gutter customers are awesome. 2x a year like 70%
Residential 1-2 x
Large commercial 75% go 1-2 x
A few small quarterly jobs
I have a decent number of 'twice per.'
But nowhere near enough to make it the average… not even close.
so your saying only 1x a year is your average for windows and gutters.
No, just gutters.
Windows are bi-monthly average.
(see previous post)
Got it JformtheD…
Mostly once a month.
Thanks Mike.
Ok, here is what I do. Nothing special. A little back ground first…
I am horrible at sales. Truly. I hate talking on the phone, so most of my customers just get a quick text. I always do in person estimates. I always prefer it when the potential customer is not home when I am providing an estimate, so I don’t have to talk to them. So, in general, I just don’t like people. I like to just do my job and not have to chit chat too much, and move on. So, that being said, it isn’t my sales skills or personality that sells the quarterly cleanings. You just have to have a hook and know when to spring it on them. My customers, for the most part, just love me for some reason, and become friends. We talk about their/my family. I am nice, clean, trusting, and enjoy doing my job. And I’m good at it. All cleanings include track, sill, and screen cleaning at no extra cost (that may change next season). I try to give them premium work for premium prices (approx $15-18 per Dh). I don’t rush through the job. I probably spend more time cleaning a house then most here would. I try to make each customer feel like they are my only customer.
A lot of other guys I have talked to dramatically reduce their cost for quarterly cleans. They try to make it to where the customer is paying a similar price for all 4 cleanings per year combined as they would a one time cleaning. For example, if the bid is $500 for the first time clean, they would do each quarterly clean for around $125, or slightly higher. Their reasoning is that it’s quicker to clean every 3 months than once a year, and it will also keep them busy yearly. This makes absolute no sense to me. The cleanings are easier and faster, but you’re still doing a lot more work. Why not get paid for it? If I bid a house for $500, I will be getting that $500 every time, with the exception of that 4th cleaning for the year. That’s where I get them to bite. The 4th cleaning is always 50% off, but on the exterior only. If I call them to schedule their quarterly clean, and they say they want to wait, I just remind them that if they wait too long (usually 4 weeks past the 3 month mark) their 4th cleaning will revert back to full price, and they usually just go ahead and schedule. I try to schedule the next cleaning as I’m handing them the invoice for the current cleaning. That way I can just send a quick text saying “Just a reminder I’ll be out Thursday to take care of your quarterly cleaning for the Fall.” That simple. You just need to know when to explain the program to them. It’s usually while she is at the kitchen sink window admiring the beautiful view of clean windows. That’s when she is the most likely to agree to the program. Or when they make a comment about how she wishes they could stay clean all year. That’s when I say,
“I can provide clean windows for you all year, so you never have to worry about calling me to schedule or having dirty windows. Most of my customers, including your neighbor Mrs Kirk, are on my quarterly plan. I come out every quarter/season and take care of your windows. Usually do the inside once or twice and year, and the exterior every 3 months. If you agree to that plan, your 4th cleaning on the exterior is 50% off. I’ll go ahead and schedule you for your 2nd cleaning now.”
Usually when they hear that 50% off, they agree right then. Just something about women and saving. If they are on the fence, I tell them that I will put them on the call list to contact in 3 months to discuss it. When that happens, the windows are dirty again, and they schedule. Just got to keep it on their mind the way they felt when you first cleaned their windows.
Simple.
So, a $400 in/out project…
1st cleaning $400 in/out
2nd cleaning $240 out only
3rd cleaning $400 in/out or $240 out
4th cleaning 50% off so $120 out only (this is when I try to schedule the add ons - gutters/light fixtures, pressure washing)
Pretty easy, and very effective. Like I said, the key is discussing it when they are so euphoric about the newly clean windows. In the beginning you may have to stretch the truth by saying “a majority of my customers are on the quarterly plan…”, but eventually it will be truth. They will think “Oh, if that’s what my neighbors are doing, I should too,”
I hope this all makes sense.
I have to take a few pointers from you
[MENTION=5633]AllWashedUp[/MENTION] - Wow, I wish I could like your post twice. Thank you for giving away your secrets. I love the strategy, and the end result. My guess is that with this pricing structure, even if you take a small hit on the last cleaning, your overall hourly probably improves over once a year cleanings.
Simply put, I love it!
Do you have any tricks for keeping track of when you need to call/text to schedule appointments? I think that other than getting people to agree to it in the first place, my biggest hangup would be making the calls.
I use an app called Go Tasks. It syncs with your Google account. I just make a list for each month, then a misc list. On each list, I have to customers info, when it was last cleaned, and what cleaning is due next.
Here is a screen shot…
Here is a screen shot of partial October list…
Once the cleaning is done, I just click on the edit button and move it to the month they will be do next. So, if I cleaned them in October, I’ll move them to the January list and update the last cleaned date.
Here is the opened customer info in the January list…
It’s pretty basic and syncs with your Google account, so you always have it on your phone or laptop.
[MENTION=5633]AllWashedUp[/MENTION]
[B]Thanks[/B] John for the insight into the way you have everything setup for Success!!!
Like Alex said if I could double or triple “like” the posts I would.
No problem. Sorry it took so long to get it out there. Just wasn’t sure if I wanted to let my local comp know, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt.
No sweat…If you got any other inside secrets just PM me…No body needs to know.
“What Happens in PM mode Stays in PM mode”
That is exactly what I do… They’ll even have cleaning in the rain when I do their Christmas lights!
Sent from my HTC One X+ using Window Cleaning Resource mobile app
I strongly disagree! You sound like a master to me.
Ok, maybe it’s more of a dislike.
