Hello,
Rick (and the rest of you)I have been following this board for 2 years and I think this is my 2nd post ever. I have been a residential cleaner for awhile but I have been getting serious about commercial work latley,so I will be more active here from now on.
. I have a few questions about pricing. When subbmitting a bid do you include pre vac? Or is it expeced that they vacumme before you clean? and what about furniture? I mean do you charge for only the cleanable sf, or do you charge for the whole area regardless of the furniture you will not be cleaning under?

More questions later..
Thank you!

Hi Andy,

WELCOME!

I hope you will continue to share on this board.

1) Vacuuming. It's expected that (you) the contractor will need to do some vacuuming in the traffic areas. However if it's at all possible I like to try to negotiate out the pre-vacuuming when we bid the job.

2) Furniture moving. Same rule applies as vacuuming. I try to negotiate them into that role.

Here's how it works...

Let's say the job would be good to clean at $740. If I want to negotiate out the vacuuming I will bid it at $990. Then I tell them that pre-vacuuming is very important. So if you can have your people do a TERRIFIC job of pre-vacuuming (north-south east-west), I can discount the job to $740.

Everybody loves a discount! They will usually go for this offer. And since we've now attached a dollar amount to pre-vacuuming, it stresses to them the importance of coming on board and doing a really good pre-vacuuming. Of course, we will still plan to provide some thorough vacuuming in the traffic areas where there is more ground in soil.

For furniture moving we use the same discounting technique to get their people to move stuff.

But beware! This doesn't work in reverse. As much as they love a discount, they hate an add-on. So NEVER say - "it will cost you $740 to clean your carpet, but if we have to vacuum it will cost you $990". They'll run you right out the door!

Give the discounting trick a try and I think you'll get some good results.


P.S. If you can't get them to pre-vacum you'll need to factor that into your service, since pre-vacuuming needs to be done.

P.P.S. I'm not a fan of taking out deductions for working around furniture. In all fairness it usually takes more time to work around stuff than it would be to clean an open area.






Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

Thank you for the tips!
I have been asked to submit a bid on several buildings that range from 10,000 - 25,000 SF. This is the first real commercial opportunity for me. So needless to say I am a bit nervous, and I don't know what the "norms" are as far as pricing etc. I sure wish I had your CMS, but I'll just have to do my best with what I have.

P.S. If I get this contract I will need a larger OP machine (All I have a 15 inch Challenger) Do you know of anyone that sells a cool looking OP with an on board spray system???


P.P.S any other tips on how to put together a bid on these buildings would be appreciated.
(this is my first rodeo)

Andy,

I just arrived in Vegas for Connections. I am heading to the LMCCA board meeting right now. I can't get into a long explanation right now (I will be BUSY for the next few days). Hopefully someone else can jump in with some suggestions, or you use the search feature on this board too. Wishing you success on the account!










Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

myself, i charge wall-to-wall cause it takes me longer to clean around furniture than if the furniture wasnt there.

i dont give a sq.ft. price - i give a total price.

thanx --- Derek.

Andy,

BE CONFIDENT

Those 2 words are the best advice I can give you!

Shed fear, leave it at the door when you go in. You need to look and act like this is "old hat". You do this everyday. It's just matter of fact business as usual for you. If you act nervous, since it is in fact new to you, the prospect will detect that.

Go in and confidently evaluate the carpet. Perform a carpet inspection. Discuss their present cleaning methods. Evaluate their needs. Make recommendations for proper care. In other words become their ally.

After they see that you are a professional that cares about HELPING them, you can then give them a quote. Measure the carpet and provide them with a written price quote.

Also provide a demo in a soiled area for free. It's been said that "a presentation without a demonstration is just a conversation". And since the Releasit system can produce such an IMPRESSIVE "knock your socks off" appearance jump, a good demo will make the selling process all that much easier!

I hope you get it


P.S. And remember the 2 words above... BE CONFIDENT.






Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

A few thoughts:

1)You wish you had the CMS? Buy it now! First impressions are huge, so sending a professional looking proposal could help make it a winning first impression. Plus, having professional looking material (flyers, forms, etc) will give you more confidence.

Have it express mailed to you. Just make sure you have Microsoft Office or some other software that will allow you to run it fully.

2)You absolutely, positively MUST do a demo. Without it, you are just another bidder. You need to help them see that carpet cleaning is NOT always carpet cleaning. Plus, you'll get a chance to meet the decision maker and begin building a relationship with him, which is what these types of accounts are all about.

3)If you are serious about commercial carpet cleaning, you need a Cimex. OP is good, such as the Orbot, but Cimex is still king of commercial, imho.

4)As for price, large accounts can be around 7-10 cents a square foot, depending on your city as well as on size and frequency of cleaning. Your equipment will determine how much you make per hour, but the price will remain the same.

What are your thoughts about adding an additional deduction for the decision maker providing keys.

I have never had an issue with having or not having keys. Some accounts have given us keys, some accounts haven't. It has never really affected our productivity either way though. For us it's not a factor I would want feel impelled to negotiate.






Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com