PressurePros

Good post, Rod. I have quite a few customers of Middle Eastern decent and you bring up a valid point. Its not that they are cheaper per se, but their culture dictates negotiation. It helps to know that going in. I don't neccesarily agree that you still cannot win the sale if you are inflexible on price. I find I have to spend a little longer closing a sale with someone from differring culture. For instance, many countries value education. I have had to sit down with many people and let them know I chose this business, it didn't choose me because I am an uneducated hack. Again, it comes down to value. Each customer's perception of value is different. Sales is about exploration. If you ask the right questions, so many objections can be overcome before they leave the customer's mouth. This thread has gotten off topic.. sorry about that Dan.

Morning, Jeff. Here's a link. Incline-Vac Surface Cleaner

There are two reasons a customer won't hire you. 1) They cannot afford your service. 2) They do not see the value in your service. A third reason may be that they just don't like you but 95% of the time its numbers one and two. If you are marketing correctly, number one is eliminated. If a multi millionaire blinks twice at paying for a $900 service its time to completely revamp your sales presentation.

I've been looking into the machine Rob and Lynn are demo'ing. I think the advantage of that machine is in its versatility. It can do a bit more than clean concrete. It has my attention.

Jarrod, I don't know how the heck you stayed up on Saturday night after being up all night Friday. Hardboiled eggs and coffee. Thanks to Russell C for showing me what real barbecue food tasted like.

Dan, you may not be big on presentations and consumer educaition but all the things you are menining to me read as all the things I think the other guys do.. cutting corners and practicing deception. Consider getting away from the painter's mentality. The key benefits from usng Wood Tux are its longevity and keeping one on schede regardless of weather. It seems you are hell bent on disabling both. I know you are a guy that manages his expnses very well. It may be worth looking at a different aspect of residential and sell on quality wth a finer tuned marketing and sales agenda.

Hey Neil.. I am a little fanatical with rinsing in general so my use may be a bit hgh but 500-600 gallons is what I estimate.

That's an interesting point, John. The housing market is slow and now sellers have to make their house stand out from the rest. This would be a strong campaign for agents who are also chomping at the bit to move properties. The economy right now is a little hard to predict. Depending on which house you watch, economists seem to have dramatically different forecasts. What else is new right? The point is there is always uncertainty and our goverment is not helping matters. The reality is though, homeowners are sitting on inflated equity from the recent boom and rising interest rates mean they are gonna stay put. That puts the remodeling sector at an advantage and most guys I talk to in that field say business is booming. We're kind of the tailbone (or maybe the hiney) that rides that wave. My customers spend a little over $700 per year with me on average. Thats hardly a big nut for someone sitting in $500,000+ home. The work has to get done. Anyone that will let a half million dollar house fall apart because they need to cut spending to compensate for a 3% rise in food costs is not my customer. I would be more concerned if I earned 100% of my living from commercial work, but again there is so much out there to clean and it needs to get done. A savvy business owner will know where to find good clientele.

Speaking of Diogenes and the Cynics, Rick.. ever want to just get away from everything and live a life free of the herds? Nobody relying on you to perform to a standard or forcing you to listen to their regurgitated rhetoric? Just you and maybe a loved one.. out in the wilderness living self sufficient bliss.. I know Jon Fife would come with us and build a log cabin. Then we can stain it.. back to reality.

If this is what you write after you have a few drinks I'd hate to see what you can crank out sober as a judge. Nice writing, Rick.

Rick, I have my hand over my heart humming the Battle Hymn of The Republic. Good post (as usual) I respect Rod's and anyone else's way they choose to do business. We are all passionate about what we think works. That's why we started businesses, right? So we didn't have someone telling us how to do things. I follow what my market dictates to me. Its like the contracts we all have. Each year they get longer and more strict. Welcome to the trades.

So through all the hoopla, coming on Sunday costs $35, yes?

For me, I look at this thing as a whole of my model and projected image. I sell a pleasant experience above selling a pressure washing job. I want the customer to feel no risk. With everything there is risk. I feel I can manage it and provide a benefit which sets me apart, thus I take it on. My analysis on implemeting the program went as follows. I always look at "whats the worst thing that can happen." 1) Little I do requires stocking custom materials. All PW jobs are performed from existing materials. 2) I have business growth oriented margin built into every sale. My service is not for everyone and it does make me the highest bidder usually. I have to build value into what I am selling. No deposit is a selling point. 3) The majority of jobs (at the washing stage which is where I take my risk) are completed in under 5 hours. In a worst case scenario I would lose some payroll and a few dollars in soap. 4) My customers are chosen very carefully. They are not where they are because they are deadbeats or con artists. They don't run out money and look to bilk a contractor out of a house wash. 5) Scheduling issues created by inability to perform work. What good would taking 25% have done me? I can't keep all of it if now work was performed. So I subtract the $50 penalty and GURANTEE the customer cancels the job and now becomes a poison referral. Not worth it. 6) Taking #5 a bit further.. Getting a deposit doesn't mean someone will be more concientous about making sure their water is on unless they are a jerk to begin with. We call to confirm appointments the night before as a gentle reminder. If worse comes to worst we call a few customers and ask if we can come right over instead of the following morning. Something gets filled in. 7) To share the risk with the customer and to cover more expensive mateials such as sealer we collect 35% the first day work is performed. The customers get the peace of mind already seeing what we can do and knowing that their materials for completion are bought and paid for and remain on the jobsite. If someone were to not pay for a housewash or deck cleaning, my attorney sends them an intent to file lien. Thus far, three years of implementing this incentive has cost me maybe $400 in wages (where we couldn't alternate schedule) and have been stiffed 0 times.

I'm fairly certain Beth/Rod meant that when they try to strip a competing linseed oil (of which there are grades like anything else) and apply WT Warm Honey Gold (or the yellow, as my guys like to call it), the remaining product left from strip taints the tone of the Wood Tux negatively. I come to this conclusion by reading the posts leading up to one quoted.

Its been discussed before by some. The only way you will know is to try it I guess. Keep in mind, people will be basing their decision on price only.. a slippery slope. Also keep in mind that people don't know what the service costs most of the time, so you thinking $195 is a bargain price they will jump at is flawed thinking.

Just last night I was watching the local news and they had an expose on a contractor in Philadelphia that collects huge deposits on work and either does nothing or digs a couple footers that won't pass code and then uses a million excuses until people give up. There is no licensing in PA and this is a doorwayd for gypsy contractors and shysters. Just about everyone I have ever talked to has a horror story about getting burned. In my presentation towards the end I talk about well meaning contractors that use one deposit to finance the materials from another job. These guys inevitably get buried by Murphy's Law and someone gets hurt. Since I am selling an experience, not merely a pressure washing job, this adds to the customer confidence. The majority of my work still comes from new lead generation which means they don't know my company. No matter how professional I am, there is going to be a certain doubt factor. The "no deposit 'til you see what we can do" becomes an effective tool. I'll talk more about my experience with the program in St Louis.

No deposit to schedule work (and I sell it). Thirty five percent due after first day of work (if multi day job) I stress to my customers that mosney is due upon jopb completion and that there is a $50 fee f we show up and cannot work.

Isn't that the truth? I wouldn't get overly concerned about the thumbnails. The larger graphics present well enough. You can chnage them eventually but since you have a few issues to deal with I'm sure you want to prioritize.

Excellent summation, Dan. :lgbow:

SBA Best website you will ever visit. Write a business plan. Learn what the top guy in your area charges and then add 10%.

Celeste, your just doing what every good entrepreneur does. I wish you the best with it.

People are figuring out pressure washing doesn't really pay anything.

:club: :wave:

People gave me some excellent feedback on my website so I will return the favor. Remeber you asked for feedback so I am going to give it to you straight. Overall I like what you are trying to convey. Home Page: • Has a "self designed" feel to it. Could use some photos or at the very least a professionally made header to give it more professional appeal. • The buttons are not a good design. I think it would be more current to just use text links. An excellent program for making a java menu is Xara MenuMaker. They have a bunch of templates to choose from and I think the program is like $30. You can play with the trial for free. • I'm not a big fan of generic graphics such as the ones you used above your spotlight link. (PS: Your links page has some questionable links for homeowners) I think you can get all of these links into a cohesive menu by eliminating the Fun Page. • The scrolling banner is gimmick and not effective for reason Barry mentioned. It sends no real message other than the fact that it scrolls. • Your PWNA Spotlight Contractor link is excellent..goes a long way towards credibility. I almost missed it though. I would want to make it much more prominent. • The first sentence starting "Aqua.." is a bit run on. Here is a possible rephrasing. "Aqua Pro strives to keep up with the latest technology and training our industry offers. By maintaining a good standing with professional trade organizations such as the Power Washers of North America, Aqua Pro is able to keep our certifications current as well as set policies that adhere to a strict code of ethics." • Change 'scaring' to 'scarring' • 'NOT just a powerwash.' is a sentence fragment. • There some cohesive structure issues with the remaining copy. At one point you are discussing using 100% oil based wood preservatives then you jump to maintaining close ties with industry professionals, then back to something about sanding rails. • You write "The content of this site was arranged for convenience of navigation and kept simple in it's design". And?.. A web surfer expects this to be true. This content adds nothing and will not enhance organic search engine results. Its just a space filler. • The logos at the bottom need to be resized in a graphics program and reimported to your page. Personally I don't like the logo idea. They are industry oriented. You are selling Aqua Pro's services to homeowners. I doubt many know what an Armex or an EacoChem is. I hope this helps you. Those are what stood out from the homepage. I did not get to indepth on the other pages other than to notice some pages opened in new windows with no link backs. Be careful of orphan pages like that, the search engines see it as bad or deceptive design and rank you lower.

Same as Rick minus the beer. Getting fat and lazy.