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First job pricing and struggling to get!

M4corridor

New member
Messages
22
Location
Swindon
Hi all! I’ve just got into window cleaning, all my new kit arrived a few days ago but I’m have trouble securing jobs... probably down to price.

the first job I quoted on was windows , conservatory and a lean too and quoted £130 ... didn’t get it

2nd was a massive conservatory and windows... £130 didn’t get it

3rd front and back gutters ..£55 didn’t get it

4th front and back gutters ... £40 ... didn’t get it!

5th - windows , guttering , conservatory- £80

my bread and butter work is jet washing and the majority of that is acid washing new builds.

any advice on where I’m going wrong??

thank you 

 
Hi all! I’ve just got into window cleaning, all my new kit arrived a few days ago but I’m have trouble securing jobs... probably down to price.

the first job I quoted on was windows , conservatory and a lean too and quoted £130 ... didn’t get it

2nd was a massive conservatory and windows... £130 didn’t get it

3rd front and back gutters ..£55 didn’t get it

4th front and back gutters ... £40 ... didn’t get it!

5th - windows , guttering , conservatory- £80

my bread and butter work is jet washing and the majority of that is acid washing new builds.

any advice on where I’m going wrong??

thank you 
It’s difficult to give any advice without any pictures , but £40 front and back gutters is very cheap .maybe people are drawing in the horns at the moment due to covid 19  

 
It’s difficult to give any advice without any pictures , but £40 front and back gutters is very cheap .maybe people are drawing in the horns at the moment due to covid 19  
£40 quoted to do clean the gutters.

everyones got a mate that will do everything for £20 haven’t they! ?

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Set a minimum price (mines £50) and if they question it tell them that that’s the minimum charge. 

 
Not being funny; but everyone seems to have jumped on the bandwagon with window cleaning now WFP is the accepted way of doing it. No skills needed anymore, and every tom **** and harry thinks they are going to make easy money and pick up loads of work, but the reality is that if they don't know of you, and your new expect to get a lot of "no's"

I would concentrate on building up a compact, well priced window cleaning round that is profitable before wasting time quoting for works like gutter cleans etc. In reality if you manage a 2% conversion rate on completely cold customers; you are doing very very well. 

So you call go through 100 possible customers and you get 2 bookings, that's sort of  better than expected. You need to get through 1000 cold prospects, to get on average 10 customers.

Now your timing right now is not great with the COVID-19 situation, and in fact may change for the longer term as people tighten their belts and start looking at ways to reduce outgoings. 

I would focus your efforts on offering a good value window cleaning service, at a good price. Forget trying to make 150 quid for a couple hours work, that's just not going to happen; your just not established enough. Once you have your core base, the extras will come and you can command the going rate.

 
?? That too. Build up a regular round first so you have some Regular income Then look at add-ons... unless of course you’re approached for add-ons, and try not to come across as new.

 
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Not being funny; but everyone seems to have jumped on the bandwagon with window cleaning now WFP is the accepted way of doing it. No skills needed anymore, and every tom **** and harry thinks they are going to make easy money and pick up loads of work, but the reality is that if they don't know of you, and your new expect to get a lot of "no's"

I would concentrate on building up a compact, well priced window cleaning round that is profitable before wasting time quoting for works like gutter cleans etc. In reality if you manage a 2% conversion rate on completely cold customers; you are doing very very well. 

So you call go through 100 possible customers and you get 2 bookings, that's sort of  better than expected. You need to get through 1000 cold prospects, to get on average 10 customers.

Now your timing right now is not great with the COVID-19 situation, and in fact may change for the longer term as people tighten their belts and start looking at ways to reduce outgoings. 

I would focus your efforts on offering a good value window cleaning service, at a good price. Forget trying to make 150 quid for a couple hours work, that's just not going to happen; your just not established enough. Once you have your core base, the extras will come and you can command the going rate.
I accept it depends where you are in the country and what the competition is but I have never Hurd of a 2% acceptance rate our conversation rate is well over 90% and I dont want / need any more work so go in high and still we get that % , you need to set yourself above the competition uniform, sign written van do a good job and work will find  you since we have been shut down I have had over 25 phone calls and probably the same in email enquires, ranging from normal window cleaning to pressure washing  and soft washing to UPVC cleans and gutter vaccing I have turned the lot down as I have no idear when or if we could get to do theses jobs and already have a full book with extras of at least 10-12 weeks . 

 
Thanks mate, was going to end up doing them for the good of my heart in the end!

lost all faith in my quotes!
I don't want to sound pessimistic atm but the world is in turmoil. Very few people have financial security and if they are going to spend money its going to be in their favour rather than yours. They will want the job doing for nothing. Don't loose faith in your quotes; just hang in there. (My van needs 5 new tyres - there is no way I'm going to spend the money on that until we get back to work.)

I'm sticking with the Government request to stay at home. Although I'm not 70 yet my health will put me into that above 70 category.

I am even asking myself if I will ever work again especially with one report even saying that this could go on for years. The Spanish flu, although not the same thing, lasted for 3 years and that was unknowingly practicing 'herd immunity.' They didn't know about the concept of self isolating back then.

 I have no idea what our business is going to look like if and when we are able to get back to work. I would hate to be in the position of having to build a business in these times.

 
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Thanks for the the info, I’m well established in this area in the jet washing world, and thought it would be good to add soft washing and window washing to my services , if I don’t get at least 8 out 10 jobs I quote on then I’m disappointed.

im new to this part of the game so il guessing trial and error will help me out!

 
?? That too. Build up a regular round first so you have some Regular income Then look at add-ons... unless of course you’re approached for add-ons, and try not to come across as new.
Yes you need to define a clean price structure. Also remember neighbours talk to each other, so if your inconsistent with your pricing your likely to get a reputation for being clueless (you quote someone £80 for a job, and 10 houses down the road you quote £60 for the same job again) this will get your neighbours backs up.

Also don't be hung up on what other window cleaners charge for the same works. Just because one window cleaner on here can charge £150 for washing down fascias, it doesn't mean that you are entitled to charge the same. You set your prices for you; and set them to get your business going, don't feel you have to compete with being 'in line' with the 'going rate' whatever that may be. You will find your rhythm, but it takes time. 

I did a job last month for a customers business associate; i was highly recommended to do the work quickly and to a very high standard 2 hours work made my business £400. Now if i was to try to get that work by going to every house, quoting that price..i'd be nuts, it just wouldn't happen. It only happened because i am known to my customer base; and have vouching power.

So focus on building your goodwill, and it will come.

 
?? That too. Build up a regular round first so you have some Regular income Then look at add-ons... unless of course you’re approached for add-ons, and try not to come across as new.
I realise that times have changed since we began cleaning windows but what you say still applies. I can't recall ever being asked to clean gutters as a first job. Maybe its because our core business is window cleaning. Customers only started asking for that service or we started offering it once we had established ourselves as their window cleaners.

In all the time we have been window cleaning in our area I have only heard of two businesses that only clear (not clean) gutters. One was an old guy off ladders and the other had a Skyvac.

I haven't seen or heard of the old guy off ladders for the last 4 years so I don't know what's happened to him.

 
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I accept it depends where you are in the country and what the competition is but I have never Hurd of a 2% acceptance rate our conversation rate is well over 90% and I dont want / need any more work so go in high and still we get that % , you need to set yourself above the competition uniform, sign written van do a good job and work will find  you since we have been shut down I have had over 25 phone calls and probably the same in email enquires, ranging from normal window cleaning to pressure washing  and soft washing to UPVC cleans and gutter vaccing I have turned the lot down as I have no idear when or if we could get to do theses jobs and already have a full book with extras of at least 10-12 weeks . 
Good for you, but i'm not referring to you. You are established, as am I.

I am referring to the original poster who has no customer base to start with; and trust me starting from scratch, 2 out of 100 customers is flipping insanely good; and its much likely to be lower.

Why is everything taken on these forums as some form of ego comparison? Blimey.

 
Good for you, but i'm not referring to you. You are established, as am I.

I am referring to the original poster who has no customer base to start with; and trust me starting from scratch, 2 out of 100 customers is flipping insanely good; and its much likely to be lower.

Why is everything taken on these forums as some form of ego comparison? Blimey.
It’s nothing to do with ego it’s showing what can be achieved I started 20+  years ago with a renault Clio and a couple of ladders and bucket I canvassed in the morning and cleaned them in the same day and built up like that , it can still be done I was working 3 jobs until I had enough windows to do it full time took me 6-8 months to build a decent round .

The op is used to canvassing and getting work just not window cleaning , his prices don’t sound that expensive to me , I have no idear what his area is like but sure he can pick up work the same as anyone else ,might not be compact but it can be done . 

 
Thanks for the the info, I’m well established in this area in the jet washing world, and thought it would be good to add soft washing and window washing to my services , if I don’t get at least 8 out 10 jobs I quote on then I’m disappointed.

im new to this part of the game so il guessing trial and error will help me out!
Window cleaning really needs to be regular, on the clock, bookings. In my opinion. you either do soft washing, driveway washing, gutter clearing etc as a full business, and make that your main business and forget window cleaning, this will require competitive pricing, and a lot of advertising to keep the work coming in. Or focus on building a window cleaning business first where you can then do soft washing, gutter cleans, driveway cleaning to your existing window cleaning customer base, at a higher premium than you would be able to if you were focusing on those things as the main business.

I feel that a window cleaning business cannot be compatible with an add-on business; and visa-versa as the two business models are completely different, one being regular bookings, at relatively low value, and the other being high value, one off jobs. 

So you need ti decide what you want your business to be its main focus on, Window cleaning with a bit of extra jobs to existing customers, or all the above, and try somehow to fit in a regular window cleaning schedule; which will get in the way of your driveway bookings, etc etc. 

Remember the phrase, Jack of all trades, master of none? You need to clearly define your main business. Mine is window cleaning, and that's it, i will do other jobs for existing customers only, but I do not do them for people i do not already window clean for. 

Its often the most difficult thing to get right, understanding what your key business is, and until you suss it out you will struggle with inconsistencies. 

 
When you carry out a jet wash start telling the customer, you can have a free window clean. Just factor it into the price. Then if they are happy with the job ask them if they want an every four week window clean service. Plus the neighbours will see you jet wash and window clean and may approach you.

I offer a range of external cleaning services, window cleaning is my bread and butter and takes priority, but I do have spare days every month which get filled up with add-on work.

 
Thanks for the the info, I’m well established in this area in the jet washing world, and thought it would be good to add soft washing and window washing to my services , if I don’t get at least 8 out 10 jobs I quote on then I’m disappointed.

im new to this part of the game so il guessing trial and error will help me out!
When times were 'normal'  we used to say that if you got all the jobs you quoted your pricing was to low. If you got none of the jobs you quoted your pricing was to high. Our aim was between 40 and 60%.

That pricing structure is irrelevant in these times. 

In a few months time I would knock those doors again. 

 

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