gutterdog

Hey Sam!! Havent heard from you in a while. Hope all is well! 5 years ago, It was Mikes gutter service or Gutterdogs! Gutterdogs is kinda hard to forget! LOL! Got a call today from a customer I cleaned gutters for 2+ years ago! He searched gutterdogs and found me he said. My truck turns everyones head goin down the road. Stoplights etc. I see them looking! My idea for the graphics on the truck was to resemble NASCAR. On 95 one car took pictures of the truck! Had NY tags or something? Wasnt Maryland or Virginia tags. Had 3 young girls in it? Young meaning 20 -30. Whatever name you decide on make it catchy like roto rooter! Around here many companies have copied on that. Mr rooter and some others with rooter before, after, whatever. How bout "dont call us power washing" JOKE? Thats a name you wouldnt forget though? after over 2 years! Who was that company that washed my house couple years ago? Oh yea! dont call us!!! With a name like that you have to go and look!!!! LOL!! Set up for gutter cleaning tomorow. Gonna take care of the guy in St. Mary's then. Always easy to squeeze in another gutter cleaning. He is down in Leonardtown. A hike but I'll get him! Earl schibes!! Good one!! I'm going to use that! I heard stories about him! He painted ontop of dirt, wax, everything!!! He prob. upcharged to tape the car up before he applied the paint!!! LOL!!! I'm going to try to compare him to the franchise next time I'm confronted. I'm a pretty good sales man. I Sold beer for 16 years. It all does the same thing, whats is the diff about my product? Cleaning gutters is still fast easy money for me! My SOP is down pat! Easy to net 600 a day if the work is there! I bought a stamper with acct # on it & "for deposit only" for depositing checks. 5-6 checks a day!!! kachunk cachunk cachunk cachunk....!!! Those are memories now. Got 3 gutter cleans tomorow, maybe 4. The last one is near capitol hill somewhere. $79 dolllars. Waiting to hear back from her still. I call it "phone tag" Leave a message, tag your it!! Now washing houses I dont have down pat yet. Heck up till this year I was using purple power and no bleach. Set ladders used a ton of aggitation. Some houses took 2 days. I was getting 4-500 a house... I'm down, time wise, to 2 'n half hours, and night and day difference in quality! My quality was good... Not this good!!! Thank you Aspen contractors for pointing me in the direction you did friend!!! I always ask about you when at the supply store! Let the customer make the decision if he wants his gutters and downspouts cleaned of debri also. This is what I've learned today! He may not want all the services you have to offer in the package you hope to sell. You would loose the job. Start with the splash and dash price. While you are there, (at a discount) offer the other services. If all done the same day. Maybe tell him what you would charge (regular price) If you had to come back to perform that job, and what he would save if done the same time as the splash n dash. up sell the wax, armor all on the gutters! hehehe Get it!!! I havent tried this yet? I cant wait to try it out! Sounds real good!!!!

Thanks Mike Writing them down now!!!

YES! A couple weeks ago I had a call. The picture of the big deck I washed on the website. She asked if I'd wash a deck that size for $99. I said no. She hung up. I didnt call her back. Raining like cats and dogs here today. Jeff, my ninja, asked if I could loan him some money... On the way over there, I realized. You guys are priemier washers. With washing houses you offer more than a splash and dash. The wood restorations pictures Ive seen!!! AWesome!!! Everything top notch. The roofs!!! Everything!!! You guys probably have more word of mouth and spend less in advertising than the 219 guy. All he has is price, and spending tons on advertising etc. (I tried to spend like him in sponsored links. It totally wiped out the bank. Wasnt the way to go. The advertising company kept saying hang in there, while they are getting all I had saved. An extremely expensive lesson learned.)My edge on him are upgrades I can offer. Like you guys! I Have to do more reseach on what other options I can sell to the customer. Find out how much it costs me and figure out what I should charge for the upgrades. Make a menu up. Like in a fancy restaurant! Gutter cleaning is just gutter cleaning. Even though I have lowered my price as low as I can go. There are cheaper companies out there than me. Honestly, I dont care how they can charge less. I cant charge less than 79 and its hurting me being so low. I do more than just clean them. I include a tune up of the gutters and downspouts. That was my edge. How I was able to charge more. Not all gutters need a tune up, just a clean. I think Tune ups of gutters is going to become an up sell from now on. It's just not fair to me anymore including them for free. Thinking about offering another up sell, bagging the debri and taking it away! At the supply store yesterday, I started to ask questions about the deckster, and questions about questions I didnt have before. A couple questions I asked, the girl there didnt know the answer. Before I was extremely impressed with her knowledge. What I'm leaning in here has gone past her knowledge. What ARE all of the other options I could offer the customer in a house wash, other than mixing power house and 12.5bleach in a 5 gallon bucket and go around the house with the x-jet? Thats all the 219 guy does.

This is alot of information all at one time. From everyone. Greatly appriciated. Very much so!!! Thank you for your time. There is a big franchise here. that over the phone sells $219 house washes. Doesnt even look at the house. They even spend money on an answering service.(yea I called lol). They advertise everywhere. Sponsored links, google adware, newspapers... Everywhere. Spending alot of money. Same price all areas. all houses. What would you do if this franchise came into your area? Sitting with the customer, you notice they have the ad out in front of you. You are trying to sell the job at a higher price? Up grades? You can't walk away. You want to find a way quickly to strategize and be prepared next time this happens... be smooth about it, and make the sale that day at a higher price. The word of mouth house wash estimate had the $219 advertisement on the kitchen table where we were sitting at. as I explaind how I was different than him. (and I was guessing, from what I seen watching the 219 sub.) The wife insisted on the 219 guy. The husband watched me wash the house accross the street. He wanted to go with me. I sold the job for 400. Couple months ago... The estimate I did at 350 (which I thought was cheap as to how I was selling before). The home owner slammed the door in my face like I was trying to rob her. She said she had a better price and closed the door! I just walked away, happy that I sold a gutter clean next door. Should I have asked the price, and seen if I could offer upgrades? This was a middle to upper class neighborhood in no. va.? I need to find out more about the 219 guy because I need a strategy to be able to go against him and try to get a higher price. Maybe the tier thing? Try to match his splash and dash, offer upgrades...Gutter clean, Side walk, Mold inhibitor, extra work on the gutters? These are options I dont think he offers, and get more money and a pleased happy customer. I've come accros the 219 guy 2 times now. Maybe more and I dont know it? The car wash options come to mind! The 219 sub hits each side of the house 1 time. This I know. I watched! He is out of there in 1 hour. He has the same power washer I have, x-jet. All the same as me. Same chems everything. Let the customer decide on upgrades! Like at the car wash! Wax, armor all the tires, the dash board, vacuum out the trunk... Please dont but your head or throw your hands in the air. I'm going to come accross this guy again. What is a strategy you would use to win the sale every time against this guy? This is something I dont think I can turn my back on. Sorry for mentioning him again. The upgrades at the house I sold for 400 worked! Try to get as many upgrades as possable, let them decide, they feel empowered, A cleaner shinier house (car), glad to spend the extra money! What do you guys think?

I'm starting to feel you guys are trying to help me. Sorry I was such a knuckle head.

the $219 guy... any house. what is my edge on him? How can I charge more? Should I shop him? I dont like doin that. See what he includes. Ive never shoped any one. gotta move my truck and all.. lotta work! Just for a price?

Hey charlie! glad you still around!!!

Now I gotta figure out a pricing tier. I like this!!! A way to upsell and I feel its fair to the consumer. versus me takin the short end.

awesome comparisson!!! verry good!!! cudos to you!!!

Hey I can use that!!!! Even joke with customer bout armor allin the guttters!!!

BAM!!!! there it is!!!! Makes sense. .... Makes alot of sense. fair to customer and me.

Starting to get this. Hope this helps others too.

Beth thanks for carin bout me. green mucous and fever. I'll be lookin for that. Other day I poked my eye in a hury, tryin to keep up wit jeff doin a gutter clean. had to reatach a new downspout that wasnt screwed in? Recon the other co ran out of screws!!! lol!!! Well I finnished their whole gutter job for free. Its included with the gutter clean. damn!!! My eye watered and hurt all day long. later I blinked my eye and i recon i broke the scab. OWWW!!! Pain all brand new again. after sleepin no probs!!!

Beth. Ive never shopped any one yet still. I think that is bad practice. Its a wealth of knowledge too. I'm getting... no I'm not. For 5 years I've never shopped. Not shoppin now. Heck I know enough by what I see advertised! I am better than the ones that shopped me. Its funny! I've had people come up to my truck and shop me! Try to anyway! Say they aint competition. after talkin less than 2 min...LOL!!! BUSTED!!!!

That is what my buddie doing! Should call him and see how that working out. I want the W guy gone. That how me and T became friends!!!

Beth you have a guy in your area advertising cheaper than me gutter cleans. He is half the price I am with leaf relief. Can he give the 10 year guarantee like I can? I dunno. Learned alot here! Thanks. I'm just trying to get a hold on something real. Something I can sink my teeth into. And go with! Getting close... I acctually have an idea for something brand new I think? I think I'ts brand new. This industry should support it! Same chemicals! I'm still choking from earlier, lol!!! My dads house. LOL!!! Hope I didnt do anything permanent to my lungs breathing in the bleach!!!

I need to work on the frame of mind I have. It is different than many here in TGS. You guys are making the bucks like I was before the recession. I know thats one of the reasons why I am still here. I've lost alot of my customers to a lower priced company. He came out of nowhere with a cheaper price and got them. Call the new guy W. Another contractor I called on the phone,(call him T) said the same thing. "T" went below the new guy (W)by 5 bucks, I reduced to 4 dollars more than the new guy (W). We are the 3 main companies where I USED to advertise at. I advertised there for over 2 years. This I dont understand. My phone stoppped ringing. When W came around. He was beating me price wise big time. Gutter cleaning. My repeat customers were asking me to match W. W is at $75 . Just so there is no confusion. Look I REALLY want to understand how I can charge more! Go back to my old pricing that everyone thought was fair to me and them. The $219 house wash franchise. I've lost one to him once and beat him once. he was the 4th house on same street. Seen my work. Recon that how I was able to close the sale for 400. That included a gutter clean, light wash of the deck, just white tip and water,(not much more than a strong rinse), Included the gutters in house wash. The front of the house I hit many times! Think I washed his side walk too. I've changed my demographics (where I show up in search engines). Trying to target higher end areas. Moving forward on that. What else am I doing wrong? Ps. think I'll ask a question. Do you include gutters in your house wash? If so, how much more do you add to price?

Sorry, bleach. 12.5.

Think I breathed in too much hydroxite today!!! Removed some mold in an enclosed area at my dads house end of day. Couldnt last 10 seconds in there after doing 2 walls. anyway! Im home and did a search in google. gutter cleaning maryland. found this!!!! Gutter Cleaning Service for Townhomes at $50, for Single Family Homes $65. (Insured) We also install Gutter Covers, Leaf Relief so you dont have to clean your gutters. Read more: http://washingtondc.kijiji.com/c-Services-Repair-remodel-AFFORDABLE-GUTTER-CLEANING-W0QQAdIdZ113263207#ixzz0PQET31G6

Ive taken the advice of yours and others. Reworded the website. I'm reading old threads. Doing everything You guys suggested. I have learned. I like the grime scene. Why I'm here every morning and evening. I know there is value here. I am rethinking my ethics on selling washes. Am I doing the gutters for free? I'd like to get more money.

Thats what the $99 guy uses!!! too funnny!!!!

Takin up for myself in this forum has taken my self away from them. I need to fix that. I'm learning more from the old threads than the questions I ask.

Glad you like!!!

OMG. Oh My God. I also run a lil cancer group. Man. I'm sorry. I feel your pain. You are like Jane in the group. She has beaten cancer 8 times! She WILL NOT give up!!!Tiina, and many others. Many many others. They are my strength sometimes!!! Very awesome people. Stronger willed than me I think sometimes.

I'm just as frustrated as you man. Seems I touched something we all got.