[ianharper]

Hi Guys

Who is going to alltec meet this week?

Great idea. These maintenance plans work really well. the biggest benefit is that it gets prospects to spend more that they would if they paid cash.

respect

Ian Harper

[Shaun_Ashmore]

but I like cash!

Actually the MP's are brilliant but I get calls all year round so it would make a difference to me to sell a free clean in with it but as a new starter or someone in between where I am and many otheres in the same boat they are a great way of 'fast tracking' your business.

Shaun

[Neil Williams]

I only have one of these MP's in place on a commercial property.
One hours worth of spot cleaning on the last Friday of each month with a full clean (1.5 days worth) over the Christmas period. Really makes that full clean a lot easier. But I don't know if I'd want to fill my books with this sort of thing.

[Ian Gourlay]

Ian,

Mt problem eith Maintence Plans is that I am worried in the wrong hands they will get Carpet Cleaning a bad reputation.

You get people with no long track record selling them.

How they know that they will be here in a years time.

I hope you do not mind me saying but I think you said you had had several goes at making carpet cleaning work over the years,

If I mis read somehing I apoligise in advance.

[ianharper]

Ian

if things did not work out for someone then its this type of thing like your database that you can sell to other carpet cleaners. as you know its this that adds real value to your business.

equipment and vans are assets that devalue over time but customers add value over time.

But all this is not good if you don't charge good rates, do a good job, and speak to your old customers regualy. but I am sure you know all this.

One of the biggest reasons that people fail (and i should know) is that they don't have regular work to pay the bills each month when work slows. I always advised getting contract work to cover this but MP's are better as they will pay you more than you can get for contract work. offices pubs etc.

you should don't worry about what others do, as the bad cleaners just show prospects that you get what you pay for.

anyway are you going? I just hope that alltec don't want a king's ransom for this JV. its a great example that as a group you can do more. who whould be able on their own to able to pay her the money that she will be asking to do this.

Respect

ian harper

[Liahona]

If I remeber correctly are the m/p where you get paid monthly, clean twice a year, one being for free?  If this is the case then each job is half price.  Is it worth dropping your prices by 50% to have a cash flow?  A lot of clients of mine I clean twice a year but accordingly I charge twice too.

Best, Dave.

[Mike Osbourne]

Dave

I think it's more than cash flow. It's a job booked in for next year. Sure with your Clientele you can probably do that anyway but the plan helps keep a client from straying who will be approached by many CC a year.

They can be booked in at slow times of the year and yes, you can collect interest on money you haven't earned yet.

It's not essential to do a free clean, just do enough to entice them on board, whatever that might be. Over the lifetime of a good Client a free clean/MP might seem a cheap way of getting and keeping them.

[Ian Gourlay]

In theory the client only pays you half when you do first clean and the rest plus the price of half next clean over a year , so in theory client always owes you .

[Liahona]

Mike, but my point is, is it worth doing a job at half price to keep the customer.   To me thats an expensive way to keep them.

Charge them full price, then monthly installments to equal the same amount over a year and then it can be ongoing.  That would be worth it.  But the idea of a free clean at 6 months to me is just suicidal.

Best, Dave.

[PaulKing]

A window company does buy the frount get the back free one month and then buy upstairs and get downsatirs free the next.

Maybe just my gut feeling but they were the ones that i did'nt ring wen it was window time as though the whole thing was just a little bit to complex/ slightly dodgy.

It maybe the greatest thing since sliced bread, definatly a good move getting a celbrity with a cleaning fetish. And totaly what this industry needs, imagine if the NCCA did it not for profit and had tv ads for carpet cleaning with always use a NCCA cleaner, I be banging on the door to join even if it was a £1000 a year.

I'm just very cautiouse of joining a network like this as we have one major local paper The Journal up here that Lionheart reads 50 miles north of me, my brother reads 50 miles south of me in yarm in Tesside and I can buy every morning in Brampton 70 miles west of me ( there nothing east of me just fish and ships and lots of wet) 
That's a very large coverage area, so to get a story in there about carpet cleaning would be treading on the toes of how many other francisees?they won't do the same story twice in a shorth period.

Admitedly they would run two or more ads no problem but would you like you new shiny ad, with this great new idea,  to be alongside another new shiny ad with the same great new idea what would be your USP? 

I know "down south" you may not have this problem, but I think it a good example of the north south differances that we have.

At the minute I'm sticking with promot your own brand, maybe it'll work maybe it won't