[Nick_Thompson]

Would you guys be kind enough to give me your price per panel on properties were you are already employed to clean the  windows.

Thanks Nick

[dazmond]

around £2 a panel.they dont take long!!

[Ian101]

£5 a panel

[MATT BATEMAN (OWC)]

Depends what access is like. More if its off a ladder, less if you can reach them from ground level.

[ben M]

£3 each panel

[Total shine cleaning services]

£2..., £3 if I can get it, fixed price for some ..,
one of my custies had a letter from installers saying they would clean twice a year for £25, there was 16 panels and I matched the price, only took 20 mins

graham

[Nick_Thompson]

So, if we include the installers price, our quotations range from £1.56 to £5 per panel, that quite a disparity.

Is location a factor, or, are we just witnessing the inevitable consequences of settling prices in a relatively new niche in the cleaning industry?

I've been quoting £5 per panel up until now,  but I'm beginning to think that that might be a little excessive.

Any thoughts?

[MATT BATEMAN (OWC)]

Too much Nick. I've been looking at some of my customers arrays recently. Yesterday for example, an array of 16 panels, could be done from the ground with a 30' pole. 15 minutes work including setting up.

At £5.00 a panel that's £80.00. Now that's okay as an occasional but don't try to imagine that's the going rate upon which you would base a business.

£35.00 is fine for that job IMO. Maybe another tender if the suns shining and you fancy chancing your arm.

[Nick_Thompson]

Too much Nick. I've been looking at some of my customers arrays recently. Yesterday for example, an array of 16 panels, could be done from the ground with a 30' pole. 15 minutes work including setting up.

At £5.00 a panel that's £80.00. Now that's okay as an occasional but don't try to imagine that's the going rate upon which you would base a business.

£35.00 is fine for that job IMO. Maybe another tender if the suns shining and you fancy chancing your arm.

I appreciate that Matt, thanks. Just the input I was hoping for. I'm about to amend my pricing on this type of work before I fall by the wayside. 

[Nick_Thompson]

Thanks guys!

[Goldoak cleaning specialists]

Up to 12 panels £20.00

Pound there afer for each panel

[telfordwindowclnr]

Hi nick.

What no one has mentioned is the nature, past and present circumstances of your marketplace.

Some residential clients had the panels put in for free. These are the ones you can charge more money to, as they have not had the initial outlay of installation. They don't have money to re-coup, but want the maximum yield from their panels.

The rest of the marketplace has paid for their panels. They are generally number crunchers. They know how much their panels cost, know how much money they will make annually and how much margin they have left for monitoring, maintenance and cleaning. They will also know which FiT they are on.

To get each client and maximise your financial benefit at the same time, you must know all the figures for the above. This is not saying if you do not know the above, you will not get the job. It means that if you and say "Yes, 12 panels is £30." And I go and ask about how long they have been installed, which FiT they are on, do they monitor their output, what are they hoping to achieve by having their panels cleaned, what plans do they have for future maintenance etc, I can charge maybe £40 and they will still go with me because I have bought their confidence as well as sold my service to them.

Getting people's confidence in such a new industry is very important.  Whilst all the above info is not essential on every residential job, it is invaluable when pricing commercial jobs.

At the moment, our conversion rate from enquiry to cleaning is between 8-9 out of 10. It is not because we are the cheapest, we rarely are. It is because we know more and sell the service in a better way.

Don't focus just on price. It pays to spend time number crunching and reading about industry trends as a whole. If this is a service you are seriously looking to branch into, invest your time doing the research and you will be better placed than your lesser informed, cheaper competition.

If anyone has benefitted by the above, please let me know. If anyone wants to to fire off, I would like to know that too! 

[SB Cleaning]

Do solar panels really need cleaning?

I'm sure I read somewhere that the rain is enough especially as we live in the  UK and get plenty

[MATT BATEMAN (OWC)]

To get each client and maximise your financial benefit at the same time, you must know all the figures for the above. This is not saying if you do not know the above, you will not get the job. It means that if you and say "Yes, 12 panels is £30." And I go and ask about how long they have been installed, which FiT they are on, do they monitor their output, what are they hoping to achieve by having their panels cleaned, what plans do they have for future maintenance etc, I can charge maybe £40 and they will still go with me because I have bought their confidence as well as sold my service to them.

When companies question me like that I feel interrogated. You've lost that sale.

As a customer I just want my panels cleaned, nothing more. None of the sales drivel. Come and have a look, assess the job, give me your price. I'll let you know.

I didnt phone you up for the 3rd degree, I phoned you up for a quote. Give me a quote or bugger off. Seriously, I cant abide companies that do that; similarly those cold calling companies that phone you up and ask you how you are. They dont give a hoot how you are, its simply some marketing drivel that IMO doesn't work.

Also when I quote for a new window cleaning job don't interrogate them. I guess thats treating them as I'd like to be treated.

[dazmond]

i agree matt.TURN UP,PRICE UP AND GIVE THEM THE QUOTE!they either accept or dont!

what i do for existing window cleaning customers is book them in for the solar panel clean next time i clean their windows,same with fascia,soffit and conny roof cleaning.

simple!

[telfordwindowclnr]

Like I said, residential may not need all the questions. Commercial want most of them. But to know the answers to all is best.

The proof us in the pudding I guess...

[telfordwindowclnr]

Do solar panels really need cleaning?

I'm sure I read somewhere that the rain is enough especially as we live in the  UK and get plenty

Does the rain wash the windscreen on your car or your velux windows? 

[Dave Willis]

There is a flaw in your pricing steve.
House number eighteen has free installation, house number nineteen has paid for their units. How can you possibly give two different prices for the same number of panels?

Or have I misunderstood you?

[MATT BATEMAN (OWC)]

I thought that. Put it down to over complicating.

[telfordwindowclnr]

There is a flaw in your pricing steve.
House number eighteen has free installation, house number nineteen has paid for their units. How can you possibly give two different prices for the same number of panels?

Or have I misunderstood you?

House 18 does not have to think about re-couping their money as much house 19 who paid for their panels. House 19 knows they are out of pocket until about year 11. in their mind, by paying for their panels to be cleaned at a high price, it may take them longer to get their money back on the panels. house 18 may be quids in from the off. Therefore, you MAY be able to charge this customer more because they may be willing to pay more.
It's just a way of making an extra £5 or £10 for exactly the same work. House 18 is more likely to pay it.