[dave]

Hello,

I'm setting up a new cleaning business with my wife specialising in the cleaning of rental properties, new houses, move in/move out cleans etc. I would appreciate any advice on the sales and marketing techniques you and other members could offer to us to get the business off the ground.

We have done one job, a small 1 bedroom flat which was filthy and worked on an hourly rate of £20 per hour (two persons) for six hours, total cost £120.00 The letting agent showed a young couple round while we were there and the next day I did a follow-up call to him to ask if everything was OK, he said he was delighted and that the couple had taken on the flat at £425 per month.

Is this the right sort of price for an hourly rate

I am also looking to provide a basic handyman service, garden maintenance, outside house cleaning to the above targets.and again looking for advice.

Regards Dave

[dave]

Thanks for the reply, it has given us confidence for the future.

We are in the process of having business cards and brochure's printed and from this I will make appointment's with all the relevent target businesses offering our services. Do you pay them a commission or offer an incentive for any work passed your way !!!

We are thinking about buying a second-hand carpet cleaner to offer the full interior cleaning service. Is it relevent at this early stage to buy one, is there a call for it from the Letting Agents or is it just as easy to contact a carpet cleaning firm and add a small percentage to the cost of the cleaning !!

Thanks again for your advice, and certainly any information that you can share is much appreciated,

Regards Dave.

[Mike_Boxall]

Hi Dave
I wouldnt rush in to carpet cleaning without getting the right training first. My advice would be to go on a course first and then look at the equipment. At the moment you need to impress these new customers and I would suggest that the best thing to do is to find a good reliable carpet cleaner to help you out in the meantime.
Where are you based? - maybe we already have a member who can help.
Regards
Mike

[Mike Halliday]

£10 an hour is'nt anough, even if you get 8 hours work a day you'll still earn less than the national average,

remember you don't get holiday pay, you have to pay for fuel and materials used,

You really need to do some maths and work out your exspences otherwise you'd be better working on the checkout at Tescos, if all you're earning is £10 an hour you'd  be better off

as for marketing you bussiness get the yellow pages out and send a letter and some cards to all the carpet cleaners in the book, telling them if they reccomend you you'll give them a £5, I'm a carpet cleaner and I'm always getting asked about general cleaning, if a cleaner offered me a £5 i'd certainly pass on there card

do the same with painters & decorators, gardners, etc the list goes on & on

Mike

[woodman]

Hello Dave

You doing new lets?

If so the property's empty, charge around £15 an hour for each cleaner and quote for the carpets seperately.

Letting agents and management companies will be your best mate while your charging that rate for cleaning and carpets but you'll be a pauper.

Make up a rate card and send it round the agents it may take time but they will eventually contact you the minute their regulars let them down.

There is zero loyalty in that game.

Best of luck.

[dave]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, and I'm certainly taking on-board everything that is being mentioned and will certainly be looking for courses that I can attend in the Midlands area.

Yes, I will be putting my prices up to between £13 - £15 per hour.

Good news!!!
We have had a very good response from spreading the word at the local school. We do live in a fairly affluent area I suppose, and a lot of parents from out of the area bring their children to our village school,when they park their cars we call it a four x four car park. Anyway, it appears that a number of these parents own property that they rent out and want reliable cleaners and are also prepared to put me in touch with their Letting Agents. Now for the hard sell!!

Regards Dave

[Mike_Boxall]

Hi Dave
We can get you on the 1 day Prochem carpet cleaning course in Dudley next week (Tuesday 16th) The course is extremely comprehensive (I'm sure there are others here who can endorse it) and covers carpet construction, fibre identification, practical cleaning methods, stain removal, protective treatments and a includes a reference manual. It costs £95.00 plus vat and will be held at The Ward Arms Hotel, Dudley. There is also a 1 day upholstery cleaning course the day after. You must pre-book and you need to do it TODAY to get on it though (sorry for the short notice). Unfortunately they only do these courses in the Midlands once a year although they do hold them monthly at Chessington in Surrey and there are one or two other regional dates they do in Manchester and Bristol
You can book through us on 01684 565552!
Regards
Mike Boxall

[dave]

Thanks Mike for the reply,

Typical, I can't make the course because of work committments, but it does sound a good course and reasonably priced, so I will keep a look out for any forthcoming one's.