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Category: Systemizing

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Over the past 30 plus years of running a carpet cleaning business, I've had a one, two and a three truck operation. I've had a workshop with an office and I've also had just a home office. And I've ventured into fire and flood restoration for a number of years as well as concentrating solely on cleaning carpets and upholstery.

It seems to me that success is often measured by how many trucks you have. Or how large the business is.

Now, that I'm once again an owner operator working from a home office, I've come to realize that residential carpet cleaning is a great opportunity for a good lifestyle. There are so many benefits in this industry to remaining small.

In no particular order, here they are:

Far, Far Less Stress
Ask any business owner their number one headache and it will usually involve employees that need parenting! That seems to be particularly the case with carpet and upholstery cleaning.

Good employees are hard to find but it’s harder to find employees who know how to deal with people and can present themselves to high-end homeowners. After all, we work in peoples’ bedrooms! Customers have to feel very comfortable with whoever is going to do that and really need to trust them.

Each job is unique. There are probably dozens of different decisions to be made on each job. Employees don’t care as much as you do. My last employee moved a table with a very expensive Tiffany lamp balancing on one end…and it fell off!

The employee thinks about your cost of replacement – you think about what the customer will tell others about you!

I've once booked in an old customer who hasn't used us for a number of years. He responded because I sent him an irresistible offer. He finally told me that he kept hesitating to use us again because the last time the carpets were cleaned the skirting boards had been damaged with the wand. Yet, he’d never mentioned it on the Report Card. People don’t like to complain…they just go somewhere else!

And then, you don’t have to worry about terminating employment and being taken to an Industrial Tribunal.

I've had staff try to take me to a tribunal. (fortunately I took advantage of the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) free legal helpline) and I've known a colleague who sacked an employee for theft only to have to pay him compensation for “not following correct procedure”

Loyal Happier Customers
Who would you prefer to perform a service in your home? The owner, or one of his employees? Customers prefer to have YOU and quality minded consumers will pay a premium to have the owner. And, unlike a large firm, they know who will turn up to do the work.

A while ago I had a new driveway on the front of my house. The owner of the business brought a new member of staff to do some of the ‘grunt’ work of cutting the bricks for the edging while he presumably managed another job. He’s now been back twice to replace many of the bricks that the ‘employee’ fitted. Am I happy? Yes. Would I use him again? Not unless he’s doing the work himself.

Low Expenses
No office required, no employee liability insurance, no Employers National Insurance Contributions (currently 13.8%!), no sick pay, no holiday pay (currently 5.6 weeks!), no P60’s to prepare at year end, no spare equipment needed in case of breakdown, no losing money and paying staff at the same time when it does etc etc.

There’s also considerable savings on training staff perhaps to have them leave after a month (as I have) or to start their own cleaning business (as I have).

And here’s one of the myths of a larger business. That if there’s “sufficient Gross, there must be some Nett around here somewhere.” Big numbers do not always translate into more take-home pay for the owner.

Yet it’s just the opposite for an owner operator: low investment cost, low overhead and high profit margin!

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I’ve always welcomed complaints. It’s an opportunity for my customers to see how good my complaints department is.

I’ve recently been on the other side of the equation. My van needed some bodywork repaired and a few areas of paintwork ‘touched up’. I took it to a specialist who was recommended to me. When I picked the van up three days later, I was frankly shocked by what I saw. There were at least three runs of paint on the bodywork, one of them about eighteen inches long. Also he’d sprayed over rust on a wheel arch. And there was paint on the trim.

The workshop was closed when I collected the van on a Friday evening so he’d left the key in a hidden place for me. It gave me the weekend to reflect on the quality of the work. I began to realize how we Brits hate to complain and the effect that the thought of complaining has on a customer. I lay awake at night wondering how he would respond...

Would I have to argue with him? Would he try to justify his bad work? At one time I thought “should I just pay him and never use him again”? And I realized that our customers must sometimes go through the same thing when they have concerns about our cleaning.

There’s a wonderful scene in the British comedy Fawlty Towers where two elderly ladies are complaining about the food but when the owner Basil Fawlty asks how things are they pretend everything’s fine. Instead they say to each other that they “will just not come back here again”. And that’s the worst situation for your carpet cleaning business.

So what will help in this situation?

A strong GUARANTEE actively promoted in advance. People need to trust you before they will commit to using you to clean their carpets. And of course, all buying decisions are based on emotion. Prospects need to FEEL that they can trust you to look after their best interests. People perk up and pay attention to a guarantee so it’s an excellent selling tool not just a statement of company policy.

You should never underestimate the power of a guarantee. Tom Monaghan of Domino’s Pizza built his fortune-building USP on one: "...delivery in 30 minutes or less...GUARANTEED!"

If you cannot strongly and fairly guarantee your carpet cleaning, you ought to find other work to do.

For you to get real benefit from having a guarantee, you need to use it as a marketing tool. If you don’t advertise your guarantee, you have the liability of one without the benefit. (because you would always put something right anyway, wouldn’t you?).

And it matters how guarantees are worded. “Satisfaction guaranteed” is OK but you can make it sound much more exciting than that…and you should!

How about a 100% No-Risk Iron-Clad Money Back Guarantee? And then explain exactly what that means…that they have no fear of complaining!

Why not add a multiple guarantee, say a 30 day Spot Removal Guarantee?

Or a Seven Day Spillage Guarantee? That if they have a spillage in the next seven days, you will return and spot clean it free of charge?

And why not preface all that by saying “I’m very serious about my guarantees.” And mean it.

All of these things put the prospects mind at rest. After all, you do want to correct any problems don’t you? It’s an opportunity for your customers to see how good your complaints department is. But tell them in advance with a strong guarantee.

Once you've cheerfully corrected any concerns, you will likely have a customer for life.

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Did you know that 20% of your carpeting is likely to get 80% of the wear? If you did, you’re probably familiar with what’s commonly known as the Pareto Principle.

It’s named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who in 1897 found a consistent mathematical relationship between the proportion of people living in England and the amount of income or wealth this group enjoyed. He found that 20% of the population enjoyed 80% of the wealth!

This principle has since been expanded to this:

The minority of causes, inputs or effort usually lead to a majority of results, outputs or rewards.

In other words, 80% of what you achieve comes from 20% of the time spent. And 20% of customers produce 80% of the revenue; 80% of what we accomplish comes from 20% of our time and so on.

The reason it’s so valuable is that it’s counterintuitive. It’s not what we expect.

It’s strange how business seems to be governed my unwritten rules. I’ve recently discovered one of my own.

I’ve recently checked my database of unconverted leads for the past few months. That is, prospects who have asked for an in-home quotation but have not gone ahead. It’s brought up an unusual principle that I’ve called ‘The Principle of the Inverse Appointment Time’

I discovered that in the last few months I have only eight in-home quotes that have not turned into jobs. Of those eight, I noticed a similarity that I’ve turned into this rule:

“The more impatient they are to get a quote, the least intention they have of getting the job done.”

Of those eight quotes, SIX told me there were in a hurry to have the work done and I needed to provide a quote as soon as possible. In nearly all of these cases, I changed my schedule to provide a quote quickly. Once in the home, it seemed that the urgency had dissipated.

Now, we always qualify our prospects. In fact we try to DISQUALIFY them to be absolutely sure that we are not wasting our time with people who don’t want our level of service or can’t afford it. And yet six have fallen through the net! (Interestingly that’s 75% - almost following the 80/20 rule).

There’s always going to be time wasted with prospects that will not go ahead. So how can this be kept to a minimum? Well, now I follow the rule: “The more impatient they are to get a quote the least intention they have of getting the job done.”

I only want to visit homeowners who are pre-interested, pre-qualified, pre-educated and pre-disposed to using me. If they’re NOT, I spend time to make sure they are…before I visit.

If they want me to quote in a hurry, I direct them to my website and ask them to come back to me if they are (pre)interested (and now pre-educated). This also is counterintuitive. They expect me to drop everything and come round immediately. Do I lose a few? Probably. But I sure save a lot of time in relation to the inconvenience and frustration caused.

Probably around 80%.

 

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I’m always interested in seeing how successful businesses market themselves to see if there’s any lessons to be learned. I’ve usually found that the larger the organisation, the worse the marketing and customer experience. However, a while ago I found an exception.

I went to the Yucatan Peninsular in Mexico for two weeks, staying at a fairly large RIU hotel. I have to say, I was very impressed with this hotel chain and how even the little things that affect customer satisfaction are not left to chance.

So let me relate just four of the ‘lessons’ I learned.

Firstly, I was amazed at the All-Inclusive restaurant. No queues. No waiting for drinks. Everything running smoothly. How could this be, I wondered?

So I took the free ‘Kitchen Tour’ on Sunday at 12pm. Now this really should be called ‘The Free Marketing, Advertising and Branding Tour’ because that’s really what it was. It’s purpose was to show us exactly how RIU have the customers' experience in mind. The end result was to change or improve our perception of the RIU brand (which of course is all in OUR minds). Hopefully we’d choose RIU next time.

The tour was carefully choreographed. They saw exactly what they wanted us to see in the order in which they wanted us to see it. But a key word that was repeatedly used was “Organisation” (in FIVE different languages!). It couldn’t be stressed enough. They wanted us to see that customers were happy, not by chance but because they had systems in place that ensured it. I was really impressed. I had no idea. Everything done at a set time and in a set way.

It was explained that they cater for a possibility of 600 hungry guests at 1pm every day. And that one hour later a further few hundred could arrive. And all had to be seated, drinks ordered and delivered and food cooked, ready and waiting immediately. And this they did!

Later, I joined the tour of the next door RIU hotel. This time one that is referred to as a ‘Palace.’ The reality was that it was hoped the next time we would ‘upgrade’ to this hotel. What better way than showing it to us? Again, everything choreographed.

So…the lessons?

Lesson 1: Your customers don’t know what you do unless you tell them. I had no idea that everything behind the scenes was so organised. Nothing left to chance. Customer satisfaction an absolute priority. My view of this large hotel chain has been positively changed.

Now…do your customers know exactly what it is that you do that other cleaners don’t do? Do they know why you vacuum the carpet before you clean them, something that most of your competitors don’t do? Are they aware of how much training you’ve undertaken? Do they know that you are National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA in the UK) members and why it’s important?

Lesson 2: The importance of a set way of doing EVERY activity in your business. In other words, to quote Michael Gerber of ‘The E-Myth’ “this is how we do it here.” The customer gets the best experience possible because we’ve worked out what that is and then written it down in our Operations Manual. It’s done that way every time.

Lesson 3: Always up-sell. And demonstrate if possible. What better way to show how carpet protector works than to SHOW it? If you added protector to only 30 percent of jobs… well maybe you could go to the Yucatan Peninsula next year.

Lesson 4: Remember, everything you do affects your BRAND, an over-used buzz word today. But put simply, a brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer. So even being just systematic and organised can increase your ‘brand value’ in their minds. In real terms, they are more likely to use you again and refer you!

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I wrote recently about my visit to a local travel agent. It was a lesson in how NOT to sell a holiday. You may recall, amongst other things, the advisor assumed I wouldn’t pay the quoted price and so I was immediately offered a discounted price WITHOUT even asking.

If anyone’s been to Egypt, one thing you can say for sure is that although you may be hassled in the shops, they certainly know how to SELL.

I remember going on a Nile cruise a few years ago and amongst the ‘trips’ was a visit to a perfume factory. By the way, there was no choice about this. It was part of our visit to Karnak temple. There I witnessed a masterclass in selling. Again, there are some good lessons for us as carpet cleaners. Now, this was not just an education in perfume…it was a SALES meeting. Here are four lessons I learned.

1. Use Joint Ventures

Firstly, how did we just happen to end up at the perfume factory? Well, no doubt this was a ‘Joint Venture’. The tour guide would have made an arrangement to ‘deliver’ a coach load of prospective customers to the factory door. And no doubt taken a share of the profits. This is an excellent low cost, no-risk way of getting customers for the factory. There’s no expensive advertising, in fact no work at all other than divvying up the profits at the end. Even if the factory paid as much as 50% of the profit – it’s 50% for them that they wouldn’t have had. And a tremendous incentive for the tour guide! A win-win.

Now, who could give YOU access to their customers for a share of the profits (that they wouldn’t have had!). Ask yourself: Who services the same type of customers as you do? Could you give these customers a preferential offer that would induce them to use you for the first time? Even if you paid a high percentage of the sale to the other business, you would have gained a new customer and made a small profit on the first sale. When they use you again or refer you…there’s a much greater profit.

2. Use a Structured Approach

Nothing was left to chance…an initial ‘trust and rapport’ building cup of herbal tea, passing out order forms at the beginning to ‘assume’ the sale and demonstrations of the products were all clearly scripted.

Are your in-home quotes fully scripted? (I like to use the term ‘choreographed’ – like actors on a stage, nothing happens by chance). For example, are you demonstrating how protector works (tissue in a glass?) not just explaining it? Could you even clean a very small area to show just how soiled the carpet is?

3. Use Education Based Marketing

This is often a very under-used method of persuasion. I was thoroughly educated in the process of perfume making. By the time they had finished, I trusted that they knew what they were doing. I also knew about the ‘extravagant’ mark-up by the well known brands.

Do you educate your customers? You know, the ones who think that all carpet cleaning is the same? For example, do you tell them about the importance of vacuuming first because 79% of soil in a carpet is ‘dry’ and will vacuum out. Educate them as to why this and every other part of your process is so important.

4. Packaging

Yes, they offered three packages (4 bottles in a pack vs 6 vs 8 in a ‘fancy’ box), even throwing in a ‘bonus’ on the most expensive package.

Do you have different packages? If not, at least put together a high-priced top quality package and offer both. There are some customers who just want the BEST and are prepared to pay for it.

Many of my fellow travellers left the factory with boxes of perfume. A testament to a highly efficient, structured, educational, choreographed SALES meeting.

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If I had to use only one marketing strategy in my business, which one would I choose?

Without doubt it would be to send a monthly newsletter to my client base. Why? Because newsletters, pound for pound, dollar for dollar are one of the most effective marketing tools available.

Let's just consider the reasons why every carpet cleaner should be sending a monthly newsletter to their customers.

Reason 1: Newsletters help you retain your clients.

How often have you heard people say that they've had their carpets cleaned before and were "very satisfied" but just can't remember the name of the person or company they used. This is a tragedy. One of the most costly expenses in a business is the cost of getting a new customer. And now when it's time for the carpets to be cleaned again, the customer can't remember who cleaned them! Newsletters help keep you ;top-of-mind' with customers. When your newsletter arrives they are immediately reminded to think about whether their carpets need cleaning again. Newsletters also get in 'under the radar'. They are not perceived as a sales pitch and can therefore be used to educate and inform about other services without the usual resistance to a sales message.

Reason 2: Newsletters help with referrals.

If your newsletter is interesting and of value to your customers, they may pass it along to friends or relatives. In fact, just seeing your newsletter can prompt friends to ask what it's all about, perhaps leading to a conversation about the need for cleaning carpets. And of course, your name will be on hand to pass on.

Reason 3: Newsletter help build your brand. 

Brand-building is normally too expensive for a small business to use as a standalone strategy. This is because the usual way for a business to build a brand is by means of image type advertising which is very costly and the results uncertain. However, sending a regular newsletter automatically builds your brand name. I like to think of my ˜brand" as the likelihood of my clients using me again and of referring me to others. I know that technically a brand is the sum total of every experience with my business and how my clients and prospects perceive it. Or something like that! Branding of course is all in their mind. Therefore a regular newsletter has the potential to affect how clients and prospects think about my business. And that's very powerful!

Here's an example of the cost-effectiveness of sending a regular newsletter:

A lady who had not used our services for a few years recently responded to an offer in my newsletter. I estimate that she has received about 75 newsletters in that time. If the cost of sending a newsletter including printing, paper, envelope and stamp is say 50p (here in the UK) that means I've spend less than £40 to re-gain her. (Work out YOUR cost of acquiring a customer and you'll be very surprised!). The PROFIT on the job will be in excess of £200. That's a return on investment of over 5 to 1. Even sending a newsletter for many years without response can pay off eventually. Most of our clients respond long before seven years, making it even more profitable.

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How do you give quotes or estimates? Do you just wing it or do you have a structured system in place? A marketing guru once commented that if you don’t have a system for selling in place you fall victim to the prospects system for not buying!

A recent experience shows the benefits of having a selling SYSTEM:

I live in a 1930’s house that needs a new front door and two small windows that join to it. Outside the front door is a small wooden porch that has seen better days.  I recently invited a reputable company to give me a quote for replacement for all this. What followed was a lesson in how not to sell!

First, remember that all salesmen are problem solvers.  In other words people do not buy products or services for the sake of it – they want a specific problem solved.

I was hoping for the salesman to educate me as to what could be done and to offer advice so that I could make an informed decision. Instead he highlighted several reasons why I couldn’t have what I wanted. Admittedly the porch was a problem as it was old but he simply didn’t want to deal with it. What he should have said was “If I were you, I wouldn’t waste your money on the porch…but maybe think about this…”

Lesson: Always act in the best interests of your customers. Educate them as to what is possible. If they would be better off replacing the carpets…tell them! Use photo’s, testimonials etc. They need to view you as a trusted advisor. When they do, price becomes less important.

He proceeded to lecture me about his windows but didn’t find out what my concerns were. Was I worried about security or keeping the heat in or did I just want the cheapest option? Why did I want to replace my windows? When I told him clearly which door I wanted, he began speaking about the others in the brochure.

Lesson: Use consultative selling. Ask a systemised series of questions to first of all qualify your prospect. Then find out exactly what they want and give it to them. Listen to what the prospect really wants. Find out their main concerns. It could be quick drying or whether a particular stain can be removed.

I asked him why I should do business with his company and whether all windows were the same. When I asked the difference between windows he replied “Price and Quality.” I asked what I would get if I paid more. The answer - “Better quality.” But what does this mean?

Lesson: Be clear why customers should use you versus your competitors. Reject those who don’t fit your criteria. It’s important to have a clear Unique Selling Proposition rather than “choose us because we’re no worse than anybody else”

When I asked about Thermal Rating he responded by telling me that his windows are C rated and that A rated windows are very expensive. And that his competitors would rip me off! In fact he spoke at length about bad fitters and their practices. The salesman constantly used the word cr*p, when describing his competitors.

Lesson: Don’t bad-mouth your competition. It’s not until you hear someone do this that you realise how bad it sounds. It makes you seem very unprofessional.

Speak and act professionally at all times. Also, you are not your own customer. Don’t assume they cannot afford to buy, particularly when offering protector. Last year we cleaned the carpets for a lady living in an area we would not normally clean in. I wondered whether we would actually get paid, yet she had protector on her carpets and gave the technician a £20 tip!

 

And finally… the salesman drove off in his flash Audi TT and never followed up. I’ve not heard from him since!

By the way, I've just noticed that the company is no longer in business!

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I've found that there are two kinds of carpet cleaners: Those who quote over the phone and those who don't. And both have their reasons for each process.

When you quote over the phone it's so easy. No getting in the car or van and driving many miles to see a prospect who perhaps is only interested in a low price or is getting three or four estimates... or whose carpets are beyond cleaning. However, you won't close as many jobs.

Giving an in-home quote on the other hand can be very time consuming. You may spend 20 - 30 minutes in a home but you are much more likely to secure the job.

So which is best?

There are a number of factors to consider. If you are targeting high-end homeowners, there's no doubt that giving an in-home quotation is far more profitable at the end of the day AND will save you time. The secret is to only visit those who are worthy of your valuable time. In other words, filter out all those who do not fit your ideal client criteria. This is usually not done and is the main reason why many resort to quoting over the phone.

So why does an in-home visit result in more jobs?

It's because we are able to present our case much better. We can use photos, flip charts and testimonials to persuade the prospect to use us and not a competitor. Remember marketer Dan Kennedy's question: "Why should your prospect do business with you versus every other option available to her including what she's already doing and including doing nothing at all?" Only an in-home presentation can do a good job of answering this question.

And crucially, we are told that in communication:

  • 7% of the message is conveyed by words
  • 38% by tone
  • 55% by body language

That means that by quoting over the phone more than half our message is not getting through! How can we persuade and convince someone if most of our message is hidden? It means though that we must make sure we look and sound worthy of them hiring us.

So how can an in-home presentation be more profitable? 

Apart from closing more jobs, if we're going to all the trouble of helping a prospect make a right decision by choosing our high-quality work rather than risk a competitor, then we need to be charging more for this. Higher prices = more bottom line profit.

And how can in-home quotations save us time? 

Simply by being selective who we visit in the first place. Do not visit everyone who asks! Only give in-home quotations to those who qualify. That is, they prove on the phone that they are the type of clients that we want...that they are prepared to pay a higher price for top quality work. This can be done with a series of well thought out questions.

So how can we be really sure whether we should quote over the phone or in-home?

The answer is the same as with all marketing... test! Spend one week quoting over the phone and track your results and one week only doing in-home visits but at a higher price. Note how many jobs are closed, the average job ticket as well as the time spent giving quotations. Track profit per hour.

And of course, don't forget the lifetime value of a client. It may cost us more in time and money to acquire a client in the first place but if they are worth several thousands of pounds in repeat work (for which we can quote over the phone) and referrals, what's the point in trying to save a few pounds initially by quoting over the phone?

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What do most people fear about inviting a salesman to their homes? Yes, it’s fear of being a victim of high-pressure selling.

However, whereas people don’t like to be ‘sold’ anything, they do like to buy. They like to feel that they are in control of the buying situation and are not being manipulated.

Education based marketing does a great job of this. It gives people what they want (information) and removes what they don’t want (a sales pitch).

Homeowners do have to be educated about carpet and fabric cleaning. How often have you had this said to you? - “My dining room carpet doesn’t need cleaning yet as it’s only been down eight years.”

As we know, appearance is not the only reason to clean carpets. More people will respond to our message if we let them know that their carpets actually are dirty because carpets hide all the soil before it’s visible. And that they can save the expense of early replacement by maintaining their costly investment.

So how exactly do you do it?

1. First, appoint yourself as an expert. No-one else is going to do this for you. Then write some reports or other educational material that can be given to interested homeowners that shows them that you are indeed an expert.

2. Write a Consumers’ Guide. A booklet such as a consumer guide educates homeowners on why they need to have carpets cleaned regularly and how to choose a reputable carpet cleaner. Don’t make it a sales pitch at all. Simply present information that the homeowner can learn from and they will view you as the expert. People are desperate for information to help them make the right decision.

3. Make sure you don’t use ‘image’ advertising. Leave this for the big boys who can afford to waste some of their money. A small business owner needs to know that every advert is really a ‘salesman in print’ that has to earn its keep. Again, give the consumer information so they can make an informed decision.

4. Have a recorded message telephone line. There are many telecoms companies in the UK now that provide these. You can record an educational message which can last ten minutes or so and cover areas such as:

  • misconceptions about carpet cleaning
  • different methods of cleaning
  • how to choose a carpet cleaner

These also have the hidden benefit of pre-qualifying prospects. Those who simply want a ‘cheap and cheerful clean’ will realise that that’s not what you do and won’t waste your valuable time.

Plus, prospects can get what they want (information) anytime of the day or night without you have to spend time with them.

It’s completely automated.