PressurePros

good stuff.. Thanks Rod

I agree with almost everything but the multiple bids thing. Comparing bids on jobs requires more than most homeonwners are capable of doing. They start comparing based upon price when material quality, efficiency at which project will be completed, time in business and reputation are much more important. Of course I am also biased. I believe once they meet me there is no need to look anywhere else.

Are we talking about the black spots or the shadows around them? Looks to me like a homeonwer used some type of solvent or spirits in a spray bottle and tried to remove the black with (obviously) bad results.

Question: Is there a limit to what you will share with a local competitor? I don't mind sharing marketing strategies and price tiering because I would love to see the PW business as a whole stay valued. What I am not willing to share are: My suppliers and general operational procedures that make PressurePros more "cookie cutter".

Shaneage, whats up.. I'll be sitting inside pulling my papers the next two days because of it.

These anti fungal regrowth agents are excellent upsells.

Excellent Scott. I am huge believer in the power of written goals.. I also hate paperwork so for a guy like me simplified forms like the one you posted is what I prefer to use.

John, too funny. Hopefully she is making it from styrofoam so you can bust it up when you turn your business into a self propelled money making machine.

My ultimate goal after making Restore-A-Deck a household name, after franchising PressurePros in at least 30 markets, after selling off any other business interests and property is to tour the country and give speeches for $10,000 a pop and consult for Fortune1000 companies. I'm sure a book will fit in there somewhere. I can dream, right? Don, I'm not sure if there are ways of tracking that. I'm sure the numbers are just reflective of corporate dissolvement and companies no longer paying taxes. But, if you look at it from a business perspective, a guy that sells his business and moves on has still failed. You can't sell your garden variety pressure washing business for any real money because it has almost nothing tangible. I know some may argue with that but based upon my models and what I would pay for a company you better have been showing $250k in revenue for quite a few years before I would consider it worth anything.

Larry, those pants look fabulous on you. I got caught in watching one of those episodes where the chick was well, lets put it this way.. 1984 called and it said to send back its hair and Jordache. I ended up watching the whole makeover and now I know whom Clinton and Stacey are. I have sinced blocked that channel from my TV to avoid further temptation.

That depends. Do you have the customer data base to support you 100%? Do you have the capital reserve to get you through rainy seasons and slow times and pay all your bills in addition to an extra $500 per month for marketing costs? Relying on a business to perfrom when your capital is low is a good way to achieve one of three things. 1) Bankruptcy 2) Buying yourself a job (desparation for work in low capital times almost always leads to taking on low paying jobs) 3) A ton of sleepless nights Most likely all the above.

Jeff, oil (especially linseed) is a natural source of food for mold. Cheaper oil/alkyd formulations have inadequate amounts of mildewcide to prevent rapid regrowth. This mildew check sounds interesting but I would want to see real world experience from other washers that have regrowth issues. Unfortunately anything that costs $20 per gallon and cannot be diluted with a fair amount of water has little place in real world housewashing.

This has actualy been a very good, thought provoking thread. I first read J. Bruno's post about setting up his competition and cringed. While I would never do that he has valid points. For me its a bit too much of a risk of the student surpassing the teacher but at the same time, there are so many ways to make money in this business he is insuring himself against a guy that has no clue about proper pricing and just wants to supplement his income and will end up driving the prices down for his entire market. Part timers are never going to go away (I am referring to the guy who grosses $400 for a weekend by undercutting the full time companies). They may burn out and decide to move on. They may learn there is more to this business than just being a working stiff and paying your dues and go full time. In either event (and J Bruno's post about how he started out proves it) it is beneficial to show these guys the right way to do things. They may not all be malicious and out to steal your business thunder, they just may not know any better because no one ever told them what to charge. My final feeling is this.. If someone complains that they cannot compete against part timers they have a couple of options. Close up shop.. Move on to a business that requires much more startup capital.. or, work with God has given you and take the high road and educate these guys.

John, you read my mind.

Wow, what a homerun. That monthly hit rate blows my mind. How many of those are unique visitors?

She's adorable, Anthony. Hey man, how did you get the arm tan? Usually the night crawling hoodies are white as sheets. You moonlighting on the golf course?

Here is a click to the patent. From what I read it says "dilute with bleach" http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4806263.html So I see oxidizer,some type of butyl compound and some type of thickening agent and surfactants. Sounds like my housewash (any everyone else's). Zapp, is this your first time using a housewash detergent? If not, did you achieve superior results with this product versus your normal solution? Did you add bleach to this product?...water?

A great salesperson can take any business, any product and be succesful with it. Taking classes and seminars is excellent advice.

Admitting you know whom Clinton and Stacey are takes guts. The fact that I am admitting I know whom they are is just stupid.

Marketing this service would probably be pretty expensive. I never knew you could hire someone to do this type of service. I would say most people (at least in this area) also have no idea it exists.

Nice work, Barry. The back deck almost looks like Thompson's.

Vincent overapplied water borne sealers can be a nightmare. If the product contains silicone/acrylic you are in for a treat. Do a test spot before you bid!

We got da blue Genie..

King Of Cars!

I love sales. Did I ever mention that? Profiling is risky business. My best car sale ever was made to a guy that drove into the lot in a 1975 4 door green Chevy Nova. I sold Lotus and Corvettes in a large Chevy distributorship circa 1993. The seasoned sales guys looked at me like "Fenner, you're up on this one". The guy was very low key and when I ran his credit his FICO was 780 and his annual income was 750k per year verifiable. He probably made three times that as CEO of a very popular east coast based lawn chemical company. He bought his and her Espirit S4's and a covertible 'Vette for his college graduating son. After I got the sale and knew the guy pretty well I asked him what was up with the Nova. He told me it belonged to his aunt who wouldn't trade it in for any of the new "junk that was made nowadays" He borrowed the car so he could get the greenest salesman and an honest deal. I ate steak that month and the other sharks ate beans. It all comes down to this, once you develop a system for weeding out price shoppers and you get the opportunity to bid a job you know you can bid fairly on, you have to pull the trigger and make the sale. If you don't have the gonads to ask for the sale directly, use an alternate close. Get them to commit to a color. Start directing the sale like you already own it. Today I sold a pretty nice sized deck and front porch both made of mahogany. The people were very gunshy and skeptical so I started asking them what color they envisioned. Did they want something that matched the siding or would they like a stark contrast to make the deck look stand out. etc etc Keep 'em talking and eventually you will close.