Glad I can help Larry! Tonight is going to be a good night, partly because of that line. I am 44, this gal is 24 and HOT. Looks like The Dog strikes again! It is not about looks, the size of your tool, or things like that. Charm baby charm. And many find that line CHARMING!
Hey, they're women. Who knows why they like the shit they do!
Now back to the subject.
I pride myself on the fact that most of my clients from 10 years ago are still with me.
How do I do that? It is not about great cleaning. I deliver really good cleaning, but that is not the issue.
The issue is building relationships. That is the deal.
And that STARTS with thinking of them as CLIENTS. Not customers. Customers are people that walk into a 7-11. Clients are people you build relationships with that you hope last a long time.
Two very good examples. I did a carpet this morning for a lady that has been a client of mine for eight years. On Monday she got back from vacation and found out her dog crapped all over the carpet. She called me.
I simply could not get there until today. I told her I would find someone else that I trusted to do a good job for her. She wanted none of it. She said, "You are my cleaner, you do great work, I trust you, and I like you."
She waited until this morning.
This lady and I have discussed all sorts of things from her kids to her divorce. We have connected on another level. Women love to talk. Just remember that.
A few weeks ago I got a call from a lady that has been a client for fourteen years. Her husband spilled some strawberry drink all over her chair. I told her it would be tough for me to get to it for a few days and that I would find someone that could get to her right away. She would have NONE of that. She waited for me and for the time it took to get the stuff COMPLETELY out.
I could tell the same story hundreds of times a year.
It is about RELATIONSHIPS...of which many here don't understand. NEVER EVER EVER do I go into a home and rush through the job. I ALWAYS take time to talk to the client, find out what they do, and have conversations with them. This builds relationships.
Now do I keep every client? Of course not. But the ones that decide to use someone else usually come back later on. Not all of them, but many.
Think about it, if you like someone a lot and trust them and they do good work...you are more likely to stay with them than a person that just acts like they are there to just make a few bucks.
Yesterday afternoon I did a job for a couple that travels a lot. Two years ago I cleaned their whole house. Nice paying job. Yesterday I only cleaned one room. But I spent an hour and a half there talking with the husband about traveling and my trip to China I am going to take. We connected on a level besides cleaning.
He is now helping me arrange my tour of China. Unless I do a HORRIBLE job and treat them bad they are NOT going to use anyone else. We have made that extra connection.
These guys that yap about doing six jobs a day as a one man crew, they don't have the time to do that type of thing and THEY are the ones much more easily replaced. Especially if they are charging a lot.
Business is about RELATIONSHIPS.
Figure that out and you'll have all the repeat and referral work you can handle...if you want to do it.
Geez, I have clients that call me to just ask how my daughter is doing and let me know their daughter or son had a kid or are going to college or whatever. They are not changing cleaners.
RELATIONSHIPS. That is what it is about.
DevilDog
