I hope you are busy, busy, busy with your “Spring Cleaning Rush.” If so, congratulations! And yet… lets be honest here. People often put off/postpone the “Tolerated Irritation” of having their carpets cleaned and this is BAD for you!
Increase your client’s cleaning frequency (or at least stop them from procrastinating!) and your profits will soar! After all, dentists have been keeping their patients “on track” for years by doing “Forward Scheduling”! (People dread going to the dentist even more than having their carpets cleaned!) So think about it…
The dentist’s receptionist doesn’t say, “So do you want us to clean your teeth again?” 🙂 No, they ASSUME you will want to schedule again by routinely asking, “So is Tuesday normally the best day for you? (As they check their calendar.) “So how about Tuesday, September 30th for your next cleaning?” BINGO! You automatically scheduled a date six months in the future! (And your dentist gets even richer!)
So will “Forward Scheduling” work for carpet cleaners? Absolutely! My guess is you hear this “customer lament/apology” daily, “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I let the carpets get too dirty this time.” Now you (or your employees) simply reply…
“Well, let’s not let THAT happen again!” (Smile here.) “Let me get to work and before I leave we’ll set up a ‘Priority Appointment’ for your next cleaning.”
After making the carpets beautiful again (and totally impressing your client) JUST check your tablet (or scheduling book) and say, “So how often do you normally have your carpets cleaned?” Many will reply, “What do you recommend?” You have two options here:
Option #1: “Most of our clients need at least a touch up in six months.” As you check your calendar ask, “So are Tuesdays normally good for you? I’m booked pretty tight the third week of November but I have an opening at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, November 25th. Shall I pencil you in there? We’ll email you a reminder one month and one week before the 25th plus call you the day before to confirm. And we can always reschedule if you need to.” BINGO! Or after your customer asks “What do you recommend?” …
Option #2: “Have you heard about our Stay Beautiful program? Basically you get two cleanings for the price of one every year and your carpets always look great…” Now you (or your technicians) simply explain how your residential Stay Beautiful maintenance program works!
NOTE: Download my free “An Overview of the Stay Beautiful Program” HERE.
Now do these “Forward Scheduling” tricks ALWAYS work? Of course not! But these strategies are SO MUCH BETTER than staring wistfully at your phone willing it to ring! So puhleeeease at least TRY Option #1 this week (Setting up a Stay Beautiful program takes a bit more effort) and report back here. My guess is you will be amazed!
Commercial HINT: Businesses LOVE regular “maintenance cleanings”. (And you should LOVE commercial too!) So even when your contact asks, “Yeah, whad’ya charge to clean the carpets here?” always give them at least three cleaning frequency/price options. And even better is to set up a routine commercial sales program.
Steve