[jonah]

Thanks Dai , He is retiring this year and he only rang me cos I put a flyer through one of his custys doors !  It is an area where I only have a few custys but would like more work .   I really like the guy as hes been cleaning for over 25 years and it isnt much of a golden handshake !        To keep up providing a service for that time is awesome .       Really want to do the right thing by him and im sure we can come to some agreement .

[dai]

Most of charge what we need to earn, and what we need to earn is down to our own personal circumstances.
You can try telling the customers that old Joe is a really nice guy, [they already know that as he has been doing their windows for years] go on to explain that his charges are ridiculously low in this day and age.

He may earn just enough to keep him going, but his 8 grand mortgage was probably paid off years ago, and being a nice guy has had the luxury of allowing his customers to benefit from it.
A young window cleaner with a family has to charge much more realistic prices. Old Joe could scrape by on what you have to pay for your mortgage alone.

Explain the difference between Joe's circumstances and yours

 tell them you are really sorry, but the price has to rise substantially to make cleaning their windows economically viable.

And tell them that in fact your prices are extremely competitive, other windows cleaners are charging considerably more than you do.

good luck mate, Dai

[jonah]

Brilliant advice Dai , thank you very much , I always appreciate your well thought out advice 

[NWH]

If you don`t put them up from the start you`ll have problems,i bet they all know there getting a bargain at the moment.

[groundhog]

Good luck Jonah if you go ahead and buy this work, although personally I think your better off building your own round!

[jonah]

Groundhog I agree with you , but it takes a while to build good work up , so buying some ready made work helps pay the bills 

[groundhog]

Groundhog I agree with you , but it takes a while to build good work up , so buying some ready made work helps pay the bills 

As I said, good luck mate!! But I believe that it is possible to build a good little round very quickly if you are determined, and target the right areas. I went from a part time round with 40 customers to a full time round with 250 customers within 3 Months, I started by spending up to 8 hours a day delivering flyers and then 3 hours every evening following up with door knocking, mainly targeting newly built up areas.
Of couse as you pick up more customers you are unable to spend so long delivering and canvassing for customers, so I then started delivering leaflets and alternately following up with door knocking the next evening. Once I had built up enough customers to earn a living, I then switched to targeting top end quality work, and that is all I'm interested in going after now!! 

Buying work may seem like an easy option, but i don't think you can beat the satisfaction of building your own round from scratch!!!

But as I said if its what you want to do then good luck with it!! 

[jonah]

Which area are you in if you dont mind me asking groundhog ?

[groundhog]

Hampshire

[jonah]

If I was to offer you a week in yorkshire ( all expences paid of course ) would you come up here and get me some good quallity work ?

[groundhog]

Jonah if I was in a position to be able to I would love to come up and help you build a round, I enjoy a challenge!!! But I have a busy round to keep on top of, a large mortgage to pay and a wife and 2 kids to keep fed and clothed!!!

But I am telling you that if I can do it then so can you, you just need lots of determination!! Keep on delivering those leaflets, as many as possible, and follow up on as many as you can with door knocking. Theres no secret to it, its just lots of hard work, the more you put into it the more you will get out of it!

Follow all of the basics that you will learn on this site, always look smart and wear your uniform. And never underprice work just to get it as you will regret it in the long term!!! Keep plugging away and you will get there!!, And lastly, spend less time on the forum, your time would be better spent delivering flyers!!!

[mark dew]

you would be suprised at how many people will pay double their old charge.
I've picked up a few where the old wc had gone taxi driving and the prices were shocking. Eg. £6 now £13. £5 now £10. etc
I have also been knocked back cos i seemed too expensive. But when pointing out the costs i have explained that it would have been similar if the old wc's charges went up with inflation each year. Some have agreed and took me on and others still think it is too much and declined.
Whatever you increase the prices to, you should do them enough that they will keep you happy earning that amount for the next 2 years.
Also, the old boy maybe didn't clean the frames and sills so emphasise that you clean the whole window and not just the glass.

[groundhog]

I agree Mark, the most extreme example of this I have is when I priced up a very large house, as they were unhappy with their current cleaner, I priced it at £60, the existing cleaner was charging...... wait for it £8!!!!!!! And believe it or not I got the job!!! 

[mark dew]

I agree Mark, the most extreme example of this I have is when I priced up a very large house, as they were unhappy with their current cleaner, I priced it at £60, the existing cleaner was charging...... wait for it £8!!!!!!! And believe it or not I got the job!!! 

£8 to £60 is quite a difference. It's amazing what some people will charge to get the job. I did it alot in the beginning because i assumed all windows were equal. It only took me a couple of cleans to realise that i'd boxed myself in and didn't want to do it anymore. Starting as you mean to go on is very important i think.
Anyway, good to see you back groundhog.

[groundhog]

Thanks Mark, its good to be back!!   

[Davo]

you would be suprised at how many people will pay double their old charge.
I've picked up a few where the old wc had gone taxi driving and the prices were shocking. Eg. £6 now £13. £5 now £10. etc
I have also been knocked back cos i seemed too expensive. But when pointing out the costs i have explained that it would have been similar if the old wc's charges went up with inflation each year. Some have agreed and took me on and others still think it is too much and declined.
Whatever you increase the prices to, you should do them enough that they will keep you happy earning that amount for the next 2 years.
Also, the old boy maybe didn't clean the frames and sills so emphasise that you clean the whole window and not just the glass.

How refreshing, Im getting an earful on another thread, apparantly im talking baloney!!.
Customers will pay, but you need to justify the rise to some of them.



Mark