Late-summer offers without discounting your value

Late August can go quiet. Customers are away, and the autumn rush has not started.

The easy answer is money off. The trouble is that a lower price in August becomes the price the customer remembers in November.

A better answer is a bundle: more work in one visit, at a price that still pays you properly.

• Pair two jobs you can do in one visit.
• Price the pair so your hourly earnings hold up.
• Cap the number of slots and set an end date.
• Write down what is included and what is not.
• Offer it to past customers first.

A big share of every job is the cost of getting there: the drive, parking, unloading and setting up.

A second job in the same visit has none of that. So you can charge less for the pair than for two separate visits and still earn more per hour.

The customer sees a saving. You see a fuller day. Nobody has been told your work is worth less.

Pair jobs that use the same access, tools or part of the house.

• Roofer: gutter clear, plus a check of the roof with photos.
• Heating engineer: boiler service, plus radiators bled and balanced before the heating goes on.
• Electrician: outside light fitted, plus the other outdoor lights and sockets checked.
• Gardener: hedge cut, plus borders cleared and the waste taken away.
• Decorator: front door painted, plus the frame and step.
• Handyman: three small jobs from the customer's list in one visit.

The second job should take you much less time than it would as a separate visit. That is where the saving comes from.

A gutter clear on its own is £90 and takes 2 hours with travel. That is £45 an hour.

A roof check with photos on its own is £60 and takes an hour and a half with travel. That is £40 an hour.

Offered together for £125, the visit takes 2 hours 30 minutes, because you are already there with the ladders up. That is £50 an hour.

The customer saves £25 on the two prices. You earn more per hour than on either job alone.

An offer with no end becomes your new price.

Set a number of slots or an end date and stick to it: "ten slots, booked by 12 September".

Only say there are ten slots if there are. Customers notice when "last few" lasts all year.

Bundles go wrong when "a roof check" turns into "and fix whatever you find".

Write it down: what is included, how long it covers, and what counts as extra.

Then anything you find becomes a properly priced job, not an argument.

• Pick the two jobs you most often do at the same address.
• Time them as one visit and set the price for the pair.
• Decide the number of slots and the end date.
• Send it to past customers who have had either job before.

Hi [name], [your name] here. Before the weather turns I am offering a [gutter clear and roof check] together for £[amount], which is less than booking them separately. It includes [what is included]. Any repairs would be priced separately. I have [number] slots before [date]. Would you like one? Reply STOP if you would rather not get these.