The Roof Cleaning Institute Of America Training & Certification Forum
"Find A Certified Roof Cleaner Directory"

And someone will come along and do it for $175 and really tick him off.

VeriSign used to sell domain names for, what was it $60 at one time?

GoDaddy took that market away from them by giving the same service for $10.

Bottom line, as I see it coming into this business, is that if you base your survival model solely on the assumption that the price won't be driven down by an influx of roof cleaners in your area, you will be disappointed and scrambling for other income at some point.  Better, in my opinion, to hold firm to your price and know what your competitors are successfully charging.  Talk to them and watch the lowball for a bit.  It may just be a promo or something, but you can deal with it together much better than alone, because by yourself you may be inclined to lower price to stay alive.  That forces the next guy down, and so forth.

The beauty of working together as RCIA members is that we CAN work together to establish a model for fair pricing in our area.  I am not talking about price fixing, rather an understanding of an average going rate supported by our certified techs.

Everything else being equal, price will most frequently determine the sale.  I'm stating the obvious.  The consumer is no different than us in that way.  If your own brother sold slingshots and you needed one badly, but your neighbor sold the same one for half the price, some might buy one from their brother, but if they needed several of them, well ....  Brother's price would come down or brother would no longer be selling slingshots.  The only way for brother to sell slingshots for twice the price would be if he were to throw in a Mossberg MMR Tactical to sweeten the deal! But then he'd have to advertise that, and not everyone would want the Mossberg ...

There is an agreed upon percentage in Real Estate that is governed by the broker, and by the fact that the buyer's agent has a choice of which homes to take the purchaser to see.  The percentage given to the purchaser's agent is clearly listed on the MLS listing.  Most will take the small percentage into consideration when lining up properties to show.

Our business has no such mechanism; therefore, it comes down to sales approach, quality, credentials, reputation, and price.  Frequently price is first.

Perhaps all of RCIA could be on the same page with an established median price for the industry.  We talk .20 per sq. ft., + pitch added in.

Is there a possibility of price being less of an unknown publically at RCIA, for the sake of the public understanding a going rate for a certified cleaner/tech? 

http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm

One of the most seasoned vets here talked more accurately in terms of price per gallon.  This excludes pitch as a factor, but that's more or less up to the individual to determine based on his ability and equipment.

Price will always be discussed.

My bottom line is that I wish to be paid well for the services I offer and my expenses that keep me in business and that allow me to provide the safety and the quality I provide and that my customers expect.  I wish that my competitors will all do the same.

It'll always come down to the guy who is strapped and can't make his car payment or needs a fix or something.  We'll see him at $100 bucks.  I've seen Chris talk about them, while still enjoying his great success out there.

Just my 2 cents.