Today I got rained out.  The customer wanted to reschedule.  I tried to tell her about my rain guarantee, but she still wanted to reschedule.  Oh well you can’ t win them all.

Do you have a guarantee?

I do…since 2000 I’ve been using not one, but three guarantees.  What are they?  I’ll tell you in minute.  First, let me tell you why you need a guarantee.  Most people fear making a mistake when purchasing anything.  The risk is on the customer…we know the old adage “Buyer Beware!”.  A guarantee reverses the risk away from the customer, and puts it back on you.  In the customers mind we have just become more appealing to do business with.  In fact there is no risk on their part to do business with you.

Now, I know what you are thinking…”What if some one tries to rip me off?”  SO WHAT!  Dishonest people will try to rip you off no matter what.  The increase in business you from the guarantee will more than offset any dishonest pinhead.

Here are my guarantees:  A 7 day rain guarantee (only had it used 4 times in over 7 years), a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and an on time guarantee.

One day I realized that I would do each one of the above things if a customer asked…So why not shout it from the mountaintop.

This time of year we see a seasonal slow down in residential window cleaning jobs. In fact, over at Gary’s Site the Window Cleaning Network there is a thread about this in his discussion group.

Now I could give you positive talk about the slow down…For example:

“The only slow down is between the ears!”

“I don’t have a slow down…because I choose not to participate!”

“I don’t have a slow down…because I think & operate outside the box!”

However that kind of talk always bugs me. I always feel insulted when some pinhead stands there and rattling off those or similar platitudes.

Now, I’m not saying you should wallow in the fact that this time of year is slow for window cleaning jobs. You should just acknowledge it for what it is…A fact. Figure out what you are going to do about it, and move on.

You can one of several things. You can ride it out till back to school time, take advantage of the down time, crank up the marketing machine, or panic. Personally at one time or another I’ve done all four. I find panicking to be the most stressful.

What I’ve done the last few years is a combination of cranking up the marketing machine, and taking advantage of the down time.

This time of year is good for sending out 3-step customer reactivation postcards, 3-step and new mover postcards. On the reactivation postcards put a strong headline (and no…GET YOUR WINDOWS CLEANED, or your company name is not a good headline), a reminder that you miss them, you really appreciate their business, a great offer if they call and set an appointment, a deadline, and your contact info (Funny, but I have received stuff in the mail with no phone numbers, addresses, or websites). On the mover postcards, replace you miss them - with welcome to the neighborhood.

Send each 3-step postcard 7-10 days apart and refer back to the last one. The easiest way is to not change the post card, just put at the top, left - 2nd notice (for the second postcard, Final notice (for the last postcard).

That usually keeps me booked with all the window cleaning jobs I want.

Is…

The Flyer.

Most of the time I’ll get funny looks or comments about using flyers to market my business. Usually will hear…”They don’t work - who would read them.”

However today I booked another window cleaning job off the flyer.

What I really like about a flyer is once you find one that works, it keeps chugging along. Producing steady results week after week, month after month. No worry, no fuss.

The flyer is also very versatile. Pass them out to homes, leave them on store counters, post them on bulletin boards, stick a stamp on them and mail ‘em. The list can go on, and on.

The best part is they are cheap to create, and produce. All you need is a computer, word-processing software, and a printer. If a flyer is not working, you can make quick fixes. Your marketing become flexible adjusting to your customers response.

I’ll get off my soap box now.

Going to get another 500 flyers out tomorrow.

When you don’t have a lot of jobs you have time to market! So, that is what I did today. Spent 2 hours putting flyers in bags, and loading up into the truck. Then went out for 4 hours an dropped 500 flyers.

Finished up by 3:45pm and headed for home. By 8:00pm 5 people had called to get an estimate…HURRAY! Figure over the next couple days should get another 5 or so estimates. I’m happy with the results of the flyers. Tomorrow will be spent getting the 5 estimates knocked out, and getting a couple jobs booked.

I have to admit that when I had recieved no phone calls by 5:00pm…I was nervous. I started to think that my flyer was a bust. However I caught myself, changed my thoughts to expect good things to happened. And felt great when the phone started to ring. Funny how something as simple as a ringing phone can change your attitude.

The plan is to get another 500 flyers out by Friday, get the estimates done, and have 3-4 jobs booked for next week.

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.