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For many years I used to wonder why the phone wasn't ringing more. After all, everybody has carpet that needs cleaning at some time don’t they? What could I do to get people to enquire about getting their carpets cleaned?

Of course, it’s all about getting the right type of person to call. Maybe you only want high-end residential customers. Or maybe you only want large commercial work.

However getting more customers doesn't have to be hard. In fact, it’s a very simple process. There are really only FIVE steps.

Here’s what you need to do…

  1. Identify WHO your ideal customers are – the ones that you’ll enjoy working with the most, the ones who are the most profitable or who will pay premium prices for high quality work and the customers who will not be a ‘pain in the backside’
  1. Find out WHERE they are - do they read certain magazines or newspapers? Do they attend specific events or seminars? Do they live together in a particular area? Are they gather-able together in ‘one place’ so to speak?
  1. Get in front of them - once you know who they are and where they are to be found, now you can get in front of them. That might mean setting up a meeting, writing an article, giving a talk, delivering a flyer or placing an ad. But you need to get in front of them.
  1. Create attention and interest - your positioning, value proposition and sales argument need to be relevant to your ideal customer. You must be able to get their attention and then get them interested and engaged so you can have a conversation with them.
  1. Make an offer - it could be a free trial offer or a free audit or inspection. Or some other ‘direct-response mechanism’ that causes them to respond to your offer.If you work through this process you will see significant results. Most carpet cleaners will not do this. Instead they have no idea of who they are trying to attract or where they can be found.

    Remember, we’re in the marketing business not the cleaning business.

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I recently heard a carpet cleaner complaining about a job he had quoted for but didn't get. Apparently the customer didn't understand that this was a “very good price” The cleaner simply couldn't understand why he hadn't got the job!

Zig Ziglar said, "Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust."

It could very well be that the last one was the problem. Trust is based not on a sales pitch or a low price offer but on behaviour. People are very skeptical when they are being sold.

It’s often been said that people buy from people they “know, like and trust” In this untrusting world, that is more important than ever before. But you already know this. Its far easier to sell to a customer who has used you before than to a new customer.

Its the reason why ‘brands’ often outsell ‘generic.’ People trust them. They’ve usually advertised heavily to build up awareness and familiarity. That equates to trust. This is not a strategy that I recommend for a small carpet cleaning business. It’s far too costly, but there are things that you can do to increase TRUST which in turn will lead to sales.

  1. Show Up on Time. If you say you’ll arrive at 8.30am be there on time...or slightly before. Good timekeeping conveys respect for the customer as well as self discipline and professionalism. Being late (and not letting the customer know if it’s unavoidable) greatly reduces trust.
  2. Do What You Say You’ll Do. Keep your promises and don’t make lame excuses. Unreliability reduces trust. Especially with the older generation.
  3. Dress And Groom Well. Make sure that your uniform is immaculate. Yes...uniform. It conveys an air of authority and competency. That you know what you’re doing. That’s why your doctor wears a white coat!
  4. Listen Before You Prescribe. Prospective customers want to be understood. They don’t want ‘glib’ answers that show you’re not really listening. They don’t want a sales close...they want a prescription to their problems.

Interestingly, I recently had an opportunity to have all of this demonstrated to me. I needed a new driveway and decided on block paving.

My first thought was “Who do I know that does this type of work?” (“Who do I trust?”).

Then, “Who do I know who knows someone who does this type of work?” (Referred trust)

Then, and only then did I start to look at adverts.

The results were quite interesting. Out of four that I asked to quote only two actually turned up. One turned up late as I was just going out. Only one showed up on time, looked the part and listened to what I actually wanted. Was he the cheapest? I don’t know. But he got the job.

Yes, build trust and your sales and referrals will increase.

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Want to know how to increase your profit in your carpet cleaning business IMMEDIATELY?

As soon as next week? It’s simple...

Raise your prices!

Do it today, right now...by at least 10%. Your customers won’t even notice.

I know what you’re thinking... If I raise my prices, I'm going to lose customers. But first, have you considered what is happening if you’re NOT increasing your prices? The answer is that in real terms your prices are going down because of the effects on inflation.

Yet increasing prices is one of the easiest and quickest ways to increase revenues and profit.

So how do you raise your prices? The answer is more to do with YOUR mindset than what your customers will think. If you’re convinced that your customers wont pay more, think again. After all, many, many people buy BMW’s and Mercedes when a simple KIA would get from A to B. (and probably not much slower). When I last looked these cars are considerably more expensive than others! In fact, in every category of ‘something for sale’ there is a budget range, a middle range and a very expensive high quality range.

The best mindset to have is the latter, that of ‘Premium Pricing’ to those who are quality seekers.

I've heard from a few carpet cleaners recently who have told me how they originally set their prices?

Does this sound familiar?...

You phone all your competitors and then price yourself either at the average or just below theirs...then you’ll get all the work!

Simple.

And their minimum charge? Well, I can tell you that its a third of what we charge. Yet they insist that customers will never pay it.

An increase in price might actually make your customers view you differently - in a positive way. Robert Cialdini’s famous book, Influence tells the story of a jewellery store inadvertently pricing some jewellery too high...by mistake!.

The result?

Whereas previously it couldn't sell, now it sold out. The items hadn’t changed...peoples perception of it had.

Price equals quality in their minds.

Before you think...”but my customers will never pay higher prices” here are some facts about dealing with those who are only concerned about PRICE:

  • People who buy on price are slow to pay and expect you to jump through hoops to please them at the same time
  • People who pay low prices are looking for a bargain and almost always want more than what they pay for
  • They'll also be quick to complain and ask for a refund
  • They’ll also tell their friends how they managed to get you to clean their carpets for such a low price., especially if you gave them a discount. Their referrals will now be price shoppers too
  • And of course, you have to make it up in volume, by doing MORE WORK

On the other hand:

  • People who pay premium prices are easier to deal with but they wont accept shoddy work or second-best
  • Price is simply not the most important thing for most people. Quality is
  • Most people equate a cheap price with low quality
  • The price of your service is based on its value to the customer and has nothing at all to do with your competitors prices
  • And of course, with higher prices you make more money for doing LESS WORK

Hmmm... MORE WORK or LESS WORK? Which would YOU rather be doing?

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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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I’ve recently had a couple of experiences that demonstrate some good marketing lessons. In fact, I think they’re essential for a successful carpet cleaning business to grasp.

The first involves a recent job in a nice area in the next town to where I live. All the homeowners are reasonably ‘high-end’ with large detached houses. I had cleaned the carpets for this lady some years ago. As I entered her living room, I asked how long the carpet had been down. I assumed that she had changed the carpet fairly recently as it looked immaculate. To my astonishment it was the same carpet we had cleaned years earlier. But it’s what she said next that surprised me the most.

“Do you think it will clean?”

Isn’t that interesting? My perception was that it looked as though it didn’t require cleaning. Her perception was that it may be beyond cleaning. I thought to myself “How can I get more clients like her?”

Contrast that with a man I visited for a quotation a few years ago. After telling me on the phone that the carpet was not really dirty or stained, I made a home visit. His living room carpet looked at though it had been left outside all night in the rain! Needless to say it was beyond cleaning. But it was his perception of the state of his carpet that irritated me. And that’s often the case with the bottom end of the market for carpet cleaning.

The lesson: Your target market is very important. You cannot really serve two ends of the market with the same business. It’s much better to focus on high-end clients. They have the money to pay for quality... in fact, demand it. And their carpets are often much easier to clean.

And there’s another benefit: I've recently lost a regular carpet cleaning contract for some commercial premises. I've been cleaning the carpets for over five years. I managed to clean the carpets when a national franchise was unable to get them clean. I cleaned extra areas at no extra charge and came out to remove stains at no charge on occasion.

I was then informed by phone that our contract was ending. The reason? Their office cleaners were now branching into carpet cleaning and they wanted to give them a chance. No negotiation. It was a done deal. This rarely happens with high-end clients. If you do high quality work and look after their best interests, they are just glad they've found you and will use you again and again.

By the way, the lady above paid just under five hundred pounds for work that took just over three hours. The carpets were so easy to clean. She has just written to me saying that she is delighted with our service and will happily refer us to others.

Now,… “How can I get more clients like her?”

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All salesmen are problem solvers.

People don’t buy products or services for the sake of it – they want a specific problem solved. Your customers don’t buy carpet cleaning because they want to watch you clean for entertainment. They want to remove the embarrassment they feel when friends visit and notice the stains on their carpets. Or they want to feel pride in their homes. Or make their carpets safer for their grandchildren.

Your objective is to ask "How can you help this person get what she wants through the use of your service?"

It’s always good to have a structure sales approach, as though everything is choreographed. Nothing happens by chance, just like actors on stage. This includes educating them as to what is possible.

There are two old adages when it comes to selling:

  1. The more you tell, the more you sell
  2. The more you teach, the more you’ll reach

Let’s deal with the Point 2 and consider an important method of educating our customers...using illustrations.

Why are illustrations so powerful?

It’s because they cause people to think about a subject, perhaps in a way that they've not before. Also they make it easier to remember the point. And at times they can powerfully overcome a preconceived idea that may simply be wrong.

For example, how often do homeowners say to you that they have put off cleaning their carpets because they have heard that they get dirty very quickly afterwards? It’s a persistent idea that stems from shampooing methods of over 40 years ago! Yet with modern cleaning solutions and correct methods, this is no longer a problem.

So instead of saying that rapid re-soiling is no longer a problem these days, why not illustrate the difference between shampooing and extraction cleaning?

“Imagine washing your hair but not rinsing. What would you look like after a few weeks?” is far more powerful. “So modern rinsing techniques eliminate this problem.”

How about the need to vacuum a carpet before wet cleaning (which our competitors don’t do)? You could tell them that about 79% of soil in a carpet is ‘dry’ and will vacuum out. Or you could say “Imagine having flour on your hands and then wetting them. You’re left with a sticky mess. That’s why it’s far more effective to remove dry soil first”

And why do you agitate traffic lane cleaners? Well, you could explain all about the TACT pie chart (temperature, agitation, chemical, time). Or you could say “you know how when you have very dirty plates in the washing up bowl, it’s far more effective to use a brush or scourer. Otherwise the dirt is still there”

Extraction cleaning versus bonnet methods?... “Imagine having a shower versus just using a flannel to wash”

And so on.

It’s easy to see that a good illustration makes the point far more powerfully than a simple statement of fact, especially if we’re able to paint a vivid mental image.

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Recently while visiting my father-in-law, he informed me that a sales visit from a double glazing salesman was imminent. My initial reaction was "there goes our evening together." In fact, he seemed to know it as well. He was resigned to sitting down together for a couple of hours while the salesman pressured him, cut the price in half and offered him a further reduction if he "signed up tonight"

Have you ever wondered if that's how home-owners asking us for a quotation think about us?

The fact is that people like to buy. They just hate to be "sold".

The result is that people "tune out" sales messages. That's why they fast forward TV adverts, in fact any hint of a manipulative sales message.

And that's why they take the advice of their brother-in-law about carpet cleaning, a subject he knows nothing about. It's just that they trust that he's not going to pressure them to buy something!

It's often been said that people do business with those they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST. It's this aspect of trust that is so important today.

So is there a way that you can acquire business without repelling prospects with your "sales message?" And is there a way to help yourself if you feel uncomfortable viewing yourself as a "salesman"?

The simple answer is to have a SERVICE attitude rather than a SALES approach. Old school says to "Promote, Promote, Promote." But if no-one's listening because they feel like a sales victim, what's the point?

What people want is an expert resource, an advisor to help them do what's in their own best interests. We sometimes have prospects phone us from outside the area we cover for cleaning. As soon as they realise that we do not want them as a customer, their whole attitude changes. Usually we will give free advice to help them choose a reputable cleaner. .Now that they KNOW we are not trying to "sell" them, they trust what we say. Make no mistake, people fear being "sold"

The question you should ask is...What can you do to build trust, not just make the sale?

There are a number of things. You can demonstrate your expertise first. In this way prospects can in effect "sample" you without buying.

Instead of reserving your expertise for only those who have paid you give it freely to all who ask. Give more service upfront. Educate your prospects about how they can remove their stains, or make their carpets look better for longer. If they're thinking of buying a new carpet, offer to give free advice that will help them make the best choice. Do all this WITHOUT selling.

All of this means you'll naturally be in contact more with prospects WITHOUT the fear of selling. Selling is all about "you hire me". Serving is all about your prospects even if they never hire you.

In fact, you now have multiple reasons to contacts your prospects without being perceived as a pest who is only trying to "make the sale". So you don't have to phone to ask if they've had "time to consider your offer" or if they've "made their minds up yet". That in itself builds trust. And trust leads to sales.

You are simply "serving." And people like being served. They will view you as a trusted advisor and reward you with their business.

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I’ve just started reading for the second or third time Robert Cialdini’s famous book “Influence, Science and Practice”.

He opens by talking about a friend who had an Indian jewellery store.  She was having trouble selling some turquoise jewellery despite it being good quality and there being plenty of customers in the store. She had even moved the jewellery to a prime location in the store.

Finally, before leaving on an out-of –town trip, she left written instructions to her staff to sell it all at “price X ½ “. In other words, “half-price”.

When she returned after a business trip she was therefore not surprised to see that all the items of jewellery had been sold.  She was surprised though, to discover that because the employee had read the ½ as a 2, the entire allotment had been sold at twice the original price!

At first it seems incredible that INCREASING the price actually increased sales.  It seems to run counter to basic economics. However if you look at the psychology behind it, it follows our natural inclination to believe that “you get what you pay for”.  In this case her customers, mostly affluent holiday makers with little knowledge of turquoise, were using a standard principle to guide their buying decision, i.e. “expensive = good quality”.

Thus the holiday makers, who wanted “good quality” jewellery, saw the turquoise pieces as more valuable and desirable when they were twice the price.  The price alone indicated quality, and a dramatic increase in price led to a dramatic increase in sales.

We usually believe that lower prices will mean more sales.  A few years ago, one of my former employees started his own carpet cleaning business. I’ll never forget what a common friend told me when we met – “Now you’ll have to lower your prices”. Yet as far as I know, he’s still cleaning carpets..and we’re still at least double his prices!

Of course, people don’t buy on price alone (usually)…they buy value. Otherwise there would be no Mercedes, BMW’s and Audis on the road. And we’d all be wearing the cheapest clothes. Certainly NOT designer label.

However, getting a Ford or Vauxhall and slapping a premium price on it is not enough. You can put lipstick on a pig…it’s still a pig!

So if you want to get higher prices…give greater value! And that can include PERCEIVED greater value. Provide exceptional customer service, send a newsletter that positions, informs and educates, send thank you cards. Even send gifts occasionally. Ask yourself…  “Do I look like a Mercedes business or just a Vauxhall business”

I have a friend who many years ago had written on his business card: “I have no quibble with those who charge less. They obviously know what their work is worth.”

Indeed if you are not losing at least SOME of your business based on price – you are too cheap!

Better to seek out high-quality seekers, charge a higher price and use the extra profit to deliver exceptional value.