What win rate should I expect?

It varies by trade and how you sell, but winning everything is a signal worth investigating. Some rejection means the price is being tested.

Should I raise all my prices at once?

Usually not. Start with new quotes and the work you least want more of. That tests the market without risking the customers you value.

How do I raise prices with existing customers?

Tell them before it happens, say why in one sentence, and do not over-explain. Most reasonable customers expect increases; what they resent is finding out on an invoice.

← Answers

How do I know if I am underpricing?

Two signs, and neither is winning too many jobs. You are busy and the money does not arrive. And you cannot say what a specific finished job actually cost you to deliver — because if you cannot, your price was set against a guess and has probably not moved since.

Busy and broke is the classic signature

Full schedule, good reputation, nothing in the bank. That combination is almost always pricing rather than spending. Work is being sold for less than it costs to do, and volume is hiding it by keeping everyone occupied.

Winning nearly everything you quote

A high win rate feels like success and is usually a warning. If almost nobody says no, the price is not being tested. Losing some jobs on price is a sign you are near the edge of what the work is worth.

Check one finished job properly

Take a job that is done and paid. What did it actually cost — labour at real loaded rates, materials at what you paid, the drive time, the return visit nobody logged? Compare that with what you invoiced. One job done honestly tells you more than a month of averages.

The number that gets forgotten

Your own time. Owners routinely price themselves at nothing and then conclude the job was profitable. If you worked on it, it has a cost, and leaving it out is how a business looks fine for years while its owner earns less than the people he employs.

Also asked

What win rate should I expect?: It varies by trade and how you sell, but winning everything is a signal worth investigating. Some rejection means the price is being tested.
Should I raise all my prices at once?: Usually not. Start with new quotes and the work you least want more of. That tests the market without risking the customers you value.
How do I raise prices with existing customers?: Tell them before it happens, say why in one sentence, and do not over-explain. Most reasonable customers expect increases; what they resent is finding out on an invoice.

Written for your trade

This is the kind of thing Solomon works through with owners using their own numbers. See how it works →