[Blue Frog Systems]

A little while ago i asked some advice regarding gaining commercial work in my area.

I got a couple of responces which added up to less than i knew already (no offence to anyone who posted)

Why is it that everyone is more than willing to share there advice on residental canvasing & pricing, but when it comes to commercial you have to figure it out for yourself ?

Im not after anyones business here, i dont undercut.

So why wont people give out advice when it comes to commercial ?

Discuss

[Nathanael Jones]

I haven't got much advice on how to get it,.. but at the moment, why would you want it???

Residential pays better a lot of the time, is easier to pick up/replace when it goes, pays quicker,....

[Niall McAllister]

there's more residential work out there so it's easier to help with that, but commercial is a pain in the bum, with all the variations that come with each quote

[Blue Frog Systems]

Another notch under me belt Nathanael,

Im not after the big ones, just the flats that seem to be poping up around here. They are on my rounds, so i could slip them in with my residental

[mci services]

my own brother wont tell me or my dad so fat chance of anybody on a forum. but i would say my brother has recently taken up residential work because of the poor pricing of commercial

[Gleaming windows]

Advertising in the right place, which is likely to be costly (Yell etc) apart from that my opinion is its more about luck than anything else (not saying other factors dont play a part in it) but being in the right place at the right time is often a goodun.

Stickability too.

Matt

[Nathanael Jones]

If its flats then approach one of the residents and ask if they want their windows cleaned for free. Just tell them you need the name & address of the management company that the pay their fees to every month, and a contact name if possible.

Write up a quote, make it look real good,.. mention discounts for multiple accounts, and send it in. wait 72 hours and follow it up with a phone call.

"Never give discounts on promises. Promise discounts on their giving you more work."

[Scrimble]

jp i've got some commercial work you can have if you want, alliance & leicester and abbey national in town,

some glamorous cleaning company is paying 30 quid per month per bank and there to be done weekly inside & out plus the cashier screens plus fasicas done 6 weekly.

oh and you gotta wait a month to be paid.

[Sean Dyer]

I haven't got much advice on how to get it,.. but at the moment, why would you want it???

Residential pays better a lot of the time, is easier to pick up/replace when it goes, pays quicker,....

its strange how you get so many people on here complaining about custys that leave no access, cant start before 9 , dog poo everywhere, dont pay , cant clean in rain

commercial has none of those probs is easier to collect as there are definite contracts, pays miles better if you price rght, far more than domestic will ever be! is very loyal i have found and no probs with times/weather!!

yes its harder to get into i spent a year or more with NOS for every quote but soon i started getting yes' as i worked out where i was going wrong and now my commercial work is my favourite part of each day/week...

for now i want residential as it my main wage but commercial boosts it soo much its not worth turning down

and im sure most who say "i dont want commercial because x and x" if you were offered to quote a building nearby you would be in like a shot and the only reason you say these things is becasue you havent broken into it yet

you will turn to the darkside trust me

darth

[Nathanael Jones]

I think a good mix of residential & commercial is good. I'm about 40% commercial at the moment and I'm lucky to have some really good work,.. but about a year ago I stopped trying to get more commercial because when everything is paid 6 -12 weeks after the clean, the money outstanding grows very fast and cashflow becomes a problem. Couple this with many companies paying slower and slower (Using the recession as an excuse) and funds can get tight in the blink of an eye. That's why I think too much commercial is a bad thing!

[Sean Dyer]

i dont disagree nathaneal

i have had a nightmare getting paid recently

BUT when paid the money was GOOD(and i always have been paid longest wait was 8 weeks)

some of it extremely good, better than i could ever dream of once upon a time

never had that with resis

you dont see big companies playing with houses do you? theres the answer!

but commercial isnt a taboo but more of a difficult thing to price it isnt easy to give a set formula as every property differs sooo much in its spec , your costs as a company , want your aims, goals, mottos are

sure with resis you can charge £1 a window or whatever and they come out ok but commercial has so many variables that it is practically impossible or someone to say "charge x per window/hour" and it is a magic formula

just get stuck in , give the best impression you can, dont be scared to ask what there budget is, what theyve been quoted etc etc, and do your own working out to see what is fair, sell yourself and if you dont get it ask why and next time you may be a little bit ahead of the game and once you have done this enough soon it becomes second nature

i have quoted lots of commercial and am only just bagging a few so if you dont get onedont worry its not always you were wrong, some idiots go to low , at least you werent that plonker, these days if i get a no,im confident i went in at the right price for me and any cheaper - i didnt want it!!

its good to sell yourself but dont fool yourself 99.9% is about price so do be as reasonable as possible but dont regret it!!

[Blue Frog Systems]

Thanks Mark, but the only time i go into town is to cash up. Its work around my current work im after

[Sean Dyer]

no probs with price though ?? lol

[Scrimble]

Thanks Mark, but the only time i go into town is to cash up. Its work around my current work im after

no no lol i was joking i told them to clean it themselves for 30 quid a month!

[Dean Taberner]

i thought this was a thread about jw's when i saw the title.

nobody feels comfortable about talking about that subject for some reason.

[JRDEasiReach]

i dont disagree nathaneal

i have had a nightmare getting paid recently

BUT when paid the money was GOOD(and i always have been paid longest wait was 8 weeks)

some of it extremely good, better than i could ever dream of once upon a time

never had that with resis

you dont see big companies playing with houses do you? theres the answer!

but commercial isnt a taboo but more of a difficult thing to price it isnt easy to give a set formula as every property differs sooo much in its spec , your costs as a company , want your aims, goals, mottos are

sure with resis you can charge £1 a window or whatever and they come out ok but commercial has so many variables that it is practically impossible or someone to say "charge x per window/hour" and it is a magic formula

just get stuck in , give the best impression you can, dont be scared to ask what there budget is, what theyve been quoted etc etc, and do your own working out to see what is fair, sell yourself and if you dont get it ask why and next time you may be a little bit ahead of the game and once you have done this enough soon it becomes second nature

i have quoted lots of commercial and am only just bagging a few so if you dont get onedont worry its not always you were wrong, some idiots go to low , at least you werent that plonker, these days if i get a no,im confident i went in at the right price for me and any cheaper - i didnt want it!!

its good to sell yourself but dont fool yourself 99.9% is about price so do be as reasonable as possible but dont regret it!!

sean please tell us all where you went wrong in order to correct it

[Sean Dyer]

i dont disagree nathaneal

i have had a nightmare getting paid recently

BUT when paid the money was GOOD(and i always have been paid longest wait was 8 weeks)

some of it extremely good, better than i could ever dream of once upon a time

never had that with resis

you dont see big companies playing with houses do you? theres the answer!

but commercial isnt a taboo but more of a difficult thing to price it isnt easy to give a set formula as every property differs sooo much in its spec , your costs as a company , want your aims, goals, mottos are

sure with resis you can charge £1 a window or whatever and they come out ok but commercial has so many variables that it is practically impossible or someone to say "charge x per window/hour" and it is a magic formula

just get stuck in , give the best impression you can, dont be scared to ask what there budget is, what theyve been quoted etc etc, and do your own working out to see what is fair, sell yourself and if you dont get it ask why and next time you may be a little bit ahead of the game and once you have done this enough soon it becomes second nature

i have quoted lots of commercial and am only just bagging a few so if you dont get onedont worry its not always you were wrong, some idiots go to low , at least you werent that plonker, these days if i get a no,im confident i went in at the right price for me and any cheaper - i didnt want it!!

its good to sell yourself but dont fool yourself 99.9% is about price so do be as reasonable as possible but dont regret it!!

sean please tell us all where you went wrong in order to correct it

over estimating the time it would take (commercial can be really easy once you get used to it) you end up getting a few by trial and error and once you have done them like houses you just get a feel for what will be hard/easy slow fast

also as you get more proficient at the cleaning side you speed up!

also my approach with quotes, selling to customer all these things you will get better slowly

just keep pluggin its worth it

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

Are they 3 storey flats  if they are and for instance you chance a fiver for the ground floor 2nd storey bout 7/ 7.50 then 3rd floor a tenner to 12 a 4 wkly clean  would be a bout rite me thinks