So I received a call today from an older woman that responded to a flyer that I had dropped in a specific Condominium community not far from my house (interestingly, she lived just two units down from my first client, on the same street). Anyway, she requested an on-site quote and I told her I could be there in the afternoon so she agreed. I'm still new to the Residential side of this business so here are the following lessons that I would share with all the newbies out there that I learned after servicing my second Residential client...
About the job:
2,000 Sq./ft. Townhome
13 Panes @ $6 Each
4 Bug Screens @ $3 Each
2 Sliding Screens @ $5 Each
Estimated Time of Completion (At my current level of speed for Resi) - 1.5 Hrs.
Total Price: $88 In & Out (I gave her a break on the total price for being a first time client)
1) Wear Shoe Covers at all times when inside the clients home. I put them on after asking for permission to enter the home and she immediately thanked me for doing so. "This looks like the sign of something that could be long-term here", were her exact words, with a big smile (referring to establishing a long-term relationship).
2) Inspect every single pane and keep an eye out for hard water spots and other signs of lack of care after a long time. I failed to do this by quickly adding up the total number of panes without really looking at them. I ended up spending so much time scraping each pane, re-agitating the glass, re-scraping, re-agitating, re-scraping, and so on... I did eventually get every pane to look restored to perfection.
3) Dry brush every screen before scrubbing it town. I failed to do this and I ended up with dusty screens with swirl marks that I had to wipe down again with a clean, wet rag.
4) Make sure that you include EVERYTHING that the client asks for in your proposal. She asked me after I gave her my initial quote if I could clean the screen on her front door. I told her I would and didn't think anything of it...that is until I had to do it. I realized that the only way to clean it was by taking it apart. Screw. By. Screw. Not to mention that there were three separate screens that were attached to this wrought iron door. BAM! Half an hour right there, trying to get the dang things off, get 'em cleaned, then back on again. All without charging her a cent for it. I'm a real nice guy and didn't think to charge her but didn't realize how much it cost me. Next time if ever a client asks for something like that again, I'm gonna tack on at least $25 to the total.
Between the Hard Water Spot removal (which basically what the job became), the botched screen cleanings and the Front Door Screen(s), I turned what was supposed to be a 1.5 hour job into a 3 hour one. So needless to say, I learned my lesson. But here's the flip side to all of this: The client was so extremely pleased with my work that she asked me for more business cards to give to her friends and said she would love to recommend me to them (Boom. Potential money in the bank). She also mentioned that she wished she had a pressure washer so naturally I told her that I was going to add that to list of services in the near future and would call her as soon as I did. Without hesitation, she asked that I did just that (Boom. More potential money in the bank). All in all, she gave a check for an even $100. I told her it was a pleasure meeting her and thanked her for her business. Here are some extra points to keep in mind:
5) Humor goes a looong way. People love to buy from people they know, like and trust. The first and last come with time but if you can make the customer laughing, they'll like you immediately and will keep coming back.
6) Buy a stack of Thank You cards from a local $.99 store, keep them and a stack of stamps with you, then send one of those bad boys off as soon as you finish the job and include something that you and client talked or joked about.
It's stuff like #5 and #6 that make people pay the extra few dollars per pane and screen. Like so many have to me on here: Do you want to be Walmart or Whole Foods? Coffee from Circle K or coffee from Starbucks?
For those of you still reading thus far, thanks for your time. Cheers to all and keep on hustling :cool:
Frankie G.
About the job:
2,000 Sq./ft. Townhome
13 Panes @ $6 Each
4 Bug Screens @ $3 Each
2 Sliding Screens @ $5 Each
Estimated Time of Completion (At my current level of speed for Resi) - 1.5 Hrs.
Total Price: $88 In & Out (I gave her a break on the total price for being a first time client)
1) Wear Shoe Covers at all times when inside the clients home. I put them on after asking for permission to enter the home and she immediately thanked me for doing so. "This looks like the sign of something that could be long-term here", were her exact words, with a big smile (referring to establishing a long-term relationship).
2) Inspect every single pane and keep an eye out for hard water spots and other signs of lack of care after a long time. I failed to do this by quickly adding up the total number of panes without really looking at them. I ended up spending so much time scraping each pane, re-agitating the glass, re-scraping, re-agitating, re-scraping, and so on... I did eventually get every pane to look restored to perfection.
3) Dry brush every screen before scrubbing it town. I failed to do this and I ended up with dusty screens with swirl marks that I had to wipe down again with a clean, wet rag.
4) Make sure that you include EVERYTHING that the client asks for in your proposal. She asked me after I gave her my initial quote if I could clean the screen on her front door. I told her I would and didn't think anything of it...that is until I had to do it. I realized that the only way to clean it was by taking it apart. Screw. By. Screw. Not to mention that there were three separate screens that were attached to this wrought iron door. BAM! Half an hour right there, trying to get the dang things off, get 'em cleaned, then back on again. All without charging her a cent for it. I'm a real nice guy and didn't think to charge her but didn't realize how much it cost me. Next time if ever a client asks for something like that again, I'm gonna tack on at least $25 to the total.
Between the Hard Water Spot removal (which basically what the job became), the botched screen cleanings and the Front Door Screen(s), I turned what was supposed to be a 1.5 hour job into a 3 hour one. So needless to say, I learned my lesson. But here's the flip side to all of this: The client was so extremely pleased with my work that she asked me for more business cards to give to her friends and said she would love to recommend me to them (Boom. Potential money in the bank). She also mentioned that she wished she had a pressure washer so naturally I told her that I was going to add that to list of services in the near future and would call her as soon as I did. Without hesitation, she asked that I did just that (Boom. More potential money in the bank). All in all, she gave a check for an even $100. I told her it was a pleasure meeting her and thanked her for her business. Here are some extra points to keep in mind:
5) Humor goes a looong way. People love to buy from people they know, like and trust. The first and last come with time but if you can make the customer laughing, they'll like you immediately and will keep coming back.
6) Buy a stack of Thank You cards from a local $.99 store, keep them and a stack of stamps with you, then send one of those bad boys off as soon as you finish the job and include something that you and client talked or joked about.
It's stuff like #5 and #6 that make people pay the extra few dollars per pane and screen. Like so many have to me on here: Do you want to be Walmart or Whole Foods? Coffee from Circle K or coffee from Starbucks?
For those of you still reading thus far, thanks for your time. Cheers to all and keep on hustling :cool:
Frankie G.
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