Pricing structure...

[Davy G]

Only downside to the above is you'd need to find half as many customers again to earn the same money. Say your at 200 customers @ £15 a month now that would mean your turnover is £3k a month. By going 8 weekly @ £20 your turnover drops to £2k so you would need to find another 100 customers @ £20 on an 8 weekly cycle to gross the same amount. Great if you can as you're then grossing the same amount doing 150 houses a month rather than 200. Not so good if you can't pick the extra customers up 

Yep, I am lucky in that now I'm well established, I do have enough customers. That is, I made the decision early on, after a lot of thought and some in depth maths, to aim for a higher overall number of customers at the 6 week spacing, to be able to get a better price with fewer visits to each customer rather than chasing smaller frequencies and pricing lower so getting less per hour. If you can get the extra, decent customers needed for 6 weekly, you WILL earn more per hour. It definitely works well for me. The thing that makes it hard to fathom is that at 6 weekly you will indeed earn less per year for each customer, but, here's the thing, at 6 weekly you can fill in the spaces and do the same amount of customers overall per day, week, month and year but at a higher price and a significantly increased income. It's Not the high frequency of visits to each property that makes the good money, it's the overall number of well paid jobs in the round that you do in the same number of jobs. 

Me ed urts now. ?

 

[Davy G]

Yep, I am lucky in that now I'm well established, I do have enough customers. That is, I made the decision early on, after a lot of thought and some in - depth maths, to aim for a higher overall number of customers at the 6 week spacing, to be able to get a better price with fewer visits to each customer rather than chasing smaller time gaps and pricing lower so getting less per hour. If you can get the extra, decent customers needed for 6 weekly, you WILL earn more per hour. It definitely works well for me. The thing that makes it hard to fathom is that at 6 weekly you will indeed earn slightly less per year for each customer, but, here's the thing, at 6 weekly you can fill in the spaces and do the same amount of customers overall per day, week, month and year but at a higher price and a significantly increased income. It's Not the high frequency of visits to each property that makes the good money, it's the overall number of well paid jobs in the round that you do in the same number of hours. Less is more. Less low paying visits to each property, but more money per visit to every property and do other well paid work in the freed up time. 

Me ed urts now. ?

 

[Perryb91]

Makes complete sense Dave, I know this my question prob seems really trivial but I just wanna have everything in place at the early stages to save the head aches later 

 

[Davy G]

Hard to get a head round it for sure mate, but it's so important to maximise your hourly rate. We do something like a hundred houses a week, so circa six hundred houses in the round. Two operators, son and self. We kitted out the van to the way we wanted it (DIY). We strive for quality, efficiency and speed. All are hugely important. We never stop trying to improve on all three. Nothing trivial, you're absolutely right, doing the thinking, asking and planning early on. 

 

[MWS window cleaning]

Dave, was just writing something similar when you replied. Did my maintenance cleans today and can honestly say they barely needed it/ light scrub and good rinse and they were done. It's good to hear everyone's thoughts on it though. 

Off topic...has anyone used green pro's lead gen? 

Yes I’ve used greens lead gen, well worth it mate. Pays for itself 

 

[Pjj]

Yes I’ve used greens lead gen, well worth it mate. Pays for itself 

Are the leads close close together or miles apart ??? And what is the take up rate from them ?. 

 

[Iron Giant]

All this talk about prices, but no one has mentioned what type of average house 2-3 or 4 bed, in some parts of the UK you may get £15 as a minimum price but not every job as has been proven on here before, but of course you have to factor in travel time between jobs etc.

As an example doing four 3 bed semis in a  row of compact work is going to be cheaper priced, rather  than 4 separate 3 bed semis spread up to a mile apart across a town, but hitting a decent hourly rate and factoring in time, fuel and wear and tear on your vehicle also has to factored in as turnover and profit is totally different so it has to be balanced out, personally for me i would much rather be doing compact work instead of spending my working day driving around. 

 

[High-tower]

I think in the current age of window cleaning you need to factor in travel for every job. Most new starters will have a hard time picking up 3/4+ jobs in a row, those times will just be a bonus.

 

[Davy G]

I now price each job on its own individual merit. Four houses next to each other will each be charged the same amount as if they were two miles apart. The fact they are close together is to my benefit, not requiring I give a discount to the customer for my hard work. I used to charge less for compact work but I found it didn't always work, for me. Sometimes, say, one would move, and another might not have the money, or would begrudge paying a professional rate. For instance in one cul-de-sac which is a bit of a distance from me, so 8 weekly, rather than my now standard 6 weekly, I used to have 6, large detached houses in a circle. I now have only 3 of them. "You want how much!? £22? My last guy used to do it for £8?". Last guy hadn't been for two years. I wonder why? This lady became one of my customers but was never happy to pay my price. Eventually she asked me to do it alternate times (16 weekly). When I told her it would need to be £28 she refused and we parted company. Another in the same cul-de-sac moved and one said her husband would do it. On the other hand I have a road 5 minutes from my house where I started out with just a couple of houses and now do 8, most of which are now to some degree good friends. Still though, they are all priced separately on individual merit for the work involved. Thankfully, now I'm established, the work is becoming more compact under its own momentum. 

Bottom line for me is; I charge individually for the work involved, whether they're in a row of a dozen or a mile or two apart. Houses in outlying villages or countryside are charged a bit more, for the extra fuel and time. 

I think in the current age of window cleaning you need to factor in travel for every job. Most new starters will have a hard time picking up 3/4+ jobs in a row, those times will just be a bonus.

And even if they are 3 or 4 in a row. You may not keep all of them long term. You're right, it's difficult to get them compact starting out. But in time it can be sorted. ?

 

[MWS window cleaning]

Are the leads close close together or miles apart ??? And what is the take up rate from them ?. 

I don’t know how it works for everyone as the area you work will play a big factor. I live in a small village surrounded by big towns in every direction so I requested a 30 mile radius of my house. You can select post codes and narrow it down further. 

The take up rate was about 50-80% so out of ten you could get 5 but my minimum first clean is £25 which covers two leads and as they are people who want their windows cleaned and know how you choose to clean them so the drop off rate it extremely low. In fact I’ve had people drop off because they moved but then they keep me on at the new place. 

The other factor is you may get a lead and a new job and it’s a foot in the door down a street you may never have been. So you start getting walk ups and you get noticed and this slowly builds up the work. For example I did a job on a small gated community in the centre of a large town which has turned into 7 regular customers only one of which I had to pay to acquire the lead. 

Just give Darren a call have a chat he would be more than happy to talk you through it and give you pointers on how to get it to work best for your business. 

 

[Perryb91]

Definitely agree dave, let's say you have 3 houses in a row at a cheaper rate one cancels and one skips for whatever reason your then driving to an under priced job. I've had it a few times where next door have tried to haggle due to only being next door but I dont wanna make a rod for my own back so have charged them as I would on their own. Didnt get it mind you but luckily i have a safety net of a full time employment which gives me the opportunity to not be struggling for work. 

 

[Davy G]

Thanks Perry. And yeah, the hagglers... I've had that too. "Do me a good price and I'll get some of my neighbours, and my auntie Dorris, and my uncle Trevor" . "You'll be made". We do get customers from recommendations but rarely through the hagglers. Their circle of family and friends are generally of the same type wanting bargain basement prices. Another thing I've noticed is that, often the ones who want it cheap are the fussiest with trying to nit pick. They don't care about our need for a fair living, it's all about them, and getting cheap, cheap, cheap. 

Hold the line, from day one. Seek out and recruit good customers. Charge what's a fair price for both parties, them and us. Look after them. Be flexible when needed : holidays, building work, medical appointments, etc. If you can't find good customers on your doorstep, be willing to look a bit further. Most of us, I would think have nice enough areas not too far away. 

It's important to think where we want to be in say five years time. That's what I did from day one and it helped me stay focused and determined not to be anybodies fool. ?

 

[HWCS]

I offer 4/6/8 weekly cleans but im better than everybody EVER ????

 

[Davy G]

I offer 4/6/8 weekly cleans but im better than everybody EVER ????

And modest with it, I see.? Can you do me a 5 and a half week schedule and I'll get you loads of customers, honest! ? 

 

[HWCS]

And modest with it, I see.? Can you do me a 5 and a half week schedule and I'll get you loads of customers, honest! ? 

Tried doing 5 n half week but didnt work, so had to do a 37day cycle ???

 

[Pjj]

Thanks Perry. And yeah, the hagglers... I've had that too. "Do me a good price and I'll get some of my neighbours, and my auntie Dorris, and my uncle Trevor" . "You'll be made". We do get customers from recommendations but rarely through the hagglers. Their circle of family and friends are generally of the same type wanting bargain basement prices. Another thing I've noticed is that, often the ones who want it cheap are the fussiest with trying to nit pick. They don't care about our need for a fair living, it's all about them, and getting cheap, cheap, cheap. 

Hold the line, from day one. Seek out and recruit good customers. Charge what's a fair price for both parties, them and us. Look after them. Be flexible when needed : holidays, building work, medical appointments, etc. If you can't find good customers on your doorstep, be willing to look a bit further. Most of us, I would think have nice enough areas not too far away. 

It's important to think where we want to be in say five years time. That's what I did from day one and it helped me stay focused and determined not to be anybodies fool. ?

Lol if I had received everything like this that I had been promised I would be a multi millionaire , living on a private island ????? what do theses people  think we are mugs or something, I just laugh and say the price is the price take it or leave it 

 

[Davy G]

Lol if I had received everything like this that I had been promised I would be a multi millionaire , living on a private island ????? what do theses people  think we are mugs or something, I just laugh and say the price is the price take it or leave it 

Some people would like to think that wìndow cleaners will still work for the price of a pint, a pasty and a flutter on the horses. ?

 

[Davy G]

Some folk would like to hope that the window cleaner will still do the job for the price of a pint, a pasty and a flutter on the horses. ?

 

[Part Timer]

Some people would like to think that wìndow cleaners will still work for the price of a pint, a pasty and a flutter on the horses. ?

They still do up here and the flutter is half a crown ?

 

[Davy G]

They still do up here and the flutter is half a crown ?

Ouch! That's tough unless you can find decent paid work, perhaps out in the villages? 

 

[Part Timer]

Ouch! That's tough unless you can find decent paid work, perhaps out in the villages? 

The villages are pit villages, ask @Suhrlyabout them. Why I concentrate on Commercial work