Steve,
Good afternoon. Thanks for the gift points and recommending SendOutCards. I’m normally very skeptical of MLM companies but this appears different and I can see definite benefits for our window washing company. We did a follow-up call to a lady concerning an estimate and she mentioned they got the card and it was “cute”.
Anyway we would like to send out more cards but obviously need to join. May we request your Sponser ID?
One other question. I was thinking of modifying one of your flyers and adding a coupon. I know you don’t tend to recommend companies in the beginning do so and I don’t want to make our service about price. I hear of many companies offering deals though. Not like deals such as “20 windows for $199″. Even though it may bring business I can see many problems. I had in mind offering a certain dollar amount off or referral discount since we tend to add a little extra into bid anyways. Good idea or should we just continue putting name out there “as is” and be patient?
We need more customers like the house I did yesterday. I was a little quicker this time around. I don’t want to be at customers house too long but she didn’t seem worried about time. I gave her a $286 estimate but she said that’s not enough, and gave me $350. She felt bad that she had let her windows go for 8 years since last cleaning, but said I did a better job by far than anyone in the past. She wants us back every 6 months. While I was there her sister-in-law stopped by and she told her about us and gave her our card. She asked for more cards to give to some her friends.
Take care.
Josh
My Reply:
Hi Josh,
It’s good to hear from you. I feel exactly the same way about mlm companies. Too many scam companies out there. But I’m a firm believer in greeting card sending, so Send Out Cards is the perfect fit for this. It’s hard to get excited about overpriced vitamins or soap, but I can definitely get excited about a product that’ll build my business. 
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As I look back over the years, one of the biggest things I see window cleaners do is do what everyone else does. Generally speaking when window cleaners are going in one direction, you want to go in the opposite direction. If they zig, you zag.
There are an incredible amount of average window cleaning businesses out there just plodding along from one window cleaning job to the next. They are technicians who think like employees instead of treating their window cleaning business like the business it is.
So if you want to rise above the fray and build a really successful window cleaning business, it’s about scaling up. All the big window cleaning companies have done this and continue to do this. They certainly don’t grow their companies by waiting for people to call them.
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I recently received an email from a window cleaner asking if I had any suggestions on how we can get a jump start to the spring time. There are many ways to do it, but one of the best is listed below. It does require you to have some kind of a customer base in place though, so if you have no customers currently because you’re just starting your window cleaning business, I’ll catch you in the next tip.
The way to do it is to send out a systematic mailing campaign to your customer list announcing a special offer with a clear cut expiration date on the offer. I was never a big fan of building my business around “price” because that generally turns your business into just another commodity. However there’s no denying that a special offer combined with an expiration date works!
And with springtime almost here, this is the time to launch what I’m about to talk about.
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I just completed a report on the power of press releases and how they can benefit your window cleaning business. Submitting a Press Release or multiple press releases related to your business will increase your exposure online leading to more prospects finding your website. Plus press releases are great search engine optimization (SEO) tools because they can be used as “link magnets” which can boost your website in the search engines.
If you’re in my database, you received this report recently as an email attachment. I have also uploaded it to The Download Center. Even if you saved the attachment, I would recommend that you go into The Download Center and grab the latest version of How Your Window Cleaning Business Can Benefit From Press Releases. It’s been updated with some very important information.
Oh, I also included over 40 press release sources within this in-depth report where you can submit your press release to for free!
Enjoy the report,
Steve
I recently received a question from someone asking if it’s a good idea to market their window cleaning business on craigslist. He went on to ask if anyone else is doing that.
My response to this is to absolutely give craigslist a try. Any kind of marketing is worth a test to see if it brings in any business. Of course it does depend on what kind of investment is needed to run the test, but since craigslist is free to list your business and service, then you should definitely post your business information there.
I do know window cleaners who advertise on craigslist and they do receive calls. Understand though that it should never be your main source of marketing/advertising. The quality of the prospects aren’t the best, and you’ll get more price shoppers vs if they were responding to a flyer or postcard, but again, you’ll get some business from it.
For those of you reading this who aren’t familiar with craigslist, go to http://www.craigslist.org. On the right will be a list of cities in your State. Choose the city where you are doing business/want to get prospects from. Then look for a “Services” section.
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I recently received an email that I thought I’d post to the blog. It’s about the low ballers of the world out there charging low prices. We’ve all had to deal with ‘em. So I thought you might benefit from my reply.
Steve
Hey Steve,
I just bought your program and I’m excited to start using the materials, I’m starting my 2nd window cleaning business. My last one was back in 1992-93. Anyway I’ve been looking at what some of the people are pricing in my area now. Back in ’92 I was pricing @ $2 per pane. I’m wanting to price now @ $3-4 dollars. My concern is that guys in my area are pricing @ a BUCK yes a buck per pane!
How are they making money and how am I going to be able to grow my business to do this full-time when my competition is shooting themselves in the foot along with dragging the whole market down with them. Any help would be great. Thanks
Ron
My Reply:
Hi Ron,
Good morning and it’s great to hear from you.
So you were a “per pane” pricing window cleaner? I didn’t focus so much on panes as I did on the entire window. So for example, my pricing was $5 for a regular double hung window with a top and bottom sash. So to equate it to your pricing, it would be $2.50 per pane. Keep in mind that this pricing doesn’t include screens.
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A recent email from a fellow window cleaner:
Hi Steve,
I collected the program from my post office box today!
A couple of things I noticed in the marketing section:
Here (in Australia) you are not allowed to approach houses and put advertising material in door jams, on door handles or under mats, etc. But you are allowed to put material (non postage) directly in mailboxes!
A quick question: As I will be a new business starting out, with the flyers is it a good idea to put an offer and deadline on them to get more of a direct response? E.g. 10% off your 1st service, offer ends dd/mm/yyyy.
The reason I ask this is that I previously ran my own personal fitness studio and after some trial & error we got a better response when we put an offer and deadline on our advertising.
Cheers,
Jim
My Response:
Hi Jim,
Good morning and I’m glad everything arrived safe and sound. I look forward to working with you as we build you a successful window cleaning business.
That’s great that you have the ability to put non postage items in mailboxes. Excellent. That’s actually better than what we’re able to do here in the States. We have to walk to their door which adds additional time to our marketing process.
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Hi Steve,
I have a question. I consulted How To Start Your Own Residential Window Washing Business, but didn’t find anything on this particular subject. Up here in NE Ohio, we get a fair amount of rain (Trivia: last year we got more rain than Seattle and Ohio is noted as being the second cloudiest state in the country). On Monday and Thursday, I have jobs scheduled and currently, the weather forecast is calling for possible showers. What do you recommend that I tell the customer?
Hope all is well with you.
BTW – if you ever need a testimonial for your website, you can count me in.
John Blystone
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