Brian R
Member
There are some New guys here so I thought I would bring this up again. I catch hell sometimes but I don't mind...I tend to do things differently than most...to a fault usually but never to "just" do it differently to be different.
Ok, I sub out my work...almost 100% of it...It's been 100% of it for the last 2+ years (now I have some equipment and do a couple jobs a week)...before that I cleaned it myself for over 20 years.
Here's how it works.
I find local quality cleaners in my area who need work...I sub to them and we split the job 50/50...almost no matter what.
Why 50/50? Because the cost of getting, retaining and managing a customer is as much as actually cleaning for the customer in my experience...and I've been on both sides of this deal. I've done sub work in the past to get started.
That's where there is some differences of opinion here. That's good...keeps us thinking. !gotcha!
This system really works...and it works for me AND the Tech. It allows me to grow my business as fast or large as I wish and it keeps the tech doing what he wants to do and make money doing it.
Here's where the main difference is.
Some will say that a cleaner cannot clean for only 50% of the job profitably...that is a very very very vague statement and cannot be true because percentages are relative.
The cleaners that I use are quality guys..but they are not business men...nor do they want to do the marketing and all that goes with running a company...they just want to clean and make more money.
That seems like a very doable plan.
I become their office etc and they don't have to lift a finger in this dept..I even supply invoices, work orders, business cards etc....because at the end of the day...they are "my" customers.
Here's the formula that should clear it up for "most" guys here who really think about it.
A cleaner cleans a house for $100.00 (just a number)
He get's 100% of that right? wrong...he will get about 60% ($60.00) of that after all his costs involved if he got the customer himself....and that's a high estimate considering...again...% is relative.
A cleaner cleans for me and does that same house for $175.00...or better...again I'm being conservative...but I charge more than these guys and I try to get the customer that will pay more.
He get's 50% from this job which is $87.50 and I get the same.
He didn't do anything to get that job and wouldn't have done the job at all if it wasn't for my end of the deal.
There is an arguement that if I wasn't there at all...he would have a better chance of getting the job himself.
This may or may not be true but I base this on marketing to people "he" would not market to or retain after the fact.
So anyway, he just made $27.50 for his operating costs and made pretty close to what he would have made if he would have done the job at his cost.
The beauty is he has extra jobs from me and that lowers his operating costs because he would have been out there cleaning anyway.
The more jobs you do in a day, the lower the operating costs for each.
This is just how I/we do it and everyone is happy.
The way he makes more money is by doing jobs that he wouldn't of had himself..if he does a full days work for me...he still makes money even if he doesn't do any jobs for himself.
Disclaimer: It is my experience and opinion that the jobs I get end up being at least double the amount that they would have charged. We also do upsells over the phone and through my website as to make more money.
A more realistic view...or more common situation I should say is...
A cleaner would have cleaned that house for $100.00....carpet only.
By working with me That job would have jumped to upwards of $500.00 because we promote tile and grout cleaning and sealing, upholstery cleaning and carpet protectant etc.
At the top end it would have been closer to $700.00.....we've done this plenty of times
Would the cleaner have gotten the same? Maybe...but not likely since all he normally would have done was go into the home, clean the carpets, get the check for $100.00 and leave...not even metioning the other services.
We've all heard "oh I didn't know you did tile and grout cleaning...so I called another company"
Maybe not from your customer...but from another cleaner talking about his customer.
Anyway, that's how we do it and it works out great...it really does. We all make money, we get happy customers that come back to us and we all do what we want to do in business...whether it be clean or market.
I will admit that what I do has a greater chance for growth than the cleaner...but also a greater chance for headaches....it's the good with the bad and the headaches are the reason the cleaners just want to clean anyway.
Good luck to you no matter how you end up doing it....this is not "THE" way to do it....it's just "A" way to do it.
Ok, I sub out my work...almost 100% of it...It's been 100% of it for the last 2+ years (now I have some equipment and do a couple jobs a week)...before that I cleaned it myself for over 20 years.
Here's how it works.
I find local quality cleaners in my area who need work...I sub to them and we split the job 50/50...almost no matter what.
Why 50/50? Because the cost of getting, retaining and managing a customer is as much as actually cleaning for the customer in my experience...and I've been on both sides of this deal. I've done sub work in the past to get started.
That's where there is some differences of opinion here. That's good...keeps us thinking. !gotcha!
This system really works...and it works for me AND the Tech. It allows me to grow my business as fast or large as I wish and it keeps the tech doing what he wants to do and make money doing it.
Here's where the main difference is.
Some will say that a cleaner cannot clean for only 50% of the job profitably...that is a very very very vague statement and cannot be true because percentages are relative.
The cleaners that I use are quality guys..but they are not business men...nor do they want to do the marketing and all that goes with running a company...they just want to clean and make more money.
That seems like a very doable plan.
I become their office etc and they don't have to lift a finger in this dept..I even supply invoices, work orders, business cards etc....because at the end of the day...they are "my" customers.
Here's the formula that should clear it up for "most" guys here who really think about it.
A cleaner cleans a house for $100.00 (just a number)
He get's 100% of that right? wrong...he will get about 60% ($60.00) of that after all his costs involved if he got the customer himself....and that's a high estimate considering...again...% is relative.
A cleaner cleans for me and does that same house for $175.00...or better...again I'm being conservative...but I charge more than these guys and I try to get the customer that will pay more.
He get's 50% from this job which is $87.50 and I get the same.
He didn't do anything to get that job and wouldn't have done the job at all if it wasn't for my end of the deal.
There is an arguement that if I wasn't there at all...he would have a better chance of getting the job himself.
This may or may not be true but I base this on marketing to people "he" would not market to or retain after the fact.
So anyway, he just made $27.50 for his operating costs and made pretty close to what he would have made if he would have done the job at his cost.
The beauty is he has extra jobs from me and that lowers his operating costs because he would have been out there cleaning anyway.
The more jobs you do in a day, the lower the operating costs for each.
This is just how I/we do it and everyone is happy.
The way he makes more money is by doing jobs that he wouldn't of had himself..if he does a full days work for me...he still makes money even if he doesn't do any jobs for himself.
Disclaimer: It is my experience and opinion that the jobs I get end up being at least double the amount that they would have charged. We also do upsells over the phone and through my website as to make more money.
A more realistic view...or more common situation I should say is...
A cleaner would have cleaned that house for $100.00....carpet only.
By working with me That job would have jumped to upwards of $500.00 because we promote tile and grout cleaning and sealing, upholstery cleaning and carpet protectant etc.
At the top end it would have been closer to $700.00.....we've done this plenty of times
Would the cleaner have gotten the same? Maybe...but not likely since all he normally would have done was go into the home, clean the carpets, get the check for $100.00 and leave...not even metioning the other services.
We've all heard "oh I didn't know you did tile and grout cleaning...so I called another company"
Maybe not from your customer...but from another cleaner talking about his customer.
Anyway, that's how we do it and it works out great...it really does. We all make money, we get happy customers that come back to us and we all do what we want to do in business...whether it be clean or market.
I will admit that what I do has a greater chance for growth than the cleaner...but also a greater chance for headaches....it's the good with the bad and the headaches are the reason the cleaners just want to clean anyway.
Good luck to you no matter how you end up doing it....this is not "THE" way to do it....it's just "A" way to do it.
