Hi Folks:

I recently wrote a post that included a couple of letters for prospects. Lo and behold, a few days ago I got an email from a window cleaner asking for a customer follow up letter.

Quick notes before I post the question/reply.

I personally just called customers up vs. sending letters. At the end of every appointment that you do, you should always, always ask your customer this question: "Mrs Jones,  it’s important to get your glass professionally cleaned on a regular basis so that the glass stays protected year round. Most of my customers have their glass cleaned every six months while others have it cleaned every year. What time frame suits you the best?"

And then don’t say anything. Wait for the customer to commit with an answer. If she/he  is noncommital, then put ‘em down for 6 months and start making your follow up calls then. But you need to have some follow up date. We’re not in this for the one-time window cleanings, right?  Although we’ll certainly take ‘em, our business needs to be built around a few hundred REPEAT customers. This is what separates the "so-so" window cleaners from the extremely profitable window cleaners. The average window cleaners are running all over the place looking for those quick hits. Us profitable window cleaners are taking our time "training" our customers to come back again and again. Cool, huh?

Now getting to the letter. To rely solely on a follow up letter to get the customer to call you and close the sale isn’t the way to do it. One on one communication on the phone is what closes the sale. But a letter could be used as kind of a reintroduction to you and your service. In addition, within the letter you can let them know that you’ll be calling them in a few days. So 2 or 3 days after the customer receives the letter, use the phone to secure the job.

Ok…here’s the email/reply:

steve i need a letter of some sort for the customers needing a repeat service. I want them to know i’m still here. can you please give me a good letter which i could send out. thanks

joe

My Reply:

Hi Joe:

Good morning.  Sure..I’ve done up a letter and posted it below.  Just make sure you follow up with a phone call. Letters are too easily dismissed.  So folks need to be prompted into action and into an appt.  A phone call will do this.  The letter just breaks the ice a bit, but it generally won’t be responsible for securing the appointment. Here’s the letter. 

Hi John and Sue:

According to our records, we last cleaned your windows on <date here>.  So it’s that time again to revitalize your view and give you crystal clear windows again.

Please call us at your earliest convenience so we can fit you into our schedule. If we don’t hear from you shortly, we’ll contact you to see what a good date and time would be for you.

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you again. Have a great day.

Warmly,

Steve Wright
Clearview Window Washing Service

I asked them to call us within the letter. Some will, most won’t. So as mentioned earlier, set a time to call them back and secure the appointment. As a side note, you can send personalized letters automatically from within my software program, The Customer Factor (Update: closed ’til April).  It inserts the "last job date" and does everything with one click. 

Take care for now. Have a great day.

Regards,

Steve

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