Topological Treatment Up sell?

[EDS]

Hello,

I am O/O and new to TM carpet cleaning. I have been in business for around 5 months. Almost all of my jobs are residential. I charge $50 per area. I am one of those rookies that over cleans ( TRYING TO CHANGE THAT-today for the first time I used a wand for part of a job because the lower floor was actually not that dirty) and use a RV on nearly all of my jobs. I always vacuum, pre spray and acid rinse all of my jobs.

My average ticket price is between $200-300 without up sells; however, I feel that I am leaving money on the table. I have heard many people discuss topological up sells.

My question is in what circumstances would you up sell a topological treatment (minus carpet protector) , what kind of product would you use and what would be the process for application?

Thank you in advance,

Ed

 

[tmiklethun]

I am not sure what topological means, but if you are just talking about different upsell options. My favorite is an EPA approved carpet sanitizer. I spray it on immediately after vacuuming, leave on for about 10 minutes then extract out while I clean. It is an agressive product and you do need to warn your clients not to let the pets or children play on the carpet. It kills mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses, dust mites ect. I actually have a higher profit margin on this, then on protector. If you don't go with a sanitizer, you can go with a deodorizer. I even hear some people use an anti static treatment as an upsell.

Then, of course, other services, upholstery, tile, hardwood ect.

 

[Hoody]

I think they mean topical treatments ? There are a few different topical treatments you can apply. Deodorizer - there are many kinds, a few mists with a quart bottle after cleaning, or the recommendations on the label for application. There are also anti-static products that can be applied, again read the label.

 

[EDS]

Yeah it is topical treatments. LOL. Thanks guys.

 

[hogjowl]

Yeah it is topical treatments. LOL. Thanks guys.

Whenever you find yourself wanting to use the word logical in conjunction with anything discussed on this board, you're almost certainly using the word incorrectly.

 

[Mikey P]

Thanks Marty.

Way to help the new guy out.


As to his question if you really are getting a 200 to 300 average pat yourself on the back. Thats a great number for a new business with no reputation. You are in an expensive area to live so take advantage of that. IMO upselling deodorizers and protectors at every job will come back to haunt you quickly. In most cases the average homeowner does not NEED either of those services. Their intangible and if you follow what some gurus tell you to charge for both, you'll be adding 20 to 30% to our bill but leaving a bad taste in the customer's mouth and memory the next time she is in need of cleaning.As a brand new company you most likley can't asfford the reputation of being high priced.
Most deodorizing can be done by adding a few ounces of a deo product to your prespray and flushing the "stinky" areas more with your wand or RE. (get rid of the source and you get rid of the odor)
As for protection, Most carpet sold in the last decade is so darn stain "proof" that no homeowner is going to notice one iota of difference by you spritzing on some "extra layers of product. if you use a water based version AND put enough down to actually work you'll be over wetting the carpet in most cases. 3M recommends 1 gallon for 400 sq ft. Clean your carpet in your own home and apply one gallon to 400 feet and see how long it takes to dry. Assuming you've rinsed the carpet properly and left no detergent residue I think you'll be surprised how long it takes. IF your left a residue you'll be shocked.


I would suggest looking for upsells that leave a real lasting impression like upholstery cleaning or tile/stone and grout cleaning. Most homes you'll go into have a sofa or two chairs that are in front of a TV and are used every night as dining room furniture. There will be sots on the seats and hand oil on the arms and hair oils on the headrest. offer to clean the "traffic areas on those pieces for half the cost of what you charge to clean the whole thing.

With today's micro fibers and ultra blends you'd be amazed at how often you can take your carpet prespray that you're applying to the fuzzy floor below and mist some on the upholstery and give a quick rinse with our hand tool. Make damn sure you know your fabrics real well, take a class and spend some time in furniture galleries in your area studying contents. The ladies will love this and you!

btw, that same prespray (love that Enzall) will kick ass on tile and stone entryways, bathroom floors, not too mention garage floors. Do you have a glided wand? Works great on those hard floors...Keep a Home Depot grout brush on your truck at all times for working the prespray into corners and grout lines. it might add 10 minutes to clean small areas and Mrs Pfit won't have any problem with your $50 upsell.

That she can actually see and sing your praises about.


Please be careful on how you setup your company's reputation in these early years is all I'm saying.


Just ask Marty how long he has been working on not being perceived as the Board Asshole anymore so people will actually take their time to help him out now that he wants to actually grow his business.

 

[EDS]

Thanks for the reply. I already add deodorizer to my pre spray so I guess my over all price includes it. My most important asset is my customers so I defiantly don't want them to feel like I am nickel and dimming them on every chance I have. I have some good tile and grout tools (hydroforce spinner gekko wand and hand tool) so I should be offering that service more. Sometimes i read on the forums here how people up sell other services and fell that I am kinda lacking in that area.

When I first started out I was at $30 per area cleaned and early last month I removed pricing from my website and raised my prices. I still do at least one area for free if I the ticket is over $300. I do have a prochem quad jet glided wand. I am still nervous about upholstery when I do it and am eager to take a class. Up here in the great white north we don't have as many course offerings. Almost worth it to take the wife and kids to Seattle and take the class down their.

Anyhow appreciate the feed back.

Ed

 

[jcooper]

IMO upselling deodorizers and protectors at every job will come back to haunt you quickly. In most cases the average homeowner does not NEED either of those services. Their intangible and if you follow what some gurus tell you to charge for both, you'll be adding 20 to 30% to our bill but leaving a bad taste in the customer's mouth and memory the next time she is in need of cleaning.

I agree.

If they have a odor issues(not piss/turds all over the place), I might add a little odor product for them. No charge, I'll tell them that(deo and such) stuff is just a mask and will go away in a few days.

Protector, if they ask sure... Often I'll tell them their money is better spent on cleaning sooner.

 

[EDS]

Used the traffic areas on upholstery upsell today!

Thanks.

 

[Mikey P]

Cool, what did you do and for how much?

 

[EDS]

I did three rooms hall and set of stairs for $200. She had two love seats and a couch. She was enquiring about price. I told her 250. Sensing that that was too steep for her. I told her could do traffic areas for a fraction of the cost. I did the arms, headrests and lower area (around where your feet would be) for $50. And once I arrived I can see why she did not want to spend alot of money on them. Her husband said that they had them for almost 20 years. They were a natural fibre with floral patterns and showed signs of wear.

I used fine fabric shampoo with horse hair brush and a acid rinse (prochem). The total bill with taxes was 262.50 (including carpeted area). From set up to break down time was 1 hour and 10 minutes.

 

[J Scott W]

Additional services are almost necessary to provide. This is not only a larger ticket but makes sure the competition is not being invited in to perform a service you don't offer.

A quality protector is the most profitable add-on service. Mikey's customers must never spill Kool Aid, or other beverages or maybe they all have nearly new carpet with factory protector. But a national survey of consumers shows that what most worried about was stains on the carpet that could not be removed. Protector helps assure the stains will come out.

 

[1moondog1]

Agree with Everything you said EXCEPT....HOME DEPOT GROUT BRUSH!...That thing is PURE JUNK! Check out these brushes at www.americanbrushandchems.com Absolutley NO COMPARISON.Interlink sells the Dirty Grout Demon Pro* That are also many distributors who carry both the Demon and The Tile & Grout SHARK....just have to ask around or contact the website for avail. distributors in your area.

 

[1moondog1]

Sorry Scott....My REPLY was to MICKEYS POST!

 

[Mikey P]

Agree with Everything you said EXCEPT....HOME DEPOT GROUT BRUSH!...That thing is PURE JUNK! Check out these brushes at www.americanbrushandchems.com Absolutley NO COMPARISON.Interlink sells the Dirty Grout Demon Pro* That are also many distributors who carry both the Demon and The Tile & Grout SHARK....just have to ask around or contact the website for avail. distributors in your area.

lol....you obviously are not a cleaner in the trenches, If you were you'd know to put a screw through the pivot on the Home Depot brush which makes it the deal of the century at $4.95


The Demon and Shark brushes are too big and wide, and the Demon for some lame reason has the soft bristles in the center which makes it just about useless.



Scott is right, Kool Aid stains are super rare here, but than again I charge enough for wtw that I don't need to nickle and dime customers for spot treatments.

 

[KevinL]

What does "put a screw through the pivot" mean?

 

[hogjowl]

What does "put a screw through the pivot" mean?

Screw a freakin SCREW through the pivot.

You want Taco to tell you in Spanish?

 

[Mikey P]

View attachment 3008