A Charity idea for your Window Cleaning Business…

Hey all:

Hope your week is going well so far. It's monday…it's a great day…and we're window cleaners in our own window cleaning businesses. Can't ask for anything more than that. 

Before posting the following email, I wanted to say that 3 Bears Window Cleaning Directory is off to a rip roaring start. I just started promoting it about 10 days ago and in google if you search for "window  cleaning directory" (without the quotes), it's listed in the 21st position out of over 1.3 million results. 1.3 Million! I'm taking the search engine knowledge I've learned over the years and applying it directly to 3 Bears. What this means is that the window cleaners who are listed in the directory will benefit, plain and simple. So grab a free listing in 3 Bears Window Cleaning Directory for your window cleaning business if you haven't already. And with our recently introduced new feature, you can now display your company information in 3 different cities!

Ok, I received an email a couple of days with a pretty cool idea on working with charities. For you "out of the box" thinkers out there, this is right up  your alley. Here is the email:

Hey Steve, 

I have to tell you…you’re a stud.  I recently quit my career to become a full-time student and I’m doing windows to make ends meet.  Although I like telling my buddies I’m living off my wife…it is just too humbling.  I’ve been off to as slow start by my own choice – school comes first.  But now that finals are almost over I’ve been out placing bids and closing some deals.  Here are my questions:  

1) Hard Water Stain Remover - I closed a job on a home who has never had their windows cleaned in 13 years.  They’re filthy.  As I was looking at them I think they have some serious hard water stain.  How do I use the A-1 stain remover?  I’ve done it on a few other jobs and it takes forever!  Any pointers? 

2) Six Month Business - Both of my last two bids have asked me about being on a 6 month retainer.  Do you suggest offering a discount to land that type of long term business?  I was considering a 15-20% discount if they agreed to 6 month work. 

3) Referral Discounts -  I want to build my business completely from referrals. My past life thrived on networking and relationships and it created long-term business for me.  So I was considering a discount for referrals.  For example if I got 4 new jobs from a customer then I would give that customer X% discount on their next window cleaning.  Have you come across referral programs that work well?  

4) Charity Benefit - Quick idea for those with a charitable heart.  Since I quit my job my wife and I are not able to support local causes like we used to.  So we decided to place a 20 window credit in a local charity auction and valued it at $200.  It went for $250!  I just went to the donor’s home today and they have well over 20 windows so if I choose to charge them for the remaining windows I could profit around $200.  But the customer said that three of her friends who she out bid at the auction would like my number too.  So doing something good for a local cause could end up being very profitable.  A win-win! 

Thanks for what you’ve done for my family!

Nelson

My Response:

Hi Nelson:

Good morning.  Haven't been called a "stud" in awhile.  :o)  I appreciate it for sure. 

Congrats on becoming a full time student and running a window cleaning business.  That takes guts, so again, congratulations on doing that. I always admire folks who do the opposite of what most people do.

And now onto your questions.

1.  The thing about A-1 is that it won't work in all situations.  And I can almost guarantee that it won't work for the job you're describing. I hate to say that, but it's a fact that we can't come in as magicians and give the homeowner factory new glass if their glass hasn't been cleaned in 13 years.  What happens is that calcium, iron, and other minerals from rainwater/sprinkler systems will settle within the pores of the glass.  Once this happens, they can be very difficult to remove. 

I did have one window cleaner call me very recently raving about a product called "mineral shock".  You can read about it here.    It's not as acidic as some really harsh cleaners.  I mean you could get Crystal Clear 550 from ABC, but it's very acidic. And you need to wear gloves and eyewear when using it.  So you can imagine how harsh it is.  So again…it's not possible in all situations to remove all stains.  It really just depends on the severity of the stains. 

2.  Even if a window cleaning customer doesn't ask you, you should definitely be asking them how often they would like your service.  This is a must. I asked at the end of the job when folks were most excited about their clean glass.  I didn't offer a discount though.  My window cleaning business was never built on price.  That's not saying offering discounts is wrong. I just didn't work with discounts.  One of the reasons could be because of the exact situation you're describing.  I tried a test where I offered customers a 10% discount at the door if they agreed to have me come back every 6 months.  The prob though was that when I called them in 6 months, I'd get delayed.  They might say "call me in a couple weeks".  Or call me in a month.  So I may have ended up actually doing my "six month customer" 7 to 9 months later. 

So it's possible to secure semiannual customers at full price w/o the discount.  At least that's what my test proved.  But feel free to try it yourself in your area and just monitor the results. It may work for you there.

3.  Referrals are the lifeblood of any business and are really fun to get, not to mention free since referrals are usually coming from satisfied customers.  Similar to above, I didn't provide a discount to folks who gave me referrals.  Again though…I need to stress that that doesn't mean it won't work.  I just didn't do it in my business.  I will say that it can be kind of tough to manage a "pay for referral" program.  It would create a bunch of paperwork for you trying to keep track of who referred who.  I have something I'll be posting to the blog soon from a guy who did offer discounts for referrals, but he did it with a twist.  This'll be posted to the blog soon.  So check back regularly. 

4.  Excellent, excellent idea on the charity.  Ah…you're an "out of the box" thinker.  That's a perfect way to get business exposure.  Do you mind if I post this idea on the blog?  Great idea.  Some window cleaners would look at this situation and think of "lost profits".  But it should be thought of as great company/service exposure and great PR.  A definite win-win as you mentioned.

Thanks for your comments once again and I hope the above helps.  Take care for now. And talk soon. 

Regards,

Steve