How Low Can They Go? $70 House Wash? šŸ¤¦ā€ā™‚ļø

Not really, because where does it end? Do you want a customer who ditches you on price? Suppose you would be at $,1500, donā€™t you worry that thereā€™s a guy out there that will do it for $700 in 3 days? And, doesnā€™t he worry that thereā€™s a guy who will do it for $350 in 5 days? By the way, all that pricing above is based on sq ft. and number and type of windows, not just arbitrary inflated numbers.

I have seen so many low-ballers come and go over the last 15 years, I canā€™t even count them. I have even referred jobs to most of them and they still canā€™t make it. One guy had pretty nice looking equipment and impressive signage and he only lasted a few years.

It takes a lot more than a low price to stay in business, unless itā€™s a side gig. Often times people can stay in business for a few years not realizing that their low pricing is like a leaking pipe that is slowly draining the financial health of the business away until itā€™s too late.

So, no Iā€™m not worried, I just focus on what Iā€™m doing and let them do their thing.

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Companies go in and out of business all the time. Did you keep up with ā€œhigh ballā€ companies that came and went? Maybe.

To me, growing my company is about building trust with my clients, so they might not even shop around, even though itā€™s the smart thing to do, because they trust my company so much. Even become a mouthpiece for my company.

But Iā€™m not going to pretend to be not concerned, if some decent guy comes around talking about half my price. I gotta at least research and find out what is the competitive advantage. This ainā€™t rocket science and none of us went through 7 years of school to do this.

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The driving factor for doing business is:
Price
Competence
Reliability

If we both competent and reliable, then price is it.

Are you really gonna act like you gonna be ok with missing that $3500 ticket?

I wonā€™t miss it because this:

Is wrong.

For a service business, itā€™s actually
Customer Service
Trust
Quality of work

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How did you reply?

I politely told her to call her own company as they might be a better fit for her needs.

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Quality of work and competence is the same thing.

Customer service and trust = reliability

If you donā€™t think price is a driving factor, then why didnā€™t you charge $10K? I know whyā€¦

So you think that price not being a driving factor is the same thing as price doesnā€™t matter at all?

I didnā€™t charge $10,000 for the service for the same reason that someone isnā€™t going to ask $100,000 for a Rolex that can be had for $30,000. However someone who is going to pay $30,000 for a watch isnā€™t considering price as their primary factor in a watch purchase, since you can get a great Citizen watch for a few hundred bucks.

Ok, so let me rephrase it for you: at this point, Iā€™m not concerned. If, he starts to eat into my market and my customers leave me based on price, Iā€™ll be concerned. Hope that clears up the not concerned remark.

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I think you have a point there but I would disagree with the ā€œeasilyā€ part. The typical $70-$100 guy isnā€™t doing a good job, isnā€™t reliable, isnā€™t impoving his knowledge, equipment, and marketing on an on going basis.

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You realize that many customers equate low price with low quality right?

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That actually cleared it up

I could agree that is a line of thinking

I learned a few yrs ago do mainly just worry about what you are doing and not anyone else. If you see your numbers are down then do some market research and find out why. If you have guys beating you out for 99 dollar house washes then wait 2 or 3 weeks and call those people to find out if all went well. Most likely 50 % of those people will say they should have went with you because they are not happy with the outcome.

When you put too much time and effort into watching and reacting what other companies do then you will go off tract of what you need to do to successfully run your own business. As long as your staying profitable and you keep growing then you will learn to not pay attention to all these other distractions.

Thatā€™s what i think ,competitors= distractions. Stay focused and all will be good. Also you will be less stressed.

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Very well said! :+1:

I like this thread :slight_smile:

Money leads to money. Keep making it and youā€™ll be successful, stop making it, you wonā€™t.

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Your forgetting about market value also. That price might sound really high to you and I, but his cost of living could be triple ours. I watch shows where a house that would cost me a couple hundred thousand would be a million plus up north. If you take pride in your work and build a truly professional business your customers will be loyal and laugh in the face of the low baller who tryā€™s to steal your customers.

Just my $02.

Everything I do is about relationships. It starts with the first contact/job for a client. Build that trust by doing quality work, be on-time, do what you say you are going to do, etc.

People will spend more, when they trust you. Donā€™t be a douche and inflate your prices because of trust.

People arenā€™t stupid. They know quality cost more and are willing to pay for it and more so when their is a relationship built on trust.

You want cheap pizza - go to Little Caesars - $5. You want quality good pizza - go to the mom and pop down the road and pay $25. You know who trying to compete with Little Caesars - other crappy pizza joints.

I refuse to compete with the lowballers. I am building my company as a quality results company and charge what I need to make for me to deliver excellent results.

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I have to agree with the fact that building your business is all about customer service, quality work, professionalism and fair pricing.

Iā€™m not the cheapest guy in town nor the most expensive. Iā€™ve had customers call me to fix other companyā€™s hack job.

Iā€™ve had people call me and when given the estimate, they tell me they had a guy do the same amount of work for half the price. I politely ask why they didnā€™t call him again, and their response is alwaysā€¦I canā€™t get a hold of him. I politely let them know he most likely went out of business because of his low ball pricing.

My only competition is ME. I have to maintain a quality of work at a reasonable price that works for both parties. JMHO.

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Iā€™m not the highest in my every day market. I usually charge 15-30% less than the few higher companies. In my experience itā€™s good for me. I have less marketing cost, less expensive trucks, etc. I can get MY numbers at these price points.
But I have quality equipment and provide reliable service with great results.
I am no low baller . Iā€™m where I want to be, just not the highest. But in a comparable price range to the big companies. While not being close to the low baller outfits.
These low ballers can have the cheap work. Because the good ones Iā€™m going after have told me when they get low bids and professional cleaning bids that the LOW PRICES SCARE THEM.

Bottom line-- make your money ā€“ in your market. But donā€™t be the cheapest guy or youll always have a schedule full of the cheapest jobs.

Like @Racer has said before ā€œmake more and work lessā€ not the other way around.

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