I'd love to raise my average..need some ideas..

[Joe Appleby]

"Nickel and dimed to death"?
That's a bit of an overstatement.

The extra 25k a year has comes in
mighty handy the last 7 years with gas prices close to $4.00 per gal. and our cost of water disposal.


P.S. Our California customers have no problem with it and our base grows every year.

P.P.S.
Mike, we email something similar with pics and links to
our website directing them to our additional services prior to the job. Our work order also has an attached "menu" of services (lots of pics) that the customer can review during the job. We used to put it in a plastic menu holder and say, " Look at our menu while I write out your estimate." The customers would feel a sense of urgency to read it knowing we we're taking the menu back from them.

P.P.P.S.
I know you coat wood floors. Hook up with a hardwood floor refinisher and turn those hardwood jobs you turn down into a source of revenue. We also have a relationship with a HVAC guy
that has been lucrative.

 

[Ron K]

I would think #8 would be more of a pain in the neck to the customer then the nickel and diming of a disposal fee. My mechanic adds that to every oil change. So do tire stores.

Mike no one has ask what would make you happy…how much of a raise in average are you looking for and why? Have your costs gone up or do you just want to or are y)(*& %$^ )(*&/???

 

[idreadnought]

There were two phrases that stood out for me in the original post. You lost more jobs due to availability than to price and your .50/sq ft price is about all they can afford to pay. If that second statement is true (and you know better than anyone if it is) then you will have a hard road to upselling if the money isn't really there. Pitching higher prices to new clients would be my solution, there are several people that already mentioned this but I had to stress the "new clients" part because if you are starting to hit that "there are only so many hours in a day" ceiling then you have to decide if you really want to run yourself ragged going the quantity route. Identifying another potential client base with bigger pockets and learning to sell to them makes you more money for less work. Do you want to be the big company or the elite company? Do you want to be Walmart or Tiffanys?

Maybe your highest purpose is to be the salesman for your company and not so often in the trenches, you have a big personality, are you a good salesman? If you as their leader could spend your time finding higher priced jobs for your crews then that's a win across the board. Are those clients out there? Of course they are, they just need you to explain why you are the best man for the job. Just my humble two cents, you sound like you are doing pretty damn awesome from here.

Ok I am done reading replies. someone already posted what I was going to. I believe you all ready have equiptment, two big trucks, a butler and I believe I saw a judson in the mix before. So you need to put more people out there cleaning. First get another guy cleaning, then give each truck less and encourage and give time for upsales. Either way you mentioned the number one reason you lose business is availability which is really hurting your chances of growing. A customer lost is a customer virtually lost forever. YOu will rarely get a first time calling customer to ever call again if you didn't meet theier expectations time wise. Also if you lose existing customers because of scheduling that will greatly affect your bottom line. Your 5 year company volume will have a huge negative affect by not being able to service any customer in a timely fashion (timely being what they consider timely).

Do you want some scary numbers? Your average ticket of $350 is about $1,750.00 in lost revenue over a 5 year period when you miss a single job due to scheduling (based off of only 1 time a year cleaning). One lost job every business day over a 5 year period is 2,187,500 in lost revenue (yes over 2 million dollars). Done being scared, sorry, those numbers go way up when you consider the lost revenue from their referrals.

 

[WillS]

​

Do you email this letter or mail it?

​

Dear [FIRST_NAME] [LAST_NAME],
​

We look forward to your upcoming appointment. We’ll need your assistance to make the areas you want cleaned as accessible as possible.

1. Please arrange for a parking spot as close to your front door or cleaning project as possible

2. Remove all breakable items from the cleaning area and store in a safe area (lamps, collectibles, etc.)

3. Other than large furniture, please remove all items from the floor
(waste baskets, potted plants, brief cases, toys, etc.). If you are physically unable to move things yourself and cannot arrange for help, we will be more than happy to assist. Please pin up or tuck in bed spreads and dust ruffles. Drapes can either be hung up on the end of the rod, gently draped over each other or the ends placed in a plastic garbage bag. Extremely large or heavy items will remain in place (i.e. entertainment units, china cabinets, pianos). We will clean up to the outside edges. Medium-sized furniture (i.e. tables, coffee tables, end tables, wing chairs, recliners, sofas) can be moved, the area cleaned, and returned to their location. We will place protective padding under furnishings with wood or metal feet to protect the carpet and the furniture. Some furniture is best left off the carpet until completely dried. We will discuss options during your appointment

4. Have a safe place for your pets to stay,
Your front door or other access point will need to be left open during the cleaning process and we would hate it if Skippy or Shadow escaped.
5. Tell us your every concern.
Point out spots and spills and tell us what they are.
6.We will pre vacuum your carpet prior to cleaning but if you would like to knock dust and cob webs off base boards, ceiling fans and from the back of furniture we recommend doing so prior to our arrival.

7. If we are cleaning your upholstered furniture:
Please have the pieces easily accessible from all sides and away from any breakable objects or delicate floorings. We can clean your sofas or chairs over the carpet/rugs being cleaned that day or if possible we can clean them outside or in your garage. The pieces set can be on tarps as a last resort. Loose cushions will be "A" framed on provided plastic sheeting, preferably outside for quick drying. In most cases furniture should not be reassembled the same day, rather when completely dry the following day.

and finally;

#8. If we will be applying Teflon Protector to your carpet or furniture (recommended!) please plan on treading as lightly as possible for the next 12 hours as the sealant needs time to cure.

Thank you for choosing Connoisseur!
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call me direct @ 831 588 9063
Mike Pailliotet
www.santacruzclean.com


​

 

[Mikey P]

email right after the appointment is made.


Its amazingly amazing how well it works IF they read it.

You'll be shocked at how much time you save by them doing THEIR job.


As far as I know we've never had a cancellation from somebody who felt overwhelmed by the "demands"

Worse case they just do a half assed job.



but you got their email

 

[WillS]

nice. I was gonna say, great way to get emails. I was browsing through "pricing" and found this old post. Useful.

 

[Russ T.]

I just had Mike email that prep letter to me, then it pops up here....crazy!

 

[Bryan S. Bennett]

Two thoughts I think make sense:

1) the 80-20 rule. If 80% of your revenue is coming from just 20% of your customers, then focus on residential customers who have larger homes and larger discretionary income or on larger commercial accounts that will easily have a job average beyond the 360 level. We have many commercial accounts that easily avg 800-1200/job (many more bricks to scrub!). Over the course of the year it adds up and creates the added margin. We also run a 3 man team with one truck on most jobs.

2.) Big is not always better, its about the satisfaction of where you are and lifestyle that is headaches free. Don't always focus on the average invoice or total sales but rather on Net Income. They are important but not as much as Net Income. Try to cut costs where necessary to help create a better Net Income. I repeat, I repeat....

In 2012 & 2013 very similar numbers as yours Mikey but really saw a jump to the $428 average YTD 2014 by doing #1 above. And yes we get home at dark too and then some! We started using Service Monster and Full Circle last year which really helped us focus more on the cleaning as well as efficiency to do more jobs per day. We only send Service Monster Cards to our customers and no other forms of advertising. No yellow page ads, radio or newspaper ads or valsuck. We do not go out and look for new customers. Our customer referrels are what do it for us. We do have a basic web page via Steve Marsh and company, nothing fancy. www.mycentralsteamer.com. Hope this helps.

I think your doing exceptionally well too, relax now!

 

[PrimaDonna]

Only have data from 2009 forward as that is when we started using Service Monster and could access the incredible reports they offer.

Average invoice:

2009 $508
2010 $539
2011 $603 (storm Irene preceded by another within a week. We don't really do much water damage restoration but did with these storms and it skewed our numbers a bit)
2012 $592
2013 $630
2014 $568 YTD but we are entering our busiest quarter so we anticipate this number will increase.

That being said we strive to improve our average each year.

But more importantly, as stated by someone else, we look to improve our net profit.

We do raise our prices each year, but attribute the increase mostly to the demographic shift we've experienced over the years. No more price shoppers. No more coupon mailers. Majority of our new business is referral.

If you are looking to increase your average invoice, figure out the best way to tap into referral marketing in your area. Ideally how to tap into referrals in your target demographic.

 

[hogjowl]

How have you "tapped into" referral marketing?

 

[PrimaDonna]

How have you "tapped into" referral marketing?

I thought you'd never ask.... But it's getting late so I'll follow up on this next week.

 

[hogjowl]

Me? You didn't seriously think I wouldn't ask.

 

[PrimaDonna]

Me? You didn't seriously think I wouldn't ask.

Well not you in particular....and I was being sarcastic.

I was purposely vague with those particular details just to see how long it would be before SOMEONE asked. It wasn't long, and it happened to be you!

 

[hogjowl]

It's always me.

 

[WillS]

We were debating raising prices (we just did away with the discounts and lowered the min sq. ft. considered room size) but went against it. We are now pushing for more upselling on the phone when booking the job. Red Dye, Upholstery Cleaning, Urine Removal, etc.

 

[hogjowl]

So, where's that Burdick woman?

And what ever happened to "Dolly"?

 

[steve_64]

We were debating raising prices (we just did away with the discounts and lowered the min sq. ft. considered room size) but went against it. We are now pushing for more upselling on the phone when booking the job. Red Dye, Upholstery Cleaning, Urine Removal, etc.

ive raised my prices, first time in 8 years. all my apartment complexes were very cooperative and agreed i was due. i havent had any complaints from new customers neither. well, i have one new complex that wants it for nothing still but im not giving in lol.