Arghhh! &*$%@$@! lowballers.

[PLD 14]

So far, I am 1 for 10 in bids over the past 7 days. On one of the bids I lost, I managed to get the homeowner to share some information.

My bid:

2.5 story brick and vinyl house - $185

clean 300sq.ft deck 12' elev/16 steps - $240

400sq.ft concrete patio - $ 30

300sq.ft walkway - $20

The winning bid: - $100

back side of 2.5 story house

clean 300sq.ft deck 12' elev/16 steps

400sq.ft concrete patio

300sq.ft walkway

A hundred bucks?!? The back side of the house and walkways alone were worth more than that. And throw in the deck for free? The steps alone will take as long as the flats. And this wasn't a friend of a friend job. This is a FT washer that advertises side by side with me in the local paper...

I hate to say it, but unless things change for the better this may be my last year PW'ing. I just cannot compete with the hordes of "Any house $90.00, and driveway $50.00" that have descended upon sunny Fayetteville. Just today, I was told that $125 for green (was beige) two story stucco was "way outside my price range". I thought $145 was fair, $165 would be good. I bid $125 in an attempt to book some work.

Don't get me wrong, I can find decent paying customers and leave them happy. I just can't find them in sufficient quantities to run this as a FT operation. At present circumstances, I'd need to expand my marketing to ~2500/month just to gross $3k/week. Back out labor and expenses, and I'm down to $1000-1500/week. That may sound ok, but spread it across 12 months and that's about 40k. And I'm working WAY too hard to make 40K.

FWIW, last saturday at northern tool you would have thought they were giving away pressure washers for free. They were carrying them out one after another. And not just the $399 homeowner units. These are next weeks batch of lowballers...

[Mike Williamson 198]

Without meeting the homeowner or buyer in commerecial work you are not being afforded the opportunity to make an impression.

I agree, but the reality is that it is often very difficult for solo operations to meet with every homeowner in person and still have time to get any work done. It's hard enough to find the time to bid jobs at all, let alone work around everyone's schedule.

I can say that I never meet at least 1/2 my customers in person...I do the estimate when they're at work, I do the job while they're at work, and they mail the check. I have a fairly high closure rate, and some of that is most likely due to pricing. If I had the time to meet every homeowner in person, I may be able to up the pricing, but my costs would increase quite a bit both in time spent and in fuel running all over town around their schedule.

I agree that if my closure rate dropped significantly, this would be one area to look at improving. For now, it isn't a problem.

[PLD 14]

I may be new to power washing but I have been selling for over 20 years. I can absolutely tell you that this is your problem. In home sales you ALWAYS want to meet the homeowner since this is where you get to make an impression. Without meeting the homeowner or buyer in commerecial work you are not being afforded the opportunity to make an impression. Look at it this way quoting the way you do leaves the buyer no choice but to shop by price since that is all they see. Like I said above I am new to PW but this is an add on to an existing business. We will only bid a job after meeting with the customer. We all drive uniform pickup trucks fully lettered and have company polo and button down shirts for sales calls and all our guys have t shirts, sweathshirts, tank tops, hats, etc... with our logo. If you never get the opportunity to show your a pro you'll never get professional pricing.

Final sales thoughts:

-- perception is reality

-- buyers make decisions based on emotions that than rationalize

hth

I absolutely agree with the theory. Implementation is a bit of a problem. I'm a two man shop, and I run quotes while #2 works. Any suggestions for getting face time with the 9-5'ers?

[PLD 14]

I can say that I never meet at least 1/2 my customers in person...I do the estimate when they're at work, I do the job while they're at work, and they mail the check.

Ditto for me.

[M Pearlstein 14]

Any suggestions for getting face time with the 9-5'ers?

I am fortunate that with most of my customers the wife doesnt work and carries the checkbook. I of course have some where they both work. I try to work out a time on saturday or at night to meet with them.

I always try to measure,inspect and take pics of the deck when they are not home since I can do it in 1/3rd the time. I also find this allows me to talk more intelligently and get the convo from business to "relationship building" time very quickly.

IMHO if you can get them to like and trust you they will spend more money and not think twice about it. I said it earlier, people make decisions about what to buy based on emotions AND there is no emotion more compelling than trust! (I hope no one takes this the wrong way since I am only tryig to pass on what has worked for me for a long time)

[Jon 533]

This is to Mark Pearlstein in Northern New Jersey.

This has nothing to do with pressure washing and everything to do with you on a personal level.

Did you live in Toms River NJ?

Did you ever live in Brentwood, CA on Montana Ave.?

Did you ever sucba dive while living there with a guy that just happens to be ME? if so you lived with your mom next door to me?

[M Brasington 14]

I hate to play econ. 101 but the market will dictate the price. You should see it here in up-state SC. I seen better prices in the early 90s. I'm looking at high work that others are either too scared or lazy to do and putting in bids based on it. I am one of those that you all seem to despise because I don't have a ton of high $$ equipment yet, although I am working at it. I plan to build slowly and make it work long term. I bid in hopes of getting the work and a local painter say's "that bid is too low" to which my reply is "well, you bid it and stay at home while I work". It seems to be the only way that I can build. I know that it isn't easy but with the competition coming from south of the border and such, we may all have to take 2nd look at pricing. I have the license and all and still have to bid low. I guess everyone is watching the pocket books these days. This is a great site and I surely hope I'm not offending anyone. Wishing you all success. Mark Brasington

[PressurePros 249]

Mark, you are new and I am going to welcome you with both barrells. You say you have cheapo equipment, ok fine everyone has to start somewhere. What about liability insurance? What chemicals do you use to clean?

You are copping out to lower pricing to compensate for your unwillingness to sell. Real estate values are at all time highs. Contractor rates are up. The jobless rate is down. You say you are trying to make your business grow with an eye to the future? I contend that if you have guys telling you that you are charging too low, and you refuse to bring your rates up to what your market bears (This is Economics 101 right?) by this time next year you will be posting an ad to sell your equipment. I and everyone here will help you understand why we have the opinions we do and in time you may come around to sharing those opinions once you see what is involved.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I hate to play econ. 101 but the market will dictate the price. You should see it here in up-state SC. I seen better prices in the early 90s. I'm looking at high work that others are either too scared or lazy to do and putting in bids based on it. I am one of those that you all seem to despise because I don't have a ton of high $$ equipment yet, although I am working at it. I plan to build slowly and make it work long term. I bid in hopes of getting the work and a local painter say's "that bid is too low" to which my reply is "well, you bid it and stay at home while I work". It seems to be the only way that I can build. I know that it isn't easy but with the competition coming from south of the border and such, we may all have to take 2nd look at pricing. I have the license and all and still have to bid low. I guess everyone is watching the pocket books these days. This is a great site and I surely hope I'm not offending anyone. Wishing you all success. Mark Brasington

Prices very from area to area...and no one can tell you what you need to make except you (hopefully). I don't think anyone despises someone because they're starting out with lower end equipment. The question is, does it get the job done for you? I'm certainly not one of these guys who tells a newbie that they just HAVE to have a $5000+ hot water skid or a $10,000 trailer setup.

I'm not worried about what you're charging, whether you're using expensive equipment, or whether you do your driveways with a wand. My concern is that you're doing a quality job for your customers, and that you're running a legitimate business (insurance, necessary licensing, etc). Pricing is for YOU to set, based on your efficiency, how much you need per hour/day/week, how good you are at sales, etc etc. No one can tell you that you should charge $x for a particular job. If you're considerably lower than another contractor, and you're still making enough to satisfy your needs and doing a quality job, then maybe the other guy's prices are too high.

At any rate, welcome to the board!

[Washaway 64]

I've got two days set aside each week on which I can perform estimates.

Any out of my way quoting or commercial meetings and surveying will always be done on those two days. Otherwise, if I'm in the area already, I will stop and survey a property.

It seems to work fine and I maximize my time aswell as keep my overhead down.