Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: derek west on February 16, 2009, 06:53:00 pm
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emailed this out to a few colleges with fingers crossed.
Hello
My names Derek from a company called affordable cleaners. We are in the process of sourcing a company to make us a 5 minute promotional DVD for our company. This will entail showing prospective companies how we clean carpets and upholstery, the powerful equipment we use and the professional procedures we use to make sure things are done without mistakes and to the highest standard.
We had the idea that maybe this is something that a group of your students maybe be interested in doing as a project and this is why we are contacting you.
Your students get a chance to be creative with filming, scripts and marketing skills, your college carpets will get a free clean if we are filming on site and affordable cleaners will get a promotional DVD of hopefully a good standard.
If this is something that you may be able to help us with then please contact me, (Derek) on 07854690355 anytime, we don’t mind helping out with costs and materials and also as I said, if we are filming, then on site cleans will take place free of charge.
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if i don't get a responce do any of you guys know someone who will take this project on, ive not googled anything like this yet but i'm presuming it will cost a few pennies so i need it done reasonbly cheap.
anyway fingers crossed with the colleges first.
derek
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whats the worst thing they can say? ....no so nothing ventured nothing gained, but I would have used a landline and put your web address.
and if I'm honest asking what we think after you've done it is not ideal, I can see a number of things I would have written differently. Your name is Derek West, Managing Director of a company called Affordable Cleaners not Derek from a company called affordable cleaner.
good luck with it :) :)
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Try local Drama groups, they often have pro's in their groups
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there is a land line mike, i didn't cut and paste the bottom of the letter, yeah should of put full name and MD, we live an learn.
cheer robert we have a drama group near us, not sure if theyve got carpets to barter against but like mike says, nothing ventured nothing gained.
derek west MD ;D
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Derek
As you know from another forum i went through this process a few months ago.
The best quote i got was from a bloke, who my sons know, he does vids for weddings, etc and also promo vids for his daytime job company.
He quoted £340.00
Hope this helps
Regards
Daryl
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Think if you get it done for around 500 your doing good ???
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cheers daryl
did you get it done?
certainly have a nosey in that direction if the colleges don't deliver.
£340 is well in budget, i can mass produce them myself so once its done its done.
derek
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Derek
No not yet , need other things first
Daryl
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Thats a good idea Derek,let us know how you get on.
Ryan
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Hiya
Why dont you have a go at doing it yourself? Buy a camcorder for £200 or £300. You should get editing software with the camcorder and failing that just use Windows movie maker to do it (free with windows xp). The software is quite easy to use and you could do your own professional dvd for a lot less than paying someone else to do it and youll have a camcorder to keep in to the bargain.
John
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john
You could be right on that one :)
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Derek , you dont normally bother to reply but Ive had an e-mail back off a friend on this subject , he may be able to help , would you like me to pursue and get him to ring you ?
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sorry you feel like that ricky, i shall make more an effort next time.
yeah i'm interested but see how the college stuff goes first, i'll ring ya if i get no joy in that department. its something i definately want to do, i feel you can send a 1000 letters to comercial clients and most will go in the bin but with a dvd, curiosity along with boredom might get the better of them and they'll watch it while munching on there cheese and pickle sandwich's. ;D
i'm off to clean a suite now, an old dear so lots of brews and interesting stories i hope.
derek
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Cheers Clinton
The reason I am in to it at the moment is that I have just purchased a camcorder and am about to open my own youtube channel (nowt to do with carpet cleaning). Using it is a breeze and can do really pro looking videos with the software provided so paying a firm £500+ to do it seems a lot of money to me.
Ive just bought a Sony DCR-SR75E 60GB HDD Camcorder for £320 and its a lovely piece of kit. No tapes to mess with it all gets recorded on to built in hard disk drive. Easy uploadable to pc for editing via usb. It could not be easier!
John
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It would be a hell of a lot cheaper to do it Johns way, then send the video as an attachment via email. Any prospective customer has the media at his/her finger tips and doesn't have to set up the DVD player to watch your promotional film...
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Good thoughts Colin but I think providing a link to say your youtube channel and that way people wouldnt have a big file to have to download first.
You could even create DVDs and send them out to corporate companies. It is surprising how professional you can make them look with software these days
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Absolutely right John, I have seen it done by an American firm, very simple film of a rug being cleaned! It looked impressive!
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John
Sounds good you will have to post a link or let me know on my facebook :)
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One thing I wouldsay about Derek he is full of enthusasim and a real trier.
Perhaps marketsare a good training ground to give you grit a determination.
Early Morning Starts, rain and having the privates frozen off.
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And shouting loudly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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ian
i'll take that as a compliment but i think if you guys think back to when you first started out, you might just see the same person.
the good thing about being new to the business is you think more like a customer than a carpet cleaner, something that your stripped of as time goes by.
and i must admit, the more i learn about the industry, the more i advertise like a carpet cleaner instead of a customer.
i think my next advert will be designed by my next friendly customer. now theres a thought.
the markets have given me confidence in dealing with people on a one to one basis. believe it or not i was quite a shy person 15 years ago and still retain some of that shyness now. in the business i was in, 50% was dealing with second hand goods and buying from customers on the stall so i also learnt how to haggle. i also learnt how to keep warm in winter, i certainly don't miss that bit, but i do miss the banter. if tesco and asda go bust, i'd go back cos its a fantastic life but retail at the moment has been crushed by these greedy giants and they won't stop till there selling everything. including carpet cleaning.
derek
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Somerfield already sell Carpet Cleaning Derek, as do B&Q and Morrissons.... It's in the disguise of the dreaded "Rug Doctor", but who feels threatened by that...? I point and laugh at the little machine every time and my wife even stopped me half way through making comments, when a sales rep was telling a customer they can perform the work of a professional!
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i know they do colin but i meant selling a service like they do insurance and stuff like that, there all ready selling houses, it won't be long before you can pop down to asda and buy your groceries and then book a plumber to fix your leaky tap, or an electrician to fit your new lights that youve just bought from the same place.
derek
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Nothing would surprise me Derek, they'll be selling suicide kits and coffins next them c**ts!
I was working at a dairy farm the other day and they guy's thinking that next year he'll be looking for a new business because of all the supermarkets and their demands are making it so difficult with the price war on milk!
Of course, I told him carpets cleaning is a poo business ;D
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Next they will be selling high quality meat and veg cheaper than your local butcher and Greengrocer. :D
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Mike ;D