Ready to scream

[spiker2005 14]

I have read various answer to the question Iam ready to ask. Can some one help me Please? Iam with service magic and Iam getting tons of calls for pressure washing and sealing a deck. What I have been doing is measure sqft. of floor then handrails, size of steps width and height. For all this I am charging $1.00 a sqft. plus material. I gave 3 bids out and all three said it was too high. I must be doing something wrong! I dont know. Can the members of this site help me out please. Iam going out of my mind. My silent partner is my father and we fight all the time on how much Iam charging. Also if I dont charge per sqft. I charge per hour $40.00 and hour plus material. Am I wrong or what please help me.

[seymore 90]

Well it all depends on how dificult the job is? are the decks new,old ....Do they need to be stripped or just light cleaned?

How much are you paying for your stain and what stain is it?

[PressurePros 249]

$1 per s/f of total wood is not going to make you rich. That is the minimal the job is worth. There is something going on in your presentation that is preventing people from giving you their full trust. Keep in mind, people have no idea what stuff costs. Your going to think I am crazy but start by acknowleging what they are saying and agreeing with it. Put yourself in a homeowner's shoes, everything costs so damn much.. but, that is not your problem or burden. You are there to sell them a service and you charge what you need to charge to stay in business.

Here is a link that may be helpful. Its on another board and will save me the time from writing it out again.

Your Price Is Too High! - Cleaning Talk - Professional Cleaning and Restoration Forum

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Ken - copy and paste.... ;)

Sometime the clients will tell you that just to get you to give a discount. In sales terms it is called a flinch.

Beth

[RPetry 564]

Spiker,

That is a real good discussion that Ken posted as a link. Bookmark it and read through it every day for a week.

Pricing varies throughout the country and even within regional markets due to many factors. Ken and Beth have taught me the power of demographics, and how to use this information to your advantage.

Listen to Ken Fenner, he knows a ton about marketing and sales and has shared a lot on this and other web sites.

[Chappy 138]

In my market, $1.00 sf seems to be the breaking point for most people. I compete mostly with painters and many are $25/hr plus materials.

On some though, with a good presentation and explanation of the work involved i can get higher. You must meet customers face to face to do that though. have your pics ready, something for them to look at while your doing your measuring and test spot. and keep talking about what your doing and why.

[foxfire 14]

If your price is similar to that of your competitors, presentation and salesmenship could be a huge aspect. I completly agree with pressurepros comment.

[Freshlook 14]

I have found when doing any type of sale it's a matter of customer perception. This can be found directly in the automotive world. Why would someone pay 50k for a car that is intended for 1 purpose "transportation" instead of buying a car that's 20k and serves the same purpose. It's "PERCEPTION". I have found that a VERY strong selling point is my approach. I don't use any gimmics or run arounds, I evaluate the condition of the deck, Let the customer know exactly what I have to do in order to achieve their desired outcome, and assure the customer about 1 thing " I never consider a job completed until it's to the standards I would like on my own house". This lets the customer know that I don't just come by with a TIME is MONEY attitude and possibly leave a job not finished properly. I have even gone the extra mile to repair a deck at "NO COST" for a simple $10 repair I was able to turn into $3K worth of referrals. I typically charge $1.75 sq/ft - $2.25 sq/ft and never charge by the hour as 90% of the time the customer is looking at you as if your milking the clock. This may not be true, but it's a perception of reality weither it be true or not. It's not about selling a job it's about selling a service.

[PressurePros 249]

You're right, Greg some great points though I'll go one further. Are you selling a service (deck restoration) or are you selling a finished product that benefits the consumer? What we do is important, ie how we get there, but ultimately the customer wants a visually appealing, usable deck that they can grill on, that the kids can play on and where the owners can have outdoor gatherings. Those are the most important things to sell.. customer benefits.