An email recently received:

Hello Steve,

I have a prospect that i wanted your advice on.  I recently approached a man from a local chain store and asked them if they would like an estimate for their windows.  he gave me a number for their head office.  So i talked to the head of operations there and he said that they dont have anyone doing any of their stores windows and that it is his decision if they do get them done.  so he said since it is either all of the stores or none of the stores, he suggested i make a proposal for a service. 

This is just an estimate, but i'd say they have over 100 stores in the region (ie. 60 mile radius area, and maybe a few more stores a bit more out of that range that they might want lumped in as well).  i know that this company is very successful, as their parking lots are always packed with cars.  Yesterday you mentioned to me to not focus too much on a single prospect, but i know this one is different, as it is a commercial customer with around 100 repeat jobs, monthly jobs, if not bi-weekly.

How should i approach them for more info without sounding like i'm totally green to that kind of a client?  i'm worried that they'll feel that i'm too small an operator and that i can't handle that magnitude of a job(i have that feeling already, but i know it can be done- i can focus only on that job, and when it becomes routine to do it, then i can look at hiring someone to do those stores for me while i focus on the residential work).  I already know that some stores have security bars, and those are a big job to take out, maybe i should offer to do those stores on the inside twice a year only.  how should i price it, by the store depending on their size or take an average and then get paid equally per store, maybe more for the really far flung stores.  what do you think?

i wanted to get your honest appraisal based on your experience.  this is too big a customer to take lightly!  I'm really excited about this prospect.

By the way, everything is starting to come together with my advertising materials, i'm working on organizing all of the various letters you gave me and will soon approach my customers for their very important referrals.  I hope you're having a good day and that everything is going good with your family. 

Best regards, Tom.

My Response:

Hi Tom:

Good morning.

That sounds like a sweet deal if priced correctly.  A word of advice though is to make sure that you have the personnel in place to handle that type of customer.  With the frequency they need to be serviced and the amt. of the stores they have, you'll need at least 2 people full time working on just that account.  It depends on the frequency obviously, but more than likely 2 folks will need to be hired.  You won't be able to handle it yourself. Nor would you really want to.  You'll need to price it competitively which means that if you do all the work yourself, your overall hourly profits will be lower.  So by hiring 2 window cleaners to handle this "route", it allows you to continue your focus on building your overall business.  You don't want to get too wrapped up or too involved time-wise in this one customer anyway because what happens if you lose the acct?  I've seen it happen.  So if you don't have a fallback plan where you have many other customers already on the books, a loss of a customer this large could literally hurt your company overnight.  So that's one of the biggest reasons why a window cleaner should never be too dependent or tied into any one customer or relationship.

With this said though, i think this acct. is definitely worth pursuing.  As mentioned earlier, it could be a sweet acct. to have.  What you suggested in your email is the way that I would approach this type of account.  Offer to do the whole job in/out maybe every 3 months.  And then a regular outside service every 2 weeks or something like that.  But I would ask questions of the decision maker to see what he says.  He might have different plans.  Or maybe the employees would do the inside glass.  So the key is to pick his brain on what he might be interested in.  If he's not sure, then present him with 3 choices.  One choice might be once a year in/out for all stores and then a monthly "outside only" service.  Another choice might be twice per year in/out for all stores with outside only service every 2 weeks.  Another choice could be in/out every 3 months with outside service every month and the doors (customers fingerprint the doors fast) every week. 

As far as pricing, it would be too much of a hassle to price each store individually, so I would ask the decision maker if each store is somewhat similar in size and glass.  If not, ask him to let you know which one or 2 stores might represent an average of all the stores.  Then go price those 1 or 2 stores by themselves.  As far as an exact price, I wouldn't be able to help you there until I know the overall size of the glass, how many windows there are, etc. etc.  And of course frequency comes into play also because you can offer a good discount depending on how often they want it done.  Normally I'm not a fan of discounts, but this type of account requires a price break due to its size and how often they'll want the glass done.     

Hope the above helps. I wouldn't spend a great deal of time researching or working on this particular acct. because although it's certainly exciting, the decision maker hasn't really given you any indication that he has any true interest.  According to what I read in your email, it sounds like he's fishing for a number.  It would be different if they had a window cleaner servicing their account who they're unhappy with so they need to make a change and are looking for a new window cleaner.  I don't want to sound negative here at all because again, this is a great opportunity for you. But on the other hand, I like to keep it real.

Congratulations on beginning the building of your reference list.  Cool.  A strong reference list can win you many jobs.  Most window cleaners present no references when presenting an estimate.  So with everything else being equal, the window cleaner who brings references (w/phone numbers) to the table has a huge advantage. 

Take care for now and thanks for your comments for sure.  Have a great day today.  Talk soon.

Regards,

Steve 

Hey All,

I thought I'd write a quick blog post announcing that we have recently implemented two affiliate programs, one for my window cleaning "How To" product, How To Start Your Own Residential Window Washing Business, and one for my window cleaning software, The Customer Factor.

For those of you who don't know what an affiliate program is, it is simply a way for you to earn commissions on products. It doesn't cost anything to sign up and it's a great way to make some extra money on top of your window cleaning profits. And since the pricing model for The Customer Factor is monthly or quarterly, I could be paying you each month/quarter on a regular basis.

Here are the two web pages that you need to go to sign up for free and to read more:

Affiliate Program for my "How To" Window Cleaning Program

Affiliate Program for my Window Cleaning Software

Many of my system owners and software users are already in forums discussing the above products, so feel free to join 'em. :o) It's a great way to earn commissions for basically doing nothing. Just share your unique affiliate link (which is assigned to you when you sign up at the above "Affiliate Program" web pages) with other folks in forums, window cleaning hangouts, or anywhere else that window cleaners might congregate. If they visit your affiliate link(s) and end up buying, you've made some moolah! Even if they visit through your affiliate link, don't buy right away, but then come back later to buy, you still get credit for the sale. Everything is tracked.  Oh…and I pay commissions on the 1st of each month like clockwork. 

Two Final notes:

1. Obviously it's not in your best interest to sell my window washing "How To" program in your local area. Although competition is healthy, it's probably not smart to create too much competition for yourself. So it's best if you share this product with window cleaners who are not in your local area like many of the window cleaners you might run into on forums. Or if you know of a friend or relative in another location who wants to start a profitable business, great.

2. My Window Cleaning Software however is a product that can be sold to anyone in any location. And although I market it primarily to window cleaners since that's the business I was personally in, any service business owner can benefit from it. I have members who are carpet cleaners, maid services, janitorial services, pressure cleaners, etc. Any service business who deals with customers needing repeat services is a prime candidate for The Customer Factor. And if you're not a member yourself yet, come on in. The water is fine. :o)

And check this out…if you become an affiliate for The Customer Factor, make 4 or 5 sales (easy to do), you could literally enjoy a FREE membership to the software, AND I could be paying you each month. Not a bad arrangement, wouldn't you say? 

So visit the two affiliate program web pages above or below. Read about how much commission is offered for each product, why it pays to be an affiliate, etc. etc. It takes just a couple of minutes to sign up and it's FREE! Here are the 2 web pages again where you can check out the affiliate programs:

Affiliate Program for my "How To" Window Cleaning Program

Affiliate Program for my Window Cleaning Software

Have a great day.

Steve  

(Below is a window cleaner's reply to my previous reply to him)

Thanks for the advice Steve,

Going about sending a letter makes me realize I need to take better care of and be in more contact with my customers.

I am so much better these days, but when I first started I was 26 and was not so focussed on customer satisfaction past being paid for the job.

I wish I had kept better track of all those clients, and had taken better care of the ones I had, being more diligent on following up and making sure they were satisfied.

Lots of people just dont call me, Im wondering if I should drop them from my list and only focus on my clients that I know love me and build from there.

My feeling is to send one card to everyone, and one next spring, and then drop it and really focus on building a happy clientele base, and staying in contact with them.

Could you give me an idea as to what to say in offering gutter cleaning (an existing service), I also though to say something about an exterior touch up, to plant the idea to prepare for the holidays.

My sales skills arent so strong, so any advice would be appreciated, maybe a simple template letter note, to get an idea, I think I go to complex when I send letters in the past…

Yeah I worked with a friend who use to be an emyth coach for awhile, and there are a lot of systems for me to implement I know.

Thanks again,
Aaron.

My Response:

Hi Aaron:

Good morning. 

Right…follow up is really critical.  It can make or break a business.  It can be a bit costly and time consuming to always go after new customers.  Keeping current customers is much, much easier and less expensive since the initial marketing expenditure was already done (flyer, postcard, door hanger, etc.) to get them on board the first time.  It's not too late for you to follow up though.  Do you have any customers in The Customer Factor on the home page who need to be called?  If not, do you have any "frequency alerts" on the home page?  Make sure to fill in some frequency periods so that you can take full advantage of The Customer Factor functionality.  If you have all the frequency periods filled in, the software will do the rest and present you with anyone who needs to be followed up with.

Right…customers won't necessarily call you.  That's why I stress "follow up" so much.  People get busy and forget about us.  So a nice courtesy call is just the thing they need.  So I definitely wouldn't "drop them".  Just because they haven't called you doesn't mean they don't like you and your service.  Again, they may have just "forgotten", got busy, etc. etc. 

As far as "what to say in offering gutter cleaning"…are you referring to a letter?  If so, it's real easy.  No sales skill involved.  Just a simple straight forward letter to your current customer base announcing that you now do gutter cleaning (or exterior touch up).  Like this:

Dear Mrs. Customer (personalize this):

Aaron
<your company name>

That's all.  Just a simple letter.  I used variations of this, so my letters were never the same.  But the above would work well.  I would prepare it in The Customer Factor and send it out.  But I would still follow up with a phone call though.  Nothing quite like a phone call to prompt a customer to take action.  

I hope this helps.  If you focus on the follow up process, I can promise you that you'll see more jobs and more profits coming your way.  Take care for now.

Regards,

Steve

Hey Steve,

In the past I have made some good money just cleaning gutters in October, November, December, so much so I am considering pouring all of my marketing efforts into that until Spring, of course letting people know I clean windows as well.
When do you think is a good time to start, first I will send a card to all my current clients, then start flyering all the tree filled neigborhoods in October I think, and if I can get the cash together do some direct mailing in November and December possibly even January and February.

Thanks again,
Aaron Swanson

My Response:

Hi Aaron:

Good morning. 

I think the time to start promoting gutter cleaning is right now.  We are about to hit a busy, busy time.  So now would be the perfect time to get the word out.  I would do a flyer distribution in 2 to 3 ideal tree filled locations within the next week and then go back and do 'em again the 2nd week of october.  This should give you plenty of profits to invest in a postcard campaign or two also.  But again though, focus on just a few areas.  The biggest mistake I see people make is they try and cover too many areas.  I've had the biggest results come from repeatedly hammering  home my message to the best locations instead of spreading myself all over town.

Man….$1000 a day is just super.  Great job.  The only way to really make this kind of income consistent is with other people working with you.  With the proper training, they'll make you a bunch of money.  That's the only way I know of to consistently rake in that kind of money though on a regular basis.  We can all have individual profit days like what you described, but to do it day in and day out would require each of us to be superman.  :o)  It's rough to keep that kind of pace going. 

It sounds like you're ready to get yourself a system (game plan) going.  Have you ever listened to michael gerber's emyth seminar tape program? Do a google search for "emyth seminar" and I'm sure you'll find it. Great stuff.  But it's important for all of us to create some kind of system for our business where we can have those $1000 days every day.  There's no reason why we can't.  I'm sure there are plenty of houses in your area that can support your services, especially when you throw gutter cleaning into the mix.

Anyway…I got off on a tangent.  :o)

Another service I would really, really recommend that you offer this time of year is christmas light installation.  You already have the ladders.  I charged a flat hourly on this.  So my hourly was $45 per hour to hang lights.  And I'd throw in a couple hours extra to cover the take down in january. Since you're a member of The Customer Factor, use the personalization feature provided to prepare a letter to your customer base.  When you're logged in, click on the "total" customer link in the navigation area, "check all" customers, and scroll down to click on the "personalize it!" button.  Then create yourself a personalized letter with a "new services" announcement.  Include gutter cleaning and christmas light installation.  If gutter cleaning isn't necessarily a new service for your company, then the letter can focus more on "it's that time of the year again" or something similar.  Know what I mean?  But using the personalization feature will allow you to easily print letters for all your customers with one click. 

I will say though that regardless whether it's "new services" or a "it's that time of the year" approach, I'd make an attempt throughout the year to stay in touch with each of your customers.  Just a "How are you" kind of letter.  I mailed out 6 to 8 greeting cards per customer per year.  The reason for this is because not only did these cards generate direct business, referrals, and customer goodwill, but when I then sent out a special announcement offering a new service (it might just be an old service repackaged as "new"), it makes it an easier sell because I kept in touch throughout the year. If you only stay in touch with the purpose of selling something, it's a bit more difficult to make the sale. 

Anyway…prepare right now.  We are about to come up on the money season.  Next to march/april/may, the upcoming months are real profitable, so get yourself a flyer distribution out there, create a personalized letter announcing your services, and have fun!  Let's see if you can turn a few more days into $1000 days.  :o)

Take care and have yourself a great day.

Regards,

Steve 

Hey All,

It's been awhile since I posted to the blog simply because The Customer Factor has taken huge chunks of time. Whew…who knew that creating videos was so time consuming? One whole day for a little 7 to 10 minute video between writing the script, creating the vid, editing it, and producing it.Anyway…as many folks know, we temporarily closed The Customer Factor to new member signups for the last few weeks so that we could spend the proper time on new videos. And now we're back up and running again where new members can signup. Some window cleaners have told me over the last few weeks that they're anxiously waiting to get started with it, so about an hour or so ago, The Customer Factor is back in action and accepting new member signups.  

Oh…and you can check out a new, updated demo video on the site at http://www.thecustomerfactor.com. We're always doing regular updates and upgrades to the software based on member suggestions, so the demo videos tended to get outdated rather quickly. But this one is hot off the presses and ready for viewing.

And finally, now that my window cleaning software is reopened, I'll be able to get back to posting some quality content for all of you pertaining to window cleaning. I've received a bunch of window cleaning related emails and questions over the last few weeks, but again, as stated above, I just haven't had the time to post 'em to the blog.

Take care and have a wonderful day.

Steve