[wayne zabel]

As a newbie I'm begining to understand why you experienced guys get peed of with some of the public/price shoppers.I always try to visit to do a quote but these just wanted phone quotes.

Had 3 calls over last two days asking for a price for a average lounge,quoted £35. Not got job.......Largish through lounge lounge quoted £45.....not got job,Small lounge,small dining room and HSL,quoted £70....not got job.Thes prices are very low to what some on here charge and Im still being beaten by other CC's

Obvioiusly some are working for peanuts and some are only prepared to pay it.

What do I do?As a newbie I'm desparate to get work.

[justin brown]

that does sound cheap! what sort of clients are you marketing too? i have a database which targets A1/B1 prospects which have more disposable income and i always chare per sq ft. ratio of quotes to jobs is currently 84%. Sell your cleaning as a value added package (Aftercare programme, free stain remover,   1 free call out valid for 12 months on 1 stain) to show the customer why you are worth more than the cheaper cleaners.........someone on here the other day said PERCEPTION is not important....i think it's one of the most important things. If the custy percieves your value added package as great VFM you will more times than not get the job. IMO this job is 90% sales and marketing. good luck

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Some customers are price shoppers, some want a price so they can consider whether they want to clean or replace, some procrastinate and have a price and don't do anything about it.

If anyything I would pre qualify and ask questions like,

what are you wanting from your clean?
when were you thinking of having it done?
 
You have to put these questions in the normal conversation, so when you are measuring up you can put them in as small talk. Pre qualifying the customer to you on their buying potential.

Shaun

[Carpet Dawg]

Did they say no to your price or that'll they'll call you back?

Some people are just tight! Simple as that. Could be many things tho... maybe she got off the phone and told her husband and he said "35 quid!!!! Nah we'll just hire one of those machine from Morrisons! £20 and we can do the whole house!" Or "35 quid!!! Nah wee Jimmy at work has one of those Bissle things, i'll just get a borrow over the weekend!"

Or it could be another carpet cleaner finding out your phone pater and prices!

Or maybe you didn't sell it well enough to them?!

Or maybe the cheap price put them off!! theres one to think about!

Give it a few months, in the early days you'll think you'll get alot of price shoppers, sales calls, time wasrters  etc but the law of averages equals it out...

[Simon Gerrard]

Wayne,
Competing isn't about price - it is about quality. Forget what your competitors are charging and concentrate on the quality you provide to your customers. There is a sector of the market that will go for the cheapest quote regardless of quality as they believe that all carpet cleaners are the same and no matter how much you pay you get the same result.
There are others, which fortunately are the majority, who have had cheap carpet cleaning before and have come to regret it and are now looking for quality. This is the type of customer you should be looking for. Your prices are probably too low to attract them and low prices put them off.

Simon

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Wayne

Are you sure you lost the work to cleaners charging LESS than you ?

When you decide to go full time you will need a lot of those jobs at those prices to run a business and a home.

Just as certain potential clients will be put off by high prices, so will others be put off by low prices.

You need to start as you mean to go on.

Without being too nosey, have you actually sat down and worked out how much it will cost per annum to run the business and your home and put money aside for tax, servicing, equipment upgrades etc;etc;

Only when you know those figures can you decide what you will charge for your services, not what everyone else charges.

And please don't give me the old line of "people round here won't pay those sort of prices". There are guys up and down the country charging decent prices and running successful businesses.

However, as your prices go up, sometimes your potential clients go down. Conversely you need less of them to earn the same money.

I actively set out to market to a niche area as I have no desire at my age to do 4-5 jobs a day.

As I said before, start as you mean to go on, or the more desperate you get, the lower your prices will fall and you will find it hard to raise them later for repeat clients.

[clinton]

Wayne

Sometimes you will get 2 or 3 knockbacks in a row so it will even itself out..


I had that when i started and the more you want the work the harder it gets..

Did they get you from the web site or the local paper where you live as if its he same as manchester or stockport,its he 12 pound a carpet and 35 pound a suite(Ask roger peach lol)

Where is your site by the way?Is it geting just price shoppers mate..

clinton

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Forgetting the price issue, if you don't get the job then try something different, change the way you present yourself or the way you talk to the customer, it's important to find a script or technique that increases your conversion rate, it's not all about price and with some customers they need something that offers them why they want something a bit better and not just the cheapest, I I.D, the carpet and tell them what it is and give them some info about how it;s made just to make me look knowledgable but there are other ways you just find something that works for you.

The 2 IICRC carpet and upholstery courses are very knowledgable and good value.

Shaun

[Mike Halliday]

it might be that you are crap on the phone and don't vocally project a competent, professional image........ lots or "errrs" or "ummms"

if you insist on giving prices on the phone then it might be worth writing down all the typical questions & objections you get asked and writing down the answers...... then practicing with your partner.

good phone technique comes with experience, most experienced intelligent carpet cleaners can give 10 different answers to any question and give a solution to any objection, it just takes time.

So you can wait 5yrs until you can naturally answer questions or you can practice and learn to do it quicker.

[wynne jones]

I'd try to be the one asking the questions rather than answering them. 

[Simon@arenaclean]

I very rarely quote over the phone, just won't do it. I just explain it's difficult to quote, ask what the fibre is and construction, if they answer confidently they're your competitors  The other guys are right it's a technique which you can learn and turn the conversation your way by asking the right questions. Type of carpet, marks stains, how long it's been down, pets, children etc. Once the conversation is two way you will be passing most evenings and pop in because each situation is unique you owe it to them to visit FREE of charge. Bargain for them to have a professional come round to evaluate their specific needs  By the way are you converting your on site quotes? If you are then you just need to sharpen the way you convert the phone call to a visit. If they are adamant don't fight for the rubbish! Serious customers will want you to call round, keep going mate if it was easy everyone would be doing it, enjoy the challenge 

[wynne jones]

If you are busy I'm sure most give a price and just want to get them either booked in or off the phone. If you are scraping around for work then do whatever it takes to get in front of them.

[JandS]

Your probably like I was when I started up in 04/08 Wayne.
Crap at selling yourself on the phone. It took me about 6 months
and the wife hearing me talking to a customer over the phone
to formulate a different approach, although I'm still not brilliant
at it.
Funnily enough I've only ever lost one job from an on site quote,
although the majority of the work I get is one/two rooms and stairs
and thus phone quoted.
As Clinton says it'll even itself out, you'll probably end up converting
the next 3 call.
Also got to disagree with Steve B I think geography plays a big part
in pricing.

John

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Also got to disagree with Steve B I think geography plays a big part
in pricing.

John

You're right to a degree John, but as I was saying it depends on who you are marketing to.

Mike Halliday for example, doesn't bother with Hull but concentrates almost exclusively on Beverley.

[JandS]

I can understand why Steve!!!!!!!!
He markets Beverly and he's got Chem Dry's main office slap bang
in the town centre.
Saw it for myself last week whilst driving over to Hornsea.

John

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Yeah I know John !

I went up to Mike's last year and we went for a drink, we had only left his house for a minute when we went past Chemdry !

[wayne zabel]

Thanks for the replies fellas - I think one problem Ive got at the moment is that Ive been advertising in the local paper along side 2 others. One offers Half Price Cleaning and Free Stain Guard and is still cheaper than me, the other offers a 12 x 12 room for £15!!!!!

As I said I always ask to visit to do a quote and when I do I do all the tests ect ect and usually get the jobs,but the last few callers have just wanted quotes on the phone.

I get a lot of work from my website,www.burycarpetcare.co.uk and those that I get from it are usually a better kind of client than I seem to attract from other sources.

I suupose its swings and roundabouts really,but as  newbie who desparately wants to go full time CC its a bit annoying especially when I know my prices are fair if not low.

I will have to try to improve my phone patter for those who just want prices on the phone.

Overall I suppose I'm doing OK and have 15 jobs lined up over the next 3 weeks which is OK whilst I'm still part time.I ger really Peed off though that some wont pay £35 to have a lounge cleaned.

Thanks again.

[cannon]

some great advice on here which ive listened to and took on board. Ive realised its all about selling myself, more so than the actually cleaning. I used to cringe at the thought of selling myself and im still not great but im getting better. A lot of people do think that carpet cleaning is all the same they know no different so when presented with 3/4 prices for the same thing of course they take the cheapest. So if its a phone price now I ask as many questions as I can, i say my price confidently and then try and sell myself a little ie:
And what we do is.....
using........etc etc
I dont try and compete with the cheap fellas n more i try and make my self different.

[Dave wood]

Wayne
I am in a similar situation to you where i am going full time cc I advertise regular in my local papers which my competitors charge less than me some around £20 for a lounge ,I did some investigation and found they had a 2 bit machine in the back of a fiesta car ,Which makes me think they are just cowboys out for a QUICK BUCK

I have been cc and carpet fitting for over 20 yrs and confident in the service i provide and knowledge and experience is worth that extra £££££  Than some chancer ,That is how  sell myself and not worry what other cc charge

Good luck in going full time

[JandS]

Wayne

I notice you offer a collect and deliver on rug cleaning.
Been thinking of this myself as quite often get asked to
come and clean just a rug.
What do charge for this?
Would have to be substantial to take account of travel
time, cleaning and fuel I would imagine.

John