Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: md_cleaning on June 01, 2006, 06:37:16 pm
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How many of you are on the Alltec fast track program?
How are you finding it?
I know it's expensive but I have heard good things from some I know that are on it.
Has anyone done it, worked at it and found it did not work for them?
Dave
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If you'd spend about £ 4500 you would say its brilliant too, wouldn't you.
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I listened to a cd i received from them ages ago with Martin Riley or someone talking about their success. I listened to the cd and read between the lines and its what im doing anyway and really building my business. I deliver fliers with info about why carpets should be cleaned. I include articles from the world health org etc.
People dont want their carpets cleaned until they look dirty- educate them as to why they need them cleaning and why they should use a trained cleaner etc. My response is now 11 out of 1000 leaflets up from 3 calls per 1000.
regards
ollie
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Ollie
If your consistantly getting 11 quality jobs per 1000 flyers then you should teach marketing and I'll be your first customer.
Mark
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Mark, Im not lying, Ive struggled for a year trying out loads of leaflets etc, ive even lost my partner :'( . Maybe its because i live in an area with only one real competitor? but on average over the last 2 month I have received 11 Calls per 1000 Leaflets. You added the word "quality" although I do try and target quality areas.
regards
Ollie
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Also I didnt say consistantly.....just thought i would prempt your reply.
Ollie
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Mark, If your serious, I will sell you my flyer and leaflet designs. Thanks for the interest, obviously you are of the persuasion that all ccs earn the same and advertise similarily.
Regards,
Ollie
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The other point to remember about Fastrack is you have actually got to do it.
I believe you get a business plan
But you need the resources to carry out the strategies.
As it takes time for them to work.
Im still looking for someone who uses the Quick Start Strategy. ??? ??? ???
Ollie all I can say is well done, If I was you I would keep your method secret and build a Carpet Cleaning Empire.
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just like to point out Mark Roberts has changed
**11 calls** into **11 consistent quilty jobs** per thousand
??? ??? how did you manage that, theres a big difference. oillie said 11 calls per thousand.
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Very few people work at their marketing as well as they should, myself included. Basically self employed people are on the whole a lazy bunch (hard to believe but its been proved)
A good advertising mix followed on with a pro-active referral scheme and regular contacts with existing customers. Thats all it takes. Sounds so easy doesn't it.
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to get back too md-cleaning post, what i would say about fast track (speculating here) is although there turn over may well rise to a handsome figure, they expeniture do to, they spend loads!!! on adverts etc. and time.
so therefore each week they must do alot of work just paying for that, and you could look at it, if you didnt spend it you not got to earn it back.
to a point.
so am i right that fast trackers put them selfs in a position where they GOT to work doubley hard ?
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Criag p - I assumed he converted the calls into jobs but even 11 calls is good.
Ollie - yes I will take you up on your offer. Thankyou. My address is
Ultraclean
53a Comber Road
Dundonald
Belfast
BT16 2AA
Fastrack is about business building not just getting work.
Mark
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Then how good is the alltec, Pink flyer, I hear so much about?
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I personally think the Alltec pink flyer is embarrassingly bad, its to American.
The one I have is about 'Donna' ( name changed for her protection ::) ) and how she was ripped off by another carpet cleaning company who said they would charge her £9.95 per room. She then gets a bill for £695 once all the extras are added. To cut a long boring story short, 'Donna phones the cops and they cannot do anything, she then calls our Fast Track friend who comes along and recleans the trashed carpets and saves the day ::).
If that is the sort of stuff you think your customers want to read, then the Pink Letter is for you
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lol gary, ;D superhero fast tracker!!
it does sound bad when you hear it summed up. ;D
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LMAO, do you think he wears a mask and cape as well.
Right at the end he signs all the cops to a monthly maintenance plan and also gets the contract to clean the cop car seats of jam from the doughnuts.
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Bet he didnt take the contract for cleaning the puke from the police vans though, the acid would play havoc with his 24 carat wand
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I did FastTrack, and the reason I did it is because I had no idea how best to market my business.
I would agree that some things are too American in their tone, but you can amend that, once you get a feel for what they're trying to do.
FastTrack is also about a lot more than pink flyers and Yellow pages and you will be told that these on their own will not build a profitable and sustainable business. But there are many other avenues you should follow. It also gives you a professional method of dealing with customers, from how to answer the phone, through to the first meeting, how to behave when you are on site cleaning and keeping in contact with customer.
I know that my biggest problem is organising myself and having the belief that people will pay, but they do!
As for the success of some of the people using this, I have met them and have no reason to believe they are lying. And if they can do it what stops you?
Nigel
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Nigel D
If you are better off and more confident it has worked for you.
I do not know how long you have been on Fastrack or if you finished the programme.
But I am concerned when you say you have met some of them.
All Fastrackers should be earning and neting a very profitable income.
I have no reason to believe that anyone lies about Fastrack but I do wonder if everyone on the programme achieves.
Others will correct me but I think there is a saying in Direct Sales that 75% of the Sales turnover is acheived by 25% of the Salesforce.
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I'm with Ian on this. I have no reason to doubt the success of Fast trackers either and if it is working for them then all well and good.
I can't help thinking its over priced though, I know information is only worth what people are prepared to pay and going on this sort of course kick starts the careeer of many carpet cleaners.
The problem I have though is I don't need to be told how to behave in front of clients or answer a telephone. And as I said earlier it is very American and I just cannot see it working with my customers.
I have a copy of all the Fast Track stuff and personally I would use very little of it. If people were prepared to spend half hour searching Google there is some fantastic FREE marketing advice available and some really good sales letters.
We all do our marketing in our own way, some works, some doesn't and while there is always great advice to be found on this forum and some fellow carpet cleaners who are more than happy to impart their knowledge the marketing side of it is kept remarkably quiet.
I have collected marketing material for years, I know how to impliment a programme and I would not be happy with a return of 1 or 2 customers per thousand leaflets. I am confident I can create my own material and get customers all day long but i do suffer the same problem as 90% of the people on here.
I need a rocket up my bum.
And more than anything I think that is what Fast Track gives you. After all, if you have spent £2-4,000, then you HAVE to do something, even if you are uncomfortable with the material you are sending out.
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As i have sead many times on this forum re Fastrack its a pity Robert Saunders
does not put as much effort into his core business as he seams to do with
Fastrack. I agree with a lott that has been sead about it ie that it is to much
based on American styall of marketing, and i may be wrong in this asumption
but feel to make it work you need to be more than a one man band.
Take Care John
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If I was Robert Saunders I would find it difficult to get excited about selling a £2000 machine or £30 worth of Ultimate Master when I could make 10X that in a weekend on running a Fast Track course. Is it a case of buy the machine then hook the customer into spending more on the course.
From what I have seen of Fast Track, the outlay doesn't end there either. You pay a few grand for the course then it is suggested you do on site carpet audits using a laptop, again there is another £1000+ for the new computer and software.
I wonder if there are any Fast Trackers who are prepared to reveal the true cost of setting up this programme and keeping it going to the letter of the course.
There is a poster on commercial cleaning that uses the tagline ' Profit is sanity, turnover is vanity', I wonder if the extra outlay and marketing costs really outweigh how much ends up in your pocket. Which at the end of the day the only thing that really counts.
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There is a poster on commercial cleaning that uses the tagline ' Profit is sanity, turnover is vanity', I wonder if the extra outlay and marketing costs really outweigh how much ends up in your pocket. Which at the end of the day the only thing that really counts.
Your absolutely right Gary. It's all very well having 2 or 3 vans and techy's but at the end of the day its PROFIT that counts. Yes it all looks lovely on paper - but what good is that? I think it's more to do with BIG ego's myself (ooh, I turn over more than you - so Im better), god what nonsense. There was a chap not long ago who was part of a franchise, very successful too, had the vans and techy's, the lot. Then he finally realised that if he went back to doing it himself - he actually had roughly the same profit margin.
So, he got rid of all the vans/techy's and went back to a one man band!! However, he obviously forgot how hard it was (what with just doing cushy quotes etc) and so he gave the WHOLE thing up.
A message to us all :P
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i wonder how many fast trackers can one area can take before it loses its effectiveness.
i also wonder if it will become duluited and eventaully fizzel out, as it seems to in the states, i mean if every c/c says "the most thorough cleaning ever" then no ones ahead, and there all starting from the same platform.
i recently did a job that was qouted before me by a fast tracker. i got the job ;D i never even needed a laptop ;D thing is i did it for not much less than the tracker, yet i got no where near is overheads ;D
oh and i qouted over the phone.
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It all just seems a load of nonense to me ;D
What customer wants to sit and look at a laptop presentation, not any of mine thats for sure! ::)
They want there carpets cleaning for crying out loud ::)
Most of what i've heard from fastrack is mostly common sense any how, not worth paying several grand for ???
Just my humble opinion ;)
regards
steve
p.s. - i think all be fast asleep by time i got me laptop up and running :P
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I wonder why not many if any FT people post on these boards like us sad lot.
Maybe because their all out working making money.
I spoke to a FT recently who turned £75k on his own working 4 days a week.
Makes you wonder.
Mark
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working 4 days a week ::) yes but he spent a day marketing so thats 5 days a week like the rest of us!
he made £74k but spent £20k on marketing so really he made less than some of us
I've heard all these stories before ::)
Mike
Ps; remember Mark all carpet cleaners are lying twats, so when he says £74k he really meens £50k
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He worked 4 days a week and made 75k :o
Wow.
Presume 4 weeks holiday ( inc bank holidays ) that leaves 192 days work.
£390.00 per day. It IS possible. But every day??? As an average!!!!???
That takes some doing.
Don't tell me, he also starts at 9 and finishes by 3 and has a lunch break, and tea and biscuits with the customer.
Should we be saying what a great bloke, or expect to see him on House Of Horrors. Its a fine line.
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gary, the job i did that tracker qouted, i did 2 single chair £50, tracker qouted £75.
i saw his print out, the print out gives price with and without protection, also pet and alergy care,
this tracker qouted for the lounge £75 (without protection, £120 with) which was around 14 x 13 ft, theres also a pay monthly option price printed
oh those prices was all printed double that further up the page then there was 50% discount, i guess thats just to make it look good, also theres a consumer advice book left with custy, which has a good pop at every other c/c.
ps gary wheres me CD ;D
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so if you think about it a lounge without protection is any c/c starting point for what we earn, i would imagen a tracker would want £200 for a whole downstairs with protection, 3 jobs a day is enough for any body,
so knowing trackers prices i estimate they could earn upto £600 a day, if there busy, even a queit day like just a lounge is £75
but like us all they must have days with nowt at all.
weather cleaning carpets is worth that much another question ::)
i say 600 a day i mean top end, its probaly rare, i know its not often i hit my top earning capacity. there average is going to be more like 3-400 IF BUSY.
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I was asked by a mate on here why I hadnt replied to this him knowing what I charge....... So here is
my pennies worth. My feelings are that if we arent "making" at least £400 a day then why on earth
are we in this business? £400 a day should be on average less than two jobs a day. I only work one
day a week sometimes two but charge considerably more than £75k in a year. I have been speaking
with John Kelly of late about a job he is helping me with and ( I hope he doesnt mind me saying ) he
cleaned one room of carpet and charged close to £600 pounds to clean it. The job John is helping me
with should return I am hoping close to £15,000 CLEAR profit in 3 weeks. If I am allowed to work longer
hours i.e. from 06:00 till 22:00 then I hope to do it in no more than two weeks hopefully even in less
time..........................At 50p a square foot we only have to find 800 square feet to clean to make £400
a day, how difficult can that be? Especially if we are to add on anything else, furniture, tiles and or
protection. If we protected everything we cleaned we would only have to clean half as much to still get
the £400, well just about half. This is one of the easiest jobs as unqualified people (I know we have the
N.C.C.A. and I.I.C.R.C. but really they are only for our selves) to make a boat load of money. Its not hard
work or even in the slightest difficult now is it? Who else do you know can charge £100 an hour to do
what they do? I havent suggested the £100 an hour, this was and is often spoken about by other
cleaners. This being the case, again my point is we should all be charging £400 a day. Else why are we
in this business? I know this will probaly cause a riot but then maybe thats good. The biggest thing
needed both in this country and in the states is a kick up the bum to go and get things done. Like I
have said, if we cant make £400 a day out of one or at most two customers, either get better customers
or get another job........... Sort of a theory of mine.......A good plumber will earn over a thousand a week
so will a good carpenter, bricky, painter etcetera. Not including the vans but on the whole their tools of
the trade dont actually come to much. The plumber having the biggest outlay for tools but the plasterer
for instance probably doesnt have a thousand pounds in to his or her tools, yet still makes a thousand a
week. I have over £35k invested in my tools of the trade just to turn up at a customers house. This
being the case I will be dxxmned if I am not going to make 2, 3 or 4 times what the plasterer earns.
Even if we have mickey mouse machines to clean with they still cost a lot more than the tools of the
trades listed above, save maybe the plumber..... Whoever this fast track bloke is then good luck to him.
Most of the people I know on fast track struggle immensely to maintain a flow of work and even Rob's
golden boys arent earning what they were. My feelings is on the whole the fast track ideas are geared
for a lot of lower priced jobs. My one or two jobs a week is more than what you get when you give
rooms away for free and dont charge for an interim clean. But hey, each to their own. The fast track
isnt a difficult idea and has been around for years. Just that Mr Polish charges $600 as opposed to Mr
Saunders charging what you can get a decent portable for or a second hand truck mount. However it is
we get whatever it is we need, please be charging £400 a day!!!!!! Best as always, Dave.
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;D i like your posts dave, always make me aim my sights higher ;D
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Craig, I just e-mailed you, best, Dave.
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emailed you back Dave ;D
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Interesting post by Liahona,
Correct me if I am wrong, you charge £4.50 a sq yd so the room you quoted would have been around 135 sq yds (0ne room) to charge around £600.
As this would not have a domestic job at`that size you are charging £4.50 for commercial work which is a great rate if you can get it.
You only do 1 maybe 2 days a week but earn well over 75k a year so you earn around £1500 a day, which puts you in top earning bracket of any industry in country.
You are clearly the top performing CC in the business and as such should be holding seminars on how you do it,if you do, let me know when the first one is being held as I would certainly pay to attend and learn from you.
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OK, I stand corrected, I don't doubt the big bucks are possible, I was talking to someone yesterday who made over a thousand pounds at the weekend cleaning carpets and chairs. Those jobs are out there, but to do it week in week out is something else.
I always read Liahona's posts, and though he hasn't been around on this forum long he has made this site a better place with the knowledge he undoubtably has. And he does whet your appetite to go out and get higher end and commercial work. I must admit though, I wouldn't feel comfortable in myself charging 600 quid for a lounge carpet, couldn't they buy a new one ::).
Craig, I'm in Cheltenham some time over the next 7 days, if you want to meet up somewhere along the way and get these cd's let me know.
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Woodman, to clarify, the job for £600 was done by John Kelly which is why I said I hope he didnt mind
me saying. The first commercial job I did was for approx 400 square meters of which I charged £11:50
per square meter. I was the last resort and the fourth cleaner to try to clean the carpet. I simply
doubled the third cleaners price as I would have to clean out his mess as well as the first 2 and then
clean it properly. As I saved then a £60,000 replacement cost, then a little over £4000 wasnt too much
to ask for, nor did they question the price. ........ I try to only work 1 or 2 days a week but that isnt
always poss so sometimes I will work the third day so my average if taken over 2 days would be higher.
I am looking to do a job in London of which John Kelly has helped me no end as to various "stuff" that
needs to be sorted. I am hoping to clear at least £20k over two weeks but I am allowing for it to take 3.
Either way it will boost my average up a wee bit. I am 99% sure of getting the job and the 1% will be
sorted out by next week.......... Sort of a point.....Most plumbers, carpenters, brickies, plasterers and
the like all make £1000 a week. In most cases their tools of the trade save maybe the plumbers are a
few hundred at most. The fact that I have over 35k invested for me just to turn up at a customers
house I will be daxned if I am not going to make 2, 3 or 4 times what they make. Even a mickey mouse
portable or low moisture machine costs more than their tools so why should we settle for less money.
With refference your comment on 75k being the top earning bracket of any industry in the country,
you are having a laugh. Mr Saunders makes that out of less than 20 fast trackers....... A customer of
mine in London who buys and sells diamonds, makes that in a month. I may do well in this cleaning
market but compared to industries in the country 75k is a mere pittance....... When I was in the states I
often would speak at the I.I.C.R.C. courses. Nothing to do with the course but I knew the company
putting on the course and they knew how I did what and what I charged for doing so and felt it would
be an interesting 20 minute diversity. My point is or at least one of them is...... you get what you ask for
on the whole. If you ask for a measley 50p a square foot to clean something then the customer will pay
you 50p. Thats why I charge what I do, which is considerably more. If we all charged the same price
we wouldnt be having this conversation. By the way I would never charge anything, ever to do with
talking about this business. Unless thats all I did but of course I dont. In this country as well as the
states most of the problem is that we as cleaners need a kick up the bum to do things. I just dont need
the kick. I am sure we or most of us all do good work, then why the hell not charge good money for it?
Someone on here was so proud he cleaned a sofa for I think 70 quid or something stupid like that as
he got the job off of another cleaner who had charged 400. As long as the 400 man gets half what he
quotes for he is still doing so much better than the 70 man...... and wouldnt have to work past
Wednesday afternoon if you get my point. Again, Woodman, you nor anyone else should pay for
anything anyone has to say, we know too bloody well what we need to do. I feel there is nothing I can
teach you, just kick you in the ass to do it. Nothing hardly is difficult in this business, nothing, save
doing it!!!!!! Hope this helps, best as always, Dave.
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Gary, you hit the nail on the head. The goal is to get that type of work day in and day out. That is the
hard part. I dont and probably cant but I have never said I could, not 5 days a week..... I understand
what it is you are saying about charging the 600. But if the carpet is worth 6000 then the customer of
course would pay the 600. I am after a job to do for a museum on an article estimated at half a million.
We all know it isnt worth that but its what the market will pay type of thing. I am sure you can guess I
wont be charging £1 a foot to clean it. It is back in the states where there is no such thing as
treatments risk so I will have to take ALL the risk for the article. Needless to say I am after at least 6
months worth of money to do it. Then my average will either go up a little or I wont work for 6 months.
I actually want out of this business as I have been doing it long enough and have plans for other
things. The work is out there you just have to go out and find it!!!! Best, again, Dave.
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Well, my 1% just came in and I go the job I was after in London. They have also added quite a bit more
so my hope of 15k or 20k has gone up a little bit. As to how long it will take I am not too sure yet.
Hoping 2 to 3 weeks but can afford it to go to 4 weeks if needs be. I should be able to make about
£4000 on the scaffolding too so that will be enough to by me the machine I need and all the chemicals
needed too. I hope so anyway. This is just one building in London out of how many? On another post
someone had put that there wasnt enough work to go around us as cleaners, again this is just one
building out of goodness knows how many!!!! Best, Dave.
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Dave,
A great deal of what you have said is spot and if there's one thing i've learnt about c/c that's pay yourself what you think your worth :)
Cleaning carpets is hard work!
The point about fasttrack is, i did a job last week for very high profile customer over three days and charged £1609 and he was very happy, and i really didn't need a laptop ::)
Peope don't need clones of people going around doing the same spiel and having a telephone message you can listen that all say the same, they want to know you can do the job and are human ;D
You don't have to look flashy to charge right, professional yes, but gimmicks don't impress most people.
regards
steve
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I am sorry if I am a bit thick,
But Liahona, you did not clarify anything only confused me further ::)
YOU mentioned that YOU charged 50p a sq ft in your first post on the subject is this not the case then?
£1500 a day as you stated was the around the sort of money you earned would most certainly put you as an individual in the top earning money bracket in the country.
RS doesn't take all the money his company earns for himself as an individual he would not be earning what you quote for yourself.
I have no doubt that you are an exceptional earner in the CC field and my offer to attend a seminar on how you do it still stands.
In fact better still; a carpet cleaners meeting is coming up soon where around 20-30 carpet cleaners will attend perhaps I could persuade you to come along as guest speaker and give us all one or two pointers, if is only a boot up the 'arris. ;D
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LOL dave u must be doing it wrong mate carpet cleaning is so easy its funny lol ive had jobs before i started cleaning that were 10 times as hard !!!!! what was your last job ? sticking stamps on letters !!! lol
regards gary
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Just to clarify what Dave has said. The job he mentioned was a commercial job in Mayfair in London. It was actually subbed out to a colleague down there as I couldn't be bothered to travel down. Took him an hour and 20 minutes and £11.50 an hour to park his van. :)
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Dave twice you have used the comparison of the tool cost between yourself and various tradesmen (plumbers, Bricklayers etc) obviously you think this is a clever way to justify your earnings ::)
Lets look at the tradesmen comparison a different way.
I spent 4yrs surviving an apprenticeship in Bricklaying incl 2 nights a week nightclass so over that time to learn my trade took 160 weeks and a 160 night classes, for this I would get paid..... ( the figure you say is £1000 a week) I aso have an internationally recognised qualification which would allow me to immigrate to most countries
how much internationally recognised training have you done in carpet cleaning? and if you used the formula that you used with the tool cost comparison how much wou you be charging?
does it add up?
Mike
PS:telling carpet cleaners how to make more money is like telling fat people how to lose wieght...............piontless ::) ::)
tell a fat person to stop eating creamcakes and go to the gym and he'll tell you every reason he can't
tell a carpet cleaner to put up his prices and sell more protector and he'll tell you every reason he can't ::).
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Woodman, sorry about the confusion mate. I just re-read what I had written and it isnt very clear. I
I said we as a whole not with me included so to speak. I charge upwards of a pound a foot and
wrongly thought that most people knew that..... Mike, sorry about the comparison about the tools twice
but I do get carried away sometimes. I am not sure how to answer what it is I think you were asking.
If it means that we should get less money than brickies or any trade for that matter then that is fine,
however I still want more money than they do. As far as I know the only qualifications I have that is international at least to do with
the cleaning business as I have others would be the I.I.C.R.C. ...... With regards your P.S. I couldnt
agree with you more. However if only one person per talk did something to better his or her cleaning
business then it would be worth it. In fact your P.S. says it all and supports most of what I have to say.
We are our own worse enemy and find every excuse to not do as we know we should. Most people
and I am sure on here to, will never put there prices up because of the reasons you have said. .........
Gary, not sure what you mean. My point is or was that cleaning isnt hard to do. Physically maybe but
not to much else. Anyway to much more important things, hows the getting ready for the move going.
Arent you off soon........... Woodman, I have no problems with meeting up with anyone, anywhere. Just
let me know where and when. We can all learn from each other I am sure as we all have our own
ways to do things. As we all think our ways are better it can always make for good conversation as
none of us are the same. Especially me as I am certainly not the norm. Mr Saunders hates the way I am
and often voices his opinion to other cleaners that I am not the way to be. As Ian Gourlay will vouch, I
dont give a monkeys what other people think. I am good at what I do as hopefully we all are. I just
charge a little bit more than most people do. At the end of the day its if the customer likes me or not,
not anyone else, on here or otherwise. Hope I have answered all, best, Dave.
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i did this course for 3 years - bloody excellent !!!!!
Robert Saunders is a top guy- and you know what - i dont use his truckmounts or his machines and only one or two of his chemicals -
Fasttrack will enable you to retire as a more wealthier businessman and not a knackered c/c - only if you use the ADVICE that is presented to you on the courses - but not everyone will use as much of the info given as the next person - me included
This is not a course for everyone (imo) but it will enlighten you to look at yourself and become more profitable in any business. Also, if it is £4000 (unsure now) and you are giving the taxman say £5000 a year - offset some tax against this and you will earn more to give back to the taxman the following year - unless you are not earning enough to pay tax - then you maybe go to the local goverment and get a grant to pay for it .
Either way - only a few people on this forum have been on both sides of the fence - these are the people who can give a true view on this subject.
This is not me getting on my high horse, but just saying it the way it is
regards
David
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only last week i had a customer, who said she had rand a local c/c got bored of the message and put the phone down,
me thinks how many more do????
just a thought.
Geoff
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Hello,
My comments of 2 days ago seem to have generated some comments. My point was
I had no idea how best to market my business, I had been cleaning for 2 years, had come from a corporate background where you are very much a small wheel in the big cog. I didn't want to get involved with a franchise and in comparison Fastrack seemed relatively cheap - not cheap but relatively so, against a franchise.
I would agree that some things are too American in their tone - Yes it is and I now know that much of what they say is marketing common practice, but I didn't know that then!
FastTrack is also about a lot more than pink flyers and Yellow pages - People tend to focus on this, but it gives you a lot more, how to prepare for meetings, the pyschology of the meeting (sales), how to close and when you come to do the job how to act profssionally.
Liahona (Dave) has made a big point that we under sell (under price) oursleves, I think we can all agree that happens. Getting the balance right is the hardest part, Dave clearly goes for a niche market, but if we could could better understand the person sat in front of us, could we not improve! How many of us have priced a job never to hear anothet thing, but how about "Is that all, I thought it would be much more"?
As for the success of some of the people using this, I have met them and have no reason to believe they are lying - Of course you have to factor in the cost of getting the work, but I would give these guys the benefit of the doubt.
Did I continue. No - and the reason was that in my circumstances I wouldn't justify the ongoing expense. I have learnt many things, many of which I need to put into practice and I felt my spare! money would be better spent on marketing directly.
Finally, I have no idea how long people who post on this site have been in business or how successful they have been. Many are keen to dismiss or rubbish Fastrack but offer no alternative to someone starting off in their new business venture. Which I know is exciting and frightening in equal measure.
If you have the money then Fastrack can help, it's not for everyone, but you can take a look, and it's risk free
Nigel
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While I was penning my little piece Geoff wrote that a customer hung up.
Of course they do, that's not the point.
Those that listen and like call you. From this point it's a warm contact. I wouldn't say everyone who has listened and called has booked but i really struggle to think the last time it didn't turn into a job.
We all know that not everything works, but the point is to try little by little to increase our opportunities.
If we listened to everyone who said that something doesn't work we would give up. AND FAIL
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Wow. I didn't realise this was still a hot subject. Dave (LIONOHA) I would like to speak to you as I am always interested in improving myself and my business. Perhaps we can talk at the carpet cleaners get together if Woodman lets me come ;D. In a nutshell Fastrack isn't a fancy Pink flyer or yellow pages sect that some people think. It is a complete business coaching course developed to help you set goals and improve your business with some marketing advice thrown in based loosely now it has to be said on the Pirhana Marketing principles of Joe Polish.
Yes some people haven't made it work so well, this is because they are in their comfort zone. This is ok as long as they are ok with it. There are also some fastrackers who are totally committed to doing the best they possibly can do and they succeed very nicely. This is life, It's what happens when people are involved with anything.
I remember the post about marketing spend and turnover and profit and that person is quite correct. It doesn't matter how much you turnover, it's how much you keep that matters.
Needless to say I am doing very nicely because I am not lazy. I could have probably done it without Fastrack but who knows? And how many very costly mistakes would I have made? It is without the slightest doubt the best decision I ever made, Bar none. Would I do it again knowing what I now Know?-Yes without a shadow of a doubt. I am still a Fastracker and will help anyone any way I can. By the way Robert doesn't pay me for this, I still pay him and good value he gives too.
I can help some of you guys on here with some advice about business. Take advice from the successful business people on here. Don't fall for the negative talk and advice from some who without realising it are sabotaging their own future by telling everyone what you can't do.
When I started I couldn't believe that you could charge 51p a foot to clean but I quickly learned that the price is mainly in your head not your client's. They just want to know that you can do wahat you say you are going to do.
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Did you know Dave turns up to a job in shorts.
??? ???
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Ahhh Ian, I was saving that to when I met up with everyone. As it is out now I will continue. Not only
do I turn up in shorts I wear cut off t-shirts as well. It is how and or what I am. Why would I change
that. There are a few other things as well(not clothes) that makes me a little different but those I will
save if there is going to be a meeting of some sort. Oh and yes I turn up in shorts and t-shirts to meet
designers and architects etcetera for the first time. If I wore trousers and shirts I wouldnt be
comfortable and that would show to the them. If I cant be comfy with them they would certainly not put
me into their clients homes. Each to their own but it works fine for me to be myself, I refuse to conform
to how people think I should be........Re fast track. I have never rubbished as far as I know the system.
The ideas behind them are very good IF put into practice. My biggest concern was as previously
mentioned, that it is basically Joe Polish that is $600 instead of the £4500 or so that is being charged.
Other than that if it kicks you up the bum to do things then it is very good. I know of Martin and David
who do very well with the system and look forward to meeting both. Just be ware that as Joe's system
and Roberts, most of the stuff ends up on the shelf and not used. Those are the ones who usualyy say
it doesnt work...... I met up with Mr "Fluffy" walker and he and I spoke about many things. Firstly and
mostly was that he and I were similar in that we charged what we felt "we" were worth, maybe not so
much what the cleaning would be worth. As a side note, I decided to charge what I do because of
Fluffy. He was charging a little under a pound a foot so I wanted to charge just that little bit more.
When I first met Robert Saunders over the phone when I was in Los Angeles He was on about how
the fast track people were getting their 50p's a square foot. At that point I said when I set up in
England I would be the most expensive out there on basic cleaning. I have enough front to want to be
the best and to charge the most. I am not the best by any stretch of the imagination but I think I
charge close to the most. When I find the cleaner who is charging more than I do then I will pick his or
her brains to find out what it is they are doing different than I am. If it is the same then I will just put
up my prices accordingly. We are scared of our prices not the customer. Lets not be scared. To the
newbies starting you have the best chance of charging higher prices, because you havent charged
anything yet you would have nothing to be scared of. To the oldies, like me, we are usually stuck in our
ways of doing things and so think that we cant charge 75p instead of 50p cos our brain cant cope.
Well believe me it can. I sold so to speak for a few mates of mine back in the states. They were
charging 25cents a foot which although seems low is about the average for normal cleaning. I would
always mouth off that they should charge twice that. Same answer as here, I cant because
of............... So I would go out with them and charge 50cents. We never lost any of the jobs we went
after. New customers and or old. In fact on a few occasions the existing customers questioned why he
was only charging 25cents in the first place. Again, if you dont ask, you wont get. For those who think
I write cobblers on here thats fine. However, go out to your next job and charge and extra 5p a square
foot. You will get it and also, guess what, your chemical costs for the year will be paid for in the end,
After all it doesnt cost 5p a foot to clean now does it. All that hard earned money that you give Alltec or
who ever you use to purchase chemicals from will now be paid for with surplus money. Dont you think
it is a good idea that your customers pay for your chemicals instead of you. Anyway, best, Dave.
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Woodman,
When and where is the next CC get together?
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My thoughts exactly, Somewhere that has a golf course.
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nice to hear from you Martin
i did fasttrack and found it fantastic
booked up for two weeks and reeping the benifits of getting my pricing right
never been as busy, mostly from repeat and recommends
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Woodman, I spoke at length to Martin (sorry mate) and he and I are both keen to attend a carpet cleaners get together. Just keep us all informed as to when and where. The more the merrier so to speak. If you like I can even set some home work sort of thing that could help me in what I have to say. Sounds silly maybe but it actually can help. I wanted to e-mail you this but yours is private so that is why this is on here. Anyway, again keep us all posted as to when and where. Best, Dave.
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I think basicly saying, if you go to pricecutters for a toaster you would expect to pay pennys, yet if you go to harrods you want customer service (ie laptops showing you product) then you would pay pounds!!!!
Does this not explain why you can charge more for carpet cleaning?
I'm not sure myself, I'm more interested in repeat business, I dont think after using the toaster for 6 months (from Harrods) that you would think it was good value for money and proberly use dixons instead.
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Capitol -services. I understand your point to the enth, however if you go to Harrods you will find that
they are always packed with customers. Also the customer who paid the "pounds" for the toaster probably paid
pounds for their carpets too. Oh and I am sure will go back to Harrods to purchase whatever it is they may need. In a
lot of cases these people wouldnt consider going to Dixons and accordingly wouldnt go to the carpet cleaner offering
their whatever discounts or free room with purchase of two. Each to their own but I want the customer who spends
their money at Harrods not at Dixons....... Not only any of the above but.......have you ever thought that the Harrods
customer just doesnt want a product or service from Dixons. I think that they think that way so is why I want them as
my customers. I will get in trouble for saying this but I am going to anyway. On the whole most cleaners both here
and in the states are Dixon cleaners. Therfore it suits me fine that I am not and as Dixon cleaners you will be cleaning
for many years and always be moaning that you arent getting enough work or enough money and always knocking
others on here or wherever they may be that they are, or that you just dont believe that maybe just maybe someone
is actually doing ok in this business. Best, Dave. P.S. where has Woodman gone? Are we going to have a get
together?......
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Liahona,
Just to clarify my point, the customers perseption whould be greater if the service charge was higher (they want more for there money)
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Thats my point I do charge very high and I am trying to get other people to do the same. But I also give
them more for their money. Best, Dave.
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a local fast tracker to me claims to be
'the most qualified carpet cleaner in the south west'
hes not, only, NCCA and IICR plenty others equal that.
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Craigp. You are missing the point completely. The Fastracker you mention does not care that some others may be just as qualified. He is just marketing his business. He wouldn't worry if you claimed the same, he would just tell his clients that he was. There is nothing wrong with this as long as he is fulfilling client expectations. Large companies all do this. Who is correct is just academic and depends on peoples own perception. There is no right or wrong. Have you not seen an ad for a car or similar that claimed to be the most powerful/fastest etc. Regards Martin
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Hi Guys,
Most qualified is so vague a statement that it's almost meaningless.
Say someone has NCCA and IICRC is he better qualified than someone who has Chemistry and Physics A levels ? I don't think so ;)
From what I have gleaned from talking to the fast track lads , the fundamentals are lots of advertising every week , high prices and determination to stick with it .
Cheers
Doug
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well done doug, i think you summed up in a few words what every one else has
been trying to say ;)
Each carpet cleaner has his own way of going about his job and not all are the
same, some aim for the big spenders and some want a steady flow of just the
average spender, personally i think you can have a good earning from either,
and it does depend on the area you live in and the kind of life/work balance you
want also :)
It would be good to get back to the fundamentals of carpet cleaning instead of
each saying their way is best. ???
Surely it, doesn't do for all to be the same anyhow???
regards
steve