Utilizing Bundle Discounts and Upsells for Your Pressure Washing Business
Pressure washing businesses that price their service low and can’t upsell customers will likely go out of business. A good pressure washing advertising strategy is great for getting leads. A great sales strategy can help close leads. But if you aren’t pricing your services with profit margin in mind then you are letting success slip through your fingers.
Increasing your price per job is the best way to start making more profit. A great way to do this is by offering enticing bundle discounts. But not all bundles are built the same. Let's cover what upsells make you the most money and more importantly, how you phrase the upsell in order to close the customer. This article will not cover the overall pricing strategy.
Price Per Ticket
Would you rather have 10 pressure washing jobs in a day and make $200 from each job or would you rather have 5 pressure washing jobs and make $400 from each job?
Fewer jobs mean:
less travel time
less paperwork
less waiting for payments
less chance of an accident happening
fewer headaches
Front Walkway Add On
The way I would structure this upsell is if someone wanted a house washing, I would offer them 50% off to pressure wash their front walkway. In the neighborhoods I would work in, most front walkways were 15-35ft.
This translates to an additional $50-$120 for an additional 20 minutes of work with a surface cleaner. I always pre-treat the walkway and then do the house washing. After the house washing, I would hit the walkway with a surface cleaner and do some touch-ups with the pressure gun
Only Selling Packages
Some pressure washing business owners only sell all-inclusive packages that include the walkway, driveway, and sometimes even gutter cleaning with the house wash.
I don’t like advertising packages because:
The initial price tag can be tough to stomach for some homeowners. I found that it was easier to start with a single service and then add on upsells as needed
It is easier to convey the value of each sale when they are proposed individually
Many homeowners only want a house washing and don’t want the other services
Some homes don’t have front walkways or have asphalt driveways
My approach leans towards giving the customer what they want, and most customers prefer ‘a la carte’ services they can pick and choose from. Pushing packages on homeowners can make the process feel forced. Getting your service offerings in line with customer expectations means that you are always moving with the grain.
Phrasing on the Sales Call
The best way to get the customer to get a front walkway add-on is to mention specifically if they want the “WHOLE” house cleaned. When on the phone with the homeowner I would run through my usual script and then say:
“We are also offering a 50% discount for front walkway pressure washing if you want the whole house cleaned in the front — for your house, the front walkway would normally be $180 but with the 50% off it would only be $90 more”
Marketing studies have repeatedly shown that setting an initially high price and then discounting the initial price conveys more value to the customer. Make sure to let the customer know the initial price BEFORE the discount is applied. If you are doing a house washing then you should at minimum be charging $350. An extra $80 or $90 to pressure wash the front walkway is a relatively small add-on in comparison to the price tag of the house washing.
What do you think is easier to sell to a homeowner:
$500 for a house washing a front walkway cleaning
$420 for a house washing and an additional $80 for the front walkway
You have to baby step the sales process. Small pills are easier to swallow than big pills.
Driveway Upsell
Approach this add-on exactly the same as the front walkway add-on. If the homeowner has an asphalt driveway then a pressure washing may be completely unnecessary. If they have a concrete driveway then upselling the driveway is a no-brainer. It is important to price this at a higher rate than a front walkway due to grease stains from the cars parked on the driveway. Any grease stains will require a longer time to pre-treat in addition to the extra chemicals needed.
Gutter Brightening
This add-on is excellent because it requires very little extra equipment and the prep time involved is very minimal. You do NOT need to use a ladder for this service, a extension pole works perfectly fine.
Equipment needed:
Extension pole
medium bristle brush attachment
5-gallon bucket
Gutter brightening chemical
The goal is to remove ‘tiger striping’ on the exterior of the gutters.
You have probably seen this striping pattern before on gutters. They are easy to remove and brush right off with an acid chemical application, however, this can be a more intensive and physically demanding job, especially for 2nd story gutters so price it accordingly. I typically price gutter brightening exactly as I price gutter cleaning.
Another note, if the chemical drips onto a deck, the chemical will discolor the wood, painted wood, or trex decking so you will also need to put a tarp over these surfaces. This upsell is easy for a homeowner to buy into if they care about the presentation of their house. The first year I offered this as an add-on for customers we did an additional $7800 in revenue from gutter brightening alone. This is 40 minutes of extra work for an additional $225-$550.
Cleaning Outdoor Patio Furniture
Most people never get their outdoor patio furniture cleaned. Most outdoor furniture that requires cleaning will be plastic or wicker furniture. This is very easy to clean and can usually be done with your house washing solution and soft washing the furniture. This add-on is easy because the patio will likely be right next to the house so almost no extra hose management is required.
I have found that it normally takes an additional 10-15 minutes to remove the cushions and thoroughly clean a patio set. Charge accordingly and increase the ticket value while giving the homeowner a new appreciation for their outdoor seating area.
In addition to knowing how to maximize profit with upsells, it is important to know what upsells might be bringing in revenue and increasing price per ticket but decreasing your profit margin. See why I stopped offering window cleaning upsells in order to focus on services that make more money with less hassle.