Archive for July, 2007

Ready to Roll…

An Email in response to a recent newsletter…

Isaac

My Response:

Hi Isaac:

It’s nice of you to write and I appreciate your comments.

Wow…the restaurant business.  I can imagine folks in that business would burn out eventually.  I’ve told my wife numerous times over the years…"Now the restaurant business is one business I would never want to be in".  Open 7 days a week, dealing with food waste, health dept, etc etc. 

Speaking about the health dept., a number of years ago prior to window cleaning, I looked into buying and operating a hot dog stand. Man oh man…the hoops I needed to jump through with the health dept were unreal.  I crossed that business off my list real fast.  They want you to sign your first born child over to them.  )

So it’s time to step it up?  Congratulations.  The window cleaning business is a very profitable biz. If you’re willing to take solid action, the business will eventually take on a life of its own.

And you are in a prime market.  <location deleted> is a dynamite market to be in.  People need your services. You just need to let ‘em know you’re in the window cleaning business, wow ‘em with your professionalism, and bada bing, bada boom, the jobs will come. 

As far as the website offer, the last day to take advantage of it is July 31, so jump on board by then and you’ll be good to go.  You can sign up here.

Ah…the "fear of failure".  It is a common one.  And it’s understandable for so many of us.  So you’re not alone when it comes to that.  Check out this additional info I wrote a few months ago concerning "fear". You may have already read this though when first signing up for my window washing program.  If you can bust through this fear issue, and just start taking some action, there’s a rewarding window cleaning business waiting on the other side.     

I can understand the fact that folks are looking at you and not comprehending why you want to leave a good family business and do your own thing.  My family is similar in that they’re the traditional types.  They think "normal" is to get a job, work it 40 or so years, retire at 65, and get a gold chain.  But there is way more to life than that.  As you mentioned, being a "corporate drone" isn’t what it’s all about. 

Right…even though you don’t have any customers/prospects yet, you can play with The Customer Factor with fake customers/prospects.  Anything you do can always be deleted.  And you can’t break the program.  )  So no worries there.  I have a whole myriad of new features being released within the coming weeks too.  So stay tuned for that.  It’ll get bigger and even more powerful over time.

I’m glad to hear that you’re motivated and inspired after receiving my last email. I think many folks kind of get caught in a rut and just go along because it’s what they’re used to doing.  They’re in a comfort zone, so why do things that are uncomfortable, right?  I understand this completely.  "Been there, done that" as they say. 

Many times it’s easier to remain in that comfort zone then it is to try something new or different.  Especially when you have naysayers ragging you about it.  You have to ignore ‘em though.  I know they mean well and only want the best for you, but these well meaning intentions will limit your options and squash your growth.  As I mentioned in my email, if I listened to my father, even though his intentions were good, I’d probably still be changing oil.    

One thing I’d like to just ask you to remember while you’re growing your window cleaning business is that this business isn’t some fad that’s here today/gone tomorrow.  And this isn’t some business that requires "perfect timing" or you’ll lose out.  No.  People will need their windows cleaned ’til the end of time unless we start building houses with no windows.  )  I can’t see that happening though.  

Speaking of "perfect timing", I’ll tell you two quick stories that relate to past businesses I did and how my timing was way off.  In one business I bought a bunch of payphones.  I had visions collecting my change boxes every day.  This was about the time where payphone use was waaaaay down due to cellphones, texting, etc.  Payphones just were not being used that much.  Needless to say after checking my change boxes, there wasn’t much in ‘em.  My phone bill for each phone was more than what I was making.  Bummer.  A few years prior maybe the biz would have worked.  

Another business I had was selling travel packages through fundraising.  Right after buying into this, the very next day I read a big headline in the paper that said "Travel down 50%".  My wife and I laugh at that now.  My timing always seemed to be off.  But you never, ever have to worry about your timing being off in the window cleaning biz.  As mentioned, there will be people always needing your services. Always.  You can get started next year and it’ll be just a profitable as today. Although I wouldn’t recommend it because you’ll miss out on a year of profits.  ) 

When you sign up for The Customer Factor, you will get a "Welcome to The Customer Factor" email. Within that email is all the information concerning the new website and what I need from you.  So at that point, you can let me know your favorite design, etc.  I like Design 5 too.  Design 6 is a nice one also.

The web address is something you pick.  You can match it so it’s the same as you company name (if it’s available) or you can make it similar.  It’s up to you.  More information on this is also found within the "Welcome to The Customer Factor" email that you’ll receive after signing up.

Take care for now Isaac and I look forward to working with you. Just take little steps, one at a time, and I can assure you that your business will grow.  I see it all the time.  It’s only the folks who put everything on a shelf, plan on getting to it "someday", and remain in their comfort zone, who don’t see any results.  Oh…and remember that I’m just a phone call away at 256-546-2446.

Have a super weekend.

Regards,

Steve

A Slick Roof…and Doubling Profits!

Hey Steve,
 
Its been a while since I last wrote you and I am finding much success in this business. I have included some other areas of income with the window cleaning and am expecting to double my profits within the next year.

My Response:

Hi Bryon:
 
How have you been?  Good to hear from ya. 
 
I’m glad to hear that things are chugging along for sure.  I love to hear about "doubling your profits".  That’s the way to get it done.  Congratulations.
 
I know exactly what you mean as far the sheet metal roof.  When I ran into that situation, the majority of time I just used a pole.  I figured since it wasn’t an every day thing, every week thing, or even an every month thing, I felt it wasn’t worth the investment to buy a harness.  So I would generally climb up my 12′ step or 24′ extension ladder to get as close to the window as I could.  And my pole did the rest.  I bought my pole at home depot and it extended out to 16′, so that usually covered any situation that required a pole.
 
Another option is to just make it a low water operation similar to how you clean the windows inside the home.  But when squeegeeing, make sure you hold a towel under the squeegee so no water ends up getting on the roof.  At least you can avoid the slick roof. 
 
A third option that sometimes I would do if it was better suited was to wash the outside window from the inside.  This worked out well when I did it, but it’s got to be either a window with a removable bottom sash or a bottom sash that tilts. 
 
I hope this helps a little bit.  Take care and have a good weekend.  Oh and congrats once again on your great progress.   
 
Regards,
 
Steve

No Flyer Responses…

An email that I thought was important for everyone to read along with the response.  Please read this post in its entirety.

Hi, I know that the marketing game is in the numbers.  My granddaughter and I have passed out 400 flyers this week, and will do another 200 this afternoon.  But have not received any responses.  We have gone into expensive house areas, and followed your instructions.  I know that the average is 1% response, but 0% response can be discouraging.  Just thought I would let you know what is happening so far.
 
George

My Response:

Hi George:

Good morning.

First I’d like to say that not a day goes by where I don’t here that the response rate works.  That’s been proven so many times that I’ve lost count.  So regardless of area, regardless of situation, or regardless of whatever else comes into play, it does work over and over again.  The calls may not necessarily come in within a few days as we might like them to, but you will get the numbers eventually as I talk about in point 3 below. 

So now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about 3 specific points:

1.  July and August are traditionally the slowest months for window cleaners.  This is just the way it is.  Folks are on vacation, and their focus is on family, not their house.  As we go into september, october, whew.  Watch out. I generally don’t like to mention that there are any slow months straight out of the box to new window cleaners. Why?  Because many folks would use this as an excuse to not start.  I know this is kind of negative, but it’s just the way it is.  Some people are looking for excuses so they can justify delays, and "slow months" would be the perfect excuse.  Not everyone is like this obviously, but some are. 

I talked to someone the other day who told me he’s still looking for a "connection".  In other words, he still has not fired up a serious marketing campaign after over a full year in the biz.  There are customers needing their windows cleaned.  And they’re just waiting on a professional window cleaner to contact them.  Well…they’re still waiting.  It’s a waste of good profits.  So if I start going around telling window cleaners it’s a bit slow in the summer, that wouldn’t be good. Folks will wait until that "perfect" time to start.  And there is no "perfect time".

In addition, I personally think july and august are great set-up months where you set the stage for your business in the Fall.  I use to put extra effort into my marketing during this period.  Some window cleaners may slow down and justify it by saying it’s slow. But I doubled my efforts.  It worked and brought in more customers.  Side note:  Do the opposite of what most window washers do.  )    

2.  Direct mail (I consider "flyers" direct mail.  You’re simply hand delivering your direct mail piece) as you may or may not know, is a crapshoot.  There is no guarantee that an area you target will be a good neighborhood.  There have been neighborhoods I’ve gone into only to find out that it might be a bit tougher to crack because there are window cleaners firmly entrenched.  They have relationships built with homeowners within the neighborhood.  This is ok. It just takes double the effort to crack the neighborhood.

3.  The last pont I’d like to make is "patience".  I realize that it can be discouraging not getting calls right away, but we don’t always get the calls right away.  Do window cleaners get calls many times the same day or next day?  Without a doubt.  But not always.  It might be a week, maybe 2 weeks, etc. before the calls come.  I got a call from a window cleaner on friday who told me that the other day he got a call from a prospect who held onto his postcard for 2 years.  2 years!  Now this is definitely the extreme.  And no, you’re not going to have to wait 2 years for calls. The point I’m making is that people don’t necessarily call right away. 

Again, we all want prospects to call within a day or two or a few days of receiving our flyers.  But they’ll wait to call until the time is right for them.  Keep in mind that with 400 flyers, you’re only talking about 4 calls, right?  If you combine this point #3 with point #1 above, perhaps these 4 people are tied up with family this summer and will call you when they’re in the frame of mind for clean windows.  See what I mean?

Anyway…I know this might sound kind of strange.  But I wouldn’t be discouraged in any way shape or form.  I guess maybe because I know what kind of businesses window cleaners are building, and also what I personally have done in my business with flyer distribution.  As stated above, there is no doubt that it works.  No doubt at all.  Now all you have to do is just prove it to yourself. 

Again, keep in the back of your mind that it’s only 4 calls.  I know 400 flyers sounds like a lot.  And I know the distribution efforts of those 400 flyers probably took some time.  So you want something for your efforts.  I understand that.  But…the numbers say you’ll get only 4 calls. 

And finally…the thing that makes this whole thing tougher for you is that you personally got out there and did it.  Ok…you got your feet wet.  Great.  But you have to ask yourself whether it’s worth it.  I mean you work retail which I know demands a lot of hours.  So on an off day, do you really want to spend your day hoofing it through neighborhoods delivering flyers?  So please give some thought to faster and easier distribution methods.

Why not try what I’ve mentioned before?  Hire some teenage kids at $20 a pop and get out there on a saturday morning.  You’ll get 1000 flyers out in 2 to 3 hours.  This was quite literally a gold mine for me for minimal investment.  If you do this every single saturday at the start of your business, you will build one heckuva client base.  These are serious numbers, 400 is not.  4000 flyers each month will turn your business into a serious contender. 

Take care for now and talk soon.  Please keep me posted. 

Regards,

Steve

An Update:

The very next day after receiving the email above from George, he sent me another email saying he got 2 calls. Here it is:

This relates to point #3 that I talked about in my response above-Patience. The calls will come most definitely. Some come right away, some take a little time, but they will come. The key is to just keep on "doing the numbers" as I’ve mentioned probably a few thousand times over the last 4 years or so. )  See ya all later. 

Employees? And Getting caught in the rain…

An Email about employees and getting caught in the rain:

Hi Steve

Dave

My Response:

Hi Dave:

Are you referring to being exempt from work comp?  Yeah…you can usually exempt yourself.  But some States require work comp with as little as one employee, so it sounds like you’re in one of those States.  Bring ‘em on slowly, make sure you have the work for them, and you’ll have no probs paying into work comp.  The work is there and so are the profits. 

It was actually "Staff Leasing".  This isn’t a place like Manpower or an employment agency. I didn’t find people through them. I found my own people (through colleges, through personal recommendations) and then put them under the Staff Leasing umbrella strictly for the paperwork/tax stuff.

I still had to do the training and all the other needed employee stuff.  So they were my people.  Staff just took care of the payment part of it.

If it started raining halfway through a job, I usually continued on.  I didn’t want to pack up and come back.  Waste of time.  So if I was outside, I moved my operation inside.  If it rained really hard and the inside was already completed, then I’d try and wait ’til it was over or let up a little bit.  Now if it was raining hard before I even started my day, then I would call my customers and reschedule. 

I didn’t start the day in the rain, but if it started in the middle of jobs, as mentioned earlier, I didn’t want to come back if I could help it.

My work week consisted of cleaning windows mon. through thursday.  Friday was estimating.  Saturday morning was heavy flyer distribution.  Sunday was off.  But if I needed to, I could take any of my 3 days where I don’t normally clean windows, and stick in a rescheduled job or two.  So there is some leeway there.  Once I had people working for me, it was pretty easy to reschedule though.  Simply juggle people and jobs around to fit in the rescheduled job.  

Oh…as far as customer reaction?  I didn’t find that they had any problems for the most part.  If you continue to clean the windows in the rain, you’re still getting the windows cleaned.  So it’s not like your work is for nothing.  Also keep in mind that generally there are eaves around the house. 

So unless the rain is really pouring down hard, you can even continue on the outside when it’s raining.  I did all the time.  A few raindrops won’t make us melt and the windows will still be getting clean as I mentioned.  And this helped me avoid having to change my methods like moving inside and then back outside again.  It’s all about time, and having to move in/move back out again just wasted time. 

Take care for now.  Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Steve

Price Bump-ups and more…

An email I received the other day:

Hi Steve,

Thanks again.  Keep the great info and tips coming.  Angie & Brad

My response:

Hi Angie:

Pouch info/email was sent yesterday at 9:25am.  Here it is copied below:

"Hi Angie/Brad:

Just a quick note to let you know that I just got off the phone with ABC concerning the small squeegee holder that goes at the back of the belt around your waist.

They did send the correct part.  Back in ’97/’98, I don’t think ABC carried the kind of leather holster I needed to hold a small squeegee.  So I went to home depot and bought mine.  But what they sent you does the exact same thing.  It’s not meant for holding towels or anything else.  It’s just meant to stick a small 5 1/2" or 6" squeegee right in the middle of your back so you can easily reach for it when needed.

Hope this helps.  Take care for now.

Regards,

Steve

P.S.  I’ve sent a couple of emails recently.  Have they been received?  Sometimes emails get lost, so it’s always nice to know that my emails have been received with no problems.  Thanks."

Yup…get ready for the calls.  ) 

Have fun practicing.  It does take a bit of time to get it down pat.  Plus it takes time to get the speed up.  The first few or even 2 or so dozens jobs you do, you might find yourself not quite making the hourly income you think you should be making.  This is perfectly normal.  Again, it takes time to become a full fledged speedy and professional window cleaner.

Right….a $200 plus tip is definitely not the norm.  But I speak from personal experience when I say that you will most definitely have tips coming your way.  But the next best thing to a tip is a slight price bump-up.  For example, if an estimate comes in at $141, bump up the price to $159.  Boom…you just made an automatic $18 tip.  When you first start, it can be tough to do bump ups.  The tendency is to lower pricing so you can get all jobs.  I understand that.  But as time moves along, and your customer base is growing and growing, it becomes very easy to bump-up most estimates. 

It is a bit harder to raise an estimate that might be tiny like $80, $90, etc.  But if you have a $161 estimate or $165 estimate as an example, bump it up to $179 or even $184.  I’m just using examples once again, but I generally tried to bump up an estimate anywhere from $15 to $35 over what my "true" estimate was .  This covers your gas, the time actually giving estimates, any extra work that might be required at the house which you didn’t plan on, etc, etc.  So a bump-up is a good thing.  Especially with gas prices being so high. 

Hope this helps.  Take care for now.

Regards,

Steve

Door to Door Marketing?

An email recently from someone asking about the effectiveness of door to door marketing. 

steve, is going door to door and talking to the people more effecteve than throwing the flyer on the driveways?  
blake

My Response:

Hi Blake:

Good morning. 

Personally I would not go door to door.  I mean just imagine the time needed to do this.  Whew…it’s a lot.  As I’ve written about before, it’s all about going after a massive number of people.  And the key is to go after these people in the shortest amount of time.  Going door to door doesn’t do this.

So if flyer marketing is what you’re thinking about (good choice because it’s cheap), then I would contemplate hiring someone (2 or 3 kids) to do it for you.  I went out every saturday morning (me and 3 kids) and hit the neighborhoods hard.  By the end of the morning, around 1000 flyers would be distributed. 

My cost was only $60 ($20 per kid) and $50 in flyers.  The phone started ringing immediately.  I’d end up with 7 or 8 jobs totaling anyway from $1000 (if I was focusing on smaller neighborhoods with retirement homes) to $3000/$3500 for larger homes in other subdivisions. 

The return on investment is huge. And that’s just one Saturday!  Do this EVERY saturday and watch your business literally explode.

This business really is very, very easy.  It just requires consistent marketing as described above.

In addition to this, you can always fire up the "throw the flyer out of the car" technique.  Make sure you put an attractive flyer in attractive packaging and throw it close to the garage (nice rock inside bag).  It takes a little bit of prep work in preparing your baggies.  But the actual distribution time shouldn’t take long at all.  I spoke to someone recently who said they got out 500 flyers in an hour and a half this way.  Man oh man….that’s 2000 flyers out in a measly 6 hours.  It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s relatively cheap, and the calls will come.

Anyway…hopefully this answers your "door to door" question.  These are just my thoughts on it obviously, but it’s all about time. We only have a finite amount of it when it comes to marketing since we have to do the estimating, the jobs, the customer service, etc. If we take too long on the marketing side of the equation, then our customer base will not grow as it should.  So speed is of the essence.   Especially when someone is new to the biz.  After a period, we can slow down a bit (never stop though) because we’ll have referrals coming in, we’ll be doing repeat business, etc. etc.  Plus our reputation will be growing and prospects will seek us out. 

Take care for now Blake.  Talk soon.

Regards,

Steve

A slight Invoicing situation…

An email  received recently concerning a slight invoicing problem:

Hi Steve!

Laura & Tony

My Response:

Hi Laura and Tony:

Good to hear from you.  First off…I’m kind of curious.  Are you doing a lot of commercial business?  Because if you’re doing residential work, you shouldn’t be invoicing any customers at all.

I never invoiced anyone in 5 years.  I guess that’s another reason why I stayed away from commercial due to the invoicing and accounts receivable stuff that is required.

But as far as your residential customers, you should be bringing your invoice to the job.  At the end of the job, you present the invoice, and you get paid.  If the homeowner isn’t home, then you leave the invoice on the kitchen table.  Call ‘em later and let me know that you appreciate their business and that you left an invoice for them on the kitchen table.  You’d appreciate it if they can pop a check in the mail in the next few days.

Although I’ve had a maybe a dozen or so customers who weren’t home when I did their work, those folks were left an invoice and I always received a check in the mail no later than a week after the job was completed.  If one of my crews did the window cleaning job, then I stopped by later at the end of the day to see if the customer was satisfied.  At that time, I then presented my invoice and got paid on the spot.

So to confirm, you should never, ever, ever invoice your residential customers.  No way.  The beauty of the window washing business is you should be getting paid at the end of each job.  If you have any questions on this, please give me a jingle.  Take care for now.

Regards,

Steve

P.S. As a side note, I would immediately get on the phone with those people who owe you money and gently prompt them to pay you.  Wait a week and try again.  And from here on out, bring your invoice with you to each job and expect to get paid at the end of each job.  You might have to "untrain" your customers because they might be expecting to send in a check.  But tell them you’ve changed your policy and payment is due upon completion of work.  If you called a plumber, you would pay him when he got done, right?  If you called an air conditioner repairman, you’d pay ‘em when he fixed your air conditioner, right?  Window cleaning is no different.  Take care.

1% Response…More talk about Flyers.

Dave and I have been going back and forth.  Here’s another email and my response:

My Response:

Hi Dave:

Sounds good.  Right…based on a 1% return, you’re going to get a fraction of a phone call.  ) 

I wrote a newsletter awhile back that talked about doing some serious numbers.  It really is all about numbers. I have folks who have started fresh out of the starting gate and just blanketed their areas with flyers.  I mean hundreds and hundreds of flyers.  They immediately received calls and the calls kept on coming in because of the massive number of flyers distributed on an ongoing basis.  So I have no doubt that if you are able to do some serious numbers in terms of flyer distribution, you might not even have to work that part time job.

That’s why I talk so much about hiring some help to assist in flyer distribution.  Because if there are a massive amt. of flyers distributed initially and the calls come in, it won’t be long before you have no more time for distribution.  One of the mistakes I see from folks is that they start off with a bang, but because all of a sudden they stop promoting (due to them being busy with jobs), they wake up one day to an empty schedule.  So they basically have to start from the beginning all over again. 

The story I related this to in one of my newsletters was about pumping the well.  Remember those old fashioned wells?  Once you have pumped and pumped and pumped, and got the water flowing, it’s a lot easier to just keep a nice even steady on the pump handle to keep the water flowing.  If you let go of the handle, the water falls down to the bottom again and you have to start at the beginning and pump real hard to get it up to the surface again.  In relation to the window cleaning business, it’s a whole lot easier to keep the flow of calls coming in by regularly distributing flyers.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be a daily thing either.  A whopping 2,000 flyers distributed every saturday morning would put your business on the map without a doubt in a relatively short period of time.  Anyway…just some thoughts to ponder.   

Right…I see what you mean about the winter time.  Some of my system owners up north have done a little branching out into commercial glass because commercial customers do want their glass cleaned year round.  Just a thought.  It might be a way for you to keep busy making money year round.  Although I’m not a big fan of commercial, one big advantage is that they will use your services every couple of weeks, every month, etc. 

Take care for now and keep in touch for sure.  Talk soon.

Regards,

Steve