[steve a]

WCE I was just being objective mate, I have a lot of well priced commercial.

Paul hughes31 as prestige says. be positive and don't be frightened of losing/missing out on a contract or two if the price is not right as there will be another one round the corner.

 But always remember there is a limit to what a sane person will pay. (but it may be higher(alot higher) than you imagine).

Steve

[WCE]

im in the same boat i can afford to loose customers and was wondering how you  (WCE) go about getting the higher priced jobs..

Well it is mainly down to advertising. I don't canvass anymore I let customers come to me. Then (residential wise) when I go to quote them I go there on the basis of bettering my work. Most people who I go to see tend to seem desperate to find a window cleaner. I don't understand why as they got my number out of the yellow pages/the web etc and there are many window cleaners in/on there. I don't need the work so I just price to improve my work. I don't get every one but I do get most. When I take on a new customers they only actually replace another customer after the new one has proved they are not time wasters (usually 3 months no hassle). The other thing is I never just drop good customers. In my area I have so far had luck in finding less established window cleaners who are grateful for the work. I pass them the work FOC. So far they have been reliable so no problems however, the work is only given to them on the understanding that they are reliable and if not then I will find someone else to do it. The customer is kept up to speed  with all that is going on and they are grateful of this. In short what I am saying is that canvassing is great for generating work and producing the numbers but you will rarely get the top prices you wish for because you are cold calling your customers. I find that if they come to you they are actively searching for a window cleaner and are more receptive to higher prices. 

[WCE]

WCE I was just being objective mate, I have a lot of well priced commercial.

Paul hughes31 as prestige says. be positive and don't be frightened of losing/missing out on a contract or two if the price is not right as there will be another one round the corner.

 But always remember there is a limit to what a sane person will pay. (but it may be higher(alot higher) than you imagine).

Steve

Thats ok I know was just saying that if you can afford it then you can pick your customers although I do agree with what your saying - Very True!

[paul hughes31]

i have never advertised in my life and have never canvassed, i have a customer base of over 1300 and my customers have always come too me, just lately i have realised that my new customers are going to have more seriouse prices (dont get me wrong my prices arnt bad and make me good money) but say for a 3 bed semi 4 windows on front 4 back 1 side how much would you charge?

[steve a]

where I am between six fifty and nine quid.

[WCE]

£12- 15 you might not be able to get the same in your area but I do here. A good tip is that if a customer thinks the price is just ever so slightly high then you  have got it right. Remember I don't get everyone I quote. If I did I would know I was to cheap!

i have a customer base of over 1300 and my customers have always come too me, just lately i have realised that my new customers are going to have more seriouse prices (dont get me wrong my prices arnt bad and make me good money) but say for a 3 bed semi 4 windows on front 4 back 1 side how much would you charge?

The thing to work out is whats the average price of each house any less than £10 and you are losing out compared to me. Hope that answers your question!

[WCE]

where I am between six fifty and nine quid.

So you charge abot 20-25% less than me then

[Neil Williams]

i have never advertised in my life and have never canvassed, i have a customer base of over 1300

So how many people have you got working for you?

[davids3511]

i have never advertised in my life and have never canvassed, i have a customer base of over 1300 and my customers have always come too me, just lately i have realised that my new customers are going to have more seriouse prices (dont get me wrong my prices arnt bad and make me good money) but say for a 3 bed semi 4 windows on front 4 back 1 side how much would you charge?

So how did you get that first customer?

[paul hughes31]

my mate who is now my business partner bought a round off one of our other mates who diddnt have a  clue what it was worth, he paid £1000 it was worth at least 5 times that. the guy he had working for him quit so he asked me and i took the job, then i couldnt be bothered (crap money) ask him for buy in he said yes.. i get my self a v good deal for £500.. since then picking up a lot of work and i think we have bought another 3 rounds (but wont do that agiain).. up until about six weeks ago we were trad and there was 3 of us now there are 2 because the other lad left, went wfp now i feel like i have a new job (better job)

[steve.ternent]

i have never advertised in my life and have never canvassed, i have a customer base of over 1300 and my customers have always come too me, just lately i have realised that my new customers are going to have more seriouse prices (dont get me wrong my prices arnt bad and make me good money) but say for a 3 bed semi 4 windows on front 4 back 1 side how much would you charge?

I would have said the average price down here (Kent) would be £10 - £12

But if you believe you are better than the other window cleaners around ( I am!) 

I would be asking for £15-17 depending on customer 

Someone said earlier...
 "when I go to quote them I go there on the basis of bettering my work"
This is my attitude! 

[geefree]

surely from  time to time  window cleaners will lose customers, and gain more than they lost in any given period...

just because one customer is lost does not mean the crunch is affecting....

stop panicking, think positive, canvass, leaflet drop and up your game.


 

[windowwashers]

surely from  time to time  window cleaners will lose customers, and gain more than they lost in any given period...

just because one customer is lost does not mean the crunch is affecting....

stop panicking, think positive, canvass, leaflet drop and up your game.


 

Crunch is for the negative people on here, I seem to be picking up work everywhere and I know full well loads of others are all over the UK as I speak to quite a few people all over the UK daily.

Negative input = negative output

Be positive 

Ian

[paul hughes31]

im feeling really positive at the moment now are emplyee has left, things are looking up ive gone wfp picking up more work than we can handle and i am under no circumstances worrying about the crunch..

[windowwashers]

im feeling really positive at the moment now are emplyee has left, things are looking up ive gone wfp picking up more work than we can handle and i am under no circumstances worrying about the crunch..

Good on you Paul  you will find you will be doing more work in less time aswell

[Wayne Thomas]

I lost quite a few at the beginning of this year.
I tried to replace each one with better work.
Didn't realise until now that I've got too much work again so it's time for a payrise again.
Customers will be informed next week so I tailor my round down to a manageable level again at better prices than before just to keep up with inflation and rising fuel costs.
Trouble with this job is nothing ever stands still, have to keep moving forwards or run out of work.

[Paul Coleman]

Recession ?

In the last 2 days we have picked up 3 hotels/guest houses , 2 nursing homes and 2 houses and 2 gutter jobs and builders clean on a shop

But  lost a £6.00 bungalow, not a bad swap really.

The key to beating the recession if there is one, is to pick up more work than you lose

That's pretty much how it's been for me so far Dave.  Lost a few more than usual in recent times but the work coming in far exceeds it.

[NBwcs]

What im finding is that the present economic situation means people are staying put, hence the usual trickle of lost customers due to moving has stopped, Ive lost one or two down to things being tight, but the amount of new custys is outweighing the loss. An unexpected bonus of the credit crunch, hope I havent spoken too soon.

[simon knight]

Finding that quite a few of my custys are having extensions or loft conversions done for the extra space because it works out cheaper than moving. Down side is while the builders are there my services are not required. Up side is when it's done the house is bigger therefore I can charge more

[Jonathan Spencer]

I have said this in a previous thread on the "recession", people are staying put and just concentrating on improving on what they have already got.  This normally means things looking nice and clean.

On the subject of losing customers.  I dropped one today as he mucked me about 3 weeks on the trot.  As I was doing next door 3 people came up to me and asked me to do theirs.  So down 8 quid, up 37 quid.