Can't Land My First Account

Big E

Big E

New member
Hey everyone, I just started going after business about three weeks ago, and I cannot seem to find anyone that is interested in having there properties cleaned. I have bid about thirteen or fourteen jobs and have followed up with almost everyone of them. When I call back, or stop in to talk with them, they just say that they are not interested. Here is one example, I bid 15,684 sq. ft. of flatwork at a local shopping center, and it was to be done once a month, so I bid it out at .08 per sq. ft. When I called them to follow up they told me that they gave the contract to someone else. I thought that .08 sq. ft. was a pretty reasonable price being it was a monthly account, but feel free to tell me if I was way off base with those numbers.
Plus, if anyone out there has a certain way that they land a job and is willing to say so, please do. I am starting to get really frustrated and am wondering if I am just a moron when it comes to sales.:confused: I can talk your ear off in general conversation, but when it comes to sales I tend to get really nervous. Any help would be appreciated.:) Thanks Againg in advance. Erik,
 
Hello Erik, All you can do is keep going back and back. Let them know you're here to stay. I've had accounts it took more than 3 yrs to get. And don't give up. Keep trying everyday. The dirty little secret to making sales is your feet. You can have the best website in the world and send out flyers everyday, but the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to get solid customers is just like you are doing. Just keep it up.
 
Big E said:
Hey everyone, I just started going after business about three weeks ago, and I cannot seem to find anyone that is interested in having there properties cleaned. I have bid about thirteen or fourteen jobs and have followed up with almost everyone of them. When I call back, or stop in to talk with them, they just say that they are not interested. Here is one example, I bid 15,684 sq. ft. of flatwork at a local shopping center, and it was to be done once a month, so I bid it out at .08 per sq. ft. When I called them to follow up they told me that they gave the contract to someone else. I thought that .08 sq. ft. was a pretty reasonable price being it was a monthly account, but feel free to tell me if I was way off base with those numbers.
Plus, if anyone out there has a certain way that they land a job and is willing to say so, please do. I am starting to get really frustrated and am wondering if I am just a moron when it comes to sales.:confused: I can talk your ear off in general conversation, but when it comes to sales I tend to get really nervous. Any help would be appreciated.:) Thanks Againg in advance. Erik,
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8¢ a sq/ft is too much for a monthly contract. 4-5¢ are good numbers.
 
Thanks for the encouragement Tony, I am going to keep beatin' feet. I just need to get over the nervousness of it all.

Ron, I have not done that, but I like it!!! I am going to call the PM back today and find out what I need to do!!!!!

When I am on the phone with them I am going to try to find out what the winning bid went for also. I think that price was fairly reasonable. I bid it at .08 sq.ft because it was a monthly account and was within 5 miles of my house. Am I a complete idiot for bidding the shopping center at that price? The flatwork was pretty clean, very little gum, and fairly easy access to the sidewalks.
 
Matt, is that .04 to .05 sq. ft. with reclaim?
 
Big E said:
Thanks for the encouragement Tony, I am going to keep beatin' feet. I just need to get over the nervousness of it all.

Ron, I have not done that, but I like it!!! I am going to call the PM back today and find out what I need to do!!!!!

When I am on the phone with them I am going to try to find out what the winning bid went for also. I think that price was fairly reasonable. I bid it at .08 sq.ft because it was a monthly account and was within 5 miles of my house. Am I a complete idiot for bidding the shopping center at that price? The flatwork was pretty clean, very little gum, and fairly easy access to the sidewalks.
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You may find out what your doing wrong, likely your at a 640 per hour rate. That might be your first problem.

They know what they are paying, how do the propertys look?
 
I wish I could do it in two hours:eek: But I have been cleaning a friend's mini-storage for free to find out how much surface I can cover in an hour's time. With rinsing I came out to 1500 to 2000 sq.ft an hour. So I bid it thinking that it would take me right around 10 hrs or so for the worst case senario. I would be doing this myself with a Pressure Pro 5.5gpm, and one Big Guy surface cleaner.
Should I be covering more surface area in an hours time? I found that if I started moving to fast with the Big Guy that I would leave swirl marks in the concrete and would have to go back over my work. Since I have had the Big Guy, I have not done any mods to it. Is there something that I can do to it to make me more efficient?
 
Big E said:
15,684 sq. ft.
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It depends on your equipment, then the pricing can be more competitive if you can get through it at a faster pace.

We did 12,000 sq ft of flat work the other day in 4 hours.
 
I try if at all possible when talking to my customers to find out with out coming straight out and asking.....what they are expecting to pay.. If I can not get them to give me an idea then I price it and go from there.
One thing I learned in the car business if you ask the right questions you will find out anything. (of course here in the south people like to talk)
Keep the customer talking to you and get on common ground with them. They will begin to trust you and tell you what you are looking for.
If you find out they are expecting CHEAP,,,,then just give them your best pricing and go from there. You never know, they could be willing to pay more than you would charge.
Ask probing questions and really listen to the answers!!!
 
Just talked to the PM and the job went for .03 sq./ft. $470.52 total.
 
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