Power Washing and Roof Cleaning Forum

Dan Dykstra · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Competitor pricing

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Well I'll tell you,..he can't have much experience with removing oxidation,..or it would be under his extreme plan,.. and should be priced about 4-5 times that.

Bio-Degradable is a misused term. Most everything is bio-degradable over a course of time. A more fair statement on these bi-degradable products would if they included the amount of time it took to disappear. The general public thinks bio-degradable means you can drink it. Which is why it is a good selling point for companies that choose to market the term. But in reality,..we could all market our services that way,..I prefer to tell people "I like packaging with skull and crossbones on the label,.... because it's effective!"

Jeff

SprayWash · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Agreed Jeff...technically uranium is "bio-degradable", it just takes several million years for that to happen!

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

SprayWash wrote:
Agreed Jeff...technically uranium is "bio-degradable", it just takes several million years for that to happen!

Ed Thompson · Approved Exterior Cleaner

An extreme wash sounds like the ultimate detailed wash. But it's going to hurt him. Like a car: Run it through the car wash for $10 to get a clean of about 90%. But a detail costs $150. That's because it takes about 1500% more effort to acquire the last 10% of clean. Same for a house: Basic wash $250-$350. Detailed wash $2500 - $3500.

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Your competitor is not you. Don’t try to be like them. "Quote NSWA Chat Room"

Dunrite · Veteran Member

Art O wrote:
Your competitor is not you. Don’t try to be like them. "Quote NSWA Chat Room"

That says it all Art

Ive dealt with low ballers for years and i always try to sell the difference

I zero in on products used, insurance and i guarantee everything i do- You don't pay until your completely satisfied with the job

This resonates with people looking for quality- some people only want the lowest price

Ive been asked "why is your price this and His price is that?"

My answer always goes back to the 3 things i mentioned above

waxman18324 · Founding Member Rest in Peace

Dan Dykstra wrote:
Here is one of the companies I have to bid against, not only are his prices to low, he is so unsure of what he charges that he tells every homeowner that he will beat any quote they get. Why do people do this, why cant they have a price and stick to it, if they had confidence in their service and product they would not have to "beat any quote"
And just what is a "Extreme Cleaning" When I clean the exterior of a home it is always extremely clean.

Our House Washing plans
We offer two exterior home cleaning plans to meet affordability and quality for the demands of all customer types:
Plan 1.Basic house wash- For those on a cleaning budget
That washes away that mold,mildew, dirt grime, oxidation, soot from the exterior of your gutters.

Plan 2. Extreme cleaning and protection- For those who desire a deeper cleaning and an exterior wax for more mold protection

2 story home under 3500 sq feet
Basic Cleaning just $180
Extreme cleaning just $230
We use bio-degradable products that are friendly for your flowers, and animals making the world a safer place.

Dan,

I have a low ball competitor here in town who doesn't even visit the home. He advises customers to contact others first for a written quote and he will beat it. In addition he is offering a 5-Year Unconditional Warranty on his roof cleaning. Yes, unconditional and it's listed on his website. Here is a guy who didn't clean a roof before the end of last year. When my customers ask about the warranty I advise them that our 2-year unconditional warranty is based off of our experience with roof cleaning in our region and not on guess work or lack of experience.

Run your business the way you need to and this low baller will soon be out of business.

Hank

Fred W · Guru

Dan Dykstra wrote:
"beat any quote"

Hey Dan,

I approach these in a very different way........I toss the statement right back at the homeowner.

I'll explain after this;

Yesterday I was called out for a bid. The homeowner tells me "I have someone else coming out as well" So why would he say that.......simple......he want's the best price. But the fact is I don't sell on "best price" so I need to set things apart right then and there. IMHO, I can't (or shouldn't) just start ranting about why I'm better. Instead I put the homeowner in the "mood" of quality.

"Mr. Homeowner is it just the price you're concerned with or are you wanting a quality job?"

"Well, of course I want a quality job but I still want the best price I can get"

"That's great to know.......we only do quality work at a fair price."

Now just go about doing what you were doing and leave it at that. Let him raise the next objection. Most people keep going and cause even more objections that you now need to overcome....and I'm talking about objections that were never real to begin with.

By doing this you just told the guy you are confident. Confident in who you are and what you do.

Now, when the next guy shows up and the Homeowner says "I already had Cajun out here" and the competitor starts jumping on why he is better and what we do wrong he will really just be opening doors to more questions and concerns by the homeowner. We will look more professional and if there are real concerns the homeowner will ask when we make our follow up calls.

Does it always work that way....no.....but you will be surprised at how well it can work.....OK, back to "beat any quote"

"Mr. Homeowner, why is he willing to beat any quote?" or "Mr. Homeowner, does that mean he is worried about price over quality?" or "Mr. Homeowner, which service would you like me to cut corners on to "beat any price"?"

Simply toss it back at the homeowner and put him in the place where he needs to defend the position of the other guy....because he wont!

"Mr. Homeowner, we don't cut corners so we wont make a statement like that. Do you need someone to cut corners to get the job?"

I'm not saying anything bad about the competitor but I am planting the seeds. Now the homeowner needs to think about that statement "beat any quote".....why are you willing to beat any quote.

You know in the end he will generally have the lowest price anyhow. The homeowner now will look at his lower price and question why.

I know I went on a rant again Dan....Sorry. But my point is just to never defend yourself or your price. Make the homeowner defend the other contractor and his price!

-- Edited by Baton Rouge Roof Cleaner on Sunday 13th of July 2014 05:23:32 PM

Dunrite · Veteran Member

Good Stuff Doug!

Doug Rucker · Vender

Mike Rego...I like your logo...is that new?

Oh and to stay on topic...I hate lowballers

Dave O · Retired Member

I've been in competitive bid situations and even though I was not the lowest the HO still chose me. What clinched the deal? HOs inform me they chose my company because they liked our website, liked what we said, we seemed more informed and experienced and we followed up on the quote with a phone call.

Dunrite · Veteran Member

Doug Rucker wrote:
Mike Rego...I like your logo...is that new?

Oh and to stay on topic...I hate lowballers

Doug-thanks

pretty much- a few months back- glad u like it!

Bruce Sullivan · RIP

Dan: That is interesting. I am not an exterior cleaner per se but your point about " you have one cleaning plan " makes sense. Good point to make.

I have seen roof cleaning advertised on Craig's list for $99.00, I often wonder what these guys are smoking. It cost more than that for solution and truck to get to the job. LOL

As you know per our e-mails, I have called out the "roof shampoo" people, which are causing headaches for other cleaners in different locations.

I don't have the low ball problem because I don't have any competition cleaning cedar, so I cannot relate to the issue. Though I wish there was a pricing standards, like window cleaners etc.

Would be better for the industry as a whole.

One way to look at it, Tell the potential customer they can always get a worse job done cheaper.

Good luck.

Dan Dykstra · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I happened to rive by the company that I am talking about, here are pics of his rig. I even went and spoke with him while he was cleaning a house and asked him why he charges so little for his jobs when he could be charging alot more and still be getting work. His answer, "I'm happy making 100 - 200 a day" I dont think he gets it, his 100-200 a day is before any of his costs. He wash washing a 2600 sq ft house and was happy with the 150.00 he got for it. When I spoke with him he was on his 3rd hour on this house that should have been done in less than 2.

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I see he is a Soft Wash Specialist, No electric Power Washer

Diamond Roof Cleaning · Approved Exterior Cleaner

What a dope.

SprayWash · Approved Exterior Cleaner

It's really hard to combat that kind of stupidity!

Fred W · Guru

Dan,

Just go out and sell $100 over his price then hire him to do the jobs for you.......problem solved.....:}
That why I iz so smert, cuz I noz howta figur deez tingz out

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Dan, he's obviously a competitor in the truest form,..and by confronting him it's obviously bothering you,...But your biggest concern shouldn't be his prices or his time on the job,..your biggest concern should be if he's actually doing a good job at those prices,...that does lower the bar on the worth of our services. With that said,..he doesn't have to be loyal to the trade and keep the pricing at living wages to make sure you benefit by him being equal competition,..it's his business on how much he charges. Just means others have to work harder to compete with guys like this.

Look,..there are guys who can do this after retirement to keep busy,..they can be completely legit on insurance, quality of work etc,... doesn't mean they're lowballers,..just means they're happy with what they're doing and don't need a living wage.

Just be happy more guys who work good jobs aren't out doing it after work or on the weekends. Because this is a service can be be learned fairly quickly,...and also a service that can be performed in just a few hours and make half of what we do per job and be perfectly happy.

Jeff

Dan Dykstra · Approved Exterior Cleaner

How many here do house washes with just 1 person, I have always had 2 on the truck but am wondering if I could get away with 1 person on the house washing. I know all the pressure washers in the area only send out 1 man in a truck to do house washing. I could split the team up and have another truck out washing, might be able to catch up a little also.

Dan Dykstra · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I received a flyer in the mail from a local pressure washing company, offering to do house washes for a 79.00 fee. (good for july only) What caught my eye was the fine print, this is the first I have ever seen this in the fine print. Does the customer have to supply the hose? what if I dont want to pay extra for biodegradable soap, is no soap used then?

Additional fees apply for biodegradable chemical

Water source must be supplied by customer and reach within 100 feet of all areas to be power washed

Dave O · Retired Member

Dan Dykstra wrote:
How many here do house washes with just 1 person, I have always had 2 on the truck but am wondering if I could get away with 1 person on the house washing. I know all the pressure washers in the area only send out 1 man in a truck to do house washing. I could split the team up and have another truck out washing, might be able to catch up a little also.

Dan,

I always use a two man crew. One spray technician and one ground man. The ground man is essential to water the surrounding landscaping and lawn. He also serves as a safety buddy to the spray technician.

ginty · Aprovered Exterior Cleaner

Just used the Cajun method there ,quality of work is what we do we charge a fair price , so we dont try to cut any corners on your driveway clean ,which has now turned into a lift and re lay of mono blocks then a wash , plus some roughcast render work needing patched back up , and also it has a heavily moss covered roof , which the HO now wants a price on that also
My price for lift and relay of the driveway is dearer than an other company by a bit a 200, but in defence the other guy only offered a wash of the driveway 75.00 no lift and re lay ,,30 QUID S/M
He also missed 3 appointments with the HO she was pissed but he was cheap she said.
i will defo be starting with this script from now on quality is not cheap ,, or we would all have a real rolex lol.

also i dont think i would have got a far as i have lately without this forums help thanks guys

-- Edited by ginty on Friday 18th of July 2014 03:33:54 PM

Roof Cleaning Virginia · Approved Exterior Cleaner

We have a lowballer here as well. I refer to him online as 'Half-Price Harry'. More of a nuisance than anything. We actually took the job in the picture below from him simply because I wanted to (It was one of 7 roofs completed today) We then landed an additional $1800 in business from the same homeowner. I doubt that Half Price Harry has the business acumen to have done the same.

Increase your leads to where you never run out of work. Then what others do will truly become moot.

'Even a big elephant needs little birds to pick pick the bugs off of him' Ed Thompson, Circa 2012

Patrick G · Approved Exterior Cleaner

What did you charge for that house Ted?

Roof Cleaning Virginia · Approved Exterior Cleaner

We had to go low to get it Pat - price match at $500, and it was about 35 squares. SMH. The additional services go on the house this coming week as mentioned for another $1800, so it worked out well. Had it not been for that lowballer who had provided the initial quote, we would have walked / no-bid as we typically won't compete for the lowest price. Hope you're having a great season!

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Hey not to be a prick Ted because from all of your posts I've read I really respect you but looking at the ladder in that pick it really should be 3 rungs higher of roof line to make getting on and off roof safely (OSHA) and use rfoof brackets.

Have a customer who bought a 3.5 mil. house with exspensive copper gutters where previous owners had some one paint the second story extensin over a short roofline and every 3 feet gutters were bent in damaged. Luckly I was able to bend them back. would have been damnexpensive to replace.

But your work always looks great!

william morris · Exterior Cleaner

Good advice. A wise man said "every man is my teacher"

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Competition whose motive is merely to compete, to drive some other fellow out, never carries very far. The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time. Businesses that grow by development and improvement do not die. But when a business ceases to be creative, when it believes it has reached perfection and needs to do nothing but produce-no improvement, no development-it is done.
-- Henry Ford

Power Washing and Roof Cleaning Forum

Ted Saunders

Founder, American-ProTech

Ted Saunders

Founder, American-ProTech