Monday, December 15, 2008

Happy Holidays


Hello All and Happy Holidays!!

I hope everyone had a good year. That despite the down turn of the economy and that you will continue to be in business this coming year and are looking forward to it.

I know that even with tough situations we faced this year we managed to stay afloat and in the black even if not nearly as well as in years past.

We are looking forward to making changes and offering new things that we hope will keep you, the current customer, happy and bringing new business in the upcoming year and years ahead.

If you have any ideas or comments please let us know. We still need some customer’s current e-mails in order to keep everyone informed. Please forward us an e-mail if you have not received a newsletter or other e-mailed correspondence from us this year.

Thank you and see you next year.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Getting the right business exposure.

This is a list I got from Entrepreneur magazine a while ago.

Top 11 things to get exposure for your business:

#11. Be reachable - Have a clear and concise business card. Have a press contact listed on your web site that can answer questions and be reached on the first call.

#10. Get on-line. As I had in a previous entry this is a #1 need in today's market. Add articles even if just links, showing that your company is in the news as a leader.

#9. Perfect your elevator pitch. You should always be able to tell anyone in just a sentence or two what you and your company does, and have a business card ready as a follow up.

#8. Show your face. Have a press folio made up and photo's available to be used for any print article. Also good to use the same ones on line to let the contact know on site they have the correct company they are looking for or saw info on.

#7. Establish yourself as an expert. Speak at meetings (even if just the Rotary Club), become a media contact.

#6. Do not send sloppy copy. Have a pre created standard press release about you and your company, even if just the same as on line that can be used by anyone in the media.

#5. Know your audience. Make sure where the press release is going is where you want your future customers coming from.

#4. Tell the whole story. Think as if you had to write a headline and two paragraphs about your company. What would it say. Be complete, brief and concise with your info.

#3. Plan ahead. Check with publications you read or would want to see your story in. Find out what their upcoming issues will be covering and see if you can write a story or give info that they may want to use and quote you on.

#2. Distribution channels: These are ones that the media go to when looking for information. PRWeb, Business Wire, PRNewswire, Market Wire. If you can get your business story on one or more of these it will work for you.

And #1. Respond Promptly. Most writers are on a time line and will move on to their next contact if you are not immediately available for comment or with a story.

Good luck.

Monday, October 6, 2008

End of year check list.

Welcome to a new month and the last quarter of the year.

With the year winding down I wanted to touch on things to do before the end of this year to get ready for next year especially if this is a slow time for you.

A great idea is to do a Business Wellness Check.

First take a look at the increases you have had during the past year and make sure that your prices are still in line with the changes. If not now is the time to make the rate chart changes for next year. You may be able to make the sales pitch for next Spring to get a contract now is for the company to lock in today's pricing before next years inevitable price increases. Just be sure you can still make even a modest profit at this price. It never makes sense to work just for works sake it, you must be able to make a living at this.

In fact price adjustments are something that you may need to do twice a year or quarterly depending on how volatile the year is for your vendors. Even if the new pricing is to just new customers during the year.

You need to see where your major increases were and make the needed adjustments now. If it was in supplies are there ways you can save? Can you make better purchase decisions that will help you next year? For example is there anyway to maximise your purchases? Can you buy 3 or 4 kits of product instead of 1 or 2 at a time and save some on the rising fuel costs? Are there more affordable options for your supplies? Have you been using your products at their optimum? For example are you sure you are using the right concentration for the job or are you using more than you need there fore are wasting money? Are you able to buy in bulk for consumables at discount or bulk shopping locations like Sam's, BJ's or similar companies.

Next evaluate your equipment needs. If you have had to make repairs repeatedly on a piece of equipment during the last season, now maybe the time to consider replacing it. Many times Winter is the time of year when equipment vendors have sales or give discounts on end of year models getting ready for next years models just like the car manufactures. It is hard to stick to a busy schedule when equipment failures put you behind and possibly lose you jobs and money.

One thing to not forget to put on your business wellness check list is to make sure your business stays in compliance with your local, state and the federal waste water regulations.

Here is a link that I think will be helpful to many of you: http://www.washwater.org/. This will allow you to find links and the information you need at one site.

In these days or increased awareness with droughts, water restrictions and tighter regulation you need to be in the know instead of on the receiving end of a warning or worse a heavy fine.

These are just a few items to put on a check list. Make yours as long or short as you need but be sure it covers all of the areas that effect your bottom line. Even down to the cell phone use and insurance policies. Every cost to you and your business makes a difference in the end.

Have a good month and next time will be about increasing your business exposure in the community.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Join an Organization!

It has been a month since I last posted but I wanted to bring this up since it is nearing the end of the rush time for most of you and so many organizations are going to be having their yearly conventions in the upcoming months.

It is good business to be a member of organizations connected to your line of work. It could be PWNA, IKECA, or even smaller local groups.

Even though there can be costs incurred when being a member you can normally write off part or all of the expense as a business deduction and the benefits greatly out way the costs.

The first and biggest benefit is Net Working. You get to know others that are in your business. They understand who you are and where you want or need to be to take your business forward. You can get new fresh ideas or just discover old tried and true methods that have worked for others.

Second benefit, is the conventions and or meetings themselves. They give you time to get away from the daily grind, experience and meet new people and participate in discussion groups or classes that are held there. Even if you are the one that has been in business forever and knows it all, you get the benefit of being in a community of peers that can bring a stability and balance into your life. The adage “All work and no play” is for every one. You need the chance to get out and see what else is out there.

Third is keeping up to date with new information. You always need to keep your eyes ahead looking to where you want to go. It may be fine for a while to do things the way you always have done it or use the same chemicals you always have in the past. But new things are always coming up with products and application methods. We here at Soap Warehouse have people that are constantly looking to make new combinations or formulation changes geared to what the future wants, needs and restrictions will be.

In the very near future many product ingredients are going to be restricted, banned or priced out of reach and we have to grow with these changes. Many areas are facing water shortages, water restrictions and clean water guidelines that have to be followed or fines or worse will happen to you and your business.

I also believe subscribing to magazines, reading articles, subscribing to web sites, contributing to chat boards or forums and blogs are also a good way to do this. Feel free to visit our link section and check out some that we have on our web site http://www.soapwarehouse.biz/.

If you are member of PWNA or are going to the convention in late Oct. Please be sure to check out the Special Offer located in the customer only section on our web site to receive a special value offer.

Have a good month and participate in something to help you and your business before the end of the year.

Friday, August 8, 2008

5 Reasons to Have a Web Presence Now.

This is a good article from Entrepreneur.com and if you have never looked at thier site it is one that you should book mark. You should always take some time to look at what is working for others to find what can help you and your business.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/microsites/microsoftofficelive/article192174.html

Follow this link or cut and paste it in your browser to get there.

But in short these are the main points:

1. Visibility: With more and more consumers logging onto the Web to research products and services, if they are going to find your business, your business needs to be on the Web. If a potential customer Google’s your city name and your service would they find your website listed or just your competitors? Try this today and see who is out there where you should be too.

2. Reach: With a Web site, you are no longer limited to a local customer base. Of course with most of you proximity is a major factor but on the web you are able to reach many more prospective customers this way even in your local area. You can hand out only so many business cards. Even if your name has been mentioned and no card given could this person looking for you find you?

3. Customer service: When customers can log onto your Web site and easily find the information they want—when they want it—their satisfaction increases. Having ways on the web site that customers can contact you besides reaching you on the phone is key. Have an e-mail address or form to fill out saving them time for a question or quote.

4. Competition: A professional looking Web site can level the playing field for smaller companies trying to compete against larger enterprises. It’s also a way to stay in the game; even if people can’t find you on the Web chances are they can find your competitors.

5. Credibility: When you can point customers, partners, even potential employees or investors to a Web site, it tells them you are a serious business. Use lines like doing business for over 10 years. Satisfying customers in the Tri-area since 2001. Even if you have just started you can use lines like “Only use top quality products.” And list them if they have name recognition with your customer. List what groups you are affiliated with for example the local BBB or PWNA.

And remember once you have your site up send us the link and we will put you in the customer link area on our web site to help more people find you.

Friday, August 1, 2008

End of Summer

Hello, and welcome to the end of summer.

For many of you time is running out for you to make the main money of your season. But that does not have to be the case. I know this has been a very rough year so far. Every one's business is down whether due to drought, high fuel costs, higher costs of everything else or just regular business that is just not there this year due to your customers not being able to afford your services.

Unfortunately some of our customers have had to take on second jobs or new more stable primary jobs and put their pressure washing business on the back burner or on hold to make ends met.

Here are some ideas to help you think outside the box to keep your PW business going in these lean times.

One problem when the economy slows down is that your customers slow down payment to you as well, especially true if you are doing monthly contract work instead of pay as you wash jobs.

One way around this to keep a good cash flow is to look at your contract jobs and see how much profit you have built into each one and then decide if giving a customer a prepay discount would benefit you and your cash flow. Say you are making $350 profit on a fleet wash job that you usually give NET 30 to but lately that has been becoming NET45 or worse. Wouldn't it be worth say $50 for you to have the money in your hands sooner and for sure than worrying when you are going to get it, if you will or having to spend extra time and money to get it later? So go to your customer and offer them a prepayment discount on their next job. Of course if they are already so behind in paying you on past work taking this money now may slow down the payment of the older money, but not always. This can also work as with a split payment discount. Say give them a certain amount or % off if they pay half up front and the rest stay NET 30.

Also with so many small PW going out of business call on them to see if they would like to sell their contacts for a small fee or get a kick back from you for clients they are no longer going to service. Say if they have a customer that they were washing each month; they could introduce you to the customer, saving the customer the time and trouble to find a new and probably different PW then yourself, with the promise of when this customer uses you, you pay the old PW a set fee for the introduction. This one time cost will easily pay for itself in a few jobs with your new customer. I have seen this work with PW's that are having to retire or go out of business for other reasons in the past.

This is why it is always a good idea to be friendly with the other PW's in our own area. Don't treat them as an enemy that are out to get you and your business but as someone that can help you and back you up when needed. Just be sure they are as ethical and do as good as work as you do for your mutual benefit.

Join websites with other local and national PW's. You can network sometimes to the point that if you need help on a job to get the bid they can even work with you like a subcontractor to get the job done. Or if one of you are too busy to do work for a customer that the other one can do the job, giving the other PW a referral fee. Some PW's have been in business for so long and know the others in their area so well that they can swap customers or give referrals to each other without hesitation of monetary reward because they know they will be paid back later with a new job from someone else. EX: Some PW's may specialize in commercial flat work and will hand off house washing to a friend knowing when the house washer gets asked about flat work they will call on them or use them for that customers job.

As I mentioned in a previous session, even if you normally do private home jobs, go by local businesses that need washing or you have seen someone else clean in the past and leave your card. You never know if their old washer is one that just gave up the business and they will be needing someone new. Odds are they will at least call you for a quote if not the job and the more cards you have out there the greater your odds become. Also I will again mention that the bad housing market is a boon for a PW to create curb appeal. Go visit Realtors and give them a stack of your cards as well. Even offer to wash their house for free for the referrals.

I hope you all have a better last half or quarter of 2008.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Happy 4th of July

Good morning and I hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July.

Hard to think that for most half of the summer is already over and only 5 or so more weeks until schools are back in.

I have not posted recently in the hopes of our customers finding the blog and participating in it. So far that has not been the case even though I know a few have found it a read it. I did not want to get to many entries on it to make it difficult for new viewers to see what we have started.

But before much longer I will be adding new posts covering other topics and products. If you have a specific question or product you want to know more about please let us know by posting to this or by contacting us directly.

We hope all have been having a busy and productive season.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Getting Commercial Cleaning Contracts

As I said yesterday nothing improves curb appeal more than a clean appearance and that applies to a business as much as a home, maybe more.

Businesses rely on public perception to keep and improve their business. A run down dirty outward appearance of a business location can mean the difference for a new customer not to stop by or from even going into a business. For this reason businesses are more likely to want regular routinely scheduled cleaning done to their property and that means possible business for you.

Repeat business is 75-90% of any businesses income. If you do not have good repeat business and a plan to find new customers you will soon have no work to do and be out of business!

Even if a business owner or manager that you go to speak with already has someone doing work for them, leave a business card with a quote, making sure it has a time limit on it. You never know when something will come up, the other company may not be able to meet their obligation, or may do something to anger the owner enough to try someone else. If you had never stopped by and left them your information you may miss the opportunity.

Since most jobs are gotten from word of mouth or from prior contacts, not putting in the time to scout out new prospects can mean death to the growth of your business. As I have mentioned before you should spend at least 20% of your effort (time and money) to find new business.

The only difference with commercial work vs. home owners is many times they want this work to be done during off hours, meaning when they are closed in the evenings, over night or on the weekends. Since many businesses are now open nearly 24 hours a day you usually can find a time that is slow enough to allow you to work or where you can block off areas to clean so not to restrict your clients own business while you do yours. Of course special care must be taken when working close to the public with proper signage, that proper safety measures are taken and to be sure you carry enough liability insurance.

It is also good business practice to have prepared information packs for the prospective business customer that includes; copies of your business license for the area you are in, certifications, insurance binders, bonds, references and any other information that will make the client feel comfortable going into a contract with you and allowing you to do business with them. Many chain locations have corporate restrictions in regards to hiring local companies. If you want to do business in this area it may also be good for you to contact the company at the corporate level first to see if they have their own certification process you must apply to before you can be considered to do work for them at the local level.

Good luck in finding those contract jobs.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Flat Work – Cleaning Concrete for the Home Owner

One great up sell when you are cleaning a customers home, gutters or roof, besides decks and their other wood accents, is to clean the concrete areas as well. Areas such as sidewalks, driveways, curbs, flower or garden trim edgings as well as pool decks and patios.

The best way to clean these flat surfaces is with a specialty circular cleaning machine. And although many contractors use water alone with this kind of equipment, application of even a small amount of specific concrete cleaner will make the job come out that much nicer in less time. Our "Concrete Cleaner" contains an organic solvent designed to dissolve and remove grease, oil, black tire marks and embedded dirt. And of course with all pressure washing using hot water will improve the cleaning and shorten the amount of time as well. Hotter water allows the surfactants and other components in the cleaners to work their best.

But even if you do not have rotary equipment you can get good results with a regular pressure washer. Just be sure to use the correct size nozzle, proper concentration of cleaner, all with the lowest setting possible for your machine to remove the dirt and follow your local ordinances in regards to the water run off or need for reclamation equipment.

Our "Concrete Cleaner" is organic, bio-degradable, is USDA approved and classified as a non toxic pollutant under the Clean Water Act.

Another problem that may come up when cleaning concrete, brick or rock surfaces is red rust deposits from hard water in areas where iron is in high concentrations. This red coloration can be a headache and many companies actually etch the top of a surface off to remove this color which in time can cause major damage. We have another solution. You can use our "Wood Brightener" to remove those rust stains from even white decorative gravel in flower beds.

"Wood Brightener" contains a mild Oxalic Acid which when used at the proper mixture of 2 pounds of cleaner per 5 gallons of water it will remove the rust color safely from the rocks in and around flower beds. You can spray on with a hand pump and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes and then rinse well with water. Repeated applications maybe needed if buildup is sever and has been on the rock surfaces for a long time. Repeating the application is safer for plantings rather than increasing the solution strength or dwell time.

Nothing improves the curb appeal of a home more than having a clean bright appearance.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Deck Cleaning and Stripping

The first step to deck cleaning is to first find out if the wood only needs a general cleaning or if there is an old finish that needs to be removed and if the customer plans to retreat, seal the wood, stain or paint.

If you have a good finish under just general dirt, a good deck wash is all you will need. Our "Deck Wash" is designed especially for cedar wood and is fine for all other kinds of exposed wood surfaces. With a deck wash you are just loosening and removing surface dirt, mold and mildew. It is best to use hot water at the lowest setting possible that allows you to remove the dirt without damaging the finish or raising the wood grain. Followed with a good rinse, when dried, the original natural color or treated color should be easily seen when dry. If needed a new coat of sealer for wearability or new coat of stain can be applied by either you or the customer.

But if the deck has an old finish that is worn out in places, old paint or a badly faded finish you will first have to remove the old materials with a stripper. When ever you use a stripper you have to also have mixed up and available to use right after using the stripper a neutralizer, like our "Wood Brightener", to bring the ph of the wood back down to normal after using the stripper. We have two different levels of strippers.

Our regular "Deck Stripper" is made to penetrate and emulsify old paint, varnish, stain, dirt, grease and oil. Our "Supper Stripper", which is three times stronger than the regular "Deck Stripper", is for removing newer or thicker build ups of stain, paint or other materials. It can also be used to clean asphalt or fiberglass shingles. Both strippers can also be used on other wood surfaces such as fences, free standing structures like gazebos or wood roofs or siding. Again be sure to follow any stripper with a neutralizer like our Wood Brightener to stop the chemical reaction of the stripper on the wood and make the surface ready to take a new paint or stain after it is rinsed well and thoroughly dried.

If you had seen problem areas of mold or mildew you may want to think about using some Bio Barrier to retard the return of new mold growth.

Please see the earlier session a few days ago on Bio Barrier on this Blog; you can use the search to find Bio Barrier as well. Or go to out website www.soapwarehouse.biz.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Carpet & Fabric Cleaner and Qwiczyme

These are two great products not a lot of our customers know about.

Carpet and Fabric cleaner is a great addition for the car detailer, interior home cleaner as well as the RV dealer and commercial exterior professional. You can use this on fabric upholstery in a car, RV or in the home. When used with professional carpet machines this helps give carpet back the rich tones and contrast of color they should have. This product is great on fabric awnings on building facades as well as the ones on RV’s. This will remove those black streaks and when used with Qwiczyme deodorizer you can also breakdown mold and mildew in carpet and fabric fibers. Qwiczyme leaves a clean wintergreen fragrance, and it can be added to your normal carpet cleaning solution.

The Carpet & Fabric cleaner is mixed 1-2 oz per gallon of water. It can be sprayed on with a spray bottle, applied directly with a clean brush, sponge or cloth left for a few minutes, agitated if needed and then rinsed with clean water with excess water and dirt removed with a clean cloth or towel, or extraction equipment with or without brush agitators.

Qwiczyme can be used by it self or in combination with Carpet & Fabric cleaner when you have mold, mildew or other organic materials such as pet urine to remove and to remove odors that are effecting the carpet or fabric. Qwiczyme is mixed 2-4 oz per gallon of warm water. The water must be at least lukewarm for the enzymes to get to the correct temperature to work properly. Mix this product as needed.

I ask for any of our customers that have used these products to comment on their use and the results they got when using them.

Thanks and see you latter.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Bio Barrier

I want to talk today about a product many of you might not know about that can add value to your house washing, Bio Barrier.

Bio Barrier is a Mold Growth Inhibitor. It helps stop the re-occurrence of that ugly black mold (Gloeocapsa magma) on roofs as well as the green mold that loves to come up on wood surfaces and vinyl siding in areas where the sun does not reach.

Besides looking bad mold and mildew will eventually cause permanent damage to your customer’s property. You already have a customer wanting a cleaner looking house, so sell them the added benefit of keeping it clean longer.

You first clean the existing mold from the hard surface, roof, wall, deck etc. with your regular cleaning method starting with the molded areas first. Then once the surface is dry, many times in the hot summer weather that is by the time you get back around the house, that is when you apply the bio barrier. Bio Barrier is applied to a dry surface straight with no dilution. You just wet the surface using a hand spray pump or similar method, do not drench or allow puddling. You allow the treated area to thoroughly dry, no rinsing. You want at least 24- 48 hours of time to elapse before the surface gets wet again. So do not apply if you know it will be raining in that time. Once dried you have a protective barrier that stops the microorganisms that cause odor and mold growth from attaching to the surface for between 6-9 months or longer depending on the exposure to water and moisture. So if it usually took 6-9 months for mold to start showing on a surface, schedule to be back the next year before it gets a good hold again.

If you add Bio Barrier to your cleaning package adding say $50 to your price, that will practically pay for a five gallon pail of the product with one sale and this will give added value to your customer and make your next years cleaning that much easier.

You need only treat the areas where you found mold in the first place to help stop the spread of future outbreaks. You do not have to treat the whole house.

Most roofs get mold starting on the North side or shaded areas first so treat those with Bio Barrier after your cleaning. Decks, fences and vinyl siding normally get mold where the sun does not reach for enough hours of the day if at all. This allows areas that get wet to stay moist and damp thus it becomes a perfect place for mold to start.

Increase the value of your service to your customer as you increase your bottom line.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Making your chemical dollar go further Suggestion #3

Continuation:

Third stretch your cleaner as far as you can to still get the results you need. Most people, pressure washers included, tend to think more is better. Twice the dirt means twice the cleaner and that just is not true. Many times the more soap you add the harder it gets to get it clean. Sometimes all you need is hotter water to make the soap you already have do the job better. That is why our dilution rates are doubled with cold water. Turn up the heat and you will increase the cleaning power of the soap you already are using. Always first start a job with the least amount of chemical you think it will take and work up. Do not start high and think you can work down. Most operators will never dial it down to the same lower level that they could have cleaned with had they started the other way. This has also been proven in washer tests. Sometimes all you need for the soap to work well is softer water. You can spend pennies per gallon on a water softener like our “So Soft” that will stretch your soap and help it work better. It will also promote the sheeting off of water for vehicles and houses to dry faster.

Please add your comments on how you save on product cost, additives you might put in like bleach or any other suggestions.
Also if you have any questions about these suggestions as to how we can help you save money, just ask.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Making your chemical dollar go further. Suggestion #2

Continuing from yesterday:

Second use as few products as you can for as many different jobs as you can thus reducing the number of different products you have to buy, allowing you to buy in bulk, making it easier to store and manage. I have some customers that will use, say Mighty Max for almost all of there exterior cleaning jobs. They will buy one 55 gal kit in the beginning of the year to use at different strengths with different additives during the year thus saving money since they got one kit and saved on shipping water weight of pails. So if you are buying over one year even 10 pails of Mighty Max, two at a time every other month, that would be $350 plus the shipping costs five times, where as one kit is only $205 and shipping one kit is less than even one set of two pails. Saving you hundreds!

Tell us your best all in one product? Is it Brown Derby? Mighty Max? Smoke House? We would like to hear from you and let everyone know what you add to these to give you the best results for the jobs you are doing. Maybe if enough of you like a certain product with a certain additive we can have it made that way and possibly save you even more.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Making your chemical dollar go further. Suggestion #1

Most of your expenses fall into one of three areas; supplies, fuel and labor.
Labor is the only near constant you have. You either work for yourself or you have a crew that work X number of hours a week for a certain amount. The next expense is fuel and we all know that is rising out of this world making everything else go up. So that leaves your supplies as the best place to be able to cut costs. So how can your supplier help besides lowering their prices? We can make suggestions.

First, as we spoke of earlier at the start of these posts:
Buy as much product as you can at the best freight rate you can get.
Paying $50 for 5 gallons of product and spending $50 to get it there costs $20 a gallon. If you bought 4 pails ($200) for the same $50 in shipping, your cost per gallon drops to $12.50. And if you had bought all four of those pails separately even over just a few months and freight rates had stayed the same, you would have spent $400 on the same amount of product you could have spent just $275 on, saving $125. We are always ready to calculate rates for you with different carriers or amount of product that can be shipped. We are happy to help you get the best $ per gallon rate you can get.

To help you with this we are posting the weight chart for our products on our website in a special permanent file area that you can go to at any time. www.soapwarehouse.biz. Of course freight prices will always be changing but you will be able to see what pails and drums vs. kits weigh.

Let us know what your suggestions are as to how to save on product costs.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Post cards

Next to business cards post cards can be money well spent it just depends on how you use them.

Spending hundreds on bulk mailings in mailers or on post cards can be great for the large companies that are building and maintaining name recognition, but for the little guy this kind of marketing expenditure is just out of reach.

But don’t give up on post cards yet. One thing they are great for is repeat customer business and customer loyalty.

Say you have a customer that gives you a referral, but you do not have a referral business card program in place like I spoke of yesterday. You can use a post card as a thank you for sending you business and list an offer on it as your thank you, such as $20 off your next visit. You would be surprised to know most people like to see a concrete figure instead of a percentage, even when the percentage off may have been greater in the long run. For example you offer $20 off of your next service instead of 10% off, which they perceive as less value, and their next service call costs $300. You have saved $10 but they are happy they got the $20 off.

Post cards are also great for recouping lost business. Say you see that a loyal customer that calls every year has not called you yet. First send a kindly reminder card that their service is due, it may have just slipped their mind or they have been busy and have been meaning to call you. Remind them your days fill up fast this time of year and to call soon, they need a reason to call you. Then if still no call you may want to extend an incentive offer to them. Always make a definite offer with a definite dead line. Like you have an opening during such an such week and can do it for X amount but only if they call by a certain date. Also never offer more than 10 or so percentage of what you are making for the job depending on your expenses and mark up rate. You are trying to get back business you lost not give it away just to have a job to do.

One more important thing is for your card to have your customers name on it. Do not use the standard Dear loyal customer. Your customer needs to feel like they are important to you not just a number. That salutation may be fine for a general card you are sending to all of your customers to make an announcement but not when you are trying to win back a customer.

Good Luck

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Business cards

One item that is your best spent money for the dollar is your business cards. They are the least expensive way to get your name out and get jobs. Make it a goal to hand out at least 10 cards a day to people you meet. True many will just get tossed out in the nearest garbage can but you never know when someone will need your service and dig out that card that guy gave them. Or when they will hand your card over to someone else that mentions to them they need to find someone to wash their house. You can expect only 10% of any type of advertising including business cards to generate a call. Then it is up to you to land the business.

It is a known fact that people need 3-5 contacts from someone before they may buy. Also it takes someone to hear or read something at least 3 times before it sinks in. And the number one way to get business is by referrals. So how do you get those referrals? Leave your customers at least 10 cards with their name on the back and ask them if they liked your service to hand them out to their friends. Also make an offer to them: like you will give 10% off or $25 off the next job for them or even send them a gift card worth $25. And that if their friend calls and uses their name that you will also give the new customer the same offer. Make it what ever you want but keep it the same so you will remember what your offer is all the time. You will find that if you change offers, one person will talk to another and may not be happy to hear the offer was not the same for them, a sure fire way to loose business. That is why referrals work, people talk! And remember one satisfied customer will normally tell two friends while an unsatisfied customer will tell at least 10 people they may not even know so increase the number of good referrals and work extra hard never to have the bad ones.

Since exposure is the key to generate new business. Post your cards everywhere you can. On subdivision notice boards, dry cleaners, the corner pub, just about anywhere in areas you like or want to work. Do not put them in locations where the type of customer you want probably does not go, like a Laundromat. If a client does not have $300 to buy a washer to wash his clothes why would he hire you to wash his house? But drive out of your way and post on the club house bulletin board in a upscale subdivision where you want to work, where you know the disposable income level is high and esthetics are important to the potential customer.

Good Luck and keep passing out those cards.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Where have you found new business?

I meant to ask this open ended question yesterday for anyone to answer as to what is the best way you personally have found to get new business? And where have you found it?

Was it by a traditional method? Or have you stumbled on a great but unique angle?

Please feel free to tell everyone here what you have found. Remember Soap Warehouse sells all across the US and this will not be like giving away your best kept secret. Most of our customers will never come in contact with each other or even work in the same area. Although some of you do live in the same part of the country and have even referred other local pressure washers to us for which we are very grateful. We only hope to make everyone’s business better with this blog and not try to take business from each other. That is one reason we have a link to other open sharing sites like Grime Scene and Power Wash Network. Please see their link on our links page.

What job or type of work is your most profitable and why?

This will probably have a lot of answers, maybe as many as there are companies. I have heard from some clients that state they will only do fleet washing because that is the only place the money is and then the next week I will hear the same thing from a Hood Cleaner.

We also ask for anyone that has a web site to please forward it to us for us to link to you from our web site as one of the bonuses for being a Soap Warehouse customer.

Hope to hear from someone soon.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Where to find new business

Good Morning and Welcome to a new month, June!

I can not believe half of the year is almost gone. How many of you have been making the goals you set for this year? How many of you even set goals? Goals are a very important part of business. If you are spending all of your time working and no time building your business, you will soon be out of business. You can not just sit back and expect the customers you currently have to always be there to meet your obligations. It is said that if you do not spend at least 20% of your effort; meaning time and money, to increase your business you will not be able to sustain it for long. Most new, independent or self owned businesses are out of business in the first 2-3 years. All businesses loose at least 10-15% of their customers each year for what ever reason. And in these tough economic times let’s face it, that percentage is probably higher. Keeping your clients equipment or property clean is not going to be a top priority for them when they have other bills to pay. So if your client base is shrinking or at least dragging right now what can you do to fill in the gaps? How do you find new customers? You need to look in places you may have not before.

For example, since the housing market is slow in most areas right now, many times the difference between which house sells is its curb appeal. Contact realtors in your area and give them special pricing to give to their sellers for you to do exterior cleaning. Sometimes just a freshly cleaned roof or front walk and driveway will make a new buyer like the house and think that the property looks great and that it will not need maintenance any time soon. Also contact new home builders about after construction clean up in a development. With so many homes sites out there they need to make their subdivision look the best to new home buyers. Also look for maintenance contract work that won’t dry up with the weather. For example I recently had a funeral home owner contact me looking for a referral for a company to do his three locations. He told me "No one has ever come by to see me about starting a monthly contract to clean my buildings, hearse and limos." He reasoned that most people including pressure washers do not like to call on funeral homes. But this is a business where image is key and they always have customers. There is never a slow month for a funeral home.

Have a good day and keep looking for new opportunities.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Ways to beef up your Product Dollar!

Let us show you how your Dollar can do more for you.

Save more per gallon when shipping as much weight as possible for the same rate.

Example: 2 kits of Brown Derby weigh 200 lbs, but you can usually send 1 extra kit for the same freight fee with most carriers, lowering your freight cost per gallon by 1/3.

Buy as large a quantity as you can at one time to save on product costs.

Example: If in the past you have used 5 pails or more of Mighty Max during the year at $35 per pail? The the cost of a kit is less than the cost of 6 pails. $205/35=5.85 pails. You won' t have to worry about rising product or fuel rates, you pay just once and you also get over 5 extra pails of product for the same cost. Thus lowering your overall product costs, insuring your supply and when stored properly most products are good for two years.

These ideas could possibly insure that your rates will not increase to your customers when your competitors might and may actually bring you more business.

Welcome

Welcome to the Soap Warehouse Blog Spot

I hope this effort will give our customers information and education from us and from our many customers that work with our products every day.

Please feel free to make comments, ask for information, answer questions or respond to previous information put on this blog. If we feel an answer should be elaborated on, changed or corrected we will be monitoring the advice given and make changes as soon as possible. But we caution everyone that unless it is advice the staff here at Soap Warehouse has given ourselves we do not stand behind the advice and can not be held liable for anyone following any advice a third party makes on the blog since it will be open for all customers to use and view. We reserve the right to remove, restrict or change anything an outside party puts on the blog and will not allow any foul language, hateful comments, derogatory or non factual material on our company blog.

I will begin by posting helpful hints and asking for any questions you may have about our products.