Doing say, 7 x £50 jobs in a day would be easier for me to ask for than £350 in one job lot. So it's not the actual amount turned over but how it's spread around.
I really think this is the main point of this thread. Its all to do with the customers perception. When pricing multiple smaller jobs its easier to get a premium rate then when pricing a larger job that will take all day.
I think its fine to educate our customers that we have value when compared to other trades but to price ourselves over and above other trades makes the customer question our worth. Don't get me wrong window cleaners are every bit as good as electricians and plumbers etc, but we are still trades people not brain surgeons or solicitors.
I have a couple of contracts that our above and beyond the average window cleaners remit due to specialised access being employed. These jobs I charge a premium for as there is very little competition, however when I price a shop front that any window cleaner could do I have to be more realistic as I do with domestic properties.
I think pricing is an art, and its one that takes years to cultivate. I know I am still learning, but having said that I have some good clients and customers and Im not a busy fool by any means
Its sometimes better not to quote as well. I recently turned down quoting a chain of vets. The work was not at all straight forward for multiple reasons and to make a profit the price would have been high. Their current window cleaner was an old boy about to retire. The lady owner had already said she though he was expensive and he had been doing it for years without a price increase. The lady owner was a referral from another commercial client (much larger). I politely declined to quote after visiting the sites, informing her that I could not be competitive as the practices were too small to qualify for our minimum charge. She was very understanding and thanked me for my time and honesty.
I didn't want the work, putting in a high price may have cost me my other larger client if they perceived me as expensive, so not quoting was in my mind the best option.
