Applying protectant

[brite n clean]

We're small business, and up to this point have not offered protectant. Getting into this busy time of the year, I'm starting to get a few inquiries. Can anyone give me some tips on how to appy protectant or a good source to educate myself on the subect? Also the age old question of "How much do you charge?" Also any suggestions on prespraying upholstery?
Thanks

 

[Contemporary Carpet Clean]

a rule of thumb would be around half the price of the cleaning for the cost of stain protectant. Some charge more. Local Stanely Steamer guys charge 20-25 bucks an area. Some other owner operators charge 20-25 cents a square foot. If your just getting started you could use a 2 and half gallon pump deck sprayer from home depot if you do not want to be out alot of money. Or get a nicer more expensive battery powered sprayer either will work well and get the job done. Don't forget to groom the carpet after applying protectant with a carpet broom. As far as how much to use you'll have to read the label on the specific protector. Scotchgard and DuPont Teflon have different dilution rates I think. Also on the labels it will have the coverage area usually in square footage. Hope that helps a little bit. PS DuPont makes a protectant that is good for carpets and furniture....so you can up sell it when cleaning furniture too.

 

[Guest]

Also when you are selling protectant start off by giving them prices for just a couple room and/or hall and steps. Jumping in right off the bat selling them the whole house will scare them away. you want to start small and work your way up. even selling 20-40 dollars per home adds up in the long run. Ask just once when your giving them a bid and if the carpet turns out great them maybe mention the scotch guard again. just don't push it. that pisses people off....always want to have some on the truck though..

 

[Scott S.]

I use maxim advanced and i like it. i usually charge enough that i can buy 3 times what i apply. sells better and more if you keep it cheaper. its not how many people you can talk into it but how many people you can get to afford it, so you will sell more but at a lower price in in the end you will make more. And also if you can do that for most of the peoples houses you clean it will make the cleaning next time go alot quicker and dirt will come out easier and you can charge same as you did the time before when it took you twice as long to do it. so next time you will make great money for the time you have in it and you will have a happy customer because of that.

Maxim advanced will give you a demo kit when you buy a case of protector from Pembertons. www.Pembertons.com

i deal directly with Jim Pemberton he knows his stuff and he will answer any questions you have. should have phone number on site.

No i am not a sales man but i like dealing with people who do things right and are not crooks. you should never buy chems or products off somone that doesn't know how to use them.

 

[John Watson]

Contact Craig Jasper at www.cleaninginstitute.com I believe he could answer your questions and also work with you on different ways to approach your clients. Never any hard selling!!

 

[Trevor Truitt]

Can anyone give me some tips on how to appy protectant or a good source to educate myself on the subect? Also the age old question of "How much do you charge?" Also any suggestions on prespraying upholstery?
Thanks

Use a smaller tip (jet, nozzle) for protector. Go mark of a ten by ten area in your driveway, or your living room if you have to, and experiment with jet size and speed, using just water of course.

This next part might be hard to follow. Charge 30-50% of your cleaning total for protector. If you are a $99 whole house cleaner, write on your estimate a line item for protector for high traffic areas only for $50. No matter how hard you try, you can't spend 1.5 hours cleaning and sweating for $99 and then turn around and charge them (900 sq. X .25 per) $225 for protector. No sale.

Upholstery. Spray test area, agitate. If white cap (foaming) occurs, proceed. If not, spray more.

 

[J Scott W]

Most protectors have information that suggests a tip size to use. If you use too small an orifice, you'll get a mist of protectant in the air that can be inhaled.Keep the tip size around 06, keep the pressure low and the spray wand close to the carpet. Then the protector goes where it is needed.

I like to measure out the amount of protector needed into a clean container or sprayer. Apply half the amount while walking North to South and then turn 90 degrees and apply the remainder while walking West to East. This helps get more even coverage. Than rake or groom the carpet.

To really help you sell, protect one half of a busy room in your home or office. Watch the difference after 3 or 4 months and see how much better it responds to your next cleaning.

Pricing ranges from 1/3 to 1/2 of a cleaning cost.

The Maxim Advanced demo kit can really boost sales.

Craig Jasper suggest having two protectors available. One standard fluroprotectant and one that adds acid dye resistors and a warranty. Choice A is 40% of the cleaning cost. The upgrade to choice B costs 60% of cleaning cost. They get to choose between two levels of protection rather than yes or no.

Scott Warrington

 

[GRHeacock]

Some good advice above.

I recommend an electric or battery powered rather than a pump up or trigger sprayer- makes you look more professional, and makes a more even spray.

Several manufacturers have brochures to hand out- I recommend getting these to give to people at first, so they can look them over while you are measuring, estimating. Then they can decide when they see the estimate price, and I suggest pricing it like- "Cleaning with protector $225.00" and "Cleaning without protector $175" or whatever price you select.

Putting it this way will increase the potential of a sale, at any price.

Another thought- more is not better than less. The right amount is calculated on the container, and an excess can cause problems.

Gary