Probably one of the
greatest mysteries for the new self
employed window cleaner is knowing what to
charge for your window cleaning services.
First you must remember that you are
becoming a business and as such, your
earnings go towards the cost of running a
business as well as putting food on your
kitchen table and a roof over your head.
Now I've made mention on the home page
about window cleaners earning $50/hr and
up but you may be wondering how one prices
actual jobs so that you can earn this kind
of money from them.
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Target Earning Goal
I usually tell
beginners to set an earning goal of around
50$/hr for their first few months (up to a
year) in the biz. If a new window cleaner
can achieve this consistently then they
are well on their way to earning
$60-$70/hr by their second year. Here's
why. Even after you've calculated what to
charge per window/job in order for you to
achieve the return of $50/hr, you will be
earning this as an unskilled window
cleaner. That's right, until you've
been cleaning windows for a while,
technically you're still unskilled. But
after you've acquired
the skills to clean windows more
professionally and quickly, your hourly
return rate will increase.
I tell a story on my
dvd of when I first started out window
cleaning and priced out a job where I
ended up only making around $35/hr. The
following year I returned to do a repeat
clean at the same bid price but because of
the improvements in my technique, my
earnings on that job increased to $70/hr.
Simply because I was now cleaning more
windows per hour. My dvd offers many tips
and techniques for cleaning windows more
efficiently and accurately resulting in
more windows cleaned per hour.
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How To Price Window Cleaning
Jobs
After studying price
ranges (for residential) across the North
American market, I have determined that
window cleaning companies charge anywhere
from $4 per basic window in/out on the low
end to $8 per window on the high end.
Storm windows are usually priced much
higher because of the amount of work, not
just in cleaning them but also the time it
takes to take them apart and re-assemble
them. French panes (small cut ups) are
often charged at $1 in/out to $1.50 in/out
for each individual pane. The
two things that will determine what you
charge is how your per window price meets
your earning goal and also what your
market will bare.
Pricing commercial
work is slightly different. Usually a per
window price will be lower than
residential work. Reasons for this include
such things as level of competition in
your area, simpler window styles
(usually), more frequent visits (sometimes
by contract of weekly/monthly/quarterly
etc.) In many cases you may be ask just to
clean the outside glass only. Pricing of
anywhere between $1 per pane side to $2
per pane side is quite common for ground
level commercial glass but may need to be
increased depending on other variables.
(see below)
If you are looking at
going after store front work, it is often
a good idea to set a minimum per service
stop because some stores may only have a
few pieces of glass. If you're aiming at
getting many small stores in one area
location, you may want to set your min per
stop at around $15 and test the waters for
going up from there. The one main
characteristic in doing store front work
is that although you may make a smaller
amount per stop, you plan to make it up in
volume (number of stops per day). Some
window cleaners prefer this type of work
because a storefront window cleaning route
of weekly/bi-weekly/monthly accounts means
consistent earnings throughout the year,
even in the cold winter months.
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Variables In Window Cleaning
Pricing
All the pricing guide
info offered above is taking into
consideration that the window cleaning
jobs are pretty straight forward. But
there are always going to be variables
that may affect what you end up charging
per job such as how dirty the glass is,
what is the access to the glass like, do
you need to use ladders or extension
poles, any obstacles to make cleaning
difficult, any stains or hard water spots
to remove? etc.. In time you will even
come across glass that is so corroded due
to neglect that the only option is
replacement. Just remember, whatever extra
work you face on the job, make sure you
charge for it.
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Is Your Pricing Too Low/High?
A window cleaner who
had been in the business for many years
once told me that you should aim for
landing around 70% of your bids. If you
consistently win more bids than that then
your prices are probably too low.
Likewise, if you consistently land fewer
bids than 70% then your prices may be too
high. I would say this is very true when
it comes to residential jobs and larger
commercial jobs. The only time one should
ignore this rule is when bidding store
front. Store front is the most competitive
area in window cleaning and many small
businesses are price shoppers so be
prepared to hear a lot of "no's" while
canvassing for clients. Home owners can be
price shoppers too but don't feel bad if
you lower your price to land some jobs in
the early stages of your business. You
gotta eat right? Plus, you can chalk
everything up to experience in the long
run.
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Last Words
Don't be afraid to
network with other local window cleaning
companies. The good ones won't be afraid
to share information with you and will
encourage a healthy marketplace for
everyone. But stay clear of those
competitors that offer rock bottom prices.
They may appear to be constantly busy but
what's the point if they're not
profitable, right?
Mark
Strange
windowcleaningskills.com
