Today I received an email asking some marketing/action plan type questions.  I thought you would benefit from the answer as well.  Enjoy!

Here’s the email. 

Hey Steve!
 
 It’s <name deleted for privacy> again! Thanks for your advice last time about whether or not to combine my residential cleaning business with the window washing. We’ve decided to run the businesses separately since our housecleaning business is still small.

<name deleted for privacy>

Here is my response:

Hi <name deleted for privacy>:

Good morning.  It’s good to hear from you. 

Right…what happens is the longer you take to make that first step, the harder it is to take.  So I highly recommend that you stop thinking about things, follow the roadmap laid out for you in my manual and newsletters, and get going.

This is really a very simple business, but in order for any of it to work, it’s necessary to ink a spot on your calender where you can "get out there".  I promise you that after the first day of "being out there", it gets so much easier, and you’ll feel so much more comfortable.  That’s not to say that you won’t bump up against an obstacle or two as you build and grow because we all run into that on occasion.  But by taking action regularly, and not thinking about things, those obstacles will be just small bumps in the road that don’t mean a thing.

Back to your email though.  I’m glad you’re looking at your calender to get this show going.  I personally don’t think you need that much money though (2k).  Perhaps this is what might be holding you back?  This is one business that quite literally can be started on a shoestring.  It’s a simple matter of coming up with a few dollars to start, and then reinvesting from profits.  Once you do one flyer distribution, the calls will come, your schedule will fill up, you’ll make money/profits, and therefore you can use a portion to reinvest and keep it going/growing.  So if you’re waiting ’til May because you want to save up $2,000, that’s not necessary.

You mention that there are 2 of you.  What I would consider doing though is to hire 2 or 3 kids to distribute flyers for you.  I talk about this a lot.  I used to drive 2 to 3 kids to my targeted subdivisions on saturday morning, let ‘em loose, and 2 or 3 hours later, 1000 flyers were distributed.  It’s easy, it’s fast, and it’s inexpensive.  I’d pay ‘em each $15 to $20, so for a maximum investment of $60 and the cost of some flyers, I’m going to receive on average of 10 phone calls over time which will turn into 7 or 8 jobs which will provide profits in the neighborhood of $1500.  Not bad for such a puny investment. 

Another alternative is to use the flyer/rock/baggie technique where you throw the flyers out your car window.  It’s working for many window cleaners.  And we recently upload two 1/2 page flyers on one sheet of paper so you can save some money.  They’re located here. Print ‘em, cut the flyers up, and stick one 1/2 page flyer in a baggie with a rock.  It’s a great way to get out a massive amount of flyers quickly. 

It’s all about the numbers, so no matter how you decide to distribute flyers, you need to think of the best way that won’t take you a lot of time while costing you an arm and a leg.  Both the "kids" and "flyer/rock" fulfill those requirements.  I definitely wouldn’t spend hours distributing flyers yourself.  As you said, the money is there as far as plenty of target homes/windows, but it wouldn’t be wise for you to personally hoof it all day through neighborhoods.  At the end of the day, you’ll be plum wore out, plus you won’t have as many flyers distributed vs if you had 3 kids blanket an area for you.  The big thing to think about is consistency in your marketing/flyer distribution, so sure, you can make it through one day no probs, but will you be motivated enough to get out there the next day and the next day after that?  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  Anyway, just keep this in mind.  10 to 15 year old kids can pump out a lot of flyers for you quickly.

Regardless what you do though, as you mentioned in the email, there is no reason at all why you won’t be able to clean up in profits.  Just be consistent as I mentioned and reinvest in further marketing at all times.  And I just read the part in your email where you’re willing to put money/profits right back into advertising, so congratulations.  I wouldn’t put it all back though.  The reason is because it’s simply not necessary.  As I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t take a lot of money to get this business humming along nicely. 

Ok…as far as recommendations on how to spend the money on your first round, I would focus solely on flyer distribution.  This can provide you a steady stream of phone calls and customers.  I personally would ink right on your calender/daytimer- "500 flyers-7am to 9am"  If you do this every morning just 4 days a week , you are talking about a business that’ll grow beyond your wildest imagination.  And I’m not exaggerating in the least.  Just play the numbers.  Keeping it conservative, 2000 flyers distributed weekly will turn into 20 phone calls over time.  If you present yourself well with an impressive estimate presentation, those 20 phone calls will most certainly lead to jobs galore.  It’s a good thing there are 2 of you, because if you follow what I’m talking about, you’ll need the manpower to do the work.  ) 

If you would rather not take 2 hours every morning for flyer distribution, no problem.  Then go out at one time on Saturday morning.  This is what I used to do.  By noon, I’d have a thousand flyers in prospect’s hands with a guarantee of at least 10 new calls coming in. 

Either way, just remember to do the numbers.  At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is soooooo important.  I recently spoke to someone who said he was going to get out 20 flyers.  20 flyers may sound like an ok amount, but it’s peanuts.  1% of that isn’t even one phone.  Even 200 flyers is only a measly 2 phone calls.  So think 500, 1000, and even 2,000 flyers.  It takes numbers to generate the activity.  Sometimes when I say this, it might make window washers a bit nervous because it may seem overwhelming.  But if they just chip away at the numbers every single day, by the end of the week, the numbers will be met and the calls will come in resulting in a growing business.

Ok…so now let’s look beyond flyers.  You’ve gone 30 days and distributed thousands of flyers.  Calls are coming in.  Your business is growing.  Sweet.  At this point, it’s time to perhaps consider firing up some postcard campaigns.  I wholeheartedly believe that postcards will bring you in excellent business.  However it does take a few more dollars to get started with postcards.  It’s really important to mail consistently to neighborhoods over and over again.  And this does take a few bucks.  But once you get the postcard system in place, similar to flyers, the calls will come in regularly, and you can reinvest in more postcards.  I used postcards almost exclusively (with the exception of my saturday morning flyer distribution "dump") because they were so easy to send.  One 5 minute phone call to Dick (my mail guy discussed in the manual), and my mailing was on the way to hundreds of prospects. 

So…to recap.

1.  Start off with flyers.  Be consistent.  Try and do 2,000 per week the first 30 days. If you can do more, great, but at least 2k.  Go daily or one lump sum on Saturday. Use either kids or the rock/baggie technique.  Either one works. 

2.  Again…do this for a solid month.  The calls will come in and your schedule will fill up.  Don’t lose focus during this "massive action" phase.  What you do the first 30 days will dictate your long term success.

3.  One month is now over, so you may want to investigate and set up some postcard campaigns.  If you need detailed assistance on this, let me know when you’re ready and I’ll be glad to provide it.  I do talk at length within my manual about postcards also.

4.  You can lower your flyer distribution to 500 or 1000 per week (after 30 day period).  It’s always good to blanket neighborhoods multiple times, so keep this in mind.  Some times people need to see your message multiple times before they’re convinced you are the company for them.

5.  Take the time at this stage (again…once the initial 30 days are over) to introduce yourself to some other service businesses.  There are all kinds of businesses out there being asked by their customers if they know anyone who cleans windows.  Some window cleaners make the mistake of going for the home run trying to find that one company who will send them lots of window cleaning jobs.  Please don’t do that.  If you have 10 companies each sending you one job a month, that’s excellent.  It’s gravy profits that you didn’t have to pay for or take the time to market to. 

Hope the above helps.  It really isn’t overwhelming if you break it down into pieces.  Just stay focused and just be consistent.  No distractions and no "thinking too much".  That’s what it’s all about.  If you follow the above tips, you will have a rock solid foundation for your window cleaning business that will continue to grow for years to come.

Take care for now <name deleted for privacy>.  If you have any other questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Steve
256-546-2446