0 for 3 on Pressure Washing Quotes

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

First job 980 sq foot deck. I quoted $120 and a optional $45 for anti skid tape installed. Since the clients reason for washing was liability for slipping. Second job 800 sq ft roof. $135 Third job 4100 sq ft two story house and 460 sq ft deck. I discounted this to $430. I might still get the last job but the other two I havent heard back from. I believe my prices are right along the industry standard. Any suggestions?

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South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping /Lawn Care /Pressure Washing /Snow Removal /Gutter Cleaning
52" Brutus/52" Super Surfer/44" Pro Line/60" ZMaster
EB630/EB802/EBZ7150/EBZ8000/BR400/Billy Goat 8Hp
FS55&90/FC95/km110/L322&326/TR2350S
HC150/HC155/CHTZ2460
CS440/MS290
Case 1816 Skid

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Last edited by SECTLANDSCAPING; 04-01-2011 at 05:10 PM.

[Fisher]

Lawn care business tips

Before Lawn care I worked in concrete for 8 years. Doing this I did a lot of pressure washing and sealing of driveways. Since I was washing concrete I thought I'd do new construction clean up as well. So I feel that I can do cleaning sealing and staining very well. Just got another lead from my brother-in-law that just installed a driveway extension. I let the guy know up front and even gave him the name of a company that will beat my price by 20% however I believe I beat his quality of work by 100%. Now I see this person seems to be able to seal concrete for less than the cost of any quality sealer. Thought though that you would like to see their house and deck wash promotional prices. www.amj-restoration.com/promotions.html

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

those are crazy low prices.

My buddy in VA told me he wont touch a roof for less then $350. I live in a higher standard of living area.

Maybe its my closing. I dont know, I could have used the work.

[The Cleaning Doctor]

The problem seems to be that you are selling price and not yourself.

Do you know the correct way to clean the deck?

I ask this because that 980 sq ft deck for me would be no less than $250 if all I was doing was cleaning it. It would run more if I knew how long the handrails were.

How are you cleaning the deck? Did you offer to stain it?

I had a guy that would clean and stain a deck for $150 and the home owner had to buy the stain so another $150 for a total of $300. Then I come along and give them a price of $600 to $700 dollars and get the job because I know how to talk about decks and I supply the stain.

One of the worst things that you could do to a deck is blast away at it with high pressure. You WILL damage it.

The key is selling yourself and not the price. I bid against my stain supplier once and got the job even though our prices were nearly identical. Why? The guy told me it was because of the way I talked to him and he liked me. That was a $1200+ deck.

You have to talk wood restoration. In other words, talk the talk and walk the walk and be firm on your prices.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

It was 980 with the handrails. the client did not want it stained I asked and recommended. I use my smallest machine on wood. (1500 psi/ 2.8 gpm) I would have used a deck detergent with sodium hydroxide.

[Steve]

however I believe I beat his quality of work by 100%.

What is the best way to go about presenting this in your sales presentation?

What things will the cheap companies do that the more expensive ones won't?

I would think maybe some pictures of some disasters you had to fix would be a good way of showing this as well, but what else can you do to actually show a difference versus just saying your quality will be better?

[The Cleaning Doctor]

Originally Posted by SECTLANDSCAPING

It was 980 with the handrails. the client did not want it stained I asked and recommended. I use my smallest machine on wood. (1500 psi/ 2.8 gpm) I would have used a deck detergent with sodium hydroxide.

You are actually better off using the larger machine and using the unloader to knock the psi down to around 800. More water volume cleans faster.

Sodium hydroxide is ok to use, but if it is just mold and mildew I would use a sodium percarbonate based cleaner. It is less caustic and much safer to use.

Remember that you have to follow this up with a brightener either way and what ever you do, don't use bleach on wood. People get the wrong impression that they can neutralize it with oxalic acid and that is just not true. There are some cases where bleach is necessary but that is extreme cases of mold and mildew.

You also need to set a minimum. Mine is $500 for decks. It saves me a lot of time with tire kickers and just cheap shoppers. I sold a deck that if priced by the sq foot would have run $350 but because I have a minimum, I sold it for $500. All I had to do was convince them that I was the best choice and the stain I used was also the best choice.

First off, I NEVER use a local stain with the exception of Sherwin Williams Deckscapes Ultra White when doing a 2 tone deck. Other than that, I only use oil based stains, Bakers Gray Away and Armstrong Clark.

[jklawncare]

to be honest..there is no industry standard..if there was there would be alot more lawn companies out there being successful but fact is 76% i believe of lawn companies dont make it over the 2 year hump.

This is because they underbid jobs. Find your complete overhead and increase your profit margin by 10% - whatever you would like to make. That is the only way you will know for sure if your cutting it. Otherwise your working for fun. This is a very important thing i learned at an expo i went to the other day. The guy from Profits Unlimited came to talk to us about. He has owned a lawn company and he knows what a lawn company needs.. it really helps to listen to him if you have a chance..that or buy some of his material..its kinda pricy but it will pay for itself.


On a second note:

Have you done follow up calls? I would call after the 5th day and see what the customer is thinking about everything. Make sure he get all his questions he may have answered. Even if you have to keep calling back every week. It will help.. they will reach the point where they realize how persistent you are and will give in, they will remember you always. Or if they dont want the service they will tell you to stop calling and you have an answer either way.

Hope that helps.

[Steve]

Find your complete overhead and increase your profit margin by 10% - whatever you would like to make.

So if you find that you are charging $10 per hour in profit, you should increase that to $11?

This is a very important thing i learned at an expo i went to the other day.

Were there any interesting tips that stood out?