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Focus on your technician’s shoes!

Posted on 15 May 2012. Tags: accountability, cleaning equipment, cleaning methods, customer eyeglasses, first impression, marketing to women, motivating carpet cleaning technicians, personal grooming, shoes, uniforms, wardrobe

Most of us clean floors. (That’s where the dirt is- duh!) So when the client watches the work the technician’s shoes will be constantly in view.

Especially for women the type and condition of the shoes worn say a lot about an employee. So it is important to control and monitor tech’s shoes AND their condition.

Strike a deal with a local shoe store so your employees can select from a range of approved quality work shoes.

So who pays? Sorry to say it but very likely legally you are on the hook! The good news? If you buy the shoes THEN you can specify your employees must wear them.

NOTE: Your investment in professional shoes will be easily recouped by the negative Moments of Truth you avoid. How? By banning the typical dirty, worn out, flapping sole “technician tennis shoe”!

Once your employees are properly shod make sure their shoes are consistently clean and shining:

1.  Place a stand-up electric shoe buffer by the back door. (With a mirror placed at floor level behind it.)

2.  Make sure each truck has personal shoe shine pads (like the ones found in motels) on board.

3.  Add a shoe shine check to your “Employee Accountability” spot checks.

4.  Don’t forget to wear shoe covers and especially so on the newly cleaned carpets. Even better, give the homeowner a pair for every family member. But even with the covers your employee’s shoe condition counts.

NOTE:  My thanks to Ian Thomas of Jan-King, Bushey Herts, England for this great reminder.

If you are hosting videos of your carpet cleaning prowess on your website (and you really should be) then PLEASE make sure the tech running the cleaning wand has clean, shined shoes!

So my challenge to you:  Look (I mean really look!) at your employee’s shoes. My guess is it will be a scary experience! Now think about your customers enduring the same view…

So what in-home dress and grooming details do you focus on?

Steve Toburen

Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these FREE weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

Also new this week:

• Introducing SFS QuickFIXs – Simple solutions that pay off BIG
• What kind of listener are you?
• Spring “Open House” marketing
• Can you give me a “Just Starting Out” checklist?
• “Batting lessons” for business owners- Part 2

Related posts:

1. “Carefully Clean” technicians create Cheerleaders!
2. Should I wear a bow tie when cleaning?
3. “Introduce” your carpet cleaning technicians to the home owner BEFORE they ring the door bell
4. Give away “booties” and make a Cheerleader!
5. 1 display of care plus 2 simple gifts equals guaranteed Cheerleaders

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SFSquicktips/~3/Brmlk997mS0/focus-on-your-technicians-shoes

Spring “Open House” marketing

Posted on 08 May 2012. Tags: business cards, carpet cleaning marketing, FREE Lifetime Spotter, guerilla marketing, marketing, new carpet cleaning customers, real estate agent, realtors

In today’s slower market real estate agents know that fresh, clean, sparkling carpets can make all the difference when they host an Open House.

And springtime is when people get the itch to buy a new home.  So market this special offer to your real estate agents:

Book a full house cleaning with us and we’ll include a FREE “touch up” carpet cleaning after your listings first “Open House”.

By getting the home owner your special offer “free bonus” touch-up carpet cleaning the real estate agent is now a hero. Plus the home will sell faster and for more money.

Remember, this touch up cleaning will take you very little time.  (Probably dry vacuuming in the traffic areas with a bit of extraction cleaning at the home’s entrance.)  Even better, with the lock box code you can do both cleanings on your schedule AND when you are in the area.  Everyone wins!

NOTE:  Ask the real estate agent if you can leave some business cards on the kitchen counter. Or even better a small sign that says:  ”Take a free Spotter for Life bottle with our compliments.” Now everyone that walks through the open house will take your custom labeled Spot Out bottle with your name, phone number and website!

This free touch up cleaning offer is a great way to grab real estate agent’s attention and break into a new market. So give it a try and report back here with your results.

Steve

Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these FREE weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

Also new this week:

• Can you give me a “Just Starting Out” checklist?
• “Batting lessons” for business owners- Part 2
• Carry all your small items in a rectangular bucket
• Strategies for Success Seminar- April, 2012 (Jon-Don Dallas, TX)
• “Batting lessons” for business owners- Part 1

Related posts:

1. Spring really may be just around the corner …
2. Marketing with low AND high technology …
3. Throw in the towel and keep your phone ringing!
4. Tweaking a great carpet cleaning marketing tool: “The refrigerator magnet”-Part II
5. Brand Sense- marketing cleaning services through the five senses

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SFSquicktips/~3/RXuR-2DGjms/spring-open-house-marketing

Carry all your small items in a rectangular bucket

Posted on 01 May 2012. Tags: cleaning chemicals, cleaning equipment, cleaning methods, cleaning pricing profit, efficiency, On The Job, production, systems, time management

Better efficiency means you will “Make More Money”(MMM) on each job. (This MMM principle applies to restoration, residential and commercial cleaning along with Jon-Don’s new concrete prep division.)

One way to get more efficient? Just make fewer trips to the truck. Yet you still need all your small tools/chemicals with you. You’ll achieve both of these goals when you …

Load all your spray bottles, spotters, tamping brushes, groomers, towels and micro-fiber mops into a rectangular 6 gallon bucket. Now all your small items are carried in one trip and stay with you during the job.

So why not use the old reliable- a five gallon bucket? Because a rectangle is much more efficient volume-wise than a round bucket. A six gallon rectangular bucket will carry more, stow better in your truck, not tip over and be easier to lug around!

Now a question for you … how do you get more efficient on the job? Please share your tips with your buddies “down in the trenches”. As I always say, “We’re all in this together!”

Steve Toburen

Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these FREE weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

Also new this week:

• Strategies for Success Seminar- April, 2012 (Jon-Don Dallas, TX)
• “Batting lessons” for business owners- Part 1
• Avoiding the “Mirror Test” in hiring employees
• Do you PLAN your marketing?
• Become a “partner” with your adjuster

Related posts:

1. TOP TEN List Idea #8: Get more efficient on the job.
2. Is your cleaning business a “leaky bucket”?
3. Swap out gallon jugs instead of refilling them
4. TOP TEN List Idea #9- Travel smarter.
5. Avoiding the “broken machine with the client watching” nightmare!

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SFSquicktips/~3/17VbvlVAF9I/carry-all-your-small-items-in-a-rectangular-bucket

Avoiding the “Mirror Test” in hiring employees

Posted on 24 April 2012. Tags: business questions, carpet cleaning technician, customer concerns, customer eyeglasses, employees, family safety, hiring, lawsuit, security, two technicians on truck

Too often we use the famous Mirror Test that Chuck Violand warns about in his hiring section in SFS:  ”If the applicant’s breath can fog a mirror then they are hired!” Just hiring “warm bodies” is wrong on so many levels.  Avoid “desperation hiring” by following Big Billy Yeadon’s tip:

Ask yourself:  “Would I have this person over for dinner?” If you don’t feel comfortable socially with an individual WHY would you send them into your client’s homes?

Even more importantly, analyze all of your current (and future) employees with Steve’s Deep-Down-In-Your-Gut-question:  “How would I feel about this technician working alone in MY home with MY wife?” And once again, if you don’t feel good about someone being alone with your wife then WHY would you inflict them on your trusting customers?

NOTE:  I realize this stuff is not the happiest subject.  But some (many?) of us are in denial on a few of our employees.  For an example of the very real moral, ethical and financial penalties of sending marginal service technicians into your client’s homes just CLICK HERE.

So what hiring tips can you share in the Comments Section below?

Steve Toburen

Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these FREE weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

Also new this week:

• Do you PLAN your marketing?
• Become a “partner” with your adjuster
• How can I get the BIG property management accounts?
• Hey Business Owner: “Who’s your boss?”

Related posts:

1. Hiring the “right” carpet cleaning technician
2. Hiring outside your “Comfort Zone”- Part 1
3. Hiring outside your “Comfort Zone”- Part 2
4. Employees blossom in a family oriented environment
5. How can you motivate your carpet cleaning or restoration employees?

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SFSquicktips/~3/zqmCeZqIO3c/avoiding-the-mirror-test-in-hiring-employees

Become a “partner” with your adjuster

Posted on 17 April 2012. Tags: commercial, communication, fire restoration, insurance adjusters, janitorial, mold remediation, online content, social media for cleaning and restoration websites, Strategic Partnership, water damage restoration

Clear and fast communication is the life blood of the restoration contractor/insurance adjuster relationship.

Remember, your adjuster is rated by how fast they move paperwork and close the loss.  (Plus you are their eyes and ears with the Insured!)  Soooo…

Use a cloud storage service (like DropBox) to give each of your adjusters an exclusive secure “shared folder” and you will become an even more valuable “partner”!

Just build a separate folder for each loss and then insert photos, measurements, daily progress reports and most importantly the Insured’s “concerns” in the adjuster’s shared folder.

Your adjuster will have 24-7 access to this very valuable resource and he or she will come to view you as an essential ally.  Plus the more documentation you provide helps both the adjuster and you to justify your billing.  (Your adjuster doesn’t remotely care how much you charge as long as they can justify it!)

NOTE:  If you do commercial carpet cleaning or janitorial work this same “shared folder” tip works great for property managers. When you provide a stream of non-intrusive information they can access on their own schedule PM’s will appreciate you as a “Strategic Partner”.

Of course, remember your #1 technique for Making the Cheerleader out of an adjuster will always be to “bring peace to his valley”. (I can’t imagine a more adversarial job than being an insurance adjuster!)  You’ll become a “Peacemaker” by focusing on the Emotional Dynamics of a traumatized restoration customer.  So always “Make the Cheerleader” out of the home owner and your adjuster will fight to get you the loss!

Steve Toburen

Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these FREE weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

Also new this week:

• Hey Business Owner: “Who’s your boss?”
• “Apologize” to get new clients!
• Want to diversify into concrete floor prep?
• Skills to be a better business owner (Part 3)

Related posts:

1. Don’t get caught in the middle between the adjuster and the property owner …
2. Get full mileage out of your Fire and Water Damage Restoration “progress photos”
3. “What a great feeling to have more than enough work!” Eric Blessit
4. How a “simple act of human kindness” can pay off big time with a fire and water damage restoration customer!
5. 12 Secrets for a Smoother Running Restoration Business

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SFSquicktips/~3/H7jCghFUFvc/become-a-partner-with-your-adjuster

“Apologize” to get new clients!

Posted on 10 April 2012. Tags: attitude, carpet cleaning marketing, first impression, Five Around program, FREE Lifetime Spotter, marketing, marketing to women, Spot-Out, stage play

Putting a door hanger on the neighbor’s houses on either side of your job and the three across the street still works.  But let’s see if we can get more mileage out of this “five around” concept. Try this great tip…

1.  After finishing the job make sure your photo ID badge is visible and ring the neighbor’s doorbell. When they answer the door, smile, clearly introduce yourself and say…

2. “We just finished cleaning Mrs. Jones carpets across the street and I wanted to apologize for our machine’s noise.” (The home owner probably hasn’t even heard it.)  Now hand him or her a bottle of Spot-Out and say…

3.  “To make it up to you please accept this free bottle of Spot-Out carpet spotter.  With this bottle you get free lifetime carpet spotter for life.  Any time you need more spotter just call our number on the label and we’ll replace it free of charge.” (Pause here and you will be amazed how many people ask you to look at their carpets “while you are here”.)

4.  If the home owner doesn’t invite you in just thank them for their patience and tell them to have a good day. (If you are asked to inspect the carpets be sure to put on a set of shoe covers.)

This “apologizing for our noise” technique works on so many levels: a) You now have a “hook” (an excuse) to knock on the neighbor’s door and b) you are making a positive impression on your prospect plus c) you are gifting them something of high and lasting value that d) has your contact information on it and will “stick around” for a long time.  (And all for a little over a “buck a bottle”!)

In fact, many of our SFS members have converted this Five Around into a “block around” and are knocking on every door within earshot of their truck mount!  They tell me almost invariably they get at least one job immediately plus are sowing the seeds for many more in the future.  (Home owners love the FREE Lifetime Spotter concept!)

Steve

NOTE:  Please don’t forget those dangerous “ruptured-over-the-winter” hose faucets lurking out there.

Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these FREE weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

Also new this week:

• Thinking about diversifying into concrete floor restoration?
• Skills to be a better business owner (Part 3)
• Silently remind your client about buying protector
• “Should I buy a marketing package?”
• Frustrated with the “new” generation of employees?

Related posts:

1. How can I reach out to my “straying” carpet cleaning clients?
2. Is there a down-side to the “Five Around” door hangar concept for carpet cleaners?
3. 1 display of care plus 2 simple gifts equals guaranteed Cheerleaders
4. What freebies should I give my carpet cleaning customers?
5. What can a carpet cleaner present at a “ladies club” meeting?

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SFSquicktips/~3/Ro2uSGIkonQ/apologize-to-get-new-clients

Silently remind your client about buying protector

Posted on 03 April 2012. Tags: add-on sales, carpet cleaning sales props, cleaning equipment, cleaning methods, corner guards, increase carpet cleaning ticket total, marketing carpet protector, marketing scotchgard, scotchgard

The easiest money out there for a carpet cleaner?  ”Re-applying” protector to every carpet.  And remember, you don’t need to “sell” protector!  Instead, just remind the customer about their carpet protection options and many will buy.  Here is one no-pressure way to “orient” the home owner…

Stick a Scotchgard logo decal to every one of your “corner guards”.

Now your corner guards will be silently selling Scotchgard for you on every job! This concept of subtly “pre-orienting” your clients about carpet protector works great.

There are so many ways to routinely remind your customers about Scotchgard:

1.  Include the Scotchgard logo on all your paperwork and brochures.  Why not piggyback on to the billions 3M has spent building Scotchgard into a brand name?

2.  Email your customers a “How To Get Ready for Us” checklist and include a link back to your web page explaining the home owner’s carpet protection options.

3.  All technicians should wear a “Ask me about Scotchgard” button.  Once again, it is all about silently and routinely reminding your clients about protecting their carpets.

Of course, you should still ask every customer, “Would you like me to ‘re-apply’ the Scotchgard protective finish?” You will be amazed how many people will say “Yes”!

NOTE for fire and water damage restoration contractors:  Don’t forget that Exactimate has a line item for re-applying the carpet protective finish:  CLN-FCCPC (Depending on your location Xactimate currently allows $0.16- $0.20 per foot for protector application!)  99% of your adjusters will automatically approve re-applying protector and you’ll Make More Money!

Steve

Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these FREE weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

Also new this week:

• “Should I buy a marketing package?”
• Frustrated with the “new” generation of employees?
• Divide your water losses into two “phases”
• Strategies for Success Seminar- March, 2012 (Jon-Don Chicago, IL)
• 3 more “required skills” for entrepreneurs – Part II

Related posts:

1. Cleaners AND restorers: Sell more protector!
2. So is applying Scotchgard protector worth the headaches?
3. Give your carpet cleaning technicians the tools to sell more carpet protector
4. Dramatically increase your carpet cleaning profits with this “protected with Scotchgard” question!
5. Help yourself by helping your client!

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SFSquicktips/~3/qLy7YXvS488/silently-remind-your-client-about-protector

Silently remind your client about protector

Posted on 03 April 2012. Tags: add-on sales, carpet cleaning sales props, cleaning equipment, cleaning methods, corner guards, increase carpet cleaning ticket total, marketing carpet protector, marketing scotchgard, scotchgard

The easiest money out there for a carpet cleaner?  ”Re-applying” protector to every carpet.  And remember, you don’t need to “sell” protector!  Instead, just remind the customer about their carpet protection options and many will buy.  Here is one no-pressure way to “orient” the home owner…

Stick a Scotchgard logo decal to every one of your “corner guards”.

Now your corner guards will be silently selling Scotchgard for you on every job! This concept of subtly “pre-orienting” your clients about carpet protector works great.

There are so many ways to routinely remind your customers about Scotchgard:

1.  Include the Scotchgard logo on all your paperwork and brochures.  Why not piggyback on to the billions 3M has spent building Scotchgard into a brand name?

2.  Email your customers a “How To Get Ready for Us” checklist and include a link back to your web page explaining the home owner’s carpet protection options.

3.  All technicians should wear a “Ask me about Scotchgard” button.  Once again, it is all about silently and routinely reminding your clients about protecting their carpets.

Of course, you should still ask every customer, “Would you like me to ‘re-apply’ the Scotchgard protective finish?” You will be amazed how many people will say “Yes”!

NOTE for fire and water damage restoration contractors:  Don’t forget that Exactimate has a line item for re-applying the carpet protective finish:  CLN-FCCPC (Depending on your location Xactimate currently allows $0.16- $0.20 per foot for protector application!)  99% of your adjusters will automatically approve re-applying protector and you’ll Make More Money!

Steve

Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these FREE weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

Also new this week:

• “Should I buy a marketing package?”
• Frustrated with the “new” generation of employees?
• Divide your water losses into two “phases”
• Strategies for Success Seminar- March, 2012 (Jon-Don Chicago, IL)
• 3 more “required skills” for entrepreneurs – Part II

Related posts:

1. Cleaners AND restorers: Sell more protector!
2. So is applying Scotchgard protector worth the headaches?
3. Give your carpet cleaning technicians the tools to sell more carpet protector
4. Dramatically increase your carpet cleaning profits with this “protected with Scotchgard” question!
5. Help yourself by helping your client!

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SFSquicktips/~3/qLy7YXvS488/silently-remind-your-client-about-protector