In need of Veteran Guidance

[Encapsolutions]

Hey guys.

Curious if you guys can help me out with approaching clients. I'm new to the industry and currently have all of the necessary cleaning equipment for low moisture cleaning. I work a 9-5 4 days of the week and have 3 days to work on finding clients for the carpet business.

I do not have any reputation myself, though i grew up cleaning carpets in HWE for my father who's been in business for 28+ years. ( I've Completely converted to Low moisture )
I understand the work side, but not the scouting/communicating side.

It's a huge stepping stone for me to find the jobs that i know i can clean. I just need a bit of guidance and veteran tips

I do not have a website/social media yet, so this means that at the moment all i can rely on is myself to find jobs.

Any tips on this subject is very much appreciated.

In specific, i'd like to know what it is that you first do when you are scouting new clientele.

For ex: Do you wait for calls to come in for estimates?
Do you scout around on your slow days, and if so What do you look for/When is it appropriate to walk in?
Who do you typically ask to speak to?
Do you get in contact with residential clients?
Maybe residential real estate people with lots of vacant houses?
What are your general price points via commercial/residential
ETC


Again i just need help on the business side of the industry vs the working side.

Just for those wanting to know what i am using. :CRB, Royal Vac, Vario w/ spray system, Plenty of different pads, pump sprayers, etc

I appreciate your responses tons in advance!



Samuel

[encapman]

Those are some great questions. Hopefully some of the other sharp guys on this forum will chime in on this too.

My background is in commercial carpet cleaning. Through the years I found the best approach was to go and make a pitch face-to-face. Dress sharply, and bring some well planned marketing material. Your marketing doesn't have to be super fancy. A well-designed flier is adequate. You must have a website too. You can put together a simple website that looks slick. Find your niche, and talk to that audience with your marketing. Picture your ideal client and right your material as if you're speaking to them. You should also plan to feature a rock-solid risk-free guarantee.

It's also helpful to offer a free demo. A presentation without a demonstration it is just a conversation. Show them that you can solve their commercial carpet cleaning problems. And since you are offering low moisture cleaning, highlight the benefit that comes from low moisture cleaning. Quick turnaround time. You can also show them through your demo how wicking and recurring spill stains can be eliminated. Help them to see that you are offering a professional service. Get them to see the value. That's not that hard to do.

Those are just a few quick ideas off the top of my head. I would be happy to share more ideas with you. If you want to shoot me a private message with your phone number, I can give you a call and we can chat. I have many years of experience with commercial carpet cleaning, and some experience with marketing too. If I can help you in any way, I'm happy to do so.

[mark63]

The best thing I did starting out was to get a seo company to keep me on the top of the free local listing on google, It cost me $69.00 per month (some are even cheaper) I am in a large city so like everything what works for one cleaner might not work for another pending location. A decent website and with a risk free guarantee got me a lot of work for that amount of money. Once you get a job try to knock there socks off with great service and results. The low moisture cleaning solutions and equipment are so fantastic it's almost like cheating. Your goal is not only for them to use your services again but to have them refer you. Also keeping there info and marketing to your previous customers is the best rate of return you can get for your marketing dollar. No matter how much they like you most won't remember your name when they need cleaning again.

[bonedrycarpet]

My advice is a website and seo! I went from no customers to almost more then I could handle in 4 months time. 4 years later I have 3 vans. I thank God for my SEO guy every day! Ask around there are some good SEO companies! Good luck!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[joeyjcc]

Can you guys share the SEO company you use? If not publicly, you could PM me. I don't think I'm in your area.
Thanks

[Bernd]

I think one important thing would be good looking website. Everyone gets informations through the internet and you need to get a good ranking.

What i do is offering free demos through my website... I don't sell carpet cleaning... Seems a little bit strange, but I get a "foot in the door" of my customers. Then i make a free demo without any obligations. The results should convince the customer...This sets me apart from my competition. If the customer is happy and satisfied with the result and you sell yourself as a professional you should be successful. Good luck!

[chiefsling]

F or Samuel,

Others my disagree however, this my wisdom for you.

1. You have to get out to where the commercial jobs area. Encapsulation cleaning is exceptional because is portable. Here is an example. I clean Offutt AFB "Weather Center" Its 200,000 sq ft of carpet tile. No way would I be able to use a Truck mount or use a portable extractor without wicking and its time consuming for that matter. Bottom line, go to office buildings, places where its hard to reach with HWE.
2. Cost? You will laugh, my friend its a feel. Do you have competition? Know your competition? How dirty is the commercial carpet tile? Consider the problem, talk with the customer and find out. Coffee wicking back is a notable one for me. With all that said...For commercial 10 to 25 cents a square ft.
3. Food for thought. I encapsulate also at assisted-living homes/apartments, Salvation Army is an example. Please consider how thick the carpet pile is. I do not recommend encapsulation cleaning on shag or dense carpet fibers.
4. Not sure if you qualify for SAM. This enables you to bid on government federal contracts. Call me if you are interested (Integrity First Carpet Cleaning) 402-216-7221.
5. Lastly, sir "Knowledge is profit" in this business.