Well…Will they?

Last Saturday I was watching The King Of Cars on A&E and a couple who were looking for a truck kept asking for the “last guy” who sold them their old truck. They could not remember his name, however they would know him when they saw him. They kept asking each other…what was his name? And they walked around looking for this guy!

So, here is a couple that came back to the same dealership to get their next car. They liked their experience enough to come back…To the same CAR DEALERSHIP! That says a lot about the salesperson, and the positive impression this couple felt.

I believe it is the salesperson’s fault for not keeping his name in front of the customer. Especially when doing so is not very difficult today.

A monthly newsletter, holiday card, email, postcard… All of these are easy to implement, and cost effective. By doing one of these you will be light years ahead of the competition. You will stand out and easily be remembered. And how do I know? Easy, try to remember the last time you recieved regular monthly communication from a local company you did business with. Not easy is it?

Regular communication with your customers will go a long way to keeping you in front of them.

The perfect deadline is provided courtesy of the IRS.  Over the next few days tax offices all over the country is buzzing with people trying to beat the deadline.  There is energy, excitement and tension in the air.  Why?  Because people are rushing around trying to beat the Deadline. 

Copywriter John Carlton once said one of mankind’s greatest inventions is the deadline. 

So, what does a deadline have to do with marketing?  I’m glad you asked.  A deadline will increase response to your offers and sales.

When I first started marketing my window cleaning businsess I read that a deadline was needed for my coupons.  I have to admit I was reluctant to add a deadline.  However after much persuasion one was added…6 weeks! 

Care to guess what happened?  Nothing for about 5 weeks…then the last week the phones really lit up.  Everyone who called mentioned they wanted to get in before the deadline.  Well it didn’t take long to cut the deadline in half.  And people still waited till the last week before calling to beat the deadline.

The lesson learned was to use a deadline on everything.  And to make each one short, short, short.  I now use 1-2 weeks max.

How can you use this in your Window Cleaning business?

Today I was not paying much attention to my computer.  However tonight I checked my email and found out some tragic news. 

Gary Halbert has passed.

When I read the news was stunned.  Gary passed away in his sleep on April 8th.  The sad news started getting around earlier today.

 Gary’s influence can be seen, or felt all through the marketing world.  Many people list him as their influence, or mentor.  He will be sorely missed.

I did not know Gary, but felt like I did through his writing.  He was someone I studied and learned so much from over the years.

Gary’s best friend John Carlton wrote a fitting post on his blog.

Farewell Sir Gary Halbert.

This time of year I can feel it in the air.  What is it?

Spring!  Winter is leaving, the temps are rising and the days are getting longer.  It could only mean one thing:

Window Cleaning!  Of course window cleaning means raking in the cash.  All that pent up demand from the customers to get their windows cleaned.  This time of year I could work sun up to sun down everyday…and still turn away customers.  Does that get you excited or what?

 Of course to get that busy you need to have a back log of customers eager, ready and waiting to get on your schedule.  And once I cracked the code…it was no longer a problem for me to get and stay as busy as I wanted.

I always send out a special offer to all my past customers to fill up the schedule.  I like to give them a special incentive to call early for their window cleaning.  This is the famous CTA…also known as Call To Action.  An effective CTA’s will get the phones to ring.

All your customers know they want to get the windows cleaned…however they like most of us tend to put things off.  A Call To Action gives customers an extra reason to pick up the phone and make the appointment.  They don’t want to miss out on a good deal.  In fact most of us do not like to miss out on a good deal.  The thinking is “If I going to do it anyway…why not also get the special offer…after all it won’t last forever!” 

And that is what makes a Call To Action such an effective trigger.

How are you going to make this work in your business?

Become a welcome guest instead of an annoying pest

Today an annoying pest came into the office, and I had to get rude before he left. Here I am at the end of the day sitting at my desk. I had finished my paperwork, and was wondering what to write in the Window Cleaner Marketing Blog. Then in comes the answer…The annoying pest. You know who I’m talking about. The guy dressed in slacks, shirt, and tie carrying a large box of cheap crap.

“Hi, Beautiful day today isn’t?” said the annoying pest.

“Yes it is. ” I said.

“Which is why I brought some great deals for you today!” said the annoying pest.

“I have absolutely no interest. Thanks for stopping by Today!” I said.

“Really, cause they said next door that you would be interested.” said the annoying pest.

” ” I said. (silence)

He asked one more question, and I still did not answer. So, he turned and walked out the door.

After he left I started thinking to myself about this encounter. Why did this guy put me on the instant defensive? How come my only goal was to get him out of my office? Why was I so annoyed?

It is pretty simple when you look at what happened. This guy came through the door selling hardcore. His attitude, and actions showed he only cared about getting me to separate from my money. He instantly created a barrier of distrust. He could not give a rats ass about my needs, just his needs.

He became the annoying pest.

This is in complete contrast to how I approach prospective clients. I give customers plenty of information about myself. They get to know me before we meet. I also like to give information about the benefits they will receive having clean windows. This builds credibility. Remember what Zig Ziglar said:

“If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want.”

How can you make this work in your busiess?

What is the number 1 success secret of all time?

Today you will learn what many experts consider as the greatest success secret of all time. In fact like most secrets it is easy to understand, implement, and yields results fast. And because of the ease of use…most people blow off these types of secrets.

I could give you this secret in one word. Then what? You would probably think…yeah I’ve heard that before. And just sit there and do nothing with this valuable information. My goal for you is to take this secret and put it into action.

Before I tell you the secret here are a few ideas to get you in the state of mind to best move forward with your newfound knowledge.

Did you know cultures all over the world have many parables dedicated towards this principle? It’s in most people’s everyday language…and yet so few follow their own advise. And the funny thing is, that makes this secret even more powerful.

Since so few are putting this into action…when someone does the results are explosive. In fact usually you will see results with little effort. Most people are sitting around waiting for something to happen. I’ve always been amazed at how easy it is to put this secret in to motion.

As a kid one of my favorite cartoons had to vultures sitting on a branch. The caption says, “Patience my ass…let’s kill something.”

Nike created an entire ad campaign around the secret

That one should have tipped my hand. Hey I’ve been talking about the secret the whole time. I’ve even used the one word twice.

Care to guess what the word is?

The greatest success secret is: Action

Without Action, all the knowledge, ideas, techniques, strategies ain’t worth a hill of beans. You’ve got to get moving, do something…anything! Don’t wait for the perfect circumstances to appear, because you will have a long wait.

Now granted, it is easier with the right tools, knowledge, strategies, and systems. And the best way to overcome the lack of these is to take action to get what you need. Do not let the lack of tools, knowledge, or systems stop you from your goals.

If you head on over to http://www.windowcleanerprofits.com you can get started getting all the getting all the customers you want to take your window cleaning business to the next level.