Opportunities in Window Cleaning? You Bet!

An email  recently from someone asking about The Customer Factor and talking about what kind of opportunities he notices are out there:

Good morning,
 
I have been looking at The Customer Factor information, and have a question.  The letters that you talk about, are they already in the system, and I would just print them?  Or would I have to set the letters up the first time, and then use them?
 
Waiting on business cards, setting up insurance today.  My son is a graphic designer, and he is going to edit all the files for me to do shirts, magnetic signs, etc…so I will have a savings there…and a savings to have them done where he works.
 
It is funny how I look at windows now.  All kinds of opportunities out there.  Was at Taco Bell, and asked if they had a service do their windows.  They said come back and talk to the manager, because they wanted to change their service.  Went to have car tires installed, and could tell they had not had anyone do their windows in a long time.  So when I get my all my information letters and business cards together, I will return to these and other locations…plus pass out flyers to residential.
 
Thanks for your help,
 
George

My Response:

Hi George:

Good morning.

The letters actually aren't in the The Customer Factor.  The reason why is because I have many members who are not window cleaners.  The Customer Factor is beneficial for any service business, so I have carpet cleaners, pressure washing companies, landscapers, some maid services, etc. as members. 

You would have to create whatever documents you want to send.  Then name 'em, save 'em, and you'll be able to use 'em over and over again.  What I would do is visit the "materials" webpage (link located in manual) and simply copy the wording for the estimate package and "thank you" letter.  That'll give you 4 letters right there that you can use again and again.  Don't forget to insert the proper tokens like %fullname%, %address%, etc. on the editor screen in 'Factor so each letter is personalized.  Then every time you get a call for an estimate, simply log into 'Factor, check the 3 select boxes to the left of the 3 documents that make up your estimate package (cover letter,  reference page, and estimate sheet), and then click the print button.  It's fast and easy.

As a side note, you can create as many different letters that you want to within The Customer Factor. 

Sounds good on your son being a graphic designer.  That's one way to save some bucks.  :o)

Right…that's what I mention in my manual…the fact that you'll look at windows a bit differently from here on out.  There is a huge opportunity available out there for quality window cleaners.  There are the fly by nighters, but they don't stick around too long.

I would like to caution you though on getting too excited about the taco bells of the world and other commercial places.  Yes…you'll definitely have interest because most commercial window cleaners do a really quick and inept job.  But the problem is "pricing".  "You get what you pay for" applies here.  There are window cleaners out there willing to do commercial windows for dirt cheap.  So obviously the business owner/manager isn't going to get the best job, but most of them are not willing to pay more for quality.  They want cheap. 

That is the reason why my focus has always been on residential customers.  Homeowners will appreciate quality much more than businesses, and they're willing to pay for it.  Obviously not every homeowner is like this.  There are some homeowners who also want cheap and expect you to spend all day at their house for $50.  But overall, residential is the absolute best market to be in.  They're more loyal, they'll pay more, they'll refer you to their friends, neighbors, and family more, etc etc. 

With this said above though, I would most definitely return to those commercial locations to see if you can assist.  I'm just cautioning you not to lower your pricing so you can "underbid" another window cleaner.  If you underbid and then get the job, it might be exciting at first, but you'll be stuck doing those windows on a regular basis.  So if you underbid, you might end up regretting it.  I've seen it happen with multiple window cleaners.  Stick to your guns and price it for a quality job.  You will have to price it lower than a  normal residential job, but you can still charge an ok price and still do quality.  One thing I would recommend with commercial is to not scrape the glass.    Keep your scraper in your scraper holster so you can save some time on the job.

Just some thoughts to think about above.  Take care and talk soon.

Regards,

Steve