PressurePros

I was making one last pass at the forums before bed. Michael, I'll be honest with you man to man.. as much as you can do that on a forum anyway.. I didn't really know what to think of you when you first came onto this forum. One thing I have come to like about you is your tenacity. That's just a fancy word for nothing really stops you or gets you down. You keep bouncing back. I've always admired that ina person. Its a trait of successful people. What you haven't had the oppotunity to experience is good business guidance. I was lucky. god put a couple of guys into my life at different times who were awesome mentors. So I guess what I am saying is there is hope for you after all (just playing with you). Down to your question.. It would take me the rest of the night and a few pages worth of what would end up sounding like a really boring book to answer it. Your making good progress on your own so far. I don't know what your future holds. You may be able to grasp the business end, you may not. As long as you stay open minded and keep reading.. Get that e-myth book! .. you'll become a stronger business man. Pressure washing is easy.. learning how to keep a company afloat is the part that makes the difference. I will jump in on the forum when i can to help.

Ken year 1: What would you do to stay afloat? A: Whatever it takes as long as it doesn't mean dropping price. So I painted, I worked for Comcast as a subcontractor, I stayed up at night reviewing my business plan, I added free upgrades that didn't dip too much into profit margin. Same question year 6 doing mostly residential work. A: I am exclusive as to who can be my customer. Tying that in to my post above. I need a humility tip. That's not to say I need to radically change my business model but after some reflection tonight, i need to work on my "attitude of gratitude" and get back some of that assertiveness that these new guys show. I have always said to get performance from someone, keep them hungry. I lost a little of that. Dan, you have been in the trades awhile. You too have lost it. Find that male pride and do what you have to do.

Dan, you can still get away with a semi trans. Mix 50/50 with cedar semi and the brown semi (forget the color name). It dives in and cures natural. Single coat the floor.

Yep.. all said and done I am down about 15%.. all due to weather. I would have been down 30% but a few condo projects saved my behind. Now we have temps that are off average by 20+ degrees.. a fitting end I suppose. I still have three decks we haven't even touched yet and 6 house washes on the books. I think I got two calls the last 5 days. This is when I strongly dislike my residential dominated model. I was bidding jobs in May for post July 4th and people were not biting. The typical response was "we are ready to go with you but that is the middle of summer, I'm sorry". I could have had ten crews but Mother nature wins. I have to reevaluate this deck resto model. I didn't plan on a season like this. Its a big ouch. I will personally make $20,000 less salary this year. I don't make so much money that that amount doesn't hurt. I have to adjust my lifestyle a bit for winter. Not a great year to shut down RAD to regroup either. It is what it is. I tout the mantra about the strong surviving. I'm tasting that medicine. But, not crying, I'll be back in 2010 with a stronger business model. Hang in Dan. I wanted to share that with you so you know you are not alone.

DeJay, don't take it personally. Of course you have to do good work. You can give someone a check for $1000 and if they weren't happy with the work and the experience of hiring your company, they won't refer anyone. That's why I asked you how long you have been in business (which you still did not answer). If you are getting referrals you have been in business for awhile. If you are a new guy and believe that your system will work for the majority of new business owners, you may be missing the big picture. the goal for any business is 100% referral work. It rarely works that way but hands down, referrals are the best leads. If you want to have a multi crewed company that stays busy primarily from referrals you have to be proactive. That's the only point of my post. I'm not sure why you got bothered by that. Ron runs a very large, very busy company with a high energy sales machine and has been in business what, Ron? 20 years? He also asks for the referral. Ron do you offer rewards for referrals? Rod went roundabout and detailed what makes a referral happen (thanks for adding that critical component.. I skipped that as I assumed it was a given) but he also mentioned that asking for the referral is part of the sales process.

I do not buy into the "do good work and the referrals will come" mantra. It holds some truth with the pitfall being that it takes a good 3-5 years to really get rolling. You can jump start that with a modest program. I mentioned acquisition costs in another thread when determining your "gift". This is the real cost for you to get a customer. It factors in your advertising costs, estimating costs and closing rate. Certain formulas account for projected earnings over the life of a customer. I try not to make things more complicated. It costs me approximately $40 to attain a new customer. That's a static expense on every job. If a person eliminates me spending that much, my only cost is going to look at the job. This is why I give $35 as a reward for referrals. There are some other programs I have explored through the yearrs but have not implemented due to cost. I might revive one called "Pressure Points". Instead of getting cash, a customer will accumulate points. There is a company that has a website that customers can go to and use their points for high def TV's, Ipods, appliances etc. I like this better than giving cash because now it inspires a customer even more to create leads: "Hon we only need two, more referrals to get that 20" flat screen monitor. Who else do we know that could use pressure washing?" If anyone falls into the trap of believing that prior to year three you will get any types of referrals just by doing good work, you may be in for a rude awakening. Here is a summary article/review I put up about the importance of customer loyalty. Customer Service is Worthless.. Customer Loyalty is Priceless

I buy all of my sundries local. I get brushes from this dollar store near me. 4" brushes are $1. They are synthetic but they last a couple of jobs. I have a an industrial clothier near me that sells rolls of burlap I used to use for tarps. I just buy regular cloth tarps at SW when they are on sale. For draping rails I by sheets from Walmart.

How long have you been in business?

Read my last post above. I give them cash for every name they give me that turns into a job.

Awesome, Henry. You are an industry pioneer and leader. Kudos on the recognition.

On the thank you letter I introduce them to the program. When I am on a jobsite I also tell them about it. I keep my name in front of customers so I get a bunch of opportunities to remind them. I give $35 cash Visa cards for every referral that turns into work.

I have found that you have to ask for referrals if you want them to really take off. I used to do a bangup, perfect job and then run home and wait by the phone. After a couple years of that I figured out that people need to be coaxed. A referral program is simply a reward or incentive to give out my company name. Base the giveaway on your own customer acquisition cost. I still hard copy/snail mail my newsletter. Why do I waste the postage and print expense? The main reason is that a hard copy sits on a table or in a bathroom. Once an email is clicked closed, its history. Also in 2010 I am selling ad space for reputable contractors in my area to offset my expenses. These will be high end, proven and reputable contractors in various trades.

The problem with that, in my experience, is that many decks are tacked to the house through the siding. I don't why, but that one nail makes masking a PITA.

Disclaimers are in my contract. It rarely happens. When I think it may, I let the H.O know. PS: we do take precautions. Try this. Cut some thin 1 mil plastic into strips. Wet the area down and the plastic will stick right to it. Don't plaster it down or you'll just pull up more paint.. just tack it.

Sorry for your loss, Adrian. There is NOTHING you can do when it comes to addiction. Every person has to find it in themselves to seek recovery. Cherish her memory.

I set my appointments for the weekend when I know people have a higher chance of being around. On the phone I tell them that I like to meet them to discuss their project and make sure we are on the same page. In a perfect world both my potential customers and I would coincide perfectly with scheduling. of course it does not work that way. I have maybe 15% of my customer base that has never laid eyes on me. Most of those were referrals but some people just do not require the interaction and have laid the trust in my marketing, website and written presentation. I will tell you though that my closing rate is far lower with that type of prospect. You are correct to assume a customer wants hassle free convenience. I believe it better to offer them that after the sale. I take no deposits. Just leave a check in your door on the morning of service and when you return, your property will be transformed. After were done you'll get a follow up thank you, be introduced to our referral program, and be reminded when services are due. We'll also put you on our newsletter mailing list to let you know what's new with PressurePros and alert you to specials we are running. You no longer have to worry about the headache of exterior cleaning and maintenance. I cannot give you a verbatim deviation from your script because I do not use scripts. They are good in the beginning until you start to get a feel for reading between the lines with potential customers. The main thing I do is ask the right questions and listen to what the person is telling me. I cannot infuse that into you, you have to develop it over time.

Holy crap, Michael, you took the words right from my fingers. I agree with you wholeheartedly.

You are liable to get more uncertain which product will suit you best the more opinions you get. I prefer a drying oil to lock in fungicides. There are advantages to having a non drying oil as it tends to "condition" wood and create a hydrophobic environment deeper in the wood. Armstrong Clarke has the best of both worlds is contains both types of oils and is easy to use.

I like your script above. It is very similar to what I say to customers with the exception that if a customer will not meet with me, I do not want them as clients. I sell the experience of PressurePros at a premium. I want repeat business to eliminate marketing expense. You do that one customer at a time. I prequal people at this stage of my business because I can. that's not an arrogant statement, thats a payoff of hard work. In my first year,, if you called I was on your property within an hour. I have a long background in sales so that was effective for me. You cannot really skip steps. You mention you are going to email estimates or leave proposals. Let me tell you how people operate. Skip page one of how great this company is. Skip page two and three that talks about insurance and superior technique and go right to page 4 last line where that price is listed. Remember this statement when you construct how you will do business. If all you give someone is a price, that is the information upon which they will make their decision. If I want a hole made in my door, I don't want literature telling me what saw you will use. I want you to convince me that you can make the hole while not inconveniencing me in any way. That is the core of selling. People do not buy what they need, they buy what they want. They are not buying a deck restoration, they are buying a pretty deck that is safe for their kids and on which they can barbecue. Throw in increased property value.. benfits, benefits, benefits... and you will sell work at money above what everyone else is getting. Couple that with a budgeted marketing machine and yes, you can dominate your area.

Listen to these guys.

That's price fixing and technically illegal. I've been telling guys for 6 years on these boards to raise prices. Unfortunately, there percentage of technicians to actual business people is out of proportion. I mean that as no disrespect to anyone, it is what it is. I had a rotten day so sorry for the gruffness. Fill out your signature line please, Paul. Adrian has asked you multiple times. It is a rule here. Click the link below to fill it in. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/usercp.php

Todd, you'll get varying opinions. If you can let it weather for six weeks that gives you a little bit of a head start. You should still clean and prep new construction. If you know your chemicals, that will help as well.

Nothing has changed other than pressure treated lumber being even harder to get to absorb stain. I do agree with getting a finish on it before 60 days though. That includes all soft wood species. Even if a finish won't hold up aesthetically, its the lesser evil of wet/dry cycles.

12% in Florida should be cheap, plentiful and fresh.