Beth n Rod

I LOVE IT!!!! It is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! :) I hope you get it! WOW!!!!! :) Beth

Howard, I have got to tell you, you found the ONE thing that has given it a run for it's money. I still have to wonder.... and we'll probably get some of the product and do a test here with it. It takes off some acrylics... Like Wolman Extreme. Beth :confused:

Just saw it.... Pray for those overseas. Beth

Written By Beth Borrego, previously printed in BlastMaster Magazine =========================== Have you ever found yourself watching TV and saying to someone “I love that ad” or “have you seen that new ad for _______”? Have you found it difficult to create flyers, ads, postcards and the like or even wondered if they were worth using to begin with? Well, they are, but creating an ad that works isn’t easy. It’s work. It takes time and a truly creative thought process. If you don’t understand the audience you are targeting, you won’t get their attention. The American Association of Advertising Agencies says that each day consumers are bombarded with more than 1,600 advertisements. Only 80 or so are consciously noticed and only 12 create a reaction. Wow. What a perspective. That alone should speak volumes to you. Advertising touches the needs or wants the consumer has and persuades him or her to act. But it’s getting to those needs on a personal level that’s the challenge. It’s important to know how to reach the consumer. That is, where are consumers in your area likely to look when they need your product or service? Don’t know? Don’t worry. We’re going to go over that. In fact, we’re going to go over quite a few things. We’re going to look at the various types of print media, and talk about them. You’ll see why staying in touch with prospects is important to your business. We’ll talk about targeted campaigns and go over ad layout. So go get a snack and grab a pen and paper. We’ve got work to do. I’ve listened to folks banter back and forth over what the best form of advertising is. Back and forth they go, focused on the one thing that works for them, and shunning the others that didn’t work. What’s wrong with that? They are focused on the ONE thing that works for them. Never, ever, put all of your eggs in one basket. Let’s look at a few of the things we have to work with: Flyers Post Cards Business Cards Phone Book Ads Newspaper Ads Print Ads (magazine style) Coupon Mailers Ok. Now we have a short list of print ad types. Remember the eggs? If you’re thinking about using only one of these then you’re only hurting yourself. You’ll limit your company’s exposure. Trust me on this. And your name recognition won’t increase nearly so well. Did I mention MS Publisher? I’m pretty sure I have in other articles. Did you get a copy? Shame on you. Go pick up a copy when you’re done with your reading. You’ll need it to design all of these things. It has easy to use templates in many styles. You’ll have all of your ads, flyers, and cards uniform in no time. For now though, let’s look at those print ad types. Ah, flyers. They get stuck in your door, and sometimes under your windshield wiper. They’re usually either really good, or pretty bad. Many flyers lack the information a consumer looks for and create cautious feelings in the consumer. A well-designed flyer should provide the consumer with enough information to get them to call. The drawback to flyers is that they are time consuming to distribute, and work best where homes are in close proximity to one another. You might consider placing flyers on the street where you are currently working for example. Craig Lawrence of American Pressure Wash in Binghamton, N.Y. asks, “I just wanted to know if you have ever sent out post cards in just black and white print? I have never tried direct mail, and was wondering what you thought of this plain card approach.” Post cards have less advertising space, but can have a high impact on the consumer. A post card on glossy stock will get readers attention. Even a card that isn’t glossy can accomplish this provided that the words chosen for the ad grab the attention of the reader. Graphics and photos work effectively on post cards too. Make sure to ad some color to your cards, at least one or two, if not four colors. Color catches the eye, and a picture, so they say is worth a thousand words. I wouldn’t print just black on white, as it may get overlooked more easily. Check out www.twigonestop.com . Their prices are reasonable, and they use a four-color process. Business cards are critical. Hand them out to everyone you talk to. Make sure the card has your standard company information on it but is not too busy. Leave the back for the person to make a note on if they need to, or put a coupon on it. Include things like company name, your name and title, company logo, phone and fax numbers, bullet points for services you offer, credit card symbols if you take them, or organizational names or symbols you are members of. Of course you’ll want to make sure you have a presence in the yellow pages. While it’s true that you could just list your business name and phone number, you might get lost in the sea of box ads that way. A 2” wide x 2 ½” high display ad is a good place to start, and 4” wide x 2 ½ “ high should be plenty. You really don’t need a half or full-page display ad, or a cover ad to get the attention of your audience. Color isn’t really necessary in the yellow pages, although it is nice. Given the quality of the paper, it doesn’t print that well. Save the money you would have paid for color and do something else with it. The most important thing to remember about the phone book is your ad will be there for a year. Before you run the ad, sit down and look through the book under different headings like decks, power washing, pressure washing, contractors, or anything else you can think of that describes what services you offer. Now when you are doing this, look to see which heading have the most advertisers and large ads. See where I am heading? That’s where the consumers will typically go. It doesn’t hurt to list yourself in more than one area, especially if you do more than one type of business. Make sure you are listed where the customer is most likely to look. Unlike the yellow pages, the newspaper gets recycled every week. But, there are some very effective newspapers out there to advertise in. Look through all of the newspapers you get, both the subscription ones and the free ones that litter your driveway. Believe it or not, around here I like the freebies. Why? Well, there is a section called Ask the Pro’s, and it has classified ads by category. Homeowners can find you with ease. Look for a paper near you that has some type of contractor’s area in it, and look through the ads to see if any of your competition from the phone book is in that newspaper. Did you find one or two? I know I did. Display ads are another wonderful way to advertise. There are some publications that print ¼, ½, and full-page ads specifically for advertisers in a magazine type format. Many consumers know to look for them in their mailbox, and purchase from the advertisers. These ads tend to have coupons with expiration dates ranging from 1 month to 6 weeks out. We have actually gotten calls as long as 3 months later from this type of ad, which is an amazing shelf life for a mailer. Many use a four-color process, some on newsprint and some on a glossy stock. Much like the magazine type mailers, the coupon mailer is another popular way to advertise and the advertisers often use coupons to get the reader to call for service. Coupon mailers will often print one or both sides of the insert in either two colors or four. There is usually a price range depending on the number of times you run, and how many coupons you mail, and of course the price varies depending on if you are running one or two sides and in four color or not. While we’re on the subject of coupons, let’s talk about them for just a minute. Coupons can be a real sore point for many companies, and many don’t use them. Just remember, the consumers who use coupons simply react to advertising differently than consumers who don’t bother with them. Personally, I think you are missing the boat if you don’t give them a try at least once. A few articles back I asked you to gather up competitive information and make a file. Did you do it? What do you mean no? If you did, go pull it out, you’ll need it. Take a look at the coupons other companies are using. Look for similarities. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Stick to the basics. Before you discount any of these options, just remember that different consumers react to different ads in different ways. What one person will read another will throw in the trash. There is no such thing, as 100% readership. Don’t ever believe it if any sales rep tells you everyone reads their publication or opens their coupon packet. It’s simply not true. What kind of follow up advertising are you doing? Do you send out a mailing to customers when it’s time for service again? Why not? Keeping in touch with your customers is an important part of growing your business. People don’t necessarily remember who washed their house or treated their deck last time they had it done. Don’t assume they will. Make sure they remember you and call you again. You probably have a stack of proposals you didn’t win along with the ones you did that same year too. Mail them something. Maybe the company they went with last time didn’t do a good job, or maybe they don’t remember them. Maybe, just maybe, the other company isn’t going to mail them anything. Remember those postcards we discussed earlier? “Reminder” cards are great ways to add on services, and keep consumers coming back to you. So now that you’ve got a few ways to advertise, the next question is, how do I find the market? It’s all about focusing on the segment of the market you are after. The more you know about the group of individuals you are targeting, the better. Things like age, gender, income, marital status, location, and occupation can all be important depending on what it is you are trying to achieve. If you want to do business in neighborhoods with homes in excess of $250,000.00 only, then you’ll need to know where they are. If you will be doing your own mailing, I suggest getting Select Phone by InfoUSA. The CD’s have all the business and residential listings in the United States. You’ll need to know a little about the area, such as the zip code for example. You can create mailing labels and mail them yourselves. One word about mailing labels, make certain you add one more line to the spreadsheet you will be creating the labels from that simply says “Or Current Resident”. Otherwise you’ll end up with mail returned to you, instead of the new owner seeing it. But it’s also important to know these people. No, I don’t mean go door to door, I mean look at what they buy, and where they shop. What types of ads do they respond well to? Is the area upscale and preppy or yuppie? Does it have a busy Starbucks nearby? Who cares about coffee? They do. It’s marketed in an attractive way. It fits their lifestyle. You need your image to have that type of appeal too. If you plan on using a coupon mailer or newspaper rather than doing it yourself, you will quickly learn about zones. And wouldn’t you know it, all of these wonderful publishers will break them up strategically so to hit a whole area of interest to you, you probably need more than one zone. Brace yourself, and have an idea of which areas really mean the most to you. Now you’re ready to think about your ad layout. There are a few things the ads may contain. They are called: Visual – choose a photo or graphic that would interest the majority of the target audience. Headline – very often at the top, and in bold print Body copy – information about the services you offer. Be brief. Use bullet points or short sentences. Border – you don’t have to have one, or you could. Sometimes less is better. Call to action – “Call today!” or “Act now!” Starburst – try putting “Free Estimates!” inside one of these. Make sure you cover the basics, company name and logo, slogan if you have one, phone number and credit card symbols for example. Use bullet points to list your services. Believe me, there is a lot more than just this, but these basics should have you well on your way to a successful ad campaign.

Thanks Steve! :) We don't use it on wood. We switched to percarb only for gray decks. Beth

EFC-38 will do the trick. It's a percarbonate cleaner, and will remove mold mildew, algae and so forth. Are you certain it is paint on the concrete and not a concrete sealer/coating that has color in it??? Beth

Depends on the the cost of the product, and the way you're applying it as to what you'll want to charge. Figure out your costs.... then figure out how long it's going to take to do it. How much do you want or need to make an hour? That's the type of thing I look at. Also you need to factor in all your operating expenses as overhead for a percentage of the job... lots of folks neglect that. We charge different prices for differnt products we apply, based upon easy/difficulty of application and cost of product. Beth p.s. you need to know what's on the can before you try to strip it....

Hi Pam, There is a link on our site to get a kit, just put your info in it. I'll be printing the thread and keeping everything together that way. :) http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=124 We have a toll free number for ordering and product support. 1-877-H2O-WASH (877-426-9274) and once you get the kit I would be happy to help you with the products. Since you're new I'll give you the standard "lecture" now... Be safe. Never take shortcuts. Wear protective nitrile gloves Wear safety goggles Wear a respirator. Now I know that we ladies like to look good, but you know what? These chemicals should only be used when you're properly equipped. So....do it. Several years back I got a little TINY bit of Oxylic acid on me and WOW did that hurt. The Wood Tux samples will be fun! :) The colors are great, the product is wonderful and it's easy to apply. What stain is on the deck? What is on the cedar siding? I can tell you what you'll need for the whole job, once I know that. You also mentioned heat being an issue, and you're right! You have to be careful to avoid heat stroke. We also sell Camelbak hydration systems that allow you to drink as you work, which in many cases would otherwise be hard to do. go to www.thegrimescene.com and click Shop Online, then click the category for Saftey. You'll see them there. Give me a call when it's convenient for you, and let me know what's on the deck and house. Beth:)

What are some of the things you do to prepare for your busy season? A few of ours are: print liturature update ads we run check and repair all equipment contact prior customers What do you do???

....Rid the basement of junk..... Hmmm.... I might have to try that this winter instead of painting. Can I paint the junk? We did get new kitchen appliances last year, Rod even found time to install them. I have found that if I actually use the schedule book to schedule him for honey -do, .... they get done. Problem is, they're supposed to be work hours. By the way, who irons sheets? All you do is sleep on them, and you don't see the wrinkles. Heck, they get crumpled from that alone. So why bother doing that either? Beth p.s. If I buy Easter dinner and goodies by Good Friday it'll be a miracle.

Honey Do List? HA! The closest we have been to that list in 5 years is last year taking a tree down. Other than that, no way. Things just get done when things get done. Less stress. When we moved in, we had more stuff on the honey do list that we could have both accomplished together. Will we paint this year? Maybe in December. Or January. Or Feb. Will we replace the deck? Maybe next fall... or not. How about new wallpaper? Nah, the old looks good. Forget Martha Stewart. She doesn't live here. If a dish takes more than 30 minutes to cook forget it unless I can stick it in the oven and go work a while. I planted flowers a few years ago. They should bloom. If the bulbs don't bloom, something ate them. Oh well. Beth

Ron...thanks for correcting my misspelling. That's what I get for trying to tackle the big words before I drink my coffee. :) Glad the nuts and bolts description helped. Look for Russ to post a little later. Also go to the Libraary section here on the Grime Scene and read Please Pass The Salt. It's written to address chemical questions. Beth p.s. more coffee....

Hi Earl, First off, nice having you on the board. Welcome! I'm going to do a couple things for you this morning, first off, I'm going to begin to address your chemical question, secondly, I'm going to get one of our other Moderators, Russell Cissell of Extreme Solutions on here to answer a bit more fully for the benefit of us all. Excellent questions! Sodium Hydroxide is a caustic, the strongest caustic there is. When you use it you are going to take whatever you clean to one extremem end of the pH scale. (thusly we need to neutralize with acid becuase acid is at the opposite end of the pH scale). Sodium hydroxide is normally used to strip sealers and stains off of wood, and can also be used to degrease, so will clean concrete etc. It is very important to neutralize. Sodium Percarbonate is still a alkaline cleaner, but is not as caustic and has properties for killing mold and mildew, more like a bleach. It is commonly used for restoring weathered wood (grey decks) house washing, deck maintenance washing (light cleaning prior to additional coats) and also can be used as a light duty stripper if prepared in the correct formulation. Sodium Hypochloride is bleach. You can use it for house washing, but for wood the Sodium Percarbonate is preferred. Hope this helps. Beth

Hi all! Rod and I will be hosting a Demo Day for Extreme Soultions Products in Germantown Maryland. All are welcome! We'll be demoing HD-80, EFC-38, Citralic Acid.... and we might just be putting on a little Wood Tux too!!!! If you preorder by the 15th you can pick your order up that day FREE OF SHIPPING! Ya' can't beat that. You can also pre-order WOOD TUX! We're taking orders! (YES people are pre-ordering!!!!) A light lunch will be served. Those interested should email: beth@thegrimescene.com Join us! Beth & Rod :cool: :cool:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&addtohistory=&address=13616+Warrior+Brook+Terrace&city=Germantown&state=md&zipcode=20874&homesubmit=Get+Map I attached Map Quest for you... 13616 Warrior Brook Terrace Germantown, Md. 20874 I should have the EFC-38 here for you (it's on the way back from Vegas). The Hang time has not been released yet, but will be soon. I hope to have Wood Tux, but it was pushed back about a week so we are cutting it close. I may have to ship that. I should have enough to demo though. Beth:)

We use a whisper washer, and it has been wonderful for us. Beth

Well, it looks like the season is.... HERE. We have temps that are great all next week, and the phones are ringing and the ads aren't even out! Work is booking, and it's time to go play on the decks. Looks like it's about 2 weeks earlier than LAST year, and that was early! lol... How are the temps in your area? Beth

We have added it to the wash mixture. It leaves the windows spot free, especially if you are using warm or hot water since it dries faster.

Do you have a book you have read that you feel would be of benefit to others? One that you finished and felt you got something from? Please share the author and title here, or better yet a link to it on Amazon.com. Thanks in advance for helping to library to grow! Beth & Rod :cool: :cool: p.s. "Smart Questions" by Dorothy Leeds

Well, as I understand it, the EPA was headed toward making suggestions that we could not have been able to conform to at all. True Delco stands to benefit, but so do other companies who sell reclaim equipment, and there are others out there. Read the info. From what I remember, in some cases disposing to a sanitary sewer is an option. Beth

We do. Our standard method is spray and backpad. In some cases depending on the coating, we will brush the entire deck. We had heard that the hand stain mits were great on spindles... of course, I have seen some realllllly splintery spindles, and as Rod pointed out, he's not anxious to have a hunk of flesh taken out of his hand. Anyone worked with stain mits? They sound great, but are they? Beth:confused:

This article was written and submitted by Steven Rowlett. Steve, thank you for this helpful information! -------------------- Too many people neglect to do the little things to maintain the pump of their pressure washer. Personally I try to change the pump oil every time I change the engine oil, every 50 hours. This is the least expensive thing you can do for your pump. One thing that some have been told to by the person that sold them the machine, is to adjust the unloader to change pressure. I advise against this practice, change your nozzle to achieve this task. Nozzles wear with time and when you turn the pressure back up with a worn nozzle you end up turning it up too much due to the worn nozzle. With a pressure activated unloader you should have no more than 400 psi spike when you release the trigger of your gun. A flow unloader will drop the pressure to 10% of what the Max. Pressure the machine is rated at, 300 psi (10%) on a 3000 psi machine. Excess pressure from this will cause unnecessary stress on the pump. The greatest harm you can do is to run the pump dry, water is the only lubrication the seals receive. When the seals start to go bad you will experience water leaking between the pump head and the pump, water in your pump oil or both. A water inlet filter is also a must. One small piece of trash can cause a check valve to stick open and therefore keep the pump from having the proper pressure. A bad o-ring will do the same thing just as it would do if it was an o-ring in the unloader. It is also a good idea to have a pressure gauge with quick disconnects so you can check the pressure from time to time. The most accurate place to check it is at the end of the hose just before the gun. There will be some friction loss depending on the length of your discharge hose and if you are using a downstream chemical injector (about 200 psi drop with the injector). The friction loss on the hoses are listed on www.thecleanernetwork.com . And one final note, keep the exterior of your pump clean so if any leaks occur they will be noticed easily. Steven Rowlett ROWLETT PRESSURE CLEANING SERVICE

We're going to do our deck with Wood Tux too... poor deck. It's like 19 years old! We need to repalce it, probably do that this fall. Till then, as cracked as it is (we bought the house and it was like that) it can at least have a nice color and finish! :) We were curious about those mits you put on and stain with. Anyone using them? Rod's concern is that on old decks you might get splinters in your hand. Beth

Hi folks, Please remember to show your name and/or company name, as well as your location, city and state. We're all professionals here. This BBS is about education and help for others. Let's make it an open and friendly place to come and learn. Beth & Rod :) :) p.s. Has this BBS been beneficial to you? We ask that you please refer others to our forums and encourage them to join. Let's make this BBS a major resource for all contract cleaners. Thanks in advance!

Happy Birthday dfox99! Have a wonderful day! :) :) :)