this year sucks!

[ezdayman 14]

I need help i was let go from my job last friday i was/been doing pressure washing on the sides for 4-5 years but this year no one is biting? I put adds on craigslist. and put my cards where ever I go... and not a single call. What is the problem! What do you guys do? im in need of help asap

thank you...

[814jeffw 71]

Get flyers out, put them as an insert in your local paper. You need " In your face advertising " to get the ball rolling. Do good work and more work will follow.

Jeff

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Please add your signature :)

And put an ad in your local paper....and make SURE you have insurance!

Beth

[ezdayman 14]

I HAVE INS IM NOT A FLY BY NIGHT GUY. im just still kinda new to this since i lost my job! thank you for the help.

[jetstream1 18]

Try out cold calling

in the past when it was slow I pick the phone up and called called

you might get some leads or jobs

and its free

good luck

[PressurePros 248]

If you have been washing for 5 years you surely have a decent sized database of customers. That is the first place I would tap. Offer your existing clients your service and give them a discount if they can get you some more leads. Explain to them that you are going full time and that you are trying to fill your book. While you are dong that, max out your credit cards, tax your savings, whatever it takes and start advertising via direct mail. I know spending money at this time of hardship may seem crazy but the only way you are going to get the ball rolling is by advertising. If your budget is real low, get a doorhanger made up and start pounding the pavement.

[RPetry 564]

... While you are dong that, max out your credit cards, tax your savings, whatever it takes and start advertising via direct mail. I know spending money at this time of hardship may seem crazy but the only way you are going to get the ball rolling is by advertising. If your budget is real low, get a doorhanger made up and start pounding the pavement.

Ouch, that is tough love. Though probably true for a short term revenue stream. Kind of a roll of the dice but building a business is like that.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I HAVE INS IM NOT A FLY BY NIGHT GUY. im just still kinda new to this since i lost my job! thank you for the help.

Whoah....calm down. Deep breath.

I don't know what you do or don't have, and I only mentioned it because I felt that if you were part time, you might not have it. If you do, that's great.

If your local newspaper has a Service Directory Guide, or something like that were contractors have small ads ( we are talking 1x1 or 1x2 column inches) I would begin there.

You might also look into your local BNI chapter, see if they have a PWing company or not and if not go network with them, that might be a good source too.

Beth

p.s. Please fill in your signature. :)

[Adrian 155]

EZDAYMAN,

Office Depot has business card holders for a buck a piece. Hit the real estateoffices with a box of doughnuts and some cards. Most will allow when bearing gifts. Sounds corney but it is a good cheap way to get the biz coming in. Also, the 3 foot rule comes in real handy in times like these. Anyone within 3 ft. gets a card.

See if your local paper will print your firm as a business spotlight ad. Much more responses than the service directory although that is efficient as well. Call all the PM companies in your phone book. Call all the painters and offer to increase their productivity by letting you do the cleaning. Network with other PW firms and offer your services for their overflow.

Cold call, Craigslist, Green sheet, Barber shops, Parts stores dry cleaners. They all have dirty parking lots. Hand out those business cards like there is no tomorrow. Never stop talking to people about your business.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Also spend some time reading the marketing threads...

Do you have a logo yet? Do you have a website? (they are easy to build)

Do you have before and afters?

Beth

[FLORIN 21]

Just be proactive. Dont just advertise in a few spots and sit home and wait for the phone to ring. Get out there and knock on doors if you have to. Offer a free house wash in a neighborhood that looks promising in terms of demographic criteria you are after. Have signs up while ur washing. Hang door hangers at all the neighbors when you are done. Offer a referral fee to any existing customers you do have to get you more biz.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Lots of good advice going on. Mine would be going door to door commercially and maybe get creative on what you can clean or service. Things get tuff you may have to grab a broom, blower, or mop

Oh..but please don't max your cards out with advertizing. In doing such you will not only effect your credit score but some creditors will then boost yer rate putting you back even more per month.

[douseahouse 21]

Just be proactive. Dont just advertise in a few spots and sit home and wait for the phone to ring. Get out there and knock on doors if you have to. Offer a free house wash in a neighborhood that looks promising in terms of demographic criteria you are after. Have signs up while ur washing. Hang door hangers at all the neighbors when you are done. Offer a referral fee to any existing customers you do have to get you more biz.

this is a good one that has worked for me. it works great if you do it on a saturday when the neighbors are home and can see you. when they ride or walk by be sure to smile, speak and wave to them. show them that you are both professional and courteous. dress professional and have business cards ready to be distributed. in return for your free or discounted house wash work out a deal with the homeowner to place your classy sign in the front yard for a week or two. it's funny how the neighbors try to keep up with each other so this can be a very successful venture.

good luck,

rando

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Great suggestion! :)

Beth

[CCPC 26]

I'm going to re-advise on creating a website. It has been the single most cost effective tool for bringing in regular calls for my company. I'm getting 4-5 calls or e-mails a day requesting estimates just from my website alone. I spend about $90 a year for hosting. What a steal!!

[Rob R. 14]

Its been a little rough, hoping to get a couple more jobs this week from estimates last week.. :/

My plan for advertising this week

Get signage on truck and trailer

Hand out business cards like there going out of style

Keep hitting the papers

*maybe flyers and door knocking* but those are extreme right now

[CWheeler 14]

Get out and walk. Door to door hang flyers, go to businesses. As long as you are out getting your name out there the work will come with time. You wont get business sitting on the couch waiting for it to come to you. Once you start getting more work and money saved up try direct mailing target neighborhoods. Good luck.

[Gutter Squad 14]

Can't stress the website enough! In my area, I always show up with a pagerank between 1 & 8 depending on which city/town name is used in conjuction with "pressure washing" "power washing" or "gutter cleaning." I have multiple yellow pages ads, but I am as of this year (2008) seeing 75% of all my jobs come from the internet. I have Google analytics running on my site and have found also that 67% of all hits to my site came directly from "organic" search results in Google. Yahoo, AOL, MSN, etc. were pretty sad - way down in the single digits percentage-wise.

[Mike Williamson 198]

While you are dong that, max out your credit cards, tax your savings, whatever it takes and start advertising via direct mail.

This has to be one of the worst pieces of advice I've ever seen given to a newbie on these boards. Let's just make the situation worse!

EZDAYMAN,

Office Depot has business card holders for a buck a piece. Hit the real estateoffices with a box of doughnuts and some cards. Most will allow when bearing gifts. Sounds corney but it is a good cheap way to get the biz coming in. Also, the 3 foot rule comes in real handy in times like these. Anyone within 3 ft. gets a card.

See if your local paper will print your firm as a business spotlight ad. Much more responses than the service directory although that is efficient as well. Call all the PM companies in your phone book. Call all the painters and offer to increase their productivity by letting you do the cleaning. Network with other PW firms and offer your services for their overflow.

Cold call, Craigslist, Green sheet, Barber shops, Parts stores dry cleaners. They all have dirty parking lots. Hand out those business cards like there is no tomorrow. Never stop talking to people about your business.

Just be proactive. Dont just advertise in a few spots and sit home and wait for the phone to ring. Get out there and knock on doors if you have to. Offer a free house wash in a neighborhood that looks promising in terms of demographic criteria you are after. Have signs up while ur washing. Hang door hangers at all the neighbors when you are done. Offer a referral fee to any existing customers you do have to get you more biz.

Lots of good advice going on. Mine would be going door to door commercially and maybe get creative on what you can clean or service. Things get tuff you may have to grab a broom, blower, or mop

Oh..but please don't max your cards out with advertizing. In doing such you will not only effect your credit score but some creditors will then boost yer rate putting you back even more per month.

I'm going to re-advise on creating a website. It has been the single most cost effective tool for bringing in regular calls for my company. I'm getting 4-5 calls or e-mails a day requesting estimates just from my website alone. I spend about $90 a year for hosting. What a steal!!

Get out and walk. Door to door hang flyers, go to businesses. As long as you are out getting your name out there the work will come with time. You wont get business sitting on the couch waiting for it to come to you. Once you start getting more work and money saved up try direct mailing target neighborhoods. Good luck.

All great ways to get the phone ringing. And while you're at it, get a job in the meantime in the evenings. That'll help give you some money to put towards marketing, rather than running up credit card balances. Or, find a job that pays as well as the one you lost and spend the next year building up to go full time.

Running up debt to start a business when you're broke isn't smart, it's a recipe for bankruptcy.

[djcs0302 14]

Had a house to wash last week and as I was getting everything ready, noticed that I was out of my F-13 (gutter cleaner) Well, I started to panic because this house had really bad streaked gutters. Not enough time to order and wait two weeks for shipment to come in so what did I do? I read the grime scene forum and saw where Jeff W. posted a piece on using Castrol Super Clean. Tried it and it worked great and saved money at the same time. So thanks Jeff and thanks Grime Scene.

[RAJD 14]

whenever we go to Lowes or Home Depot we park our trailer outside the exit doors and one of us stays with it while the other one shops. On an average 4 out of 10 trips some one will approach us and ask for our card or about our services. we have picked up quite a few jobs just by taking our rig with us to the super market. When we gas up we leave business cards in the advertising signs next to the pump. All effective ways of advertising for almost no cost.

If it is slow we park the truck in the middle of a block or complex and go door to door introducing ourselves explaining our services and handing out cards.

Make sure you are neatly dressed (company logo shirt) and your equipment is organized. this gives a proffesional apperance.

A lot of good advice above these are just very low or no cost ways to pick up some business. Do a good job, be proffesional and in time referrals will be your main source for jobs.

Bob

Edited June 17, 2008 by RAJD

[RPetry 564]

Do a good job, be proffesional and in time referrals will be your main source for jobs.

Ditto. At least in the wood business, referrals are king. Show up on time for estimates, be there to start the job when you say you will, and give an extra sidewalk wash, picnic table clean, or mailbox cleaning and staining. Something little in your time and effort pays very big dividends. Most customers will not forget free and gratis.

[HotShot 34]

My advice would be to get another job. It takes time to build up your business and I would get a job with the thought of it being a "temporary" thing in mind until I got my business up and running enough to live on.

[big mike 14]

EZMAN-

I'll add my 2 cents since I'm your neighbor. This year is tough in our area, but not as bad as you make it seem. There are several new companies in the Metro area, and pricing is taking a step backwards, but work can be found. Pick a local shopper newspaper and place an ad. You should be able to run a six week ad for around $350. It's local, and cheap. With all of the storms we've had lately, I find it strange that you're not busy. Storms always bring in lots of housewash and deck business. Drive to those areas and be seen in your service vehicle and you'll get calls. Please fill out your signature, etc..

[Ron Musgraves 240]

Give me a ring, I have a couple non-expensive ideas that can put money in your pocket if you have a hot washer.

If your stuck doing residential I cannot help you. I stink at the residential customer and cannot sell them.

If your interested in commercial accounts i have a few ideas that are pretty simple.

Good luck hang in, dont go back to work. Go to the store and get some beans and rice and tough the ride out. Its hard work but if you go back to work now I feel your given in.

[jbruno 14]

Do you have friends or family near your targeted market?? Bite the cost and a few hours, and go do a free-o house wash for a friend or relative who live in a decent size neighborhood... make sure people see you doing it, and make sure the house is actually dirty. This get people talking and helps get your name out there. This is how I did my "experimenting" and this is how I got my first few jobs. after that business cards and advertising will start to kick in.

The other way I get work is find painters that work in your area, most of them don't like to do powerwashing. I have a guy that gives me at least 1 job a week. He owns 2 powerwashers and hasn't touched themin about 1 1/2 years since I did a deck for him.