Discounted costs

[Dan Dan]

i've been in business for about 1 month and we offer discounted costs for new customers. how long should i keep discounted costs as a selling point?

[Clearly Prfessional]

I never discount rates. I sell them on excellent service instead. People want to be sold and they want value not cheaper rates. There is a difference between shampooers and if you are better than the next guy, sell em on that. Instead of lower rates, offer more service at "no additional charge"...dry the carpet for free, do spot removal (if you know how, if not, check out this website) take courses from your local carpet clening suplly company. Too many folks are out there doing carpets fast and cheap. They make a living doing that and you cant compete with them. If you use a portable, you actually have more work to do, not less. If you go in on the lower side, you will loose the account to the next lower guy and you will always be behind the ball.

[Donald]

I need a raise

Your goal is always to charge more for each piece of the pie.
Sell more pieces of the pie.
and make the pie bigger (this would be like converting do-it-yourself cleaning to professional service or adding another service you did not offer before).
Sears was the first big business to sell on the Good, Better, Best program.
Many times you might want to offer a basic service, for example like a basic prespray and steam rinse with no guarantees beyond the customers post cleaning inspection.
An example of a Better service might be a service that includes a complete prespray, rotary scrub with a brush or bonnet, final rinse, post spot and re-rinse and crevice around the room.
An example of a Best Value program might include a prevacuum, all the services listed in the Better service, blow dry with air movers, apply fabric or soil retardant and some type of warranty.
This way you might be able to sell services to a larger variety of buyers.