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In this Strategies for Success Special Report, we take a look at how you can best prepare for your financial future and for the future of those that count on you, your family.

The cleaning industry can truly be a wonderful wealth building opportunity.  But you have to do it right and you should NEVER put all your eggs in one basket.

Please put to use the following Special Report in making your personal wealth plans.

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However, speaking of the good, old benefit/danger ratio let’s not forget the cleaning of fine fabrics, especially when it comes to upholstery. Don’t be mislead by the common notion that if you can clean carpet you can clean any fabric. Furniture, draperies and other fine tapestries require very special attention. However on the bright side for many cleaners, there are riches to be had for those that can clean these well. Even better, if you become an expert in the cleaning if fine fabrics you will carve a niche out for your self that will be virtually competition free and you can charge whatever you wish!

BUT even more so than in other areas of our industry, if you are going to specialize in fine fabric restoration you better have your ducks in a row!  So in this Special Report we warn cleaners against twelve common dangers in cleaning fine fabrics and how to address each case. Are you interested in the possibility of new money in the cleaning industry? Of course!  But before you jump in to fine fabrics carefully study this Special Report to see if Fabric Cleaning is for you!

Steve

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What has me gasping for air this time is the overuse of mobile phones. I simply don’t understand what monumental shift has taken place within the last 15 years that has caused people to spend endless hours talking on their mobile phones. I am bound to ask, “Why?”

Are people just bored? Is it that as a society we’ve become acclimated to so much hyper-emotional stimulation that we get bored silly if we’re not doing two or three things at once? Why just drive our car when we can drive and talk? Or why take a quiet walk when we can listen to our iPods, text our friends, check our Facebook page AND talk on the phone at the same time?  (And don’t even get me started on Twitter!)

Do people dread the sound of silence? Sadly, I would submit that because of the constant mental stimulation in today’s world, the thought of being left alone with our own thoughts is intimidating to much of our population.

Ironically, people today are reaching out to others by using the same technology that has isolated them in the first place!  Think about it.  Many folks are lonely because “high touch” activities (handshakes, personal visits, etc.) have been replaced with “high tech” tools (email, voice mail, etc.).  Therefore it should not be a surprise that we’re using this same new technology to help us feel connected.

Although the phone companies spend tens of millions of dollars every year trying to convince us that our phone minutes are free, their messages sound suspiciously like casino operators who tell us about all the money we’ll win at their blackjack tables and loose slots. Somehow I figure both the lavish casinos and the telecommunications companies are being built with my losings and my “free” minutes. Yet, while most of us may be aware of the actual costs of our phone calls are we considering the “hidden costs”?

For example, think of the cost of a phone call in terms of the value of your time, it reframes the cost of your “free” minutes. What is your time worth? What is the time worth of the person you’re calling? What task are you pulling that person away from, and how long will it take them to re-engage in the task your phone call interrupted?

What message are we sending to the person we’re calling? Are we really saying, “Hey, I don’t have anything better to do with my time, so I thought I’d give you a call”? Even if you don’t have anything better to do with your time, the person you’re calling might.  (In Steve Toburen’s section on phone usage in our SFS seminar he reminds you to always use a “Courtesy Question” at the start of every out-going business call, as in “Am I calling at a good time?”.)

What about the people we’re with? It seems as though we’re always on the phone talking with someone who’s someplace else. You see two people driving down the street in a car, or a couple having dinner in a restaurant, and you notice they’re not talking with each other! Instead, each one is on their cell phone talking to someone who is somewhere else and probably ignoring their dinner partner too!  What can possibly be so important that we must ignore the person(s) directly in front of us?

In an effort to help you determine whether your call justifies the hidden expense it will create let me offer a suggestion. Do you remember years ago when we had pay phones? I might be giving away my age by even mentioning them, but you saw these relics everywhere…street corners, gas stations, airports. Well, the next time you’re tempted to make an indiscriminate phone call just because you’re feeling bored or lonely (or you can’t stand the “screaming silence”!) ask yourself if you’d be willing to take the time to pull your car over to a pay phone to make that call? If you would, then it probably justifies the “time interruption” for both you and the person you want to call.  On the other hand, if your projected call won’t pass the “pull-over-and-use-a- pay-phone” test then don’t make the call on your mobile phone either!

Chuck Violand (more about Chuck)
SFS Instructor
CEO Violand Management Associates

So now let’s obsess over the technician’s (and your!) appearance and personal hygiene.  Do your in-home procedures include:

1. Putting down a door mat before stepping into the home?
2. Carrying a spare uniform shirt in the van for those steamy hot summer days?
3. Stocking Listerine “breath tabs” in each truck?
4. Insisting on technicians being neat, trim and groomed?
5. Wearing shoe covers when applying ScotchGard and for that all-important final walk-through with your client?  (Don’t forget to give your customer some “booties” to wear while their carpets are drying.)

All great ideas that you may already do.  But now try out this multi-purpose QuickTIP:

Many times you just need to freshen up a bit and get rid of the “fluffies” on your clothes.  So quickly run a lint remover over your clothing.  All the assorted carpet fibers, cat hair and dog dander from your  previous job will miraculously vanish and you’ll be clean and presentable.  (Or at least lint free!)

Steve

P.S: Don’t forget that one of the very best technician Moments of Truth is a photo I.D. badge.  So do you insist that each front-line employee display an I.D. badge?

Note: Every week we share a timely, practical tip like the above. So if you’re not already signed up for these weekly QuickTIPS, do so now.

This week’s FOCUS: Leverage your office staff

Prepare “Customer Information Kits”

Do we need to call back every single carpet cleaning job?

A phone not answered is money lost!

Encourage teamwork with “a day on the truck”

A friendly “day before” phone call

How to streamline your email Inbox!

Hiring the right office staff

Pinching Pennies 101: Office software

Download: Using a Telephone Format

Download: Weekly Financial Flash Report

Also new this week:

• Are carpet cleaners their “own worst enemies”?
• QuickTIPS: “Careful Cleanliness” pays off for cleaners!
• Meg’s Story: Focusing on our online marketing (Part 10)

So I climbed up on the ladder, cut ALMOST through the post and then should have reset the ladder to finish the job.  But it would have taken several minutes to clear out the junk below so I just leaned out and BANG!  The grinder stuck in the cut, kicked back and fell to the floor.  It wasn’t till I looked down that I saw my blood was spurting out 6” or so from my right hand every time my heart beat!  Whoa- this wasn’t just a band aid cut!

Of course I was alone- where’s my wallet, cell phone, car keys?  (Ever tried to dial a new smartphone one handed as you drive through the city to the emergency room?) And by the way, how come my right thumb doesn’t work anymore?  3 hours later, I learned I’d sliced though my extensor tendons and was scheduled for surgery the next day.  And I didn’t really care since I was wafting along on morphine and Percocet!

———–

The following day as Sioux drives us to my surgery I see my old competitor’s van out working.  It made me reflect:  What would I have done if I was still on the truck and with -no notice- could not run a wand for at least six weeks?  What about you?  Do you have a personal “Disaster Plan”?

Remember, it just takes one stupid and mindless decision.  (You’ve seen a fine example of this in my above anecdote!)  Or it can just be “a simple twist of fate”! (To channel Bob Dylan!)  Like a whacked out teenager that T-bones your cleaning van at 60 mph?  Or less dramatically you sprain or break your ankle tripping over your vacuum hoses!  It happens.  Seriously, right now- reflect on what you would do IF …

If you don’t like your options then puhleeease GET MOVING!  Do it today!  For example …

1. Do you have a liquid “Emergency Fund”.  Most experts say you need six months of living expenses.  If that isn’t attainable do you have at least 3 months?  One month?  Anything? Living hand-to-mouth is never a wise life style.  But a self-employed solo entrepreneur without savings is living in a very dangerous spot!
2. Have you developed a mutual network of “Strategic Partners”?  These can be reliable and honest competitors (is there such a thing?) that will handle your work while you are laid up and give you a percentage.  Or it can be some friends you have pre-trained to handle some of your jobs.  Anything to keep some cash flow coming in AND even more importantly preserving your client relationships while you are off work.
3. Take care of yourself.  Maintain a clean work area, slow down,  lift correctly, eat right and work out.  And above all else- move that ladder and handle your grinder with a cutting disk correctly!  Trust me on this one!

More ideas for the “Lone Wolf” owner-operator?  Just download my free Special Report.

Steve Toburen

PS:  Even if you have a “backup plan”, are you sure your fallback people have your same appreciation for your customers and the relationship you have so carefully crafted over the years …?  I helped Jon-Don produce a DVD that is both entertaining and very instructive. It can get your “emergency reserves” up to speed quick on The Science of Value Added Service.  Right now it has a super discount.

Let’s jump over to the cleaning industry. If someone asks for a sanitizer/disinfectant/deodorizer then Microban absolutely owns this position. Microban Disinfectant Spray Plus is the flagship and can be used on carpet, fabrics, even mattresses. Microban X-580 Institutional Spray Plus is the choice when bed bugs have decided to infest the local hotel.

Here’s a little exercise for you. Just think how much money a hotel loses when even the rumor of bedbugs gets spread around. Now think how much you can charge when you can effectively eliminate those pesky creatures. Be still my beating heart!

Botaniclean is the new kid on the block. It is a cleaner/disinfectant/deodorizer for hard surfaces. What makes this thymol-based cleaner/disinfectant unique is that it is an EPA Category IV antimicrobial which means you do not need to scare off your customers because Personal Protection Equipment is not required. (Which is always better for you too!)

Microban Clean Carpet Sanitizer is not a new product but I think it has been lost among its big brothers in the Microban line. This is the first EPA registered sanitizer that does not void a stain-resist nylon warranty. In fact, it can even be used on wool.

When you are trying to land a daycare or any health facility Microban CCS should be your lead card. Microban CCS is used in place of your normal detergent. This can be used in your extractor, as a bonnet cleaner or even for in-plant rug cleaning. Now that is what I call versatility in a product! Don’t forget to ask for your free brochures that comes with the purchase.

While technically not a Microban brand the new Tabac-Attack under the sister OdorX brand should be your next purchase. How many homes, apartments, or vehicles have you tried to remove those pungent tobacco odors and failed? Well Tabac-Attack is a complete system of a water-based cleaner for fabrics or hard surfaces paired up with a solvent-based product that is hot fogged to get into those tiny crevices. The last part of the system is a gel product to place in the HVAC system to remind the customer of the fabulous job you have done.

Effective tobacco odor removal is a service that realtors, property managers, and used car dealers will pay big bucks for. If you don’t offer the service your competitor will.

Go to the Jon-Don website for loads of information on any of these products or the other two dozen products in these categories.

Using any sort of powered rotary extraction cleaning head in the open areas of residential carpet is beneficial in three different ways.  Why?

1. Easier- There is less operator fatigue.  Even though any rotary cleaning head is heavier than a scrub wand to carry in, the actual cleaning is much easier physically.
2. Healthier- Because the rotary extractor agitates carpet fibers it removes a much greater amount of particulate matter.  This makes for a healthier indoor environment and follows through on the “cleaning for health” concept which is so important today.
3. Better final appearance- Carpets are also just plain cleaner and look much better (especially with the “pile restoration” capability of rotary extraction) which leads to happier customers who then become potential Cheerleaders!

Steve’s comment:  Wow!  I couldn’t have said it better myself!  (Of course, I need to add something if only to justify my existence.)     So let me share the biggest reason why you need to strongly consider rotary extraction for ‘prestige” residential carpet cleaning:

The key word here is “consistency.” Sure, I know YOU as an owner or manager personally can make a really dirty carpet look as good cosmetically with a scrub wand as a powered rotary extractor.  Are you positive about this?)  But can ALL your technicians?  ALL the time?  On ALL carpets with ALL degrees of soiling?  Something to think about especially when it is your employee’s last job of the day and he or she (or you, for that matter!) is absolutely whacked!  Don’t your customer’s deserve the very best- all the time?

NOTE:  Don’t toss out your scrub wands!  Our standard residential technique called for first of all cleaning and edging under all the furniture in the room, moving the furniture back into place and then bringing in the “big gun” using the rotary extraction head for the visible open areas.  The powered cleaning head not only CONSISTENTLY did a great job cleaning but would also restore the most packed down traffic areas and leave the carpet pile looking brand new.

Steve

Four decades later James is gone, and only an idiot would still call it a “man’s world.”  Now women account for 57% of all college degrees and are in the workforce in numbers equal to men. But the problem is far too often our marketing still looks like … 1967!

Simply put, women are the dominant economic force in America today!  They account for 80% of all purchases including such previously male dominated areas such as small pickup trucks, riding lawn tractors and 68% of all new cars. More importantly, women are involved in 93% of all carpet cleaning decisions.  So what does this mean to you?

It is simple.  Anyone over the age of five should realize that men and women are very different! Let me count the ways:

• Women have heightened senses and are extremely detail oriented.
• They are focused on their families needs over their own.
• Women almost always ask for advice from friends or experts before making a purchase.
• Following a pleasant buying experience women are very loyal and will tell two to three times as many people as a man about their “discovery”.
• Technical facts and figures mean little to women.

Now let’s all think together on what to DO with these statistics in our business marketing …

You baby boomers can immediately visualize the sensuous curves of the greenish looking glass. Remember the hiss of the bottle as you opened it and the cold refreshment as the caramel colored nectar rushed down your throat and tingled all the way to your stomach. As a kid that was usually followed by a satisfying “ahhhh” and a quick wipe of your mouth with your sleeve.

Wow! I’m getting thirsty just thinking about it! Can you see how years ago Coca-Cola involved touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste in every product? This is what Martin Lindstrom explains in Brand Sense. But do you think children today will look back on their youth and remember the feel of an aluminum Coke can? Close your eyes and there is no way you can feel the difference between a can of Coke or Budweiser. (Taste obviously is another matter!)

Starbucks has bought into the sensory benefits. Walk into a Starbucks and the smell of coffee surrounds and permeates you. Even people who don’t drink coffee like the smell. Starbucks goes to great lengths to choose the right type of music and then sell you the CD. The warmth of the cup in your hand and the taste of the coffee gives new meaning to comfort foods. Comfortable chairs, fireplaces and wireless computer service make it a “home away from home”, just as Starbucks imagined it.

You are probably thinking that it is easy to involve a variety of senses in drinks like Cokes and coffee. But how can you bring the client’s senses into play in carpet cleaning and restoration?

S i g h t

Sight is the most seductive (and most important) sense of all. A test was done with flavored soft drinks. Everyone performed well when the grape drink was purple and the orange drink was orange, but when the cherry drink was switched to yellow, 40% tasted it and thought it was a lemon lime drink. This means that if you pull up in a Bozo Clean truck and a sloppy technician saunters up to the door, the most beautiful, fresh smelling carpet will still not satisfy the customer. A beautifully groomed carpet should look better than the day it was installed. A restorer needs to make sure those dehumidifiers and fans look clean. (One Jon-Don client meticulously cleans every dryer and covers them with new plastic bags for each job.)

S m e l l

The sense of smell is an easy one for carpet cleaning. Smell can alter our mood. Tests show a 40% improvement in our mood when exposed to a pleasant fragrance, particularly if the fragrance taps into a happy memory. You can introduce a pleasant scent very easily using one of the 9 scents from Jon-Don’s Matrix Fresh Family of deodorizers. Find one that your customer likes and add a drop to any future mailing to that customer. Restorers know that the second day of a drying job is when the customer starts complaining about the musty smell and worrying that mold is taking over her house. A smart restoration company will set up an air scrubber on Day One that will eliminate those moldy smells. Create immediate positive Moments of Truth after a fire loss by using a suppression spray to knock down the smoke odor. This helps to convince the customer that there is hope that their home can be restored.

To u c h

When a customer chooses carpet, the second most important item after color is the touch or the feel of the carpet. The same is true after the carpet is cleaned. They comment on how soft the carpet feels under their bare feet or how the kids now like to lie on the carpet. When cleaning velvet fabrics, the feel is even more important. For carpet and fabric, a good acid rinse such as Matrix All Fiber Rinse will do the job.

S o u n d

With this sense the less the better. Unless you are a serious truck mount fanatic, a loud truck mount is annoying. On the other hand, the rhythmic sound of a wand actually can be soothing. (If you haven’t been to Strategies recently and heard Chuck Violand’s new imitation of a scrub wand you haven’t lived!) Listen to your vacuum and check to see how noisy it is. Remember women have a much greater sensitivity to noise.

Ta s t e

This is a tough one to include for the customer! Of course giving dog biscuits to the family dog is a positive MOT for both the dog and the homeowner. On the negative side, be careful using solvents as they can literally leave a bad taste in your customer’s mouth.

For almost a half-century marketers have focused on the Unique Selling Proposition or USP. Today that is changing to an HSP or Holistic Selling Proposition.

The HSP plays perfectly with the idea of marketing to all the senses. Over 90% of our decisions come from our unconscious mind. In other words the senses detect, the brain selects and the conscious mind elects.

So look at your company from a consumer’s viewpoint. Think about how you can incorporate more sensory impressions into not only the actual service but also into your entire marketing program. While you may not have the benefit of an icon like the Coke bottle, your copy can paint visual pictures that can make people “experience your service” before it happens. Thus you can make carpet cleaning something they look forward to instead of something they dread.

I knew I needed to do something!  At that point in my life I weighed 255lbs at 5′ 10″, smoked, had horrible eating habits, and zero motivation to exercise.  A few months later I went to my doctor for my annual check up and he was going to place me on high blood pressure and cholesterol medication.

I asked, “What other alternatives do I have?”  He responded with, “Get healthy and shed some weight!”  At 32 years old and with two small children I didn’t have much choice!  That day I quit smoking “cold turkey”.  I knew it was going to take a few months before my lungs would start to recover from 10 years of that bad habit!

Then in four months later I began my transformation back to a physical conditioning standard that I was enjoyed as an Army infantry soldier.  Over the last year I have shed around 65 pounds of body fat and have added about 12 pounds of lean muscle.  My current weight is 205 pounds and I’ve lost over 30 inches off my body.

SFS changed my life in ways that I could not initially comprehend.  I realized I could not make my business better without improving myself first.  I am now more focused on my life and business than I’ve ever been.  Although I am still an owner-operator with a handful of part-time employees, my life has improved drastically because of the improvement in my health.

I am forever in debt to “Papa Nick” Paolella and Steve Toburen for opening my eyes to what I was missing.  Love you guys….THANKS!!!

Brad Macauley
Macauley’s Carpet Cleaning
Calhoun County, Illinois

Before

After