Posts tagged "window washing business"

A Mighty Cool Marketing Tool

Hey All,

I ran across a nifty marketing product that I think every window cleaner should have. When we’re at customer’s homes, we have a yard sign out front, right?  And it’s very effective at drawing people in and making folks who pass by take notice of us. But why not enhance the yard sign with a business card holder adhered to it so anyone who stops by can "take one". The more ways we can get our marketing materials into people’s hands, the better. 

That’s where this product I’m about to mention comes in. You can see it at http://cardcaddie.com/  It’s a business card holder that is designed to be placed securely on your vehicle or on your signage. But in addition to making sure that the card holder is on your car while you’re doing a window cleaning job, how about making sure it’s in place while your car is parked in a store parking lot or anywhere else your car is parked if there are people around?  There’s no telling how much business may have been lost when I was in the field as a result of someone seeing my magnetic signs, making a mental note to contact me, but never did. "Out of sight, out of mind" as they say. So this is a great way to get your business card in their hand. 

Now the good news is that I’m going to give you a web page to the card caddie where you can save a few bucks from the normal price.  Derek made up a special web page for us at http://www.cardcaddie.com/995adbuypage.html where you can buy each card caddie for $9.95.  There is no shipping and no tax.  So that’s a $5 savings over the normal price of $14.95.

Read about the product first on the main site (http://cardcaddie.com/). You can check out the different colors that are available. Then go to http://www.cardcaddie.com/995adbuypage.html and get ‘em each for $5.00 off.

The bottom line is that it’s all about exposure, right? This is just one more way to increase your exposure. The window cleaner who gets the most marketing material (flyers, postcards, business cards) in their prospect’s hands is the winner.

Have a profitable day.

Steve

A Marketing Idea…

An idea recently received by email:

Hey Steve,

I have an idea that I wanted to share with you and everybody else in the business. Being that it’s election time and everybody is voting for this and that, why not join in on the party. I made a yard sign that said "VOTE NO STREAKS for your WINDOW CLEANING SERVICE" with my number. I just thought of it 2 days ago. We’ll see what it will do I wish I would have thought of it sooner. Nevertheless it’s one to build on.  Thanks for everything.

Your friend, Victor
 
My Response

Approaching a Large Customer…

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 

Does “Hits” mean more Window Cleaning Business For You?

Hi Steve,

I’m going to be setting up a website and I want to be doing something fancier than what Barbara offers,  the Yellow pages has offered to make me a website included when I post onto there site, they do a decent site and the say they will guarantee me 30-60 hits (my choice) through google or whatever onto my site for $50(30 hits)-$150(60 hits) accordingly for the site and clicks…(on top of advertising costs)

Thanks for any help and direction you may have through this new territory.

Aaron

My Response:

Hi Aaron:
 
Good morning.  As a quick side note before beginning my email, barb can do anything you want.  So there are no limitations.  What you may have seen within her website packages are simple websites to keep the costs down for window cleaners, but she’s got all kinds of abilities to get fancy and all the necessary software to make any site based on what a person wants.  Regardless though, whoever you use, make sure it’s a quality search engine optimized site. 
 
Speaking about search engine optimized (SEO), keep in mind that just because someone may guarantee "clicks", that doesn’t mean they’re targeted clicks.  Clicks are worthless unless they’re clicks from prospects interested in your window cleaning business. 
 
An example.  Let’s say the phone company does specific adwords advertising for your business (they won’t) using the term "window cleaning business".  Someone in hawaii clicks on the ad.  That’s a click to you.  But is it really targeted?  No.  Since obviously someone in hawaii isn’t going to use your service.  Another example is if the phone company does advertising using the keyword "window cleaning".  Someone clicks on the ad, but they’re looking for window cleaning "supplies".  So yes, it’s a click.  It’s just not a targeted one since they’re looking for supplies. 
 
So the first question I would ask the phone company if I were you is how are those clicks generated, what keywords are used to generate those clicks, and how targeted to your service are the people clicking.  Keep in mind that "clicks" sounds great.  But it’s not always cracked up to what it should be.  I could buy 10,000 clicks to my website right now for $29.00.  10,000 sounds great, right?  But they are extremely untargeted and probably have no interest in my service, product, etc, so at the end of the day, what’s it really mean?  Just a bunch of wasted traffic to my website.  That’s why when I advertise online, I use specific keywords so that when someone lands on my website, I know they have at least an initial interest in what I’m offering.  
 
Is that an extra $50 a month or $150 per month that the phone company is asking for?  Or is that for the whole year?  Personally I wouldn’t do it.  I’m not sure how all the particulars work, but if you get a website with them, you’re locked into their service.  I’m sure they’re not going to build you a website and give it to you so you can host it elsewhere.  I would go ahead and build a website as a standalone so that you have the flexibility to move it to wherever you want to.  Get your own hosting company or since you’re a member of my window cleaning software, The Customer Factor, you can host your site with me if you want.  It’s up to you.  But at least this way you’re not locked into hosting and not locked into one company. 
 
Plus by working on it yourself, you can search engine optimize it with your own meta tags and everything.  This’ll generate your own targeted clicks.  At no cost I might add.  You’ll have full control.  I doubt you’ll be able to modify the meta tags on the site since the site will probably be owned by the phone company.  You’ll have limitations.  Just some thoughts to think about.
 
Take care for now.  Have a good day.
 
Regards,
 
Steve

Reply:

Thanks Steve, You Confirmed my fears that I was apt to overlook for simplicity sake and some slick sales on there part.
This is great as I was about to do it, but now feel more geared to get it up myself with a designer.

Aaron

My Response:

Hi Aaron:
 
Good morning.  I appreciate your comments.  Right…I think it’s best to run it yourself.  As mentioned in my last email, "clicks" aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.  It sounds good in a sales presentation, but mostly it’s just window dressing though.     
 
On a different note, there is a general lack of understanding by many window cleaners on search engine optimization and what it takes to get a website indexed and ranked in the search engines.  I get a bunch of questions on this process regularly.  So I was thinking of putting together some free videos to provide folks some education about this subject.  All of my sites are ranked on the 1st page of google for multiple keywords.  So I think I can help other folks achieve these same type of rankings with their websites.  Stay tuned for further news.  I’ll keep you posted.  Thanks again for your comments.  Have a great day.
 
Regards,
 
Steve
 

Some Motivation to “Build” your Window Cleaning Business…

Most of us don’t really need any motivation to build our business with crews. We see the potential of how lucrative our businesses can be if we bring on quality help. But for those of you who may not see the big picture, here’s an email I received yesterday from a window cleaner that might just give you the jump start you need:

Hi Steve,

Severn

Higher Prices for Dirtier Windows?

Hello steve!
 
My name is lafe wilson and I have a question for you!  When your giving bids to people, I was wondering do you charge more for for really soiled windows such as cobb web infested/ dirty window tracks, and high ,uneven ground to place your ladders?  compared to regular jobs where the people have there windows cleaned on a regular basis?  (such as my parents!)  where the windows are generally pretty clean!  These are some of the things i’ve been encountering in my business and i was just looking for some friendly business advice.  I figure i’am in the ball park of bids but,  i don’t want to over charge them either.  
 
thank you for your time!
 
lafe wilson

My Response:

Hi Lafe:

Good morning.  I charged the same regardless how dirty a window was unless it was a construction cleanup job.  It was more trouble than it was worth to go around the house and look up close at each window to determine dirt/cobwebs, etc.  It was faster to just look at the front of the house for example and say "ok, there are 10 windows, so let’s multiply it times my per window price and move on".

With that said though, my pricing for upper windows was certainly more than the lower windows due to the extra time spent on ladders. I generally upped the per window price by $2 for each window on the 2nd level. But pricing differently depending on how dirty each window was? No…I didn’t do that. There is no exact science to bidding though as I’m sure you’re aware.  But the key is to make sure the estimate is presented properly. If you don’t present it properly, then all you can do is go in on price which is what most window cleaners do.  And you never want to build a window cleaning business based on price.  The window cleaners who do this are always desperate for the next job and the next job and the next job.  So don’t be afraid to have higher pricing than your competitors, but if you do, make sure your presentation is top notch as I mentioned. 

Take care.

Steve 

When To Mail Postcards…

Steve,

My father and I purchased your book back in the spring and have been studying it and planning our window cleaning business. I have a few questions for you, but before I get into that I will have to say we are very impressed with your book, marketing, and resources. My dad and I own several pizza restaurants and we have been saying lately to each other that we wish our pizza franchise had a book as detailed and resourceful as the one you have written. The sad part is that we pay a big monthly royalty to a franchise that we never see, where we pay $90 to you and a small monthly fee for your window cleaning software, The Customer Factor, and that’s it.

Kyle

My Response:

Hi Kyle:

Good morning.  It’s good to hear from you.  And I appreciate your comments.  Thanks so much.

Right…most window cleaning businesses do have that "fly by night" mentality.  So it makes it quite easy for a professional window cleaning company to come in and secure business right out from under them. 

Good idea on the mailing/commercial flyer.  Not a bad response at all.  And more will come over time.  A bit of advice on securing commercial accounts though would be to simply walk in off the street.  It is real easy to get these types of accounts.  Of course their focus is mostly to save some bucks, so you’ll need to keep that in mind when you give them the estimate.  But almost all commercial acct. managers/owners will be open to at least you giving them an estimate. 

As far as postcards, september is the perfect time.  As we head into the holidays, business will be strong across the country for window cleaners.  I do want to provide you some advice on this though.  Repetition is critical to your response rates with postcards and flyers or any other advertising method you use.  So I urge folks to plan postcard campaigns over time and hit people repeatedly.  In other words, it would be best to take that same 15000 piece mailing (assuming that’s the amt. you were going to do) and split it up.  Choose 4 or 5 solid routes of homes that contain your preferred homes and send them repeat postcard mailings multiple times spread out over a 2 month period.  This works so much better than just a single one-time mailing.  If you’re working with Dick at Smart Mail, he’ll tell you the same thing.  One time mailings give you the lowest response, and then it goes up from there.

A quick side note, between postcard mailings, I saturated the same routes/areas that I sent postcards to with flyers.  This provides you a double whammy of exposure.  Again, think "repetitive".

Hope this helps.  If you need any assistance or have questions, please give me a call.  My number is 256-546-2446.  Take care for now and thanks again for your comments.

Regards,

Steve

From the Email Bag…

Hey All…

Ah…another glorious week in the window cleaning biz.

I’ve been a bit lax on posting to the blog lately because we’re in the middle of creating some mighty cool new features for The Customer Factor and some revisions to 3 Bears Window Cleaning Directory. One thing I learned from being online is that revisions, edits, and additions are constant. Also the beginnings of a window cleaning forum are taking shape.  So please stay tuned. 

Ok….today, I just reached into the ‘ole mail bag to see what came up. Um…a couple of interesting emails…

Email #1:

Steve,  we ran into tree sap and a lot of paint overspray, so really we have to charge more if there is a lot of scraping correct? I ‘ll reread ch 8 tomorrow on our day off.  I made more money than i did working for my other job this week.  We had a lot of people asking if we could do their windows today.  So, we are almost booked for next week.
jason

My Response:

Hi jason:

Good morning. Unless it was really excessive, I didn’t charge more.  Because I figured i was scraping the window anyway.  I did that for each window I cleaned.  So it was part of my window price.  Another note is that you really don’t want to estimate a job and have to look at each window really close.  I mean you don’t want to say, "ok, this window has sap, so it’s $7.00.  But this window is fine, so it’s $5.00".  Know what I mean?  It’s easier to simply look at the overall job and hit it with a price without looking at each individual window.  I would lower the per window price if I saw a small bathroom window and I would raise the per window price if I saw any oversize windows, but I didn’t raise or lower pricing based on the amount of "stuff" that might need to be scraped off of a window.  The exception of course is if it was a construction cleanup job with stickers, stucco, etc. on each window. 

Congratulations on being booked up for a week.  That’s great.  Soon you’ll be booked up 3 to 4 weeks or more.  That’s quite a feeling to know that you can control your income like that.  Just make sure to take continuous action on your marketing or you will see a dropoff a bit in your first year.  So keep pushing during your first year in biz.  Take care for now.  Have a good weekend.

Regards,

Steve

Email #2:

michael here from md. we have really started to crank this window biz up. we have been tossing flyers 3 to 4 times a wk. sometimes we toss 1000+ other times 500-800. been getting alot of calls. my question was about postcards. roughly, what is the cost to mail out 1500 postcards? im talking rough price with cost of cards and all? i want to start getting the postcards in the mix. what is the best way to mail these cost and ease wise?

thanks, michael

My Response

Hi Michael:

It’s good to hear from you.  A good rule of thumb is about $270 per thousand for both postage and the cost of the cards.  You can get cards from psprint really reasonable.  I would buy 5000 at a time because you can get a great price break with a 5000 postcard purchase. 

And for postage, if you use the carrier route mailing method as described in my manual, I think that’s currently 21 cents per postcard mailed.  Dick Tudor at Smart Mail did all my mailing for me though, so he would know the exact specifics and costs.  His contact info. is in the manual. He’s the resident expert on the type of mailings we need to do in the window cleaning business for maximum results.  I actually had my postcards shipped directly to Dick from psprint.   So all it took was a 10 second phone call that went something like this: "Dick let’s get a mailing out to carrier routes 67 and 73".

And that was it.  Dick would bundle up the postcards and ship ‘em out.  Each home located in the route would receive a postcard.  So it’s very easy.  A nice autopilot system.  There is some initial research required though to determine what areas are your target areas.  You obviously don’t want homes that are not in your target market to receive postcards.  Anyway…you should contact Dick and pick his brain on this.  He has software that can determine route numbers in any city in the U.S.  You can certainly use a local direct mail house if you want to.  Just make sure that you don’t buy the "extras" they usually want to sell you like mailing lists for example.  Carrier route mailings work w/o mailing lists.  Each postcard is addressed to "Postal Patron". And as mentioned, each home in the route will get a card. 

Hope this helps.  Take care for now.

Regards,

Steve