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Hello Everyone,
I am in need of some help.
I have a great opportunity to land a carpet cleaning contract for a local bank. They have 8 branches and growing quickly.
Any suggestions on pricing, negotiation, items to include in bid????
I will be submitting an intro letter to the company today, and then I will be working with a company to go to each bank to evaluate the floors and then to put in a bid for the job. They seem to want a lms too. So thats good.
Community wisdom would be very helpful, as this is my first bid for a chain.
Thanks
Nev
404-421-7445Hi Nev,
Ask some questions when determining your pricing structure. Ask about frequency such as every month or every 3 to 4 months. They will probably want an every 3 to 4 month deal. Some of my chains do it every 2 months. Just depends on Traffic. Do a net 10 payment schedule or same day payment preferred in your proposal. If they want a cheaper price than justify it by having them pre-vaccum and move whatever they want moved. Remind them you do tile, hardwood, furniture, etc. Even if they don’t have hardwood, someone who works there may ask. You not only gain the chain, you gain the employees and thier families as well. Ask to put fliers or business cards in the banks. Look at all 8 as they will be different levels of size and most likely one is worse than the other. Write back and I will send you a copy of a proposal.
Mike Nowlin
I am not experienced enough w/ commercial bidding to offer much help. I do know that for average conditions, I can make money at 20 cents per sq. ft. to clean and stain protect. The few times I went slightly below that was on very large and clean conditions. I would first try to get an idea of competitor pricing. Mike, I would never negotiate the customer to pre-vacuum. Vacuuming is the foundation of our cleaning process, an operation that we MUST do w/ our Conquest.
I agree that having the customer pre-vacuum is a mistake, unless the job needs a shovel. Regaurdless plan on doing the vacuuming anyway. If a customer does happen to pre-vacuum, I ask if they would be affended if I vacuumed anyway? No one has ever been affended. However, almost everytime I thought I was in a hurry and did not vacuum, I wished I had. Their vacuum had missed allot and has cost me more time. Use the vacuum God has blessed you with.
As far as bidding, ask what the last guy charged and if they were pleased with the work?
I, like Brian, ask for protector to be applied. It elevates customer satisfaction to a whole new level, as well as making it easier to clean the next time needed. Hope this helps.I also have not done a great deal of commercial – but when I do, I always include protector & I explain this to the clients. I also let them know upfront that I will more than likely not be the lowest bid – then I explain why. I also always use the Conquest. I have seen many homes pre-vacuumed, and then noted the almost FULL dirtcup after using our machine!! It is a key step in the HB process – and it has to be done with a powerful machine!!
I always end up vaccuming guys. 🙄 They don’t want to do it nor have their employees do it for us. I should have mentioned that most of my commercial accounts are Hotels/Motels and primarily owned by Indians. No offense to anyone. When you negotiate with Indian clientel, they almost want it for free. When you are trying to grow your business, you will do what it takes to get the job. I have found that when I mention this to them, after explaining our powerful conquest vaccum, then they take the bid with vaccuming included, but I do sweet talk them into helping with furniture pick up. I will not stray from this when it comes to Indian clientel. I clean for 30 different hotel chains, so my method must be working. Can you argue with that. Any other clientel, I would never mention it. They are often difficult to work with, but as I mentioned above, when your hungry, you have to eat. Other than trying to get it done for free, they have been a blessing and treat you like family after they see the work.
Mike
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