Can't win them all!

[Living The Dream]

I was recently contacted about cleaning a apartment by a tenant that was moving out. I gave her my price and what my procedure is. She said she would call around and get back to me. It made me think how am I supposed to close this deal? She probably could care less that I prevac, agitate and use the industry best prespray. All she wants is a receipt saying she had the carpets professionally cleaned to give to the property manager. Anyone have a good way of closing a deal like this or is this price shopper better off not booked?

 

[BIG WOOD]

Is your schedule empty? If so, then yes, you should've asked her what you need to do to clean her carpet today.

Is your schedule full? Then no, you need to focus on making your average invoice as high as possible. You want customers that'll call you ever 9-12months. And she doesn't seem to fit in that category

 

[Hack Attack]

Most tenants dont care about any multistep spiel they just want it cleaned, if the cheapest "professional" turns up with a rugdoctor and receipt they're hired

had 1 today her property manager told her you need to get the carpets cleaned, and she tried to negociate below my min charge.. thanks for the call bye

 

[Nomad74]

I don’t do residential estimates anymore for this reason. Not worth it to me. If they don’t know their sqft’age to figure the pricing over the phone, then I don’t want them. There is nothing more annoying than walking into a home and seeing cards from Stinky Steamer, Tom Conway, and Russell’s on the counter. I just don’t do it anymore. Let the guys with high overhead, idiot hourly employees, and beat up equipment compete to be the lowest priced cleaners.

Commercial is a different story. You know you gotta be cheap but the sqft makes up for it.

 

[Mikey P]

If you want every shit job. Be the cheapest. Simple as that.

The good cusomers rarely ask how much, just when.

 

[Trip Moses]

The best way to close a deal is to shut your mouth. They have already called you don’t over sell yourself. Be efficient in asking them what they need then be confident and give them your price. Don’t say anything after you’ve said your dollar amount.

 

[Jimmy L]

I'm sure they got someone to do it for $50

 

[Cleanworks]

I have a lot of people call for end of the month move outs. When I give the price, some think it's outrageous and others think it's reasonable. I only book the reasonable ones.

 

[steve_64]

Some are best off letting go.

 

[sassyotto]

you don't want it.

its a rental - renters, for the most part, just don't care about the place where they live. They pay rent, they don't think that they paid for the carpet so why should they take care of it? Homeowners on the other hand, probably at one time did pay for new carpet so they know how expensive it is to replace and take the necessary steps to maintain it

however, I do know some cleaners in this area where a lot of their business is from rentals and that's ok. They realize that, for the most part, they will be walking into trashed carpet. They also realize that, for the most part, property managers rotate carpet cleaners a lot, looking for the best deal.

When we joined Service Team of Professionals Franchise many years ago, the VERY FIRST THING that Mack Clark told us to do is dump all of our rental accounts - which at that time accounted for over 30 percent of our business. Looking back, it was the best thing we ever did. It was the biggest part that had the least profit.

 

[Cleanworks]

you don't want it.

its a rental - renters, for the most part, just don't care about the place where they live. They pay rent, they don't think that they paid for the carpet so why should they take care of it? Homeowners on the other hand, probably at one time did pay for new carpet so they know how expensive it is to replace and take the necessary steps to maintain it

however, I do know some cleaners in this area where a lot of their business is from rentals and that's ok. They realize that, for the most part, they will be walking into trashed carpet. They also realize that, for the most part, property managers rotate carpet cleaners a lot, looking for the best deal.

When we joined Service Team of Professionals Franchise many years ago, the VERY FIRST THING that Mack Clark told us to do is dump all of our rental accounts - which at that time accounted for over 30 percent of our business. Looking back, it was the best thing we ever did. It was the biggest part that had the least profit.

I heartily disagree. You can't lump all renters into one bucket. I have several property management firms that I have been dealing with for 20-30 years. They don't deal with me because I'm cheap. I charge a fair amount for what I do and they like that I solve their problems. Not only do I get their move outs but I get their building common areas as well. I also get stain removal and water damage calls. They never negotiate my price. All renters have to clean the carpets when they move. It's a huge market. Set your price and turn the rest away.

 

[Mikey P]

you don't want it.

its a rental - renters, for the most part, just don't care about the place where they live. They pay rent, they don't think that they paid for the carpet so why should they take care of it? Homeowners on the other hand, probably at one time did pay for new carpet so they know how expensive it is to replace and take the necessary steps to maintain it

however, I do know some cleaners in this area where a lot of their business is from rentals and that's ok. They realize that, for the most part, they will be walking into trashed carpet. They also realize that, for the most part, property managers rotate carpet cleaners a lot, looking for the best deal.

When we joined Service Team of Professionals Franchise many years ago, the VERY FIRST THING that Mack Clark told us to do is dump all of our rental accounts - which at that time accounted for over 30 percent of our business. Looking back, it was the best thing we ever did. It was the biggest part that had the least profit.

Tell us more about STOP and how it works , please

 

[steve_64]

I've followed a lot of people over the years from rentals to buying their own homes. What I've seen is if they are pigs in the apartment or rental they will be pigs in a home they own.
Biggest problem with rentals imo is the cheap ass carpet put in them

 

[steve_64]

I heartily disagree. You can't lump all renters into one bucket. I have several property management firms that I have been dealing with for 20-30 years. They don't deal with me because I'm cheap. I charge a fair amount for what I do and they like that I solve their problems. Not only do I get their move outs but I get their building common areas as well. I also get stain removal and water damage calls. They never negotiate my price. All renters have to clean the carpets when they move. It's a huge market. Set your price and turn the rest away.

I'm cleaning hallways once a month at two complexes. $400 at one and $450 at the other.
Others i clean hallways twice a year.

$300 to suck water during business hours $500 after. That's just to start.

The $60 one bedroom sucks sometimes but those often get an additional $50 charge for odors or heavy soiling.

But I've let may be a dozen complexes go because of the issues others mentioned and more.

Its like restaurants or even residential there is good and bad in all areas. Just got to learn to weed them out and know when to walk away. Especially as the work becomes more and more painful to do.

 

[Nomad74]

you don't want it.

its a rental - renters, for the most part, just don't care about the place where they live. They pay rent, they don't think that they paid for the carpet so why should they take care of it? Homeowners on the other hand, probably at one time did pay for new carpet so they know how expensive it is to replace and take the necessary steps to maintain it

however, I do know some cleaners in this area where a lot of their business is from rentals and that's ok. They realize that, for the most part, they will be walking into trashed carpet. They also realize that, for the most part, property managers rotate carpet cleaners a lot, looking for the best deal.

When we joined Service Team of Professionals Franchise many years ago, the VERY FIRST THING that Mack Clark told us to do is dump all of our rental accounts - which at that time accounted for over 30 percent of our business. Looking back, it was the best thing we ever did. It was the biggest part that had the least profit.

When I first cranked up my business I was scared to let anything slip through my fingers. When I started taking the advice of the old timers and started firing my problem accounts things got better. Some of the best advise ever. When you’re a noob and desperate, it's hard to understand the mechanics of such a move. I still get my share of adventure, but it's a lot better now being able to say no to people.

 

[sassyotto]

Tell us more about STOP and how it works , please

STOP is a small Franchise that works with a lot of different businesses, mainly construction and cleaning/restoration. Their focus is to get construction and cleaning companies into the highly profitable water and fire restoration business.

From my experience, the founder of Service Team of Professionals, Mack Clark was the epitome of Business Management. I always described Mack as Steve Toburen on steroids. He always had the right answer.

If you wanted to grow your business the RIGHT way, STOP is the fastest and best way to do it.

Mack passed away this year, but it is now run by his son Brian.