Thread: Carpet Cleaning Marketing Help Needed

Vincent posted this in a thread when he meant to start a new thread. Since he is new at this we decided to move the info to a new thread. Here it is and any help appreciated he said.


VincentRasa@optonline.net
New Poster
Real Name
Vincent Rasa
Company
Imagine Clean Carpets
Location
N.J.

I have been researching the carpet cleaning industry in my area of Northern New Jerseys as an investor considering coming into the business for the past 12 months.

What started out as a mild interest at first has now become what I see as an opurtunity to refire rather than to retire.

I am 55 yrs old and based upon a flood of bad investments I now need to come out of retirement.

I have 35 years of business experience working with about 60 employees.

I have no desire to clean carpets but to run the company.

I am able to allocate about $i00,000 to advertising and about $200,000 towards business office & company set up.

I enjoy marketing and view what is presently being done by the areas carpet cleaners as being done rather poorly.

I believe that with a well rounded newspaper print ad into 15 papers per week, 10 bill boards per month, 60 one minute radio ads per week and selected magazine ads along with use of an internet presence and coupons should provide me enough work for ten trucks on the road.

I would manage all systems, company set up and the employees and I would like to ask if you would endorse such a business plan?

I also would set up a retail carpet sales organizaation and would offer in addition to carpet cleaning upholstery, hard surface, water damage,duct cleaning and new carpet as well..

I have been to Vegas for the connections covention as well as to Joe Polish Pirhanna cleanings convention in Arizona.

I immediatly wanted to purchase a big Vortex truck or several but was talked out of it by many cleaners (none for whom ever had one) who suggested less of a cost to purchase new extended vans with Hydromasters CDS 4,8 systems because they were very easy to maintain and I was told that they are designed for dummies like myself who have very little to no mechanical expertiese.

I am seeking to be consistent with every thing from brandying of the company, stationary, truck wraps, signage, equiptment, uniforms and promotions.

Do you believe this is the way to go or am I missing something?

I have spoken with many million dollar plus operators and believe that I can also follow suit with creating a multi million dollar company. Is this realistic or am I perhaps being to optimistic?

I wwill be waiting patiently for your reply.

VJR

I think your wishful thinking!!!
The biggest problem is you can not hire "true professional cleaners" . I have tried in vain to hire a great staff... (my staff is fine, not what i'd like, but better than most) .. The best ones leave and start thier own company. No one wants to be a $50,000 a year employee when they can make more and be thier own boss. They see the money at the end of the tunnel and go head first into the tunnel.......the good one have success, the others.....well they dont really know how to compete because things are not going as well as they first thought so "i"ll lower my prices" then I can get more business. The prices stay on the floor and the cleaners needs to cut costs. He now goes to Wally World, buys his soap or makes his own, rushes his work, skips steps and puts out a crap job that Mrs Jones doesn't like...but accepts because he was cheap and all Carpet Cleaners are the same!
Back to my point, I ramble a little, Hiring a whiz manager would be great to run a great staff, but the truth is... I'm not sure what business would be able to do what you want. All the money you blindly throw at advertising isn't going to bring you the best customers. Starting your own to run is going to be tuff right out of the bat... because you need a great staff to do the work...And that is the hardest challange for growing a large professional carpet company.

#1. I couldn't find your company???

Sounds overly optimistic to me.

Start smaller and test, test ,test.

Get your systems in place.

Your marketing seems dated and very expensive ways to build client relationships.

I have known many cleaners that have employed similar marketing methods and became upside down in no time.

To grow to 10 trucks you will also, need a balance of commercial and residential.

Each require a different marketing approaches.

This is his cousin who owns this 48 van company with no sub contractors

http://www.rasafloors.com/contentpag...%20Restoration

Good morning, Vincent,

First, congratulations on entering a great industry IF you do it right. "Do it wrong" (many do) and several years of your life and that 300K will evaporate faster than a mud puddle on a hot Texas day! You ask above if you are "Missing anything", Vincent. I would respectfully answer "yes".

You see, you are focusing on marketing and equipment and processes. All very important. But first, I would encourage you to read this information I call "Avoiding the Road In Between". http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/...s/road-between
This is a dangerous area that I call "too big but too small". Many carpet cleaners wind up here by accident and it is just so sad because they convert what should be a great and comfortable business into a miserable existence where they dread for the phone to ring!

Also, Vincent, I see that your cousin has an apparently successful larger company in Texas. Wonderful! But I also see he has been in business 15 years and even that is a fast growth curve. So if you are 55 just how much of your life do you want to invest in the inevitably stressful business start-up phase?

Too state the obvious, Vincent, in 15 years you will be 70! Most 70 year old people (except for the owner of Jon-Don, "Poppa Nick" Paolella!) are at least thinking about retirement. So at 55 a budding new entrepreneur should be planning their "exit strategy" right from the git-go. I've written extensively on the "Business Sale Preparation Process" for a carpet cleaning operation. http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/...-eventual-sale
I would really suggest you examine and implement these principles from Day One of your new business.

NOTE: You don't need to be a SFS member to download any of the free information above.

Whatever you decide to do, Vincent, this forum will be a valuable asset for you. (For example, Dave Yoakum makes some really good points above.)

Steve
www.StrategiesForSuccess.com

PS Thomas brought up the issue of employees. There is no doubt employees will always be one of your greatest challenges. Thomas isn't the only one. Notice how one Houston carpet cleaner poured his heart out to me in my advice column for carpet cleaners that I call "Steve's Bleeding Hearts Club"!
http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/...ar-my-hair-out

Vincent,

Thanks for a very informative post. I presume you have had discussions with your Texas cousin. I am very familiar with the company as I have trained many of their techs at our Dallas Jon Don location. My question is what model are you using. Your cousin really targets the apartment market and is highly successful.

If that is your target then the newspapers etc is a waste of time. As a startup I think you may be going after too much too soon. The restoration business has very little connection to the cleaning business. I would focus on one or the other (most likely cleaning) build that then expand. The management and marketing is totally different for each segment.

As a startup I would be very selective in your marketing and try to target specific neighborhoods with repeated quality mailings. By that I don't mean ValPak as you are just another low priced cleaner. Where is the differentiation and why should I use you over another low price cleaner?

I would also hire a commercial salesperson to stimulate sales in that sector.

Today a properly optimized website is going to be one of your best investments.

As for employees, I realize it is hard to find good people but not impossible. Stay away from cleaners with previous experience. They seldom clean the way you want them to and always fall back on their bad habits. Look for people that have good social skills as the technical side can be easily taught but the people skills are ingrained from childhood.

Instead of restoration I would focus on all the various flooring and fabric materials you will find in the high end homes. Wood, tile, marble and fine fabric cleaning is more difficult but more profitable. Northern Jersey definitely has its share of wealthy clients.

Jon Don has a variety of IICRC classes as well as our Strategies For Success class in our Langhorne PA location. http://www.jondon.com/stores/langhor...a_seminars.php

Good luck on your new venture.

Originally Posted by Bill Yeadon

Vincent,......

As a startup I would be very selective in your marketing and try to target specific neighborhoods with repeated quality mailings. By that I don't mean ValPak as you are just another low priced cleaner. Where is the differentiation and why should I use you over another low price cleaner?
Bill if not ValPak who do you recommend?

I would also hire a commercial salesperson to stimulate sales in that sector.

Could you elaborate on locating, paying and stimulating such a person?

Today a properly optimized website is going to be one of your best investments.

Agreed. Tre has taught me the value of this.

As for employees, I realize it is hard to find good people but not impossible. Stay away from cleaners with previous experience. They seldom clean the way you want them to and always fall back on their bad habits. Look for people that have good social skills as the technical side can be easily taught but the people skills are ingrained from childhood.

Here you said a mouthful my friend. Well said.

Bill since you are on the subject could you address my questions above? (In red)

Originally Posted by Rob Allen

Bill since you are on the subject could you address my questions above? (In red)

Rob,
Just my opinion but I am against all coupon packs. Val Pak just happens to be the most popular. Coupon packs bring out price shoppers. With a company your size you should never have to resort to those programs. You have thousands of previous customers that you can target exclusively. I am sure you have great neighborhoods where you dominate. Why not find the addresses of the houses between the homes you already service? Put them on a monthly mailing program with postcards, newsletters or whatever you choose.

Coupon packs make it very difficult to differentiate your company from the others in the package. A few years ago you were still hitting the YP fairly hard and have pulled back from that and you should do the same for ValPak.

As for a commercial salesperson I will steal shamelessly from Chuck Violand, our SFS instructor. Chuck promotes the idea of starting a salesperson off on a part time basis. A good place to find this person is a woman who has children in school during the day and is looking for a job she can perform during the hours of 9-3. Look for a woman who has already been in the corporate field and understands the market. Contrary to a post I saw you are not looking for a young sexy woman. She may get in the front door but won't necessarily close the deal. Look for a woman that has a personality and is professional. Once again for a company like yours she can start off with your previous commercial customers and start there. Secondly she can set up a marketing route that she does on a weekly basis. I would pay this person on a salary/draw plus commission. Be sure to pay a residual on all work so as to encourage followups on previous work.

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Rob Allen

Bill since you are on the subject could you address my questions above?

Well, Rob, now you gone and done it cause you didn't ask me! But I will answer one of them anyway.

Could you elaborate on locating, paying and stimulating such a person?

First sin: Not giving your sales people a SYSTEM to follow. Here is the one I used very successfully for 20 years and many SFS members are using now:

http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/...ell-commercial

Second sin: Not making the system "easy". I found all of us (me included!) do better if we have a form to structure the sales call. so I developed a Commercial Carpet Analysis form. You can download it for free here:

http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/...arpet-analysis

Third sin: Not holding your sales person accountable on #1 and #2. I cover the entire issue of "Adding Employee Accountability to Your Company" here:

http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/...arpet-analysis

Best wishes, Vincent, and just don't forget to avoid the old "Ready-Fire-Aim!" syndrome.

Steve
www.StrategiesForSuccess.com

PS To download any of the above Reports (and 20 more just like them) you do need to do a simple, 2 minute, one-time-only registration process. Just write down your chosen username and password and you will have immediate, free access to all the forms and paperwork from then on. Everything on our SFS site is free and you have my personal word that we will never spam you!

Now if you just don't want to go through the hassle of registering right now that's OK. You can still take in much of Big Billy's marketing genius without registering right here:

http://www.strategiesforsuccess.com/...s-book-reviews

Such a deal!

Originally Posted by Spots2Stop

Vincent personally I would invest all of my marketing into the internet and customer retention like newsletters. Also I recommend Strategies for success.

Steve and Bill Sorry I haven't posted on strategies yet I have been very busy and want to take my time so I do not confuse people as I have with my youtube post.

Joe,
No apology required. Busy is good.

What a awesome thread !

I think you made a good choice not spending all that money on the vortex(s). I'm sure its a good piece of equipment but it is expensive and you can purchase 2 of something smaller, that will do fine, for the same cost.

First off I'd like to know what is the estimated amount of time you're going to spend this money? A year? 2? 3 months? Right away? I know all of these forms of advertising work, or else NO ONE would use it. It's just a matter of "how well do they work?" and 'what kind of return do you expect to get?'

I don't know about having a large advertising budget, but if I did I would not dump it all in at one time. I would try different things and track the results. I'd imagine with a 100k budget, as hard as you try, its gonna slip through the cracks. I think the most important thing to consider is, yes you could build a large multi-million dollar carpet cleaning company, but as you stated with your investments you need to be careful where you are putting your money.

P.S Good luck and God Speed!

Instead of the cold marketing methods you are suggesting.

You will get more bang for your marketing buck with warm relationship building methods.

Print is dead or dying, people get blind to billboards.

But, media that builds on relationships is on fire.

You see it everyday.

You can can spread the word faster and cheaper than you could ever before.

If you know how and where to plant a few seeds.



You don't have to seek out prospects.

It's much easier if they seek you out from someone they already have a relationship with.



Matt,

Just because everyone markets a certain way does NOT mean that it is effective.

In fact, if everyone else is doing it. Is a very good reason to use an other form of marketing.


As an example think of all the cleaners that got burned with Yellow Page.

Cleaners mistakenly thought that they had to be there because everyone else was,