Don’t lower your prices to keep up with lowballers. They won’t matter to you once you get established as a superior company.
Also, the “test drive” suggestion from Micah is a cool idea! Speak their language.
Don’t immediately think you have to change your pricing because of lowballers. I’ve lost out on a lot of jobs because of price being too high. We’d rather lose a job because our price was too high then get one for under bidding a competitor. In the end you only end up suffering and scrambling to try and cover your costs. Not worth it. Hang in there.
I have let to see a jantorial company employ the use of WFP or any of the equipment we have invested in and have at our disposable. Micah and Thad, are right …give them a demo. Better let, which I did, was did the “man in charge” his home for free. Just a thought.
Dave
Perfect Pane
Los Alamitos, Ca.
If your losing a lot of work because of other companys, then you might want to rethink it. Dont freak out if you lose a gig, but if you are pricing out of your market you are not going to work. At least not in that market. You may find it better to move to res work. I don’t do commercial like that. I stay away as you are finding out there are tons of people willing to clean windows for a cheap price. I would be willing to bet your estimate was used to get a price from the nighttime cleaning company. These are things you will learn as time goes by how to weed out in the question process. You just got reamed up the brown eye, by the owner of the company. Here’s what he did. He saw a young buck who knows little to nothing about business in his mind. He took your bid and forced the nighttime cleaning crew to do the job for pennies or he would boot them for the next BSC wanting the bathroom cleaning job. He told them you are a pro at cleaning windows and they are not. They should come in cheaper. And they did. Don’t freak out, happens all the time. You will learn the proper questions to ask over time. Like “Why dont your nighttime crew clean your windows? Are they insured for that?” Many BSC’s are not insured for glass cleaning. Sounds crazy but that’s how it is. :eek: You’ll get it, just dont give up or freak out.
If that’s the case, then the janitorial company got reamed, not Manuel. He received feedback, but no job. All feedback is valuable.
I would say no. Studies have shown it’s cheaper in business to keep a customer. Even if they are a PIA then it is to get a new one.
So the janitorial company surely did not lose. They are most likely going to get paid for the service and they kept the account. This guy just got used for a price quote.
In your scenario, the janitorial company was forced to provide a service at a low price. That’s not the kind of business I want.
And we all know that there is a balance between quoting jobs and winning bids, yes? In most cases (all things being equal), win too high a percentage – price too low. Win too low a percentage – price too high
Still would have been nice to get the job, show what you aremade of, and then after 2 years when they know you are reliable, gradually increse the prices…they wouldn’t mind then, it would seem worth it to them
Also to have a contract such as that and have a dealership like that on the books would be very benificial for a w/c company…these are the big boys, imagine the work you could attain having a refrence from these guys, or better still imagine the direct work they could relay onto you…word of mouth spreads quickly…
There is huge potential for a w/c business in garage cleaning…this would have been a ample oppertunity for expansion
I would not say that. We don’t know the other 1/2 of their contract. If they were charging the company 10k per month to clean. I would not want to lose that contract. Besides like I said they are most likly getting paid for the extra service. And if you look at his quote of $600 a BSC could easily undercut that and still make a killing on man hours. They pay their employees traditionally low.
Agree 100%
Juggernaut,
Did I misunderstand you, or do you ask the decision maker before giving an estimate why the nighttime crew doesn’t clean the windows?
Sure I do. I do not do dealerships. But on my mid rise office buildings I have asked why the cleaning crew is not cleaning the windows. I don’t think it’s a bad question to ask. I could care less who the person is. If I have an honest question I’m going to ask them. In the military I had to brief generals and high ranking public officials. People like this do not have time to become friends, they get right to the point. I guess I still have that part in me. Thinking people are busy and I get right to the point. I do so in a friendly manner but business is business and that’s why we are talking. I have not had any problems with that approach.
That’s interesting. I would think that an approach like that would hurt me. I would feel that asking that question to a general manager would be belittleing (spelling?) my services. Why do you ask that question?
If I were a general manager, and a window washer asked my question, with the economy such as it is, I may think that that would be a good idea…
I do over 10 car showrooms monthly. A few months ago, I lost one because the cleaning crew wanted to do it. I just recently got it back. The owner said he’ll never make that mistake again. They’re now back on the monthly schedule.
If I was in the lawn care business, why would I ask the homeowner why doesn’t he cut his own grass?
Juggernaut, please don’t think I’m criticizing you. I am simply curious as to what kind of information that question provides you that is helpful.
The trick is not to ask the question in a condescending manner. You are there to find out their needs and why they are not being met. You must convince them spending the extra money on your service is the right thing to do. When I talk to people and they tell me why their cleaning crew does not clean the windows, not enough man power, not enough time, they don’t use the right tools. I explain to them they made the right choice in calling me. My service is a professional one and in the long run will save them money. I explain to them how a cleaning company may not use the correct tools. Can ruin their costly windows rubber and kill the window. Tell them the truth. Think about all the bad things that can come from a BSC cleaning their windows and in the end. Asking the question as to why a BSC is not cleaning the windows of a place you want can bring you the information you need to get the job. These types of questions should help you land the sale. Finding out your customers problem and convincing them you are the company for the job go hand in hand.
As far as the homeowner goes. There is a difference. The homeowner is lazy. I dont see this as belittling your business. I see it as you showing how professional you are. The company has called you cause they have a problem. Would it be any differant if they told you they had a pro window cleaner in the past? I would want to know if they did and that’s another question I would ask. You need to ask the questions to make sure you can solve the problems. Hard questions sometimes.
