Starting out would like to go the WFP

[Dave B]

I had two jobs yesterday one was in the morning and i could just do the work without them having to be at home. I sent them my bank details and when they got home they said i did an amazing job and want me back every 8 weeks which was nice.

The job i had in the afternoon taught me a lesson that i maybe need to see the house before i give a firm price as it was a 3 bedroom house so thought it would be similar size to mine but it was a massive 3 bed with 2 x patio doors out the back a bay window down the side it must of had about 15 windows. So i did say that i made a mistake with the price and it would be £18 they were fine and payed me £20 it did take me 1hr though! hoping also i can go back in 8 weeks.

I have 2 jobs lined up for today

So my flyers seem to be working ?

Why are you hoping they have you back in 8 weeks?

You need to choose a frequency you are happy with (mine is 6 weekly).

Tell them when you quote it's x£ 6 weekly and sign them up.

You can't let them dictate to you as it's your business.

Take on 1 off jobs if you want but you'll soon get to the point you can't be bothered as you are too busy with regular customers. 

I know it's hard at first as you need money but you need to stick to your guns and dictate your terms to them.

I'm doing about £270 today of regular 6 weekly work which I will be back to just before xmas and I know the work is guaranteed as I do it every 6 weeks.

Not criticising but trying to steer you in the right direction. 

 

[Dave B]

Well done and great work,  

Always do a physical survey of a property to establish how many windows there are and accessibility to the property and glass. The customer never knows how many windows they have and could have a whopping Orangery or brick built extension at the rear of the property. Don't get caught out as it's your income you'll be biting into. 

I know a few guys that just use Google Earth and street view but again it can be misleading and sometimes outdated 

Luckily I know my area like the back of my hand so can quote on Google maps and be roughly right.

I will quote off maps and say "unless you have a massive conservatory or anything else unexpected it will be x£ but could be as much as x£.

That way the customer knows what to expect. 

 

[Davy G]

Why are you hoping they have you back in 8 weeks?

You need to choose a frequency you are happy with (mine is 6 weekly).

Tell them when you quote it's x£ 6 weekly and sign them up.

You can't let them dictate to you as it's your business.

Take on 1 off jobs if you want but you'll soon get to the point you can't be bothered as you are too busy with regular customers. 

I know it's hard at first as you need money but you need to stick to your guns and dictate your terms to them.

I'm doing about £270 today of regular 6 weekly work which I will be back to just before xmas and I know the work is guaranteed as I do it every 6 weeks.

Not criticising but trying to steer you in the right direction. 

Totally agree with every word.?

 

[JEM]

Why are you hoping they have you back in 8 weeks?

You need to choose a frequency you are happy with (mine is 6 weekly).

Tell them when you quote it's x£ 6 weekly and sign them up.

You can't let them dictate to you as it's your business.

Take on 1 off jobs if you want but you'll soon get to the point you can't be bothered as you are too busy with regular customers. 

I know it's hard at first as you need money but you need to stick to your guns and dictate your terms to them.

I'm doing about £270 today of regular 6 weekly work which I will be back to just before xmas and I know the work is guaranteed as I do it every 6 weeks.

Not criticising but trying to steer you in the right direction. 

I know I need to be a bit more firm with new customers, i guess I'm not use to selling myself or kind of dictating my terms but I know without regular customers then I have nothing.

I will try a new tack when I get call from a new customer I'll ask them when they last had them cleaned and say because it's not been cleaned for a while and will be a first clean I can only do it if it's regular work

out of the 6 I've done so far two have agreed to regular 6/8 weekly's

appreciate the advice on this ?

 

[Dave B]

When I get asked for a quote I give them a price and say it will be x amount 6 weekly.. that's it 

 

[Davy G]

I know I need to be a bit more firm with new customers, i guess I'm not use to selling myself or kind of dictating my terms but I know without regular customers then I have nothing.

I will try a new tack when I get call from a new customer I'll ask them when they last had them cleaned and say because it's not been cleaned for a while and will be a first clean I can only do it if it's regular work

out of the 6 I've done so far two have agreed to regular 6/8 weekly's

appreciate the advice on this ?

I personally wouldn't ask when they last had them cleaned. It's immaterial. You may or may not get the truth and anyway you will be putting them in a position of power.  You are going to look at a new job from your perspective with a clean sheet. As I say the cleaning history is immaterial. Sometimes the amount of time that's passed is almost meaningless. I do some houses that are still fairly clean after 6 weeks and a couple on the main road that are sometimes filthy again in an hour or two in certain weather conditions.

I always visit the prospect job, handy size notepad in hand, walk around assessing the job as I go. I'll walk quietly and confidently around the one way and even if it's detached I'll retrace my steps back the other way to make sure I see everything I need to see. Not just the house but the lie of the land. Access, snags etc. I will make notes on my pad for our business use only, including their contact details for notifying them the day before so they can unlock the gate and leave the payment in the morning. I will write the price and frequency on the back of a business card for the customer and agree a safe place for them to leave the payments in future. I usually charge about 50% extra for a first wash. That way I'm covered if they are pulling a stroke.

From my personal experience I highly recommend a base frequency of 6 weekly. 4 weekly is too frequent for me. For me and for most of my customers 6 weekly is without doubt the sweet spot. Eight weekly is too long for me to wait for the payment except on a few of the bigger, more expensive houses. Eight weeks is a long time to wait to earn the money, especially in the early days when the need for money is probably more urgent. I charge a bit more for 6 weekly than for the same job at 4 weekly( perhaps £2~£5). Over 20~30 jobs in a day that's a lot of money. Do the sums for the week, month and year. Fill in the spaces saved with other customers, again at the slightly higher price.

Too many people make the mistake of chasing some money, any money, to get started. Then it's hard to change frequency for better prices as you get busier.

Folk near the coast need a higher frequency because of the sea air and gulls.

 

[ched999uk]

When the call ask if they are looking for regular clean or 1 off? If they say one off at least double your normal price if you want the work. If regular then you say you clean at X weekly would you like a quote? You will still get people who say regular to get a one off at a cheap price, that's why some charge extra for first clean. 

At the moment, sounds like you are learning to clean as you go so don't worry too much but it's best to try and get regular customers. It cuts down on your work load. i.e. if you have regulars you will build a round and being seen regularly will get you walk ups. Then you will need to spend so much less time looking for new custys and quoting as that is dead time that you don't get paid for!!!

 

[Deleted member 7446]

I know I need to be a bit more firm with new customers, i guess I'm not use to selling myself or kind of dictating my terms but I know without regular customers then I have nothing.

I will try a new tack when I get call from a new customer I'll ask them when they last had them cleaned and say because it's not been cleaned for a while and will be a first clean I can only do it if it's regular work

out of the 6 I've done so far two have agreed to regular 6/8 weekly's

appreciate the advice on this ?

Take the point of a first clean as your first clean on that particular property,

Otherwise you are the customer may be savvy or use it as a bargaining tool against you.

Same applies to a one off clean for Karen on Facebook that wants her house cleaned but she may or may not use your services again as she's moving out 

 

[JEM]

I think because I've never done this type of work before and I'm learning as I go, I kind of think people are doing me a favour by using me instead of the guy that's been doing it 20yrs

But i'm going to be more assertive with saying about regular cleans is included in the price I quote.

Talking of quotes i know different areas dictate a different price.

What would you quote on this job all the windows and signage. It's a 25min drive away.

 

[Part Timer]

It's a 30 minute job, when you're just starting up everything will have travel time and doubtful they'll pay you for that.

 

[Davy G]

I think because I've never done this type of work before and I'm learning as I go, I kind of think people are doing me a favour by using me instead of the guy that's been doing it 20yrs

But i'm going to be more assertive with saying about regular cleans is included in the price I quote.

Talking of quotes i know different areas dictate a different price.

What would you quote on this job all the windows and signage. It's a 25min drive away.

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Off the top of my head I'm thinking £48, if the main entrance in the photo is part of it. £40 if it isn't.

Make sure they understand it's just the signage, windows and pedestrian doors. Not the cladding and the goods door.

That is just off the top of my head. My suggestion might be very different to other's.  I'd be dearer if you were established. I rarely do that type of job. I found in the past business owners wanted them done once every few years for peanuts. I quickly decided my preference was for easy access domestic. With domestic being mostly repeat work it's more important to get the price right. Others on the forum are much more experienced with commercial than I am. I'm interested to hear they're opinions.

 

[Dave B]

Off the top of my head I'm thinking £48, if the main entrance in the photo is part of it. £40 if it isn't.

Make sure they understand it's just the signage, windows and pedestrian doors. Not the cladding and the goods door.

That is just off the top of my head. My suggestion might be very different to other's.  I'd be dearer if you were established. I rarely do that type of job. I found in the past business owners wanted them done once every few years for peanuts. I quickly decided my preference was for easy access domestic. With domestic being mostly repeat work it's more important to get the price right. Others on the forum are much more experienced with commercial than I am. I'm interested to hear they're opinions.

That's about what I would want.

 

[JEM]

Blimey, I thought I under quoted as I'm doing it for £60 and every 8 weeks. I counted about 40 windows and priced them each at £1.50 plus the signage and doors

I did think it would take me about 1hr30! At the moment I'm not very efficient and probably spend too long on each window when i do jobs. I'm on each job about 45mins when I'm sure you guys could do the same house in 20mins

I'm sure i'll speed up when i've done more than 6 houses so far

 

[Davy G]

Blimey, I thought I under quoted as I'm doing it for £60 and every 8 weeks. I counted about 40 windows and priced them each at £1.50 plus the signage and doors

I did think it would take me about 1hr30! At the moment I'm not very efficient and probably spend too long on each window when i do jobs. I'm no each job about 45mins when I'm sure you guys could do the same house in 20mins

I'm sure i'll speed up when i've done more than 6 houses so far

That seems a fairly good price. You priced for it probably taking longer than it will when you get more experience and confidence.

Worth timing it for the first half dozen times. But make sure you nail down the quality before the speed.

Speed will take care of itself in time. Consistent quality takes more thought, is harder to achieve and is much more important.

 

[JEM]

That seems a fairly good price. You priced for it probably taking longer than it will when you get more experience and confidence.

Worth timing it for the first half dozen times. But make sure you nail down the quality before the speed.

Speed will take care of itself in time. Consistent quality takes more thought, is harder to achieve and is much more important.

Yep i want everyone to be happy once I've finished their house and I know if they are happy they will have me back.

I'm sure I'll master the technique over time.

I'm doing the job Monday so I'll time myself and see how long it takes ?

 

[Davy G]

Yep i want everyone to be happy once I've finished their house and I know if they are happy they will have me back.

I'm sure I'll master the technique over time.

I'm doing the job Monday so I'll time myself and see how long it takes ?

Well done mate. But like I say don't rush it. When you get fully relaxed in the swing after a while you'll find you're fast but unrushed and you won't even know how it happened. Hard to explain but all of a sudden you realise you're there.

Please let us know how it goes. ?

 

[Iron Giant]

It's a 30 minute job, when you're just starting up everything will have travel time and doubtful they'll pay you for that.

I am with you, I'd want full travel time which will be an hour so even at £40 for travel then £45 for the job that's £85 or even more as travelling that distance is quite a distance for a single job.

I stopped pricing these jobs years ago even if they are 15 minutes away usually price shoppers and I can make my money just as easy on houses. 

 

[Iron Giant]

We do squeegee off some shop windows if they are open when we have done them don’t find the drag to bad .

Like fingernails on a blackboard 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Try and save up so you can buy a hot water system. I'm only now realising I made the best decision by saving up and buying a hot water system. Going to advertise it on the side of my van when I do a revamp in January. My squeegee pictures will be removed and a pole system picture will take its place. Electric reels and hot water is the future and a good project to head for. fwiw 

 

[JEM]

That seems a fairly good price. You priced for it probably taking longer than it will when you get more experience and confidence.

Worth timing it for the first half dozen times. But make sure you nail down the quality before the speed.

Speed will take care of itself in time. Consistent quality takes more thought, is harder to achieve and is much more important.

Well I did this job yesterday morning and it did take longer than expected, I was on the job about 1hr30 and used about 45ltrs of water. I did notice a couple of windows had some water marks after they dried so went over them again. So I guess I need to improve my rinsing technique!

 

[ched999uk]

Well I did this job yesterday morning and it did take longer than expected, I was on the job about 1hr30 and used about 45ltrs of water. I did notice a couple of windows had some water marks after they dried so went over them again. So I guess I need to improve my rinsing technique!

Well done. To be fair you quoted £60 didn't you? So that's £40 an hour so not bad considering you will speed up over time and it was first clean. I bet in a few months you will have that down to nearer 30 mins, then you will be on £120 an hour for that job ?