[Mark_P]

Im still deciding wether to put my prices on the leaflets or not although i am leaning towards not, based upon the sound advice you guys have given. I appreciate it greatly. i think i will make my final decision based upon what advice i get from the following: my local competitors are charging roughly:

Lounge or dining room - £30
Throughlounge - 45
entrance hall - 10
stairs - 25
landing - 10
Small Bedroom - 20
Large bedroom - 25
gf cloakroom     - 10
bathroom         - 15

i have been pricing along a similar line and would like to ask you if you think im selling my services to cheap. I pre vac, prespray, agitate, ecxtract with prochem portable extraction machine and include deodoriser. I work bloody hard to give the customer the best results possible and to ensure their future custom. I would like to charge more as seen in  the above replies (i would love to be able to charge 70-90 for a lounge!

what do you think, is this too cheap? im concerned about outpricing myself as my competition is mostly at these prices! Some are even cheaper!

please let me know!

[derek west]

good average prices, nothing wrong apart from one thing!

how can you charge a set price for a room when every room is different. i did a lounge last week and they wanted everything moving and putting back, charged them £80, yet ive done lounges for £30 quid, all beit in a deal with a lot of other rooms.

some lounges are massive, some poxy, some dirty wool berbers, some poly prop freshen ups. some have 2 chairs and a tele some have grand pianos, bookcases, or are just littered with kids toys and "OK" magazines (grrrr hate them ones)

empty house with easy freshen up carpets then your a bit expensive but on the other side of things, you'll be there all day for a oner.

derek

[Mark_P]

thanks for the reply derek. so far i have been advising customers of the above prices as a rough quote and explain that when i arrive i will be able to give a more accurate price depending on level of soiling, size and furnicture coverage. I think i am going to go down the route of not advertising prices on leaflets etc and visiting the customer to give a quote and explain the service. im just unsure as i dont want to outprice or underprice myself. i realise this is a very individual thing but im just trying to get it right. Thanks again for the feedback.

any more advice/views quite welcome!!

[Mike Halliday]

who is your average customer? someone on benefits or a low end manual worker that's the only reason I can see for charging those prices.

anyone who has a comfortable lifestyle eg; semi in a nice area, 2 cars,  foreign holiday twice a year etc can afford prices 40% higher then you are charging.

so if you are aiming for the lower end of society then your prices are right but if you market to middle management or higher you are too cheap.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Although Derek is right with his assumptions on everything being different but I would look at myself first and ask

"how good a job do I do?"
"how good can I sell?"

If you are doing a good job and you have the gift of the gab then put your prices up but to doubly make sure then get some more advertising out there because you won't get the same customers booking in at double the price.

Shaun

[derek west]

mark
pricing is something you will learn on your own, its pointless asking guys on here how much should i charge. its what works for you and what you want out of your business. you'll get a lot of your pricing wrong to start with, i still get the odd ones wrong. some to cheap as they take me longer than i thought and some to dear (which i still got) and i end up turning £300 in 2 an half hours work.
slowly but surely you'll find a price that works for you.
mike thinks your too cheap for middle end custys, personally i think those prices are about right, but then ive got about 7 other cc's in my area where mike has hardly any comp, (could be wrong there though, remember something about mike saying he had no comp)
but anyway, the point is some guys (like the stockport guys) have major comp to deal with and some have none, some are fast with high powered truckmounts so there in and out and can charge less, some like to take there time so need to charge more, but give a more personal touch, blah blah blah, i'm going on again. but theres so many permitations to pricing that you just have to try and feel it out and see what works for you.
derek

and what shaun said,

[Mike Osbourne]

A better question would have been...

How do I find out the best prices I can get from my customers?

And the answer is to keep putting up your prices 10% at a time until you reach a point where less than 7 out of 10 say yes.

At this point your regroup, increase your CC skills, invest in better equipment, improve your sales skills and most importantly learn how to find clients who will pay more.

How can anyone else tell you how much to charge? It's going to be wrong.

[Mark_P]

Shaun, Sound advice thanks bud. I do do a good job and my sales skills are ok so food for thought.


Mike, i'm certainly aiming to make my target market the aforementioned middle management 2.4 children types rather than the dole monkeys. My concern is that if my middle management custy's are getting the same leaflets i am with the above prices listed will i not seem expensive.

I think I am going to raise my prices but probably not as much as the 40%. maybe 20% ish and see how it goes.

Derek & Mike O, what you say makes complete sense and i guess i just need to play around until i settle for a structure which feels right.

Thank you gentlemen!

Your advice is most greatfully recieved

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Mark

The worst thing you can possibly do is base the prices you are charging on what everyone else is charging.

Do you know what my local competition charges ? - No ? - good, coz neither do I ! And whats more, I couldnt give a monkeys.

You need to work out what your business expenses are, then what your personal expenses are, then estimate how many jobs per month and work out your selling costs from there.

How do you know you can charge £ 30 per room or £ 3.00 per square metre unless you know what your operating costs are ?

Dont follow what everyone else is doing - some of the most successful carpet cleaners charge far in excess of the prices you have listed.

This is not a criticism, just some constructive advice.

No doubt I will be shot down in flames - but dont follow the herd.


Steve

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Forget the competition and sell yourself more, if a customer doesn't want to pay it then you have to find another and you will! start by putting leaflets through doors on nice estates also go out to quote, change the way you do things as if you do the same things you are doing now then you will get the same response.

Only thing is you have to change before you can get your prices to change so don't go in with a dour attitude as price is the be all and end all, you are going to solve the customers problem.

Shaun

[Doug Holloway]

Yes

[richy27]

Competition what competition if you worry too much what others charge you will only drive down your charges in your own mind. at the end of the day depends on your target areas sort of clients . also depends on what you need to earn taking into account your overheads and personal situation, amount you have invested into equipment training.

Golden rule is prices are easier to lower than increase.

[stevie wonder]

You dont need actual prices on your leaflets
3 piece suite half price then once your in their home use your best sales talk and tell them your usual charge is 200 or whatever you want it to be.Same with 3 rooms for price of 2.You set the prices.Go in as high as you think you are worth.What do they know.But dont go that low that your working for nothing,and make sure your leaflets are very high quality showing the professional you are.And try not to price over the phone.
Steve.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

I almost always price over the phone, with the number of calls and the wide area it would be almost impossible to visit all of them.

There seems to be a bit of a mental block with selling, it is perfectly possible to sell with the written word as it is with the spoken one.

If you write good sales literature/web sites then a lot of potential customers are half sold by the time they ring.

I just find it much easier like this.

I am not saying face to face selling isn't good but it is time consuming and expensive.

Cheers

Doug

[David_Annable]

Hi

Another way is how much do you want to turnover per day divided by the number of hours you can work in a day.

I really work more than 6 hours per day taking travelling time into account.

Dave

[paul.g]

The trouble with these prices is they are about the same as 'man & a vax'. You sound like you've got it right. Set yourself apart and charge accordingly.

[Mark_P]

well guys, i have taken onboard your comments and advice and have decided...... to leave the prices off my leaflets and increase my prices to more accurately reflect the level of service my customers recieve and the level of investment i have put in.

Thank you all so very much, it means a great deal to know that i can ask experienced professionals in my chosen trade for advice.

now that i have decided to leave my prices off i'm going to post up my leaflet and get your opinions on that! Let me know.

Thanks again

Mark

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Clinton I thin there are a quite a few carpet cleaners in my area just like yours but they all charge peanuts, many charge £50 a suite in my area CD charge more I do think that in your area that you do get a better end of the pricing spectrum, have you ever been to Doncaster?

Shaun

[derek west]

wish every cc in my area charged peanuts, then i wouldn't have any competition.
derek

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Put your prices up then

Shaun