public sector jobs won't be increased in the same way. So it's effectively cutting costs and increasing revenue, without actually doing anything. They can even be 'seen' to be doing the right thing just by giving say a 4% pay rise, but it's still actually a pay cut when you factor in the true cost of inflation.

It's hardly a surprise, the money had to be paid back in some way and this I guess is a golden opportunity. Like you say, global inflation is not within the governments control, so they can just let it ride and get all the bills paid.

 

[Iron Giant]

The bottom line on pricing is you may be able to price commercial jobs a lot higher and get them, but you can't be charging £10 for a 3-bed semi for example in a street with a good run of houses then quote £15-20 on a new enquiry next door as you won't get the job and you'll be slated to the neighbours and likely on social media,

The jobs that can be priced more exclusively higher are single isolated jobs which are nicer detached houses of which I have no issue pricing higher and getting the jobs, but I wouldn't pish all over my cornflakes by pricing more than £2-3 higher on estates where I already have a good run of work and just to repeat what I've said multiple times in the past I'm the highest price cleaner in my area


The author of this post started it and it was about window cleaning I assume domestic jobs and a lot of lads including myself is our main income stream, add on's and commercial jobs I will always price way higher as I have no interest in gaining those jobs anyway

 

[Wagger]

This critical subject seems to get avoided on here, is anyone worried about losing customers I know some who will be in denial, there used to be a poster on here called Onion Man he used to write essay's saying his business was booming during all the recessions and financial crashes.

I don’t worry too much about it because an increase of £1 or £2 isn’t a great deal when prices are going up way more than that everywhere else (double in some cases) I’ve been through two recessions and a pandemic and my earnings are always the same. Gain a few customers, lose a few customers all for varying reasons. We have one of the safest jobs around (unless it’s doing shops which is always changing). I do domestic now and you would literally have to have 200 customers say at the same time that they don’t want you, which I figure if that did happen everyone would be out of work.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I've lost 3 customers but another 3 have been taken on nearby. Swings and roundabouts.

 

[Iron Giant]

Just bringing this up again, does anyone do annual increases I raised a lot of prices last year only by £1 on two of my rounds ideally I need to raise them by £2 this year for around 80 jobs this will get to where I need them and I looking to bump up a good few jobs by £3-5 I currently have too many jobs 451 jobs on my rounds most of which are 4 weekly and I am not always managing to get them all done so jobs are rolling over on a weekly basis so I'm losing money anyway

Also, a current factor for me is my water quality has nosedived so I am now going to be spending £60 a month on sediment filters changing filters 3-4 times a week over 5 days of processing water as a solo operator and with inflation etc if I don't bump my prices I'll be earning less that was last year even if I had the same amount of jobs as 12 months ago.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Just bringing this up again, does anyone do annual increases I raised a lot of prices last year only by £1 on two of my rounds ideally I need to raise them by £2 this year for around 80 jobs this will get to where I need them and I looking to bump up a good few jobs by £3-5 I currently have too many jobs 451 jobs on my rounds most of which are 4 weekly and I am not always managing to get them all done so jobs are rolling over on a weekly basis so I'm losing money anyway

Also, a current factor for me is my water quality has nosedived so I am now going to be spending £60 a month on sediment filters changing filters 3-4 times a week over 5 days of processing water as a solo operator and with inflation etc if I don't bump my prices I'll be earning less that was last year even if I had the same amount of jobs as 12 months ago.

I found too much work is worse than too little work. Turns into a headache when customers begin to ask where you have been.

 

[High-tower]

Now might be a good time to swap to 6 weeks? You can stick an increase on the jobs and the customer will likely save money annually, and you can carry as many jobs into the winter when the big gas/elec bills start coming, in case there’s a bit of a downturn.

 

[Pjj]

Just bringing this up again, does anyone do annual increases I raised a lot of prices last year only by £1 on two of my rounds ideally I need to raise them by £2 this year for around 80 jobs this will get to where I need them and I looking to bump up a good few jobs by £3-5 I currently have too many jobs 451 jobs on my rounds most of which are 4 weekly and I am not always managing to get them all done so jobs are rolling over on a weekly basis so I'm losing money anyway

Also, a current factor for me is my water quality has nosedived so I am now going to be spending £60 a month on sediment filters changing filters 3-4 times a week over 5 days of processing water as a solo operator and with inflation etc if I don't bump my prices I'll be earning less that was last year even if I had the same amount of jobs as 12 months ago.

We have just been increasing all our prices lost 3 so far all the lowest priced work(estate 3 bed semis ) is going up £2-3 . Bigger ones obviously more , I have had a lot of customers ask if the price is going up and they have been expecting it .
As for your water problem you must have some serious dirt in the water if you are having to change the filters 3 times a week ?. We only change ours once a year and produce at least 1000 ltr of pure per day per van . What filters are you using ?