Episode 504 – How to Price Cleaning Jobs
Cleaning Nation! We hear about this problem ALL THE TIME from you! If you charge too much, you lose the job. If you charge too little, you lose your ability to do the job right and/ or to make any profit/ have any motivation to do the work! Lack of profit will put you out of business. In the best case scenario, you have a cleaning job and can barely pay your bills. In the worst case scenario, you and your company go bankrupt, and you have to go back to your job with more debt than you had. On top of all this you then have to face your friends and family whom you told you would succeed! Oof. Ok – let’s go deep into this problem of how to price cleaning jobs!
False Belief – I can’t compete with a $10/ hour cleaner.
Exactly – you can’t compete with them AND you shouldn’t TRY. Attract people who want insurance, uniforms, employees – in other words, a well set up and reputable business. The right client will pay the right price – YOUR right price. When you see “competitors” take these type of jobs that are willing to pay $10/ hour, it’s time to think more along the lines of “That’s not my competition, that’s not what I do, and those aren’t my type of clients.”
False Belief – I can/ should/ must charge less when I am doing the cleaning.
It’s the OPPOSITE. You should NEVER be cleaning and if you did, you should charge TRIPLE. If you are the owner, you need to get out of that mindset so you can focus on running your business and not be in it cleaning.
False Belief – My people are super cheap and won’t pay fair wages.
YOU attract the caliber prospects you have through the client attraction systems you have in place. If you aren’t in charge of how your clients find you, you get the bottom of the barrel type of clients. The caliber of people depends on the caliber of your systems not “my people in my area”.
False Belief – I can’t raise prices on people I JUST raised prices on or people that have been with me since I started or sweet little old ladies or friends…
The reality is when you don’t charge them enough, there’s not enough money to take care of them and offer a good service. Everything GOOD for you AND your client comes from MARGIN – things like the ability to do a good job, buy insurance, train your employees and pay them well, etc. Charge a premium price and do a premium service!
False Belief – Pricing “too much” is immoral.
We coach cleaning business owners to use a 50/ 30/ 20 model. 50% of the price the client pays goes to COGS (cost of goods sold, 30% goes towards overhead , and 20% is your profit. 20% is more than a fair share for the work you do. If you cut on margin, no one is interested in cleaning. If you cut overhead, you can’t deliver excellence to your customers OR employees.
False Belief – You sell cleaning services.
The truth of the matter is cleaning is low wage work. So is talking on the phone. Transforming people’s lives and solving problems is HIGH wage work. Sell a solution!
Once you price right, you have all the money you need for more client attraction; surprise and delight for your customers; the BEST, happiest and well cared for employees; AND enough money to be motivated to serve at a high level!
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