Question: How can I make more money on my residential carpet cleaning jobs?
Steve’s solution: Start with a high-profit service/product that is easy to sell AND apply!
Dear Steve,
I am looking for additional money making products to sell while on residential jobs. I advertise three packages to choose from, however I have found that pet urine spot treatment is a real money maker. What about stretching, dyeing, or selling carpet, Steve? I am looking to expand my revenue opportunities. What was the real money maker for you?
Aspiring in Australia
Where do I start, Aspiring? This industry lets each of us choose our own “level of success” which is great! But of course (as I tell every SFS seminar) “More money is better than NO money!” 🙂 So let’s look at “extra revenue opportunities” which I call offering Additional Service Options!
NOTE: I banned forever the word “up-selling” in my company and HERE is why!
There are little specialized things like upholstery cleaning, ceiling, window and wall cleaning or carpet tinting along with dyeing and “color repair”. (And of course tile and grout cleaning has gotten really big in recent years.) You also have proponents of marble and fine stone polishing as well as in-plant loose rug cleaning. Then you got your totally different mind-set businesses like fire or water damage restoration. (Different ball games all the way)
The big question Aspiring, as you point out is, what will bring in the cash? 🙂 My favorite and what worked for me is much simpler. In a word: The Additional Service Option of “re-applying” Scotchgard finish. (By the way, HERE is my single best way to DRAMATICALLY increase your protector sales!)
Problems with some of the other “upsell” ideas:
- Many require a high level of skill the average tech doesn’t have.
- Many may require another appointment to come back.
- Both customers and technicians get “confused” if they have too many choices/options on upsells.
- Require a high level of investment in equipment or organization.
Go where the easy money is to start out. Just ask the homeowner, “Would you like me to ‘re-apply’ your carpet protection today?” One sentence. A huge money maker for both you and your employee. And your customer will be happy. Worked for me! (Remember, never “high pressure” your client. Instead, just “fade away” on ASO’s till later in the job…)
Steve
P.S. Download my free Special Report on Additional Service Options HERE to learn how to best offer Scotchgard (or any other carpet protector) and make more money from your existing customers.
scotchgard is a very profitable way to generate additional income for your business. I have been selling scotchgard and deodorization consistantly for 6 years now, I always present it the same way to the clients. I have documented all my sales and in 21 days I sold $3200 estimated over 1 year an estimated profit of $ 38,400. The add on products have made our company a great profit over the years, I guarantee it will do the same for yours. I would advise to fine tune your sales approach to make it work for you. good luck and let us know how it is working for you
Yup. I am amazed at how much money carpet cleaners leave on the table by not even giving the customer the OPTION to spend more money with them.
Carry on …
Steve
PS Remember, both SFS and I personally reject high pressure selling in the customer’s home. It is wrong and ultimately counter-productive. However, why not try just this one question (taken from the Special Report mentioned above) for a week: “Would you like me to renew the Scotchgard protective finish?” No high pressure there!
YTD our protection sales are 18.5% of our gross sales.
This almost 20% of our sales, (and I challenge anyone who is skeptical to offer it WHY would you want to turn away an addtional 18-20% in business???) The beautiful part of this add on is that it literly costs us CENTS to do. The product is inexpensive and has a great margin. You are already at the site and set up. It’s is not labor intensive (and labor is the biggest overhead expense) so the profit margin with product and labor is great!
We also offer a protection with a year warranty. Get the waranty protection and for a year after it’s been applied if you can’t spot clean it out on your own, we’ll do a free spot clean. If we can’t get it out, we refund ou the price of the protection. I think we’ve gone back to two jobs in the past two years and we’ve never had to refund any one the cost of the protecion. Here’s the best part….we charge double the cost of Scotchgard for the product we offer with the warranty. We could do one call back a week and it still would be profitable for us!
Meg
Yes, sometimes I feel like a “voice crying in the wilderness” on this one. Scotchgard has such an incredible profit margin PLUS is a great service to at least OFFER your customer- why anyone would not at least give the client the OPPORTUNITY to spend more money with them is beyond me! Nice to hear from someone who is “down in the trenches” and making it happen!
Steve
PS The 12 month FREE “Spot and Spill Warranty” is a great idea. Many of our SFS members are including it for free on ALL of their SG applications and have seen their sales (and their profits) soar!