I just wanted to give a couple of tips that have help our business.

 

When I was a leasing manager I learned a lot from prospective contractors (i.e. plumbers, carpet cleaners, carpet salesmen, etc.), first impressions are key. Second, always leave something postive for them to remember you by.

 

So last month and this month I've done a little experiment. There is a city within our county that is mainly apartment complexes. I picked 10 apartment complexes, and introduced myself to the property manager. Gave them the spill on what we offer compared to our competitors and left. Nobody called us back!

 

I then changed it up. I bought several small binders and created a portfolio with our information, our certifications, and what sets us off from the rest. We also invested in $5 gift certificates from Starbucks and added, our sticker with information to it. I did the exact same spill, but left the portfolio and gift certificates. Out of the 10 apartment complexes I visited we received 3 three call back, with at least two apartment cleanings. Those three call backs paid for all of the supplies that I used and still have. 

 

Our budget was $150. I used Craiglist for some of the supplies, ebay, and OfficeMax. About a 15 minute drive from our home. I drove my prius, so gas wasn't to bad.

 

Trust me I don't enjoy going in and speaking to people. And rejection is something that comes along with the good.

 

Another successful marketing tool is postcards. Last year everytime we completed a job we left postcards in the neighborhood. One referral led to 5k in profit from these postcards. We designed the postcards and printed them for about $55 for 250. That's a huge return in our investment.

 

For some reason our business revolves around 10. Every month we call at least 10 previous customers to see if they're intereted in having work done. We also send out a newsletter every six months with our new specials, give aways, etc.

 

Facebook - Not just for friends. We joined Facebook, and that has helped a lot. People like to talk (i.e. me), and getting to know who is working for you and who you're working for can be a major factor. We love our clients on facebook and offer certain specials for just them. More then half will take us up on the offer.

 

Craigslist - Although craiglist is for price shoppers it helps get our name on everyone's mind. Two years ago we asked a client why he picked us on Craigslist over everyone else? Our prices are high compared to the $9.95 per room (we charge $35 per room).  He said, we had pictures of our actually work, friendly customer service, and truck mounted unit. We continue to use Craiglist for this reason. There are people out there that can see past the bait and switch tactics.

 

Foreclosures - I contacted every real estate company in our area and introduced myself and my business. We offered free demos, coupons, and speedy bucks! From this we pulled in three real estate companies. I spoke to 20. However these three were in charge of a large portion of the foreclosures in our area. We give a flat rate for cleaning vacant homes. Word of mouth spread on these prices, and now we offer it to everyone. Rentals, people that just bought a new home, etc.

 

New opportunites have arisen from this recession! You just have to be flexiable, and be willing to pound a little pavement.

 

We have discovered something else that works a lot! Doorhangers. I don't mean the doorhangers that are just the flyer in doorhanger form. For about $12 on ebay you can order 1000 doorhangers, create a 1000 neighborhood newsletter ($240 print shop), add 1000 referral/business cards ($55), and my time ($priceless). In the newsletter I've created word search and crossword puzzles. To get the answer to the crossword puzzles, clients have to visit our web site (wink wink). Once the crossword or word search is complete they send it to us via e-mail (once again have to go to our web site to get that info). The first three households to submit their answers win 2 movie tickets (Regal has a great packaged deal that nobody knows about, use to be a supervisor there, $20 get two movie tickets, 2 small popcorns, and 2 small drinks), and they are entered to win our grand prize at the end of the year.

 

This has been a great investment when it comes to residential properties. I'm having fun meeting people in our community. I go to all the households that win and give them their prizes personally. It allows me to meet the family, and find a common interest. Some book with us, but many refer us to their friends so they can see their names in the next newsletter were I post "Thank You for the Referral" and "Winners Circle".

 

I've also started calling old commercial contracts and doing six month, 12 month, and 18 month follow ups. I like doing this sometimes, but reality of the recession really sets in. Some of our favorite clients have gone out of business. Find some have gone else where. Some are struggling. Some book a cleaning.