Can I “Afford” Professional Move Management Services? (Part One)
By Mary Holmes
We all want to make sure we are getting a good value for the money we spend – no matter the product or service. I often get asked “How much do your services cost?” or “Are your services expensive?” Just like any other service, not everyone needs the services of a Professional Move Manager. For example, if you have lived a simple life or have kept up with the declutter process, you would not need our downsizing services. Or if a senior has children that are willing and able to help with the downsizing and moving process, there is no need to hire a professional. But for many, the process is overwhelming and they are physically and emotionally unable to get through the process alone and don’t have the help they need. In one of our recent blog posts, “The Top Five Reasons You Should Work with a Professional Move Manager”, we discuss this in depth. Here we will explain why it is actually an affordable service for most people. This is the first of a two part blog.
You Decide How Much or How Little
We offer a complimentary initial consultation and estimated cost of services. At this time, we will have a conversation about our clients’ goals and how these goals might be achieved. We explain what services we offer and understand from the client what services they feel they need. Our estimate will be broken down by each service and we will judge, based on experience, a range of how many hours each service will take to complete. The client can then decide which of these services they would like us to move forward with based on their budget. Throughout the project, we will communicate with the client as to how many hours remain in our estimate to make sure there are no surprises.
Competitive Hourly Rate
We started Integrated Move Management primarily to help seniors and their families – whether we are providing downsizing and moving services for a client moving to a retirement community or conducting an estate clean out for a family that has lost a loved one. We are extremely conscious of the fact that, at these times, there are many expenses incurred and we want to offer our services at a competitive cost. First and foremost, we want to ensure our services are affordable for a majority of people. Secondly, of course, we want to ensure our company is sustainable and profitable.
Assessing the Most Efficient Plan
Our goal is to assess how we can accomplish our clients’ goals in the most cost effective way possible. There are typically more than one ways to go about a project. We will explain this to the client along with associated costs and take direction on how to proceed. For example, a recent client we worked with was downsizing from a home to a retirement community in Brunswick, ME. They had an attic space full to the brim of a lifetime of discarded items (similar to many of us). To go through this space box by box, item by item would have taken many hours. I asked the client if they thought there was anything of either great monetary of sentimental value in the space – they felt there was not, but asked if I could quickly assess this. In a matter of a few hours, I found several interesting and possibly valuable items that we could sell and a few sentimental items, quickly designated items for donations, recycling and trash. By giving the client the opportunity to decide if it was worth possibly 15 or 20 hours to sort through the attic item by item – we ascertained that the costs would not be worth it to them and kept costs to a minimum, efficiently cleaning out the space.
Stayed tuned for additional information on the affordability of Professional Move Management services in our next Blog. And as always, if you have questions, please click here to Contact Us.
