What is your FAVORITE Commercial encap work? Ive been doing hotels, but there must be better work out there. (real P.I.T.A. work!) I want to find out whats the best kind of encap work and market to them relentlessly...

thanks!

Joe

PS I know someone mentioned b4 about doctors and dentist offices, but it seems like that the square footage is low, and its a lot of driving around for small jobs. I'm thinkin BIG square footage so I can open up that cimex and run with it!

Either drop me an email or call me at 770-598-7463

I happen to like office bldgs. (insurance, banks, etc.) and the larger the better. This is without a doubt the cleanest environment to ply your trade in. Another plus if you can get a contract for "clean carpet" you probably will not have to clean 100% of the carpet ever. I would recomend setting up a CAMP (computer aided maintenance program) it will also impress whoever you are making your presentation to. If you can copy the bldg. floor plan and send it in to a company like Racine Industries, they will charge you $$$ for a color coded plan that really works. I used one for 9 years in one office bldg. I had a contract with. During that 9 yr. period all the carpet was replaced at the 7 yr. mark and other than spot cleaning on the upper floors farthest from the elevators, we never did a full carpet cleaning. Of course we cleaned the carpeted elevators every week.

Ray, I have tried some of these and get nowhere the Banks I call on refer me to a headquarters location somewhere and that's it. One had me put my info on a vendor website and that got nothing. Also the big office buildings have gone nowhere. Who are you talking to at these places to get in. It just seems they always end up a dead end for me. I'm not doubting your post just wondering what I'm doing wrong.

Rick,

~What marketing pieces have you developed for your "commercial only" business?
~Have you set up a DBA Business Name that targets "commercial only"?
~Do you have a "commercial only" website?
~Do you have printed marketing material for "commercial only"?
~Do you target the decision maker and relentlessly fire away until you hit the target? We can't take a shotgun approach to attract this type of business.
~Do you have a marketing plan? Keeping a tightly focused target utilizing a well laid out marketing plan will produce results!
~Do you walk in and make presentations? With a shirt and tie?
~Do you do a demo with each presentation?
~Do you do a "Carpet Inspection with each presentation?
~Do you make it clear through your "Carpet Inspection" that you can fix all of their existing commercial carpet cleaning problems?

These are the methods we've used to build our commercial carpet cleaning business. These techniques have enabled us to attract higher end customers.

Keep in mind that SOMEBODY has presently been cleaning those very carpets that you're not getting to. And I think that "somebody" might as well be you. It's true that the high end commercial market is a bit tougher nut to crack, but if you'll persist, I think you'll find that it's the sweetest nut in the bunch.

Go for it! I wish you the best.




Rick Gelinas
encapman

Rick I think you missed my point here I've had a lot of success in the commercial market place and have been in sales for a long time. So other than a few of your points I can answer yes to most all. My problem is when I go into banks in the Atlanta area the Branch Mgr says the decisions are made in North Carolina,etc. I then call N.C. and they point me to someone who have me put my name on a web site,or say they have a national contract, etc and that's it. The information I was asking for was "who are the decision makers in these environments so I can focus on them".
Also I find the same problem in large offices 90% of the big buildings here are leased but the tenant is in charge of the carpet. Again trouble for me as I have to rely on the receptionist to but me in touch with the right person.
I guess I was just looking for someone with proven winning experience to point me in the right direction.

Sorry if I missed your point there Rick. I have actually talked about how we deal with the gatekeeper in a previous post. There are no perfect alternatives to getting past the gatekeeper. The technique outlined here has worked reasonably well for me. Here's the link... http://www.network54.com/Forum/228309/message/1121123524/

Two suggestions for dealing with... "We have a National Contractor."

1. That's great. We work with national contractors. In fact we would be able provide you with excellent service through your national contractor. How do I get in touch with them. --- Of course this scenario puts you into the position of sub-contracting from an MMM. Most are lousy, but a couple of them are OK.

2. Yes I can see that. Many of the national companies produce poor results problems for the clients - like the problems your experiencing here (then point out a problem or two). They typically sub the work out to anyone who will show up to clean the carpet. And unfortunately the end result often leaves a lot to be desired. I believe I can show your company a way to improve the overall condition of the carpet dramatically. And we can work within the constraints of your budget too.


Just some food for thought





Rick Gelinas
encapman