PressurePros

A customer is rarely going to be thrilled about price. I would say the first thing you have to do is get the first few "no's" out of the way. If the customer has taken that stance he may have a few of them ready for you. When you are done with your sales presentation, ask him if he has any further questions. He will probably say no, when his real question is about the cost. That's ok, 90% of the time anyone buys anything they question it's cost. You got your first no out of the way. Immediately begin to close him. "Ok, Mr Johnson I'm glad I was able to explain everything so well because as you can see it is an intricate process making sure everything is done right without damaging your siding, windows or grass. Now, we have Wednesday and Thursday of next week open. Which day is more convenient for us to get in here and make this place shine?" He will hesitate...let him... just stare at him with a smile for a minute. Either he will pick one of those days and you're done, or more likely will come a slew of objections that will serve to hide his underlying issue with price. You need to go fact finding. Listen to him. In your scenario, Rod, you are assuming his issue is with the cost. He may well be a victim of the mentality that prevails about our business.. a bunch of hacks that spray water and damage everything in our path. If this is his attitude, $150 is going to be high. Have you spent the time educating him as to what makes SeeDirtRun a legitimate contractor? Have you showed him pictures of work that show intricasies of landscaping that were unharmed and pointed out how your meticulous methods assured that nothing was damaged? Have you offered him references to back up your claims? It is more likely that Mr Johnson just didn't know what the process would cost and he had a price set in his mind that was unrealistic. You can see how that would happen. He just watched QVC last night and saw the .5 gpm Karcher clean a single board with mud on the top in about three seconds. That thing was on sale for $99 so how much could a housewash cost me? There is too little space here to address every objection a customer comes up with and how to overcome it. Try to make the customer see the value in what you are doing for him. Real estate prices have risen substantially just about everywhere. Around here, a modest 3 bdrm, two bath home with a small yard can't be had for under 200k. Does Mr. Homeowner really want to save a couple hundred bucks and risk damaging that kind of investment? Does Mr Homeowner expect a painter or carpenter to walk onto his property and do anything substantial for less than 500 dollars? Why should an entire housewashing be any less? Some contractor's may think this extensive sales process would be waste of time and that is short sighted. Because once you convince this person to use your services and you make the whole process pleasant for them, they will refer other customers who are willing to spend the right amount of money to get the job done correctly.

Obviously taste is subjective. I think Starbucks is overrated. I find it very bitter.

This is a great add on service. Reed, Do you have a flat fee you charge per light installed or do variables such as deck size and clearance play a role?

I quoted him $1600 and as of one week later, I'm pretty sure he will be hiring someone else. If I could get back on the poperty I would take some after pictures of the damage that is sure to occur if someone is not extremely cautious with the use of pressure over 300 psi. I'm going to follow up with him today..my feeling is he is looking for someone to foot the bill for his repairs and some lucky newbie looking for business is gonna oblige him. Not this newbie...

That's a lot like a Reuben. mmmmmmmmmmm

WAWA coffee does rock. Dunkin Donuts is still my fav though

Rod, you're forgetting that many people that read this board are, or may become, your customers. I know I meant contractors in my post. Taking it a step further.. Let's say you start a new organization (not saying that you are, but its been proposed). You just put yourself subjectively into the middle of a power struggle. There will be those that will believe this whole ordeal from initial badmouthing (loose definition) to the start of the new orginazation was one of two things. An exercise of ego, or a carefully articulated business ploy. Any new organization is going to be suspect at the very least. In trying to form a unified front of contractor's, it is my belief that starting a new group will have the reverse effect. I stand by my original assessment. This is a lesson in sociology and the inherent power struggles that come from establishing hierchy. Don't doubt for a minute that this is what will be going on.. Instead of a place for all contractor's to gather and share information, it will be: Those that come to TGS and belong to its org and those that don't. Here you go, a completely unsolicited and possibly unwanted piece of advice. Bad idea. Just my $.02 as both a customer and faithful reader of this excellent board.

Dangerous territory bringing out your machine and performing work following/preceding a homeowner doing his own work. When he damages his siding, what happens when he tells the insurance company you were there to wash and shows them your receipt? Easy money or potential headache?

I just got the chance to catch up on this thread. It reads like a lesson in sociology. My original vote was to wait and see what happened to the PWNA but in retrospect, I would change my vote to "no". It seems when you organize people under the guise of unification all you end up with is more adversity and separation than you had before you started (religion, unions, org's) Take this for what it's worth, but if I were running a successful business in an industry, the last thing I would do is start an organization that could serve to alienate potential or existing customers.

Excellent web site!

What are they? What type of weigh savings do they offer over standard extensions? How durable are they? Are there comparable products available? Cane I get them at TGS store?

What's going on with the PWNA? My fees are due and I don't want to waste the money if it is dissolving.

I agree, let that one go. You will never get all the paint off. The only option is probably going to end up as wash away flaking paint, treat with TSP and reprime and paint. Figure every few years doing that. He is better off to replace it.

This whole thread reaffirms my feeling that giving price estimates over the phone is a bad idea. One can see all the variables that go into a simple house washing and the possible things you may encounter. The reason I am posting this is this.. I got a call last week for a price. I talked the guy into letting me come out. He described his house as a 4000 sf tudor style in good shape, just dirty and moldy. When I get there I find a very steep, narrow driveway so curvy a Porshe would have to go three miles an hour to stay on it. The driveway snakes under tressles that are 9'6" high. My bucket won't make it closer than 300 feet to the property. My other van is only equipped with a double phase electric machine. The house itself is 3 stories with a gutter line that runs fifty feet in the air. The gutters are the dirtiest I have ever seen. The house is primarily stucco and it needs to be repaired in many areas. An X-Jet would have sufficient pressure hitting the house to tear it up. The property is heavily landscaped. His water supply is a well and his pump maintains about 5 gpm of flow. When I get there, I recognize the guy from TV. He advertises his legal firm as "we get you money". If you are from the Philly area you know whom I am talking about. After a long discussion with Mr X, he told me replacing the stucco is not an option. He is selling the property and is not willing to incur the cost. He just wants a little more "curb appeal" I figure the whole job will have to be done with my 3.8 gpm Surflow, garden hoses and ladders. It's an easy 1.5-2 day job. Even a quote of $700 on the phone would have been way off.

That's hilarious. An enterprising gypsy contractor could go door to door with that and make a fortune. Hey Duane, you didn't notice the fine print? This product is guaranteed to look fresh for two weeks or until the first rainfall, whichever comes first

What Rod said......

Definitely. It used to be the standard way I did each and every wash. This year in order to stay competitive (because not everyone will pay $600+ for a housewash) I am offering different levels of service cleaning. Bronze might be a 2.5 hour job and Gold might be an all day job and they are priced accordingly.

Some good info there, Joshua.

I remove all screens and clean them on the ground and apply a very diluted brightener. This is done prior to any work commence. It gives me a good chance to check seals around windows and identify potential problem areas.

Chem Resistant PVC gloves when mixing or applying stripper. Neoprene gloves if just spraying. Lambskin lineman's gloves (sprayed with waterproofer) if I need more "touch". Do the nitrile gloves hold up to sealer? I'm talking immersion, not just splashing as I offer hand rubbed sealing as an application option and latex doesn't make it more than five minutes.

Some very nice profit in that job. Awesome, way to go!

Good thing he had that safety tether. I always wear a belt and harness in my bucket. It sometimes feel likes overkill but accidents happen and I don't want to end up a statistic.

I still say having two machines is better. How is one 10 gpm machine with one surface cleaner going to clean any faster than two guys with two surface cleaners on 5.5 gpm machines? Not only that, with two machines if one breaks down, you have a backup. Parts are cheaper and more readily available for machines under 5.5 gpm. I think you reach a point of diminishing returns when you go over that. Just my opinion. I guess if you are a one man operation hooking two together would offer the best of both world's. Now don't get me wrong, if money were no object a diesel engined 10+ gpm machine running 2500 psi with a 30" surface cleaner with built in reclaim would be my dream setup for concrete.

If you're like some of us, the first year did nothing but go right back into the business. You're first year you can look to net about 10-20k.

I have seen this idea and thought about it myself. I really want to step up efficiency this coming season. But one question keeps coming to mind. What benefit is one machine pumping out that kind of gpm versus two guys using two wands, surface cleaners, etc? I know on concrete more gpm equals faster and easier using one machine, but since (in this scnario) the measured cleaning units come out equal is there a true benefit? I am thinking of trading in my skid unit for two smaller cold water units for decks and housewashing. Any thoughts are appreciated.