Looking for ideas on how to sell my " services" better - Cleaning Talk - Professional Cleaning and Restoration Forum

Carolyn · 11-20-2008, 06:53 PM

I am in my 11th month of operation, Yay! I am finding however that we are not bringing on as many new clients as we were a month ago. I have been using yellow page ad, websites, newspaper and now am thinking about radio. I know that referrals is the way in this business, but we have to be around a while to see much fruit of that labor. What mediums of advertising do the more experienced recommend?
Thanks for the help.

Lisa1970 · 11-20-2008, 07:23 PM

Hi Carolyn

My husband and I have been cleaning for seven years and have tried a variety of advertising methods: yellow pages (useless for us), fliers, postcards, car magnets, our own website, and craigslist. By far the biggest way we get jobs now is by advertising through Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) People go right to our website from there and fill out a free quote form. The second best way was the fliers I used to make and hang up around town.

Good luck!

TailoredMaid · 11-21-2008, 10:14 AM

I find that an incentive program for your existing clients to give referrals is quite successful. My offer included $25 off a regular cleaning if my client referred someone they know and had two cleanings done.

Why give $25 after the referral gets a second cleaning? Well, by the second cleaning, they are hooked on your services. The $25 is far less than I would have paid if I tried other avenues of advertising. It was a win-win for everyone.

For those with employees, you can also give an incentive for the employees to drum up referrals.

Lisa1970 · 11-21-2008, 02:51 PM

Great ideas!

Carolyn · 11-21-2008, 06:43 PM

Thanks fir the good advice! We have been working on an incentive program to mail out with our Christmas cards to all of our clients, ( we also do professional carpet cleaning). We're using a free chair upholstery cleaning for referrals and a $ 25.00 disount to the new client that is generated. I did the math, you're right......even if every $ 25 offer we make is cashed in, it's ALOT less expensive than print or radio.

TailoredMaid · 11-22-2008, 02:38 PM

Carolyn, et al..

I am glad you see the value of having your clients sell your services.

Just remember the little trick of giving the incentive only after the referred client gets TWO cleanings. That eliminates the one-time jobs at a "loss" overall AND gives you a chance to reel them in with your great services. By the second cleaning, you can justify the expense because it is better absorbed in your business expenses because it's really only about $12.50 per cleaning that you've "lost".

Also, most people who are on the fence about hiring a service are pretty hooked by the second try.

Cat · 02-15-2009, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carolyn

I am in my 11th month of operation, Yay! I am finding however that we are not bringing on as many new clients as we were a month ago. I have been using yellow page ad, websites, newspaper and now am thinking about radio. I know that referrals is the way in this business, but we have to be around a while to see much fruit of that labor. What mediums of advertising do the more experienced recommend?
Thanks for the help.

I'm trying to catch up on the articles posted to this site. First time I've noticed this one.

You wrote your note in November. With the recession and winter combined, I'm certain that many companies experienced less calls.

Advertising is interesting. What works for one person may not work for another and what worked for you last month may not work this month.

My #1 referral source is Google. People then go to my cleaning website (not any of my blogs, but my business website) and read about my company. Those who find me via Google are my most sustaining clients. They almost always book.

My #2 source is advertising in local community papers.

My #3 source would be the various consumer lists that I'm on. The ratings that customers give cause people to call.

Three of my clients recently put me on private ListServs that they are a part of and that is working out great. That would go along with word of mouth referrals

My #4 source would be post card advertising. When I hit, I hit big. You really have to know what you are doing with this type of advertising so I would not recommend it to a person who is brand new to business.

You will find that spring will bring you in a nice new crop of clients. So the clients you pick up from spring - summer, be certain to ensure your employees give them outstanding service. Because they will need to sustain you through winter when/if the calls drop off.

Spring is not even here yet, but already I'm getting the calls and emails from people looking to get on schedule for spring cleaning and ongoing service.

I'd say don't worry too much about the drop off in winter. Put more effort into the other three seasons and they will take you through the winter months.

Oh, and my sorority just added my business card to their ad book for free. Those who belong to fraternal organizations, be certain not to overlook that source. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

Nia · 04-25-2009, 08:06 PM

I think sending a coupon to your existing customers via email or direct mail offering your services,like a buy one and get something else for 1/2 off. Or a service you may offer that is not popular you can promote it or give it away for free with another service for limited time only. Hope that makes sense.

TailoredMaid · 04-25-2009, 08:32 PM

Coupons for services that are not ordered often is a great way to upsell those overlooked services!

I hope no one thinks I am stalking. I am just responding to subscribed threads. This one came up. I was laughing at the posting order.

CleanOutlook · 04-30-2009, 01:26 AM

As Tailormaid suggested, referral incentives are a great idea.

It can sometimes be a good idea to offer an incentive to your client as well as the person that the refered. This way everyone feels good instead of your client feeling a little sneaky about making money off of a friend.

One of the best ways is website SEO. It is expensive to get it done professionally but it can be surprisingly easy to do some yourself. You just have to rank well on Google when somebody is searching for a local cleaner so that ehn they type in Newtown (for example) Cleaning Service your listing comes up. This can be done by building some Web 2.0 pages on sites like EzineArticles, Blogger, Squidoo etc - just link back to your site using 'Newtown Cleaning Service' as the anchor text of the link and in no time (depending on the level of local competition) you will be getting some targeted local traffic to your site.

You could also get closer to some other local non-competing service providers (lawn care, catering or anything). Get to know them, swap business cards and have them refer their clients to you while you reciprocate with your clients.

Steve

TheRealCleanoutlook · 04-30-2009, 12:50 PM

Hey Steve from Cleanoutlook-

Just noticed your comment and thought I would jump in to say hi.

I find it kind of 'interesting' - my name is Steve, and I am from Cleanoutlook. Cleanoutlook.com that is. Just curious- have you been there?

Have a great day

Steven

www.cleanoutlook.com

CleanOutlook · 04-30-2009, 07:35 PM

Hi Steven,

That is a coincidence.

I just registered on this forum yesterday and the name 'CleanOutlook' just popped into my head (I guess I was thinking along the lines of 'a clean outlook on life'). I have never visited your site before.

The name is not so important to me as it is to you I guess - I'd be happy to change it but it doesn't seem possible to change a username on a VBulletin forum.

All the best
Steve

CleanOutlook · 04-30-2009, 08:16 PM

Hi again Steven,

I guess that I could drop this account and register with a new account.

That would avoid any confusion. What do you think?

Steve

TheRealCleanoutlook · 04-30-2009, 08:33 PM

Hello,

ding ding ding. You answered correctly.

You are the prize recipient for acquiring a new account.

I think that sounds like a winner........

I certainly appreciate that.

Steven

Greatestclean · 05-01-2009, 10:42 AM

I was trying flyer's- didn't work, yellow pages - didn't work, adwords - works, but costs a lot. Now I use only newspapers ads. but newspapers readers are not so rich to pay for cleaning every week or bi-weekly, so I don't know what to do

MerrillPerkins · 06-23-2009, 07:53 AM

I was thinking about hiring a marketing service online. They promise to provide leads. Any thoughts?

trinitybrown · 08-11-2009, 01:20 AM

hello.

thank you for sharing.

Most people think of eBay as a place where you sell physical items. They often start by selling unwanted bits and pieces from the attic, moving on to other things in the garage and, if it takes a hold, venturing into the market of buying items to sell.
Not many people associate eBay as a place where you can sell a service.
Let’s imagine I want to offer my services as a French language teacher. Where else do you know that you can advertise for 10 days, reach an audience of millions and only pay a few pounds or dollars in fees?
I can easily create an auction with my language services such as teaching, proofreading, editing etc. I list my qualifications and any appropriate memberships I have. I also include a photo of myself – making it personal.

foreclosure-cleaning · 08-23-2009, 07:13 AM

Carolyn, get the word out about your business in a low-cost, grassroots way by using PR and plain old article marketing... go to public relations sites and start writing helpful, informative articles that relate to your industry... write the articles keeping in mind your target market. Also, volunteer in your county, even on a small scale, and let local media know your company is participating in this or that charity. It will shed light on the charity and your business. Small TV stations and local newspapers love good news, soft stories... you'd be surprised at how much biz will come your way, and how good you'll feel volunteering!

Go to article marketing sites and submit pertinent, helpful articles that mention your business. They can't be self-serving; instead you must write helpful, interesting info and mention your company as "an aside."

Good luck!

Cassandra, Foreclosure Cleanup, LLC

clean&shine · 02-23-2010, 07:37 PM

I recommend having a website, and linking it up to Home Improvement Pages website. You can advertise with them very cheaply and it is very effective. Good luck with promoting your business.

alexgw · 03-02-2010, 06:03 AM

This winter really affected my income. What I did in this winter is ...created some good websites to promote in google. I hope i will get the result soon.