[Phil @ Extreme Clean]

Hi all, you all know by now that i only use Dry Fusion which is good for large commercial could you give me any advice on how to approach or who to approach and how you find large office areas etc or who to contact with regards to me subbying off them. I don't mind travelling out of town for larger size work i just need help on how to gain regular contract work i'm sick of just plodding on with limited funds so i can't spend £££££ on advertising, My website is a free one and i go in my local gazette now and then. This will be my 3rd year of plodding on not a single job in the book i just want to be working everyday i thought maybe stupidly it would be easy aslong as i have the gear to do the job but i think the work is the easy bit and getting it is the hardest. If i could earn £100 profit a day i'd be more than happy i know alot of you want alot more but i would be comfortable with that i'm thinking of keeping going till march and see were i'm at then just can't keep thinking it will come good in the end when maybe it wont 

[davep]

Try offering a free clean demo

Take price list off site so you get more calls

[Phil @ Extreme Clean]

I've offered free demos before no takes it up

[*Hector*]

It's a numbers and repetition game mate..

Go round to all the offices time and time again, keep offering a free demo. If they say no, then go back in 4-6 months and try again..

Go to every office you can find...

and more than anything else... keep doing it, especially on the days you have no work...

[derek west]

with your setup you should be knocking on commercial doors, learning the art of commercial quoting and talking them into have there carpets maintained, lot of knock backs (and i mean a lot of knock backs) but if you aint got the kitty to dip into then needs must.

ps, i couldn't do it but lots do.

[Simon Gerrard]

Phil,
Not sure what you mean by 'large commercial?' I think you'll find most professional carpet cleaners have a wide mix of different sizes of jobs and I think it is that 'mix' that you should be setting your sights on. I know I've said this to you before, but just having the DF system and nothing else is the thing that is holding you back, simply because its applications are limited and while you might try to use it in every circumstance, (because you have no other choice) the results won't be worthy of customer loyalty and that IMO is your second problem because what you are describing, having work everyday, is the result of of good business building, which in turn is based totally on quality.

Simon

[jim mca]

Phil

Have you done any sales or marketing cources or any commercial carpet cleaning training other than DF
and why do you only use dry fusion

Jim

[Phil @ Extreme Clean]

Its all I've ever used jim was helpin a mate then went my own way after buyin a setup from him

[jim mca]

Phil

  I have been in this business about the same time as you and have read most of your posts and the replys you have had
most have been very good advice like the post on this thread from simon you need to invest to get on in my first year I
worked in a factory 3 to 4 days a week and for myself the rest of the week after a year I changed to 1 day per week this
allowed me to invest what I made. My advice to you is to do the same get some training on hwe and a machine contact
business gateway and do a sales and marketing cource look at other companys websites and get ideas how to improve
yours I am not knocking dry fusion and am thinking of getting one this year and pushing commercial 
hope this helps
Jim

[Max Campbell]

I started from nothing - borrowing a machine part time. Gradually getting jobs on however I could, but mostly domestic. Bought a second hand machine from earnings, then upgraded to a new one after a few years. 20 years on we went through the VAT barrier and now run 2 truck mounts. Never borrowed money.

I'd repeat some of the advice
- Don't stick just to Dry Fusion - borrow or buy a cheap extraction porty
- Don't just go after commercials
- Spend all the time you're not working doing something towards getting jobs on (walking out leaflets; knocking on doors; finding cheap parish mags to advertise in)
- Put quality first - or rather what your customers will perceive as quality

And I'd say get another income stream - although I'm sure many will disagree - it was not having to rely on CC profits in the early days that allowed me to grow it.

[guyzenas]

Hi

Sounds to me like funds are tight and we can all appreciate that, I started cc  about fifteen years ago and had a fairly stable domestic business and more or less worked every day often all day. sold the portable bought the t/m and my earnings steadily increased - but truthfully I was bored working on my own and the marketing seemed relatively easy as the work was coming in,  so I started another business which immediately earn't me a lot more so I lost interest in the cc and concentrated on my other business (i did hold on to a few contracts and domestic customers ) but kept all my equipment - just in case.
Well, six months ago the other business  went pear shaped, so I thought no problem, I'll just take things a bit easier and return to cc - WOW it is tough out there! In my area it seems there are so many more cc's so much more wood flooring and all the other changes in the last 7 years that have made this a much more difficult business to run, personally I think first base is build a domestic business, better cash flow, feels less speculative and to do that I would sell/swap that df machine for a hwe machine (assuming funds are tight) and get leafleting and if by July (you should be bombing along by then) it is still not happening for you find a job in a factory work shifts, and do cc on your days off.

Best of luck - Paul

[clinton]

Some good posts for you above phill.

Seems your waiting for your business to take off and have been waiting a while.

Do you think things will get better

Thought you had got yourself a hwe machine a while ago.

Its always good to have a choice to clean a carpet for your clients rather than just a df machine.

I do use my df in some domestic situations and also for my commercial work that i have.

good luck

[Craigp]

I think the lack of activity in the housing market has had an impact on this industry.

[Mike Halliday]

I would contact all the contract cleaners & facilities management companies in your area and ask them if they clean the carpets in the buildings they do the general cleaning or do they subcontract it.

Tell them you can offer an affordable alternative, offer to  be thier ' carpet cleaning expert ' always on call to handle the jobs thier semiskilled staff can't cope with.

I honestly believe people fail because they sit In the house not doing anything because they tell themselves that won't work no matter what marketing ideas  they read or hear about they just have the negative view of..... that won't work.   i could list 20 marketing ideas that work (some not too well & some brilliantly) but they only work if you do them.

Here's 1 idea.... Delete your membership to this forum, commit to spending the 90 mins every day you spend reading the mostly chit chat on here to searching google for business that have carpets and send them emails Or if they don.t have an email address showing use thier contact page, have the text typed out in MS word and just cut & paste into the box.

I bet you can do 20 an hour that's 30 a day. Commit to Doing this for a month

[Phil @ Extreme Clean]

Thanks for all the advice guys i will take on board and Clinton i did aquire a scorpion but i didnt get into using it so sold it the funds helped at the time allthough i wish i had it now. I even added guttering to my setup made the money back what i spent on setting up but thats more seasonal work, My aim is to aquire a cheap but decent Porty then i will have a good setup i could use the DF to agitate with brush then HWE then dry pad with heat that to me is a good clean the only problem is people are not willing to pay much i have struggled at £20 a room for DF people just don't have the money or would rather spend on other things  

[Mike Halliday]

  i have struggled at £20 a room for DF people just don't have the money or would rather spend on other things  

 I get treble that on crap benifit ridden council estates, it's not people who are your problem it's you believing people won't pay £20 per room, let's be honest you are the reason you are failing not the equipment you own, unless you have a serious attitude change you will be gone in 6 months

[*Hector*]

that is very harsh Mike..............

But true...

I only LM and must say mate, I work the hours and days that I choose..

I used to charge £20 a room and struggled to get business... When I upped the price to £50 per room I got loads of enquiries.. and work, and it is not about the selling... I have mentioned on here before I hate sales work....

Market your DF as a specialist clean as I do... emphasise the fact that you do NOT pour gallons of water into the carpet as they TM and HWE people do... and the fact that the carpets are dry within hours and not days..

As Mike said the price factor is in YOUR mind and not the customers...

Try it.... what have you got to lose??

[Craigp]

Hector, I thought you was a cheap jack, are you saying you seen the error of your ways and are charging more now?

[*Hector*]

Yes mate.....

I was struggling to make ends meet at the low prices.... Tried upping the price and hey presto work again...

[davep]

Like I said earlier take prices off site too