WCBO Issue #7

All County Window Cleaning The BlUePrinTS TO all COUnTy WinDOW CleaninG’S SUCCeSS

The Interview

with Chris and Alex Lambrinides pg 06

Direct Mail success

The Guide to Direct Mail Success pg 32

It’s Time to Think Outside the Bucket.

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#04:42 Chris> Morning everyone. #04:51 Chris> Just wanted to let everyone know that we have a new FREE Direct Mail Manual out. #05:00 Bob> That’s awesome! #05:01 Kevin> Cool! #05:13 Chris> Also we have a few new mailers for you guys only. Will never be sale in the store. They’re available now.

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07

Features Front

Resolving Customer Complaints thE Good, thE BAd And thE uGly Information is based on the happenings at All County Window Cleaning unless otherwise specified

Inside

Back

An EstimAtEd

39 thousAnd Window cleaning complaints were recorded across the U.S. in 2010 according to the BBB.

06. The Interview

20. Resolving Customer

most Common CustomER ComplAint stREAky WindoWs

The Interview

12. How to Sign Storefront Accounts

40. GPS Systems in

Complaints

The most common this year were streaky windows because the guys were detailing windows with a damp cloth so the customer would end up seeing smudges or streaks around the borders of the windows. If a customer tells us they have any problem we will always send a crew back to touchup. That’s part of our 100% satisfaction guarantee.

the Work Place

most outRAGEous CustomER ComplAint tuRtlE thEft A customer accused our crew of stealing her kid’s turtle.

Not a stuffed one an actual live turtle that was in an aquarium. My family has a pet turtle too and the same kind that the customer was missing. I knew that ours has jumped out of the tank a couple times and hid in various places in our house sometimes taking us a whole day to find it.

So, I explained this to the customer and she said she’d go look for it but I could tell she didn’t believe me at all. This ended with her never calling us back about it and we just cleaned her windows again this year with nothing more said about the turtle. I think she was embarrassed by it.

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November - December 2011

Complaints

28. A Day on the Job

42. The Final Push

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

40

November - December 2011

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

WWW.WINDOWCLEANINGBUSINESSOWNER.COM

06 10 12 14 15 17

The Interview Time line How to Sign Storefront Accounts The Pricing Structure Getting Ready for the Slow Down Morning Madness

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

18 20 22 27 28

Photoshop 101 Resolving Customer Complaints How to Sell Over the Phone Google Apps A Day on the Job

30 32 38 40 42

AR Techniques Direct Mail Success How I Roll GPS Systems in the Work Place The Final Push

November -December 2011

05

The Interview

The night before the interview, I went over my notes to make sure I got the most out of the little time I had with them. The next morning, I woke up and went down to my favorite coffee shop, laid out my notes and downed a cup of coffee to wake me up. I was ready to ask them not only the standard questions about what we would all like to know, but the obscure ones as well.

When I called in at the scheduled time, I was told by whoever answered the phone that Alex was available, but Chris wasn’t able to join in on the interview because he was sick. The first reaction, in my mind was, “Are you kidding me? Who the does this guy think he is to blow me off? My time is just a valuable as his.

How sick is this guy that he can’t talk on the phone for an hour?” Yeah, I was pissed! In hindsight, however, it was the best scenario. The guys talked to me openly because the other one wasn’t there to poke them or make a stupid face if they said something that might be out of line. I got an honest interview from both of them.

So sit back, relax, and get ready for a journey into the background, the pitfalls, the triumphs, and the tears of Chris and Alex.

Chris was like many young people; he wanted money and the finer things in life, but he had one problem: he didn’t like anyone telling him what to do. He had a self-described ADHD problem and, consequently, was someone who couldn’t get the task at hand accomplished. He was always looking out the window to see if the grass was greener.

One day while working at a printing company, he decided he wanted to make a little extra cash on the side, and thought he would clean windows. It looked easy and he could be his own boss for the weekend. He started off by going to work for another window cleaner to learn the trade. But that didn’t last long …. he was awful! He was fired for being too slow. He knew that he wasn’t the best employee and that he would have to try and do it on his own. He managed to scrape together $90 and purchased some tools at Home Depot. Then he printed up fliers that had his phone number on them.

As a regular contributor to this magazine, I often find myself watching my squeegee gliding across the glass, thinking about what my next topic to write about in an upcoming issue will be. Then, one warm sunny day on top of the ladder, it came to me: why not write an article about the people behind the magazine?

When the day came to a close, I hurried home and emailed the idea to Stephanie. I knew that Chris and Alex weren’t really the self-righteous kind of guys that would blow their own horn, and I fully expected them to reject the idea. But the next day I received an email from Chris saying that he and Alex would be happy to interview with me. I was excited about the idea; I have interviewed people for articles before, but being able to interview someone that I respected and looked up to was going to be even better! The anticipation was intense.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

But with a lot of pavement pounding and a little begging, he managed to get a few jobs. When things really started to pick up, he had his little brother Alex help him out. Alex was only sixteen at the time, but he was down for making some money, so he helped Chris.

About halfway into his first job, he was having second thoughts, and by the end of the job, he was in tears.

But after a few more jobs, Alex started to like cleaning windows. He wasn’t in love with the idea of working for his big brother, but he made the best of it.

Chris figured out early on that, if he wanted to grow, he was going to have to put down the squeegee and dedicate all of his time to marketing. They hired someone to help Alex in the field and Chris dedicated his

November - December 2011

07

efforts to growing the business. I asked both of the guys what their motivation was, especially in light of the fact that they both hated working hard, and they both told me it was the fear of poverty. It wasn’t that they wanted to be rich, as much as they just didn’t want to be broke. After only two years they had two crews out working daily and five crews after only three years!

Now Chris and Alex had crews on the road and people on staff to run the office. Life was good at All County Window Cleaning, so with the extra time they had on their hands, they found themselves at a supplier demonstration to look at new products.

They walked out of the supplier demo, looked at each other and said, “That sucked! We could do so much better!”

The guys sat down that night and came up with a strategy. They would market on the Internet, use the 14’ x 17’ room (that is now Alex’s office) as a stockroom and provide better service than anyone else in the industry. Chris researched everything he could about setting up forums and learning how to use HTML. Once he felt that he had a good basic knowledge, he looked at other websites to gain inspiration. His number one inspiration was Nike.

One thing I was able to conclude from the interviews was that these guys were intelligent. They knew the shortest distance between two points was a straight line and the line they chose was from zero to success via everyone that had come before them. (Unclear – clarify meaning) They didn’t want to reinvent the mouse trap; they wanted to build one out of titanium that was big enough to catch an elephant..

Chris had made great strides on building a website and was ready to start selling product, but there was still one problem; they still weren’t anything but a couple of brothers who had a window cleaning business and high ambitions for success. Why would manufacturers sell to them and risk losing other long-time suppliers? They were going to have to come up with some great story to prove to Unger, IPC and Ettore that they had their stuff together.

I have a close friend that thought the tomatoes at Trader Joe’s were inferior and the ones that he was growing in his five gallon pails in his back yard were much better. He went to the buyer at Trader Joe’s, gave him a bag full of his tomatoes, and told him to try them out. They buyer loved them and asked him how many he could supply for next season.

He told the buyer that he had acres and acres of the tomatoes and could give them all they wanted. He drove home from the meeting totally excited, but nervous, as he had lied to him. He had ten five-gallon buckets on his back porch and that was it.

He scrambled to find someone who would let them use their land to plant tomatoes. He eventually found someone who would lease him the land and he was able to pull off the deal with Trader Joe’s and is now their biggest vegetable supplier.

08

Chris and Alex had a similar story. They had to build

November - December 2011

Freedom of the press is only guaranteed to those who own it. a forum that a large number of window cleaners came to and convince the manufacturers that all the window cleaners on their forum were potential customers. Much like my friend, they were able to pull it off and get the suppliers to sell to them. Now they are the best window cleaning supplier in the world.

Chris and Alex were sitting down one night reading a trade magazine and like a bad case of déjà vu they looked at each other and said, “This sucks! We could do it better.” So here we go again. These guys know almost nothing about putting together a magazine, except for Chris’ short-lived career in the printing business. What makes them think that they could do it better than the guys who have been doing it for years? Well, first off, they hated the fact that the one that they were reading had a few marginal articles and the rest of the magazine was ads. They decided to do just the opposite.

They wanted to fill most of the magazine with great articles and have a limited number of ads. The guys only had a couple of problems; they didn’t know how to put together a magazine, they didn’t have writers, and who the hell would pay them for ad space in a magazine that nobody has ever heard of?

Chris once read a quote that reads as follows: “Freedom of the press is only guaranteed to those who own it.” Once again, Chris went back to his computer and started working on resolutions. He asked people on the forum to write articles and got an overwhelming response from guys like me who liked to write and had some knowledge to share. He put an ad on Craigslist for a graphic designer and hit gold with Stephanie.

Stephanie came from CBS Outdoor and had the experience to put together the magazine. Who could have seen that coming?

It seems everything these guys touch turn to gold. Maybe they should try running the Treasury Department next?

One of the main reasons why Chris and Alex wanted to start another trade association is to have everyone in the association engaged in the association and not merely just a member, as, your affiliation with a trade association means very little to your customers. Conversely, joining an association should benefit you, the business owner.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

What intrigues me about these guys is that they have been able to not only achieve their goals with such accolades, but also that they were able to diversify those achievements in so many arenas.

Chris and Alex quickly moved forward towards creating the WCRA to give members back more than what they put into it. Chris told me that he thinks the only reason why other associations in our industry exist is more to benefit those running the association than the members themselves, and he felt compelled to once again, do it better than anyone else, and has since turned it into a huge success.

I had two reasons for wanting to write this article about Chris and Alex. The first of which was out of pure frustration. ACWC is one of the most successful window cleaning businesses in the country, yet they never really share the keys to their success on the forum. If you look at their posts on the forum, it’s always nondescript one-liners without elaboration. I thought maybe if I got some one- on-one quality time with them I could dig into those brains and gain some insight on their success.

The second reason for interviewing them was for research. I have studied successful people for years. The things

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

that all of the successful self-made people are things like; fear of poverty, starting with nothing, the drive to do things better than anyone else, constantly setting higher goals and giving back once they have achieved those goals. These are all qualities that Chris and Alex possess. But what intrigues me about these guys is that they have been able to not only achieve their goals with such accolades, but also that they were able to diversify those achievements in so many arenas. Their achievements range from supplier to end user and publisher to founders of a trade association all in a relatively short time.

So what is their key to success? It’s simple; they strive to be the best at whatever they don’t and won’t sleep until they do. Once they have met those goals, they set new ones and move on. It’s no wonder why they don’t say much - they don’t need to.

November - December 2011

09

From the Beginning Summer of ‘99

I cleaned a window professionally for the very first time at Burger King in New Jersey with a guy named Karl. He had just gotten a dwi and I was hired as his driver and helper. I remember being shocked that people paid so much money to have their windows cleaned. We worked together for about a month before I was let go for working to slow.

9 Months Later

9 Months into our lease we were out of space and needed to move out in order to keep the growth going. We were up to 5 trucks at this point and we needed a new place to park them. I found the perfect location about 30 minutes away but the rent was 7 times as much as we were currently paying. It was a scary move but it ended up working out. It turns out the office was 30 minutes closer to the town were most of our work comes from so what we lost in rent expense was made up in labor cost savings of having to drive out to that town anyway.

On my Own Our First Office

After 3 months of unemployment, I decided to give window cleaning a try on my own. I purchased a used ladder, a squeegee and belt set up and I was in business. 100 fliers were printed up and I hit the streets, by the time I got home from putting them out there was a message on my answering machine from someone requesting a quote. I made enough money in the last 2 months of the year to enable me to take the entire winter off from work. I could not have been happier it seemed like such easy money.

By 2002 we had 3 trucks and 4 – 5 employees, I decided to move the business out of my basement and into a little office in town. It was a big financial risk at the time because it was all this new overhead expense that we never had before. It ended up being the best move I ever made though. It made the business seem much more real to me and things began to really take off. Because the business was in the middle of town we started to attract higher quality job applicants and we gained much business from the increased visibility.

Last Year of School Y2K Never Happened

So I went back at it in April just in time for the spring season. I was only working 2 -3 days a week while going to school full time. Alex started working for me on his summer break; he was the first employee.

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November - December 2011

College was finishing up in the spring of 2001, I didn’t want to get a real job so I decided to start doing the window cleaning business full time. It quickly turned into a full time job. www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

2003 - 2006

Today 2011 the growth continues - for both companies. Although ACWC isn’t growing at the speed it once did it continues to see improvements and revenue gains over the prior year. Today I still continue to refine our systems, add new services to the company, and concentrate on its marketing.

We are excited to see what the future brings.

We saw amazing growth, we had our first million-dollar year, reached the 50-employee mark, signed over a thousand commercial accounts to our routes, and hired our first CFO. Bringing someone on internally to take over the finances was one of the best moves the company ever made, I could finally concentrate on growing the business instead of balancing the check book. We switched over to commission pay during this period and it brought a new level of order and financial stability the company had never seen before.

Summer of ‘07

In the summer of 2007 we purchased our very own warehouse and office space in Vernon the town where the company started. I was excited to actually own our own building but we filled it up and maxed out the space much quicker than I anticipated.

Later that Year

Later that year we launched WCR. Over 400 people signed up at Window Cleaning Resource in the first 12 hours. I knew instantly it was going to be big. Up until this point Alex and I had been working together for about 8 years straight, but over the next 3 years we really started to see a lot of each other as we really focused on making WCR the best website in the world for professional window cleaners. www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

After 10 Years

After 10 years of working at All County Window Cleaning Alex leaves to concentrate full time on WCR. By 2010 three years after launch Window Cleaning Resource becomes the top destinations to purchase window cleaning supplies and gain information and motivation.

November - December 2011

11

How to Sign Storefront Accounts with Sales Manager Sean Dolan

WCBO: How do you contact potential store front accounts? Do you walk right in or give them a call?

Sean: I feel the best way to contact a store front account is the walk-in. Store fronts is a numbers game, the more you hit the more you will get. Plus it is much harder to make that immediate impression on someone over the phone and they will have a much easier time turning you away over the phone.

There isn’t that human contact where they actually see you and you have to react to one another physically. If I’m looking to pick up new storefront accounts, I’m out on the streets stepping into one after the other and on to the next plaza.

WCBO: Who do you try and contact to land a store front account and how long does it normally take to reach that person?

Sean: The owner is usually the best bet. They are going to be the decision maker on where that businesses money is spent.

There are occasions where a store manager will have a decision making capacity. I always try to talk to a manager if not the owner. Usually you can reach them instantly. If the owner isn’t in there has to be someone running the place.

WCBO: What information do you provide up front and how is it presented?

Sean: I have a spiel I use. It changes from day to day and from store to store. There are different ways to talk to different people. It really is a reactionary thing based on that individual person. Mainly though I just let them know about our com-

12

November - December 2011

pany, what we do and that I’m interested in providing them with our services. The end goal is to always, at the very least, leave them with all of our company information, a quote and to gather their contact information.

WCBO: How do you bid a store front account?

Sean: Storefront bidding is fairly easy, usually only takes one quick glance. My main concern is how long it will take one of our window cleaners to complete one interior & exterior cleaning. That price usually is our starting point for our most frequent of services and the price goes up accordingly as the services become less frequent.

WCBO: What happens if it’s a corporate account, then what do you do and who do you contact? Is it worth pursuing, and how long does it normally take to land something corporate?

Sean: Anything worth doing is worth pursuing. These can just take a little more time and effort. There are more holes to jump through to get to your decision maker. You are mainly looking to get in touch with a district manager who would be in charge of all the stores in a given area. Best bet is to start at the store level with the store manager. Some have no problem putting you right in touch with the right person and some may just pass your information along. Like I said, it takes more time but it usually ends up being worth the effort because you are almost always guaranteed more than one store for your time.

WCBO: Is it a contract type deal for a set amount of time when everything does fall into place?

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

Sean: We don’t actually use any contracts when setting up new storefront accounts. Most small business owners like hearing that and it works as a selling point. They don’t feel like they are stuck and some will be more willing to use our service. Things happen and people need to make budget cuts, we understand that and most of the time window cleaning is the first thing to go. That’s not to say we never enter into contracts because we do and currently are. It is usually with corporate accounts that this route is taken and they typically are for one year’s time and then the contract goes back out to bid.

WCBO: For a typical store front account, how long does it take from start to finish for everything to go through?

Sean: Every store is different. I have signed new accounts and not spent more than 5 minutes with the owner, in and out, quick and painless. They had a need and I was there at just the right time. Others have taken weeks or months.

WCBO: What types of hiccups might you encounter if any?

Sean: The most typical response will be, “I already have a window cleaning service.” Then you just have to work around that. Tell them our estimate is free and there is no harm in knowing what another company would charge them. Most people can understand that and hopefully once they see your price they are interested in talking about your service further. That’s when you have to sell them on switching to you.

WCBO: Are the places that you’ve been trying to get for a long period of time (months, years) that just keep saying no? If so how do you change your approach each time you go, alter price, free cleaning, etc?

Sean: Sure there have been places that I have been trying to get into for years. It can be very frustrating. Most of the time we are losing out on these because of price so the best approach is to reevaluate the last price offered and try to come with a better offer.

Of course it still needs to be profitable for us. I would never take new account just to increase account volume.

Sean: Not many to be honest. If I had to pick one, I’d say the only common hiccup would be someone else coming in a short time after me and offering a lower price and the customer calling to ask what we could do about it. Normally I ask for the quote with the lower price. If it is reasonable we can do a price match. Sometimes though it is too low and not worth keeping the account for that price, so we say goodbye.

WCBO: What types of responses do you normally receive?

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

November - December 2011

13

Pricing Structure

By Chris Lambrinides

Seasonal Flux – Supply and demand I didn’t really catch on to the fact that I could charge way more during busy seasons then I could during slow ones. Some time around the year 2003, I became very aware of the amazing ways you can manipulate supply and demand. It’s pretty simple:

The 20-Window Special In late 2000, I invented the 20-Window Special that is used across the country today.

Phone Estimates It took me about a week of being in business to realize that it would be crazy to estimate a residential cleaning job any other way then over the phone. Commercial and storefront we will always go look at personally, but residential gets handled over the phone. Roof cleaning, windows, gutters, and pressure washing can all be systemized to be bid very accurately without ever seeing it in person.

It’s getting even easier these days with the advent of better satellite mapping technology. Our call center sales people all always keep Bing maps open in a browser tab for quick viewing.

I originally headed down this phone estimate path with the thought of: would I rather spend one or two days a week looking at jobs for free, or would I rather be cleaning glass and actually making money? Don’t think it can’t be done until you have tried it our way.

Download a free copy of our phone scripts right here: http://bit.ly/rUu1Ss

For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, it works just like it sounds. Set a price for twenty standard two-pane windows to be cleaned; we started with a price of $149.

We now charge around $199 - $219 today depending on season.

I remember it well: I had been in business for just about a month, and I was looking for a quick and easy way to estimate jobs over the phone - this was the easiest thing I could think of. Most homes that I was targeting at the time had about twenty-five windows, so I thought this would be a nice, easy way to quickly give a customer the idea of how much it would cost to get their home done. It worked like a charm right off the bat; the moment we introduced it on our fliers, the calls started flooding in. I think it works so well because it’s so easy for potential customers to understand. Everyone thinks they have about twenty windows, so they see that price and realize they can get basically all the windows in their home cleaned for around two hundred bucks.

As time went on and I got savvier about targeting homes with more windows, we still kept the 20-Window Special because it worked so well. One of the beautiful things about it is that any extra windows they had cleaned would be at our normal price of $15 - $22 a window depending on the season.

So the special gets you in the door, but you make the real money from all the other windows. Occasionally someone will demand two 20-Window Specials to cover their 40 + windows. Depending on the customer and time of year, we usually honor that request.

14

November - December 2011

Jan, Feb, March – Low or normal pricing, $15 a window – Low demand April, May, June, July - Our highest prices of the year, $22 a window – Very high demand August, September – Our lowest prices of the year, $10 – $12 a window – Low demand. We bring our prices down very low and make almost no profit in August and September. The main reason for this is to keep the staff busy and working, and to keep the cash flow moving.

October, November, December – Prices aren’t quite as high as they were in the spring, but they are nowhere near as low as they were in the summer.

Allowing for flux in your prices like this ensures you can always get top dollar yearround. Play around with your pricing a little bit, and you will be surprised at what you can get, especially in busy seasons. If you find yourself booked out more than two weeks, this is the perfect time to experiment.

A practice that we started a couple of years ago that has worked well is scheduling the customer around what they want to pay. For example, if a customer calls during the busy season and thinks the price is way too high, you can offer to schedule them in a slower time of year. For us it’s August, but it may be different for your area.

On a daily, weekly, and monthly basis I keep a close eye on our booking ratio. The number of people that have called in for an estimate VS the amount of people scheduled. For us, 90% is the magic number. If I see that our booking ratio is starting to vary from that, I know it’s time to start adjusting prices. If I see our booking ratio climb above 90%, it’s a clear sign for me our prices are too low and we will do a dollar or two per window increase the next day. What’s your magic number?

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

Every year All County goes through a slow. rough patch. Being on the East coast, we get hit with some of the worst winters out there and frankly our customers are too busy shoveling to want to have their windows cleaned. We also put gutter cleaning and power washing on hold until warmer weather as it’s unsafe for our employees, customers and machines. In preparation for the slow down that occurs over these 3 months, two of our main departments get the brunt of the work. We were able to catch them during this crazy time to find out how they prepare.

how do you prepare?

The Sales Department prepares by:

Get all outbound calls done and, the final round of specials out there.

Clean house; get rid of everything old, tie up loose ends.

Prepare some kind of emails or mailer to let people know we are still working.

Keep a close eye on weather.

Keep customer appointments on track, deter them from cancelling or pushing dates back fur ther and risking not getting done.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

The Residential Manager prepares by:

Talk to all the techs asking what their plans are for the winter. Some just collect unemployment, some get another job, some stay working here.

Remind everyone they need to work till at least 12/24.

Buy Methanol and have safety meetings on the proper use of it.

Start making a list of what needs to be updated in the employee manual.

Start thinking about what will make next year better than this one.

November - December 2011

15

Tap water in, pure water out.

Pure water, made EZ. www.rhgproducts.com

Morning Madness Getting each crew out in the morning is not an easy task. We asked All County Window Cleaning’s very own early morning manager, Dave Bridghem, how he does it.

Getting the guys out the door each morning

well if they’re required.

WCBO: About what time does everybody start arriving?

Dave: I’d say people start getting there around 5:25 am.

WCBO: What’s your position?

Dave: Early Morning Manager WCBO: What do you love about your job?

Dave: The hours, I only work until 9 am whenever I’m in. I live really close to work which is nice and of course the people I work with are pretty cool.

WCBO: How often are people late?

Dave: Every day. In most cases it’s 3-5 minutes, but every other week I get a really late arrival or a no show. When people are late I just question them on why. Depending on their response, whether it be speed, reason or attitude I may have to let them know my view on timeliness. From there it gets reported to Don and he takes it over.

WCBO: What do you hate about your job?

WCBO: Do you ever give the guys new policies or procedures to sign?

Dave: Waking up early, but luckily the feeling goes away after 30 minutes.

Dave: Yes. From time to time I’m asked to have the crews read and sign papers.

WCBO: What time do you get in, in the morning?

WCBO: You’re one of the only guys that has never had a window cleaning position here. Do you feel that the guys respect you even though you’ve never been in their shoes?

Dave: About 5.

WCBO: Yeah, that is pretty early. So is there anything that needs to be done to prepare for when the crews start arriving?

Dave: I think so. Me being there trying to aid in their speed and organization of their morning routine gets me the respect I need, I think.

Dave: I have to take inventory and start the towels. I make sure that all of the crews paperwork and former days truck checklists, receipts and truck keys are together. Then I start to lay out each crews day from earliest to the latest arrival time from left to right with the proper truck keys with the paperwork. I layout the time cards as

WCBO: Well, that’s cool then. We’re right in the middle of your morning routine right now and I can see that everything runs pretty smoothly. Thanks for your time today Dave.

Photoshop File Edit Image Layer Select Filter Analysis 3D View Windo Br

33.3%

Mb Auto-Select:

Show Transform Controls

Layer

101 Photoshop The essentials Ps

In the last issue.. We went over the basics.

How to identify, select and change a layer in your Layers Palette, the Type Tool and how to change the font color. From here we’ll get into placing your logo and changing some general information on the front and back of the card.

Adding your logo.. Now that you know where the

Layers Palette is and how to select a layer, it’s going to be a breeze changing out your logo.

roof-washing-card-front.psd @ 33.3% (Layer 34, RGB/8)

In all of our templates, the All County Window Cleaning logo has already been placed as a suggested guide of where to place yours. To delete that logo, make sure Auto-Select is checked like it is on our tool bar above (circled in red). Once this is checked, you’re able to click on anything that is unlocked in your project.

In order to delete the All County Window Cleaning logo, just click it and hit “Delete” on your keyboard. Yes, it’s that easy!

Changing the phone number..

T

Changing your phone number or adding/deleting text in your project is just a click away. Take your mouse and click the text in your project you’d like to change. This selects that layer.

Move over to your tool bar on the left hand side and click the Type Tool. Your mouse will turn into this:

Now just click the type you had selected with the type tool and start typing or deleting whatever you need to. When you’re done, select the move tool on your tool bar. It’s the tool on the very top of your tool bar and is usually the preset when you open Photoshop. This tool allows you to select layers and move objects around your window.

Resizing objects...

Always wonder what a quick way to manually transform or resize something is? Just make sure whatever object you’d like to resize is selected (you can double check it’s selected by seeing if it’s layer is selected in the layers palette). Once the object is selected hit “command” and then the letter “t” on your keyboard. This will set a bounding box around your object and you can you your mouse to drag and resize it however you’d like. If you’d like to keep the shape proportionate, just hold the shift key down while you drag it to its new size. This option also allows you to rotate an object. When the bounding box is around it, navigate to a corner of your object, you will see little arrows. Once those arrows appear, click, and drag to rotate. You can also transform

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November - December 2011

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ow Help Essentials

an object or text by selecting that layer navigating to “Edit” on the top tool bar and to “Transform.” This gives you other options such as Skew, Distort, Perspective and Warp. In this drop-down you can also rotate and scale the image or flip vertical or horizontal.

Adding Effects Like a Drop Shadow to Text and Objects...

Ever wonder how that drop shadow got there? For text or objects just make sure that layer is selected in your layers palette. Go to the tool bar on the top of your window, navigate to “Layer” then “Layer Style” and click “Drop Shadow.” This will open a new window which will allow you to play around with where you want your drop shadow positioned, the darkness of it and the distance from your object. Make sure that the box next to “preview” is checked so you can look at it before you set it.

How to Save Your File for Print...

Now that you’re able to edit everything in your file, you’re going to want to save it for print so you can send it to your printer or print it yourself! To save for print you can save it in 2 ways, as a jpg or as a print ready PDF. We like to save everything as a PDF so we’ll start there. Once you’ve made all of the changes you want and are happy with what you have, hit save one final time. Then go to File-Save As. Choose where you want it saved to on your computer. Then where you see “Format,” change the format to Photoshop PDF in the drop-down.

Hit Save. From there it will bring up a new window. Make sure next to “Adobe PDF Preset” that “Press Quality” is selected. Under Options make sure that all of the boxes are unchecked. Hit Save PDF. Now close out of your file. It will prompt you to re-save. Do not save. This overwrites your Photoshop file and won’t let you edit it ever again if you need to. Close out of Photoshop.

R

0

G

0

B

0

Normal

100% Fill: 100%

Lock: Layer 28

Placing Images into a Project...

You can switch out any of the images in a project or add any images very simply. You can do it 2 ways. One way, is to open the image in Photoshop and drag and drop it into your document. When using this method, you may have to Select All to drag it. To select all go to “Select” on the top tool bar and then select “All.” You will see a dotted box appear around you’re entire image. From here, make sure you select your move tool on your side tool bar and then just click and drag into your project. The other way is to go to “File” on your top tool bar and then “Place.” You just navigate to where the image you’re trying to place is located on your computer and click “Place.” Either way you choose, once it is in your project it will create that image its own layer.

From there you can transform it however you want.

painting

design

Layer 29 Layer 30

Background

Image 6 fx

Save. It will bring up a new window. Make sure next to Quality it says Maximum. Hit OK. Both of these file types are fine for printing and most printers will accept them. From here your next step is to have them printed!

From the information we’ve provided in this issue and the previous issue you should now be able to fully edit any of the Photoshop files that are available in the WCR Store.

Remember, all of these templates are available totally FREE for all WCRA Members. If you’re not a member, visit TheWCRA.com and sign up today!

To save as a JPG, go to File-Save As. Under “Format” select JPEG. Hit

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

November - December 2011

19

Resolving Customer Complaints The Good, the Bad and the ugly Information is based on the happenings at All County Window Cleaning unless otherwise specified

An Estimated

39 thousand Window cleaning complaints were recorded across the U.S. in 2010 according to the BBB.

Most common customer complaint Streaky Windows The most common customer complaint this year was streaky windows.

If a customer tells us they have any problem we will always send a crew back to touch up. That’s part of our 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Most outrageous customer complaint Turtle Theft A customer accused our crew of stealing her kid’s turtle.

Not a stuffed one an actual live turtle that was in an aquarium. My family has a pet turtle too and the same kind that the customer was missing. I knew that ours has jumped out of the tank a couple times and hid in various places in our house sometimes taking us a whole day to find it.

So, I explained this to the customer and she said she’d go look for it but I could tell she didn’t believe me at all. This ended with her never calling us back about it and we just cleaned her windows again this year with nothing more said about the turtle. I think she was embarrassed by it.

20

November - December 2011

Complai www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

An Estimated

80%

Of All County Window Cleaning’s complaints are the fault of the employee.

How this complaint is normally resolved

send out a new crew

Sometimes send the employee there to see what they did wrong. But, most of the time the customer does not want the original crew back so we send a different crew to do any touch up work needed and they then get half of the original commission on the job. The original crew loses half of their commission on the job.

TOP 3 COMMON COMPLAINTS 1. We missed a window

2. The sills are still dirty

3. The screens were not put back in properly

Cheapest Route

Most common ways complaints are resolved

I always try the absolute cheapest route to get the customer to be completely happy with us in the end. I never want to lose a customer because of something we did wrong and I find the customers that I am able to keep happy in the end are then our most loyal ones. The cheapest is always a phone call and try to talk the customer through the complaint. Hopefully, they just want to complain and that’s it. Just being heard is all they need. But if that doesn’t cut it here are the steps we normally take from top to bottom.

Every complaint is as unique as the customer is and the key is to just quickly find what will make them happy in the cheapest way.

• • • •

Offer a crew to go back to touch up A percentage off their next service Return some money A full refund

Most EXTREME CUSTOMER COMPLAINT CRUSHED FENCE All of our trucks are manual trans. One of our guys decided to just start the truck to get it to warm up. He went to start the truck in a standing position from outside the truck just by putting his right foot on the clutch while his left foot was on the ground outside the truck. He forgot he left the truck in gear when he turned it off and so when he took his foot off the clutch it launched forward crashing through the customer’s fence and storage shed coming to rest on the customers 4 wheeler.

ints

ADVICE?

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

Probably about half of the complaints that come in are because improper communication. I am constantly telling our guys to communicate things to the customer so that they won’t call us back for stuff like dirty windows when really they have broken seals or damaged windows that were already damaged before we even got there.

November - December 2011

21

How to sell over the phone Inbound Calls

Phone Rep: Good morning this is Shannon how can I help you?

Customer: Hi I’m looking to get my windows Cleaned?

Phone Rep: Sure have we done work for you before?

Customer: No, but you’ve done work for my neighbor Phone Rep: That’s great.. I just need to ask you a few questions and we can get you a price. Can I get your name please? Address? Phone number? (at this point we would go through a full estimate with them) Phone Rep: Okay based on what we just went over if we were to come out and clean inside and out which includes removing, washing, putting back of any screens present as well as wiping away any loose dirt/cobwebs from the tracks and sills it would be $xxx.xx Customer: Do you have any specials running?

Phone Rep: Yes I have already included our 20 window special for you on the windows, we also have some deals running on power washing, gutter cleaning and our new roof washing service. Also, if you have an email address I could keep on file we do send out some exclusive offers periodically. blah blah blah

# of calls per day

April, May, June & November -Heaviest times of year for inbound calls

$

42,000

Highest Booking Day Ever!

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November - December 2011

50 100

Slow Season Busy Season

75%

of inbound calls are returning customers

25%

of inbound calls are new customers www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

Outbound Calls Customer: Hello

Phone Rep: Hi this is Shannon with All County Window Cleaning, we do power washing for you Customer: Oh yes hi how are you?

Phone Rep: I’m good thanks, I’m calling because I see we haven’t had you on the schedule yet this year and wanted to let you know we have some great specials going on right now.

Customer: Really? What’s your price now?

Phone Rep: Right now our special is $xxx.xx. This is only about $5 more than you paid 2 years ago.

Customer: Well I was thinking about waiting until the fall to have this done. I have family coming in for the holidays.

Phone Rep: I understand. We could schedule out as far as you need and still lock in this pricing. I also notice here that we have a window estimate on file for you as well.

70/30

Messages Vs. Live Person

# of calls per day

Hang Ups Per Day:

3-5

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

?

30 100

busy Season slow Season

July, August, September, October -Heaviest times of year for outbound calls

November - December 2011

23

DON'T FORGET!!!

INBOUNd CALLS DO

DO get all their information first – name, address, phone number DO find out how they heard about you DO upsell other services DO make them aware of policies DO inform them why you’re the best choice

Dont

DON’T give away your pricing, etc. w/without knowing who you’re talking to DON’T ask if they want to schedule; tell them you can get them on (? Be more specific) DON’T forget to tell them all the services you offer DON’T doubt yourself DON’T be unprepared; know what you’re talking about

OUTBOUNd CALLS DO have a plan of action DO have your offers/spiel prepared DO have some aces up your sleeve, i.e., some secret coupon DO be confident DO know your customer

DON’T get discouraged DON’T give in so easily; you won’t lose every sale by holding your ground DON’T let them blow you off; tell them you will call back DON’T leave things open ended; set a time limit on offers DON’T get caught up in wording; be flexible; go with the flow of conversation

To download the full version of the inbound and outbound phone scripts, please visit: http://bit.ly/rUu1Ss

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November - December 2011

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

Where

Window Cleaning Entrepreneursw o r G o t o G

Let us help you grow your business...

Dear Window Cleaning Business Owner,

Window Cleaning Resource.Com is the world's largest community of professional window cleaners with more traffic than all the other window cleaning forums combined. Thousands of window cleaners check in on a daily basis to laugh, learn and grow their window cleaning businesses.

• Register for a FREE account today at http://www.windowcleaningresource.com.

• Yes - It is completely FREE • Join us today and start networking with other like minded window cleaning business owners.

We can't wait to see you there!

Your Friends, The Window Cleaning Resource Team Window Cleaning Resource. "A Community of friends and peers. Guys and gals that come together to laugh, learn and help grow each others businesses. It's the first and last website we check everyday and, of course, our favorite".

Chris and Alex Lambrinides - Founders

of Window Cleaning Resource .Com

Advice. Real window cleaners, with real window cleaning experience, sharing their extensive knowledge in all things that are window cleaning.

Videos. Free access to thousands of window cleaning videos. The largest library on the planet.

• New Products • How-To's • Growing Your Business • Technique Videos • Tool Reviews

Downloads. Thousands of free forms, documents and marketing pieces. Swap and share successful materials with window cleaners across the globe.

Resource. WCR truly is a window cleaning resource. We are considered the Google and Wikipedia of window cleaning. If it's window cleaning related we have it.

www.windowcleaningresource.com

Pressure Washing

Business

Start your own Pressure Washing Business with our comprehensive training package.

Have you ever wanted to start your own small Pressure Washing Business?

Our Pressure Washing Business Package teaches you practically everything you need to know to start and grow a successful Pressure Washing Business. Modules within the program include: * Proper Business Formation * Equipment Buyer’s Guide * Work Methods * Chemical Selections * Marketing & Advertising (with step-by-step examples) * Client Building Techniques (commercial & residential) * Bidding and Estimating Tutorial * Business Toolkit (forms, worksheets & checklists) * Estimating Software * Much More...

Entire program is mailed to you on easy-to-use CD-ROM or can be downloaded from our website.

Order Directly From Our Website: www.PressureWashingBusiness.com Or send $39.95 (Money Order) to: Harper Companies Pressure Washing Program PO Box 4772 Chattanooga, TN 37405

Google Apps

By Chris Lambrinides

We started using “Google Apps For Your Domain” the moment it launched in 2006. It has become essential to the way we operate and communicate every day.

What is it?

Google Apps is a free productivity suite put out by Google; they also put out a paid version for larger corporate clients, but if you have fewer than twenty-five users, it is free of charge. The main part of the core suite features email, calendars, chat, web pages and documents. It allows you to have a cohesive system of communication that connects your employees and allows them to work together.

They have recently added hundreds of new apps, both paid and free to the market place. The new apps are worth a look, but the core suite is powerful enough to keep you busy and productive for a long time.

Getting Started All you need to get started is a domain name and a free apps account. You can get your account here: http://www.google.com/apps Installation and configuration takes about twenty minutes for an experienced web user. You will need to paste a little snippet of HTML code into your website, and alter your mx records inside your current email server. Detailed instructions are provided at sign up. Installation is the only part that can be a bit tricky - if you would like to avoid the frustration, navigate over to: http://www.fiverr.com. You can connect with someone there that will install it for you for five bucks.

Once Google Apps is installed, everything else is simple and straightforward. You can easily set up email addresses, calendars and overall user permissions right from your administrator panel.

Email Email is our favorite and most used feature; it gives you custom email for your company based on your current domain. My website is: http://allcountywindowcleaning.com/

But, best of all, your documents and files reside in one central location in the cloud. Much like the calendar, documents can be shared across multiple users with different permissions and abilities. Let’s say, for example, you have a shared budget spreadsheet. Instead of emailing around the most recent version of a document, everyone has access to the most recent version in the cloud. Your staff can even edit the same document at the same exact time.

At All County Window Cleaning, we keep hundreds of spreadsheets and documents inside Google Docs. There is no need for constantly emailing files; everybody has access to the most recent files all the time.

Calendar Keep your business on schedule with the built-in Google calendar!

Aside from managing your own personal and business schedule from anywhere with an Internet connection, you can also manage your crew or multiple crews all from one location. Individual calendars could be made for each crew leader or truck, and shared out to multiple people. For example you could make a schedule called “Truck Two,”, and share it with Scott, that truck’s team leader. Scott can view his work schedule from his phone or computer as well as be alerted to changes on that calendar. If Mrs. Smith pushes her appointment back one hour, all you have to do is make a quick change to the calendar and Google handles the rest. Scott will automatically get a text message to his phone and or an email alerting him of the change.

With Google Apps installed, I can now easily create any email addresses off my domain’s url. Using chris@allcountywindowcleaning.com has a whole lot of advantages over using something like chris22@yahoo.com. Your outbound messages look more professional, and it lets you build an identity with your clients. On the back end, you’re really just using Gmail, but no one you interact with needs to know that. You can also use your email with any modern smart phone or web browser, so you’re free to break ties with Outlook and work with your email wherever is most convenient for you.

You could also take your calendar a step further and publish it on your website so customers can see when you have availability. Privacy controls enable you to show and share as much or as little information on the calendar as you wish. At All County Window Cleaning, everyone in the office keeps a calendar that is shared with me - I use it to keep track of projects, manage productivity, and schedule group meetings.

Documents / Spreadsheets

All of these features and more can be used and accessed from one browser window. What I described in this article barely scratches the surface of the program’s capabilities, and best of all, it’s free! Get signed up today and try it out for yourself.

The need for expensive Microsoft programs is no more. The app Google Docs For Your Domain provides a full replacement for Word, Excel and Power Point. Google Docs works across multiple operating systems and can be used on any device with an internet connection.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

Pulling it all together

November - December 2011

27

A Day on the Job

With Supervisor Dave from All County Window Cleaning

Upon arrival at all county window cleaning Upon arrival, I clock in and review my work orders for the day. Depending on the types of jobs (window cleaning, power washing, roof washing or scratched glass removal) and the notes, I load the truck with tools and equipment accordingly. I also anticipate the add-ons that I may be given and load tools for that as well. If I’m working with other people, I have them help me as well. If I have any questions, I ask either Dave or Don. If they can’t answer, I call Shannon. I also fill out a truck checklist noting any problems with the truck.

V.S.

Storefront Accounts Travel Time

It usually takes about an hour to get to the first job, depending on where it is. I do not make any stops. I don’t like stopping at all during the day unless I’m going to be really early.

At a store front account, I usually don’t contact the customer first unless the notes say to do so. I also don’t do a window count sheet or have them sign a scratched glass waiver, unless it’s a first service. The waiver gets signed when the store is signed up for service. When the job is complete, I have them initial my route sheet and pay for the service.

Upon arrival at the customers home...

Upon arrival at the customer’s house, I gather the paperwork I need (work order, window count sheet for windows, scratched glass waiver) and knock on the door to introduce myself and my crew to the customer. I explain to the customer the process we will take to complete the job and what they need to do, if anything. Then some of the crew and I go inside to unclip screens while the rest of the crew is getting ready (unstrapping ladders, gathering and preparing tools, etc.). I do a window count and verify the price of the work the customer wants done. As I am doing the window count, I am also thinking of the best way to do the work.

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November - December 2011

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Returning to the office...

When we get back to the office, we unload the truck. We also fill out a truck checklist like in the morning and an end of the day sheet with the work order numbers and totals for the day. Everything is put in an envelope and is dropped off in the office (if someone is still there).

When we are busy, we usually get back after the office is closed. If the office is closed, we put the paperwork and keys through a slot in the wall. On the other side of the wall is a basket in a locked room so that the money, keys, and paperwork are secure.

Handling the Bill...

When we’re getting close to finishing, I will go write the bill while the rest of the crew finishes and loads the truck. By the time I collect payment from the customer and check that everything is done well, the rest of the crew has everything loaded and we are ready to go.

Checking up on the crew

Occasionally, Don will come to check and see how the job is going or to take pictures.

Customer relations...

Office Calling ..

Ring Ring

While on the job, we try to work as efficiently as possible. Depending on the customer, I try to work as I talk to them. Most customers will leave you alone as you work, but some have a hundred questions and want to talk about anything. I try to be as polite as possible to them when they are talking, but I try to ease my way out of the conversation in order to get back to work.

I call the office whenever something changes. (ex, if a customer refuses service, only wants partial service, etc.) I receive calls from the office, on average, about, 2-3 times a day for residential days, and I rarely receive any calls when I’m out doing commercial.

On Average

Depending on the size of each job

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

4 - 5 jobs get done on a residential day 25 - 35 jobs get done on a commercial day

November - December 2011

29

Accounts receivable

Getting Paid Getting a Card on File Residential are only asked to provide a credit card on file. Some commercial accounts pay with a credit card and are on something we call EZ pay that they sign an agreement for before we service them.

We’ve had cards that have been declined when dealing with residential accounts. This is usually a red flag that they’re going to be a difficult payer and they automatically get sent to collections.

90

days

no more then

People don’t normally stay on AR for more then 90 days. After that they go to the collection agency whether it’s commercial or residential. If it’s commercial we suspend their service until they pay.

Normally residential accounts don’t make it to collections. We ask that customers pay upon completion and take a credit card on file as well as a deposit before the service is completed. There are some exceptions and some clients are given a break if they’ve been with us for awhile or have paid with a check in the past.

If they’re not there and there’s no check or credit card on file then an invoice is mailed at the end of that day. A phone call is also made to check in and make sure when they did get home everything was to their satisfaction. It’s really a “I’m sorry we missed you today” type call asking to please send payment.

30

ic e

When No one is Home

in vo

$ You Owe Us!

Commercial is always given 30 days to pay while residential customers are asked to pay upon completion of the work.

With commercial if it’s not paid within 30 days I contact AP for the company and just ask their status. Usually they’ve just missed it and just need it resent.

November - December 2011

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

extending credit again

hello? please pay!

We usually extend credit to commercial again, because we want their service again. We’ve even had residential accounts go to collections. About 3 or 4 years ago we had a customer that went completely crazy when we had a crew out on the job. She refused to pay the $200 bill and ended up going to collections. Right now we’re pushing a lot of roof cleaning and gutter cleaning and we just so happen to have received a call from her husband. Of course we keep a file on our customers and flag the ones that were outrageous or have not paid in the past so we knew when he called that we’ve serviced him in the past and what had happened. He wanted to book a job for over $1,000 in roof washing and gutter cleaning. Instead of turning it down because of the $200 job in the past, we took it.

Excuses, excuses, excuses We don’t get anything too crazy. With residential it’s usually the same story and they’re just trying to get out of paying all together. They claim that there’s a check in the mail which never ends up getting to you.

I’ve had a lot of, “well my ex husband is supposed to be paying that but he no longer lives here”, or they try to use their ex husbands credit card and it’s declined. I’ve had charge backs because they’ve claimed we’ve damaged something that they never told us about until months and months later. They’re hard to ever collect on.

The Biggest Frustration with AR Some of the challenges are with my commercial accounts. For example we have a golf resort that hasn’t paid, supposed to be a big corporate account and they have over $500 on their balance right now that’s owed. Normally when a commercial account accumulates a balance they’re left a statement and a balance each time someone goes for service at that location. Each service for this particular account is only about $30 so having over $500 outstanding they’ve obviously had many “free” services. It gets frustrating when the window cleaners go back out with this balance sheet and statement and nobody red flags them to stop service or say anything to me about it. That’s one of my biggest frustrations.

Remember Always know who you’re supposed to contact (who’s the one who’s going to pay).

Don’t be scared to ask for payment, most people just need to be reminded.

Always follow up with an invoice, if they have an outstanding balance, follow up with an aging balance.

Consistency. Just keep on them and you’ll get it.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

November - December 2011

31

Direct Mail Marketing All County Window Cleaning got its very first job within 3 hours of putting out our first flier.

I instantly knew it would be our key to success. Today over 11 years later it still remains the heart of our marketing program and company. Here is our direct mail marketing approach step by step, from deciding whom to mail to getting them into their mailboxes.

#1Research!

Deciding who to mail to

Please note these directions are for mailing to whole neighborhood and towns of your choice. It is not a random list of people based on income demographics.

My theory has always been the people with the most disposable income, that live in great neighborhoods are those most likely to be consumers of professional cleaning services. This applies to Window Cleaners, Pressure Washers, Gutter Cleaners, Roof Washers, Carpet Cleaners etc..

1) Figure out on a map your official service area. Draw a bog circle around your home base touching out as far as you are willing to travel for a job.

2) Record the town names from within the circle into spreadsheet software. List out all the town names and zip codes into individual cells down the left side.

3) Using the free website: zipskinny.com research the towns in the spread sheets and record each zip codes median household income into the spreadsheet next to the appropriate town.

4) Sort that spread sheet from highest to lowest median income. You now have a list of towns you are willing to service listed out by those with the most disposable income and the least disposable income.

5) We take the top 10% wealthiest from our list and target them directly with focused direct mail campaigns.

#2 Getting down to business!

Using MelissaData.com to figure out specific carrier routes

Melissa Data

1) Navigate to www.melissadata.com

2) On the bottom right corner of the page you’ll see something that looks like this.

Click on Free ZIP Code & Address Info.

3) On the next page, click ZIP Code LookUps

Resources

4) Enter a ZIP Code from your research (we used 90210 as an example)

Free ZIP Code & Address Info Free trials & demos Get our newsletters Article library What’s new Postal & industry news Favorite Authors

Enter ZIP Code, ZIP+4 Code, City Name, Phone Number or Area Code.

90210 Search

5) Information will come up for that particular zip code

Results for ZIP Code 90210 Campaign Contributors Carrier Routes Climate Income Tax Nearest Mailing House NonProfits Public Schools Street Names in ZIP State Type of Zip Code USPS Preferred City Name

California (CA) Standard Map of Zip Code Beverly Hills

6) To narrow down your search to specific carrier routes, click Carrier Routes.

Results for ZIP Code 90210 Campaign Contributors Carrier Routes Climate Income Tax Nearest Mailing House NonProfits Public Schools Street Names in ZIP 7) A list of all the carrier routes and their information will come up for that zip code. This information includes the number of residences, businesses, PO Boxes, apartments and average household income. Scroll down the list until you find a route that looks promising for your target market. We looked for a route with a high residential count and a low to none business count (because we’re targeting residences) with a high average household income. When you find a route you think you might like, click to view the map to get a better look.

Route

Type of Route

County Code

Business Count

Apartment Count

PO Box Count

Residential Count

C011

City

06037

0

0

0

255

$181,000

$3,517,423

Map

C010

City

06037

3

585

0

75

$49,000

$1,278,753

Map

C014

City

06037

1

0

0

130

$161,000

$2,837,493

Map

C016

City

06037

85

35

0

35

$59,000

$271,751

Map

Avg Household Income

Avg Property View Value Map

8) Put the map in Hybrid or Bird’s Eye view. This allows you to see the landscape and residences in that carrier route. You can tell by this if you’re going to want to hit that area in your direct mailing.

9) Underneath the map is the carrier route information. If you’re satisfied with what you see in this carrier route, make sure you save the carrier route number (in our example it is C011). You will need this number later to complete your mailing.

Carrier Route Information ZIP Code Carrier Route Route Type

90210

* If you notice, this particular carrier route is a City Route. The USPS recently made a change to the law that allows you to do bulk mailings to City and Rural Routes depending on 2 conditions.

C011 City

Business Deliveries

0

Apartment Deliveries

0

PO Box Deliveries

0

Residential Deliveries Average Household Income Average Home Value

1) Your mailing must be over 200 pieces and you must mail to 90% of the route.

2) Your mailing is larger then letter size, i.e. longer then 6 inches or taller then 5 inches.

255 $181,000 $3,517,423

The Jumbo Cards in the WCR Store would be PERFECT for your first mailing since they’re 8.5 x 11 inches.

Getting a direct mail permit will only benefit you if you’re sticking to the criteria needed to mail to City Routes. Again, that’s if you’re mailing over 200 pieces and the mailing is larger then letter size. This does not mean that you can only mail to City Routes though.

In order to obtain a bulk mail permit you’re going to need to go to your Business Mail Entry Unit. This is usually a larger post office then your local post office. You may need to make a few phone calls to find the correct place to go in your area. Once you figure out where to go, you will need to bring a few things with you in order to get your permit.

1) Money. The first time you’re going to purchase a bulk mail permit there is a $185 application fee and a $185 annual fee. The following year when you renew it will only be the $185 annual fee.

2) Two forms of ID. You’re going to need two forms of ID and one of them must be a picture ID like a license or a Passport.

P rsrt std u.s. postage

Make sure you give a call in to your Business Mail Entry Unit before you go to double check what you should bring.

paid

Kansas City, KS Permit NO. 648

Once you get your permit, it allows you to use the permit indicia on your mailings. This is something that you, your graphic designer or the person that may be labeling them can do for you.

#4 putting your research to work!

using the carrier route information from melissadata.com for the usps 1) Go to smp.­usps.­gov

This online tool helps you choose mailing routes by neighborhood, ZIP Code, city, or a target area around your business. So you will be able to use the information you gained from your research on MelissaData.com. The tool even identifies the number of active households and businesses in your chosen areas to estimate postage. It will also generate and print the appropriate documentation to take with your mailing to the Post Office.

2) Click this button (EDDM) which will take you to where you can get started.

3) Enter the same zip code you used to find your carrier routes on MelissaData.com. Check the route types you’re interested in, and just click residential for delivery types. Hit submit.

Geographic / Address

By City

By County

By ZIP Code

Step 1

By Location

Percent complete

Select route and delivery type options.

Route Types

Enter a ZIP Code.

ZIP Code

0%

City

Rural/Highway Contract

PO Boxes

Delivery Types Business / Residential

Residential

View Types Table www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

Map

September - October 2011

Submit

29

4) This will probably be more up to date then MelissaData so it may bring back different results. It will bring up the total postage costs if you were to mail to every carrier route that’s checked on that list. You may not want to do that though and that’s why we looked at MelissaData first. Scroll down the list and uncheck every route accept the ones your chose from MelissaData. Now it calculates postal rates for just those particular routes which is more accurate to what you’ll be spending.

Selection Results ZIP Code

Route

Step 2

City State

Residential

Select All

Total Routes: Total Deliveries:

1 286

ADD/Remove

Approximate Cost

3.3 oz. (0.2063 lbs) or less

Flats

Parcels

90210

C009

Beverly Hills, Ca

173

None:

$55.48

90210

C010

Beverly Hills, Ca

663

Regional Plant:

$46.05

90210

C011

Beverly Hills, Ca

286

Local Plant:

$43.19

90210

C015

Beverly Hills, Ca

228

Local PO:

$40.61

90210

C022

Beverly Hills, Ca

270

90210

C023

Beverly Hills, Ca

332

Quick Service Guides

Next

Delivery Counts Last Updated: 10/15/2011 5) Next, you will fill in your company information and your permit information.

Customer Information Step 3

Percent complete

Company/Mailer Name

50%

Permit Type Permit Imprint

Precanceled Stamps

Metered

Post Office of Mailing Permit Number

6) Now you can print your documentation and any other information that it prompts you to that you may need to send your mailing.

Print Documentation

Step 4

Ever Door Direct Mail Documentation for PS Form 3602 PS Form 3602-81

Postage Statement - Standard Mail with instructions

PS Form 8125 Plant-Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS) Verification and Clearance with instructions

Print Facing Slip Every Door DIrect Mail Facing Slip

Step 5

#5

picking a mailer

what mailer are you going to send out?

It’s now time to select a direct mail piece to use. Don’t waste anytime creating a mailer or flier from scratch.

In the WCR store you can purchase every single one of my personal direct mail pieces that I have used for the past 3 years. There are dozens available in multiple sizes. The best part about them is they are all pre tested and proven to work. No piece enters the store until it has made at least $100,000.00 for my window cleaning company in a 10-week period. If that doesn’t happen it doesn’t make the cut. With Photoshop you can easily add in your logo, prices, and contact information. If you’re not proficient in Photoshop we can help you with that too.

WCRA members have unlimited free access to my entire library.

#6

get them printed!

Go locally or globally, lets just get them printed!

Shop for prices at online print houses, upload your file and have them delivered to your home or office.

WCR offers full print services and will match or beat any advertised price you find.

#7 get them labeled!

Scan this for a look at all of our printing prices

Make sure you get your permit indicia on your mailer

You’re going to want to make sure that either during labeling or creation you have your graphic designer or mail house put your permit number and indicia on your mailer. If it’s within the standards for Every Door Direct Mail you can even use simplified addressing. Remember, the USPS recently passed a law that if your piece is bigger then 4 x 6 then you can mail it to any carrier route (city or rural) just with the simplified addressing. If you’re doing residences and business put Postal Customer, if you’re just doing residences and PO Boxes put Residential Customer.

Here’s an example of what the back of your card will look like with your permit and simplified addressing.

#8 sending them out! when to send out your mailers

Sometimes when to send out your mailers can be a science. At All County Window Cleaning when to send out mailers is definitely considered a science. We take into consideration the day of the week as well as the weather. Typically we do mailings every week, but if it happens to rain one week, the next week we will double up on mailings. The weather plays a big part on when things get mailed out. The day of the week is a little harder to pinpoint because you never know how long the post office might hold your mailers for before they actually get sent.

The ideal day for a mailing to hit is a Saturday because the husbands and wives are home together. You can usually tell when it hits on a Saturday because that Monday is really busy.

paperwork!

Postage Statement—Standard Mail

time to fill out your paperwork

Name and Address of Mailing Agent (If other than permit holder)

Telephone

Name and Address of Individual or Organization for Which Mailing is Prepared (If other than permit holder)

Mailer

Permit Holder's Name and Address and Telephone Email Address, If Any

CAPS Cust. Ref. No.

Now that you have everything printed and labeled and you’ve figured out when you’ll be sending them out, it’s time to do your paperwork. If you haven’t already filled everything out from what you printed off of the USPS website, now’s the time to do it. Make sure you keep this with your mailers so when it’s time to go, everything is together.

CRID Processing Category

Post Office of Mailing Type of Postage

Letters Flats Parcels - Machinable Parcels - Irregular

Permit Imprint Precanceled Stamps

CMM NFM Catalogs

Metered

Mailing

#9

Post Office: Note Mail Arrival Date & Time (Do Not Round-Stamp)

United States Postal Service

CRID Mailer's Mailing Date

Federal Agency Cost Code Statement Seq. No.

Weight of a Single Piece

Combined Mailing

Bound Printed Matter

125 pcs

For Automation Pieces, Enter Date of Address Matching and Coding

For Carrier Route Pieces, Enter Date For Carrier Route Pieces, Enter Date of Carrier Route Sequencing of Address Matching and Coding

___ ___ / __ __ / ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ / ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ / ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___

15 lbs.

____ 2 ft. LetterTrays ____ EMM Letter Trays

Total Weight

If Sacked, Based on

Parcel Post

Media Mail

Library Mail

____ 1 ft. Letter Trays

Of total pieces, # with simplified addresses

Single Class

Periodicals

No. and type of Containers ____ Sacks

Total # of Pieces in Mailing

Mixed Class

0 . __ __ __ __ pounds __

For Mail Enclosed within Another Class

Permit #

CRID

____ Flat Trays

both

____ Pallets

For pieces bearing a simplified address enter date of delivery statistics file or alternative method ___ ___ / ___ ___ / ___ ___ ___ ___

____ Other

Move Update Method: Ancillary Service Endorsement

A

B

C

D

ACS E

Mailpiece is a product sample.

Alternative Method F

G

H

J

K

L

M

n/a Alternative Address Format S

Total Postage (Add Parts Totals)

sending out your mailers Postage

OneCode ACS

Multiple I

Letter-size or flat mailpiece contains DVD/CD or other disk.

Price at Which Postage Affixed (Check one) Complete if the mailing includes pieces bearing metered or precanceled stamps.

Correct Lowest Neither __________ pcs. x $ _________ . _________=

Permit #________

Postage Affixed

Net Postage Due (Subtract postage affixed from total postage)

where to take your mailers to and what you’ll need Total Adjusted Postage Affixed USPS Use

#10

NCOALink

FASTforward

Parts Completed (Select all that apply)

Additional Postage Payment (State reason)

For postage affixed add additional payment to net postage due; for permit imprint add additional payment to total postage.

Postmaster: Report Total Postage in (Permit Imprint Only)

AIC 130

Total Adjusted Postage Permit Imprint

The time has finally come to send out your mailers and sit back and wait for the results. First you’re going to want to take everything including your paperwork to your Business Mail Entry Unit. This is the larger post office that you obtained your permit at. Once you’re done there you can distribute your mailings to the local post offices in the areas September - October 2011 that you’re mailing to. We would consider these your mail destination unit. Once everything is delivered all you need to do is head back home and answer the phone. And of course prepare for the next mailing.

0 Good luck!

Certification

Incentive Claimed: _______________________________________________

The mailer's signature certifies acceptance of liability for and agreement to pay any revenue deficiencies assessed on this mailing, subject to appeal. If an agent signs this form, the agent certifies that he or she is authorized to sign on behalf of the mailer and that the mailer is bound by the certification and agrees to pay any deficiencies. In addition, agents may be liable for any deficiencies resulting from matters within their responsibility, knowledge, or control. The mailer hereby certifies that all information furnished on this form is accurate, truthful, and complete; that the mail and the supporting documentation comply with all postal standards and the mailing qualifies for the prices and fees claimed; and that the mailing does not contain any matter prohibited by law or postal regulation. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits information requested on this form may be subject to criminal and/or civil penalties, including fines and imprisonment.

Privacy Notice: For information regarding our Privacy Policy visit www.usps.com.

Signature of Mailer or Agent

Weight of a Single Piece

____ . ____ ____ ____ ____ pound

Yes

No

Total Weight

Presort Verification Performed? (If required) Yes No I CERTIFY that this mailing has been inspected for Date Mailer Notified each item below if required: (1) eligibility for postage prices claimed; (2) proper preparation (and presort where required); (3) proper completion of postage statement; By (Initials) (4) payment of annual fee; and (5) sufficient funds on deposit (if required)

Scan this for a WCRA Member exclusive video on direct mail USPS Employee's Signature

Contact

Time

AM PM

To be completed in

Round Stamp (Required) Payment Date

Total Postage

USPS Use Only

USPS Use Only

Are postage figures at left adjusted from mailer's entries? If yes, reason:

Telephone

non-PostalOne! sites

To be completed in non-PostalOne! sites

Total Pieces

13

Printed Name of Mailer or Agent Signing Form

Print USPS Employee's Name

PS Form 3602-R1, April 2011 (Page 1 of 14) PSN 7530-07-000-6209

This form and mailing standards available on Postal Explorer at pe.usps.com.

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Truck setups

At All County Window Cleaning there are thirteen trucks available every day for pressure washing, roof-washing, and window-cleaning.

There are three distinct setups to cover each of these services, as well as extra supplies kept in our garage for both commercial and residential jobs, as well as any other add-ons that they may be doing that day. Supplies are signed in and out on a regular basis by the window cleaners.

The standard setup for most of our trucks is pretty basic.

They generally have a 24’ ladder, a 32’ ladder, a 12’ step, and a 6’ step. All of the ladders are equipped with LeveLoks. We don’t have many extras on our trucks; even our tool belts and toolboxes are slimmed down. All of the window cleaners bring their supplies in at the end of each night, so there’s not much left on the trucks in the parking lot.

It’s the middle of November now, so our roof-washing and pressure washing supplies have been brought in to the garage for safe keeping in order to protect them from the cold weather. We have had a few warmer days lately, and were able to do a few more bookings, so everything is kept on hand until the temperature really starts to drop. At that point everything gets winterized and stored until spring.

The official name of our roof washing setup is the “Fatboy Bandit,” which is supplied by PressureTek. PressureTek also supplies us with things like Simple Cherry and Gutter Grenade. The setup is pretty straightforward: just a couple of batteries, a pump, and a chemical tank, which all go in the bed of the truck.

Right outside of the garage, we have containers set up to hold about 1,000 gallons of Sodium Hydrochlorate. This way, the pressure washers and roof cleaners can just fill up in the morning and go. They mix it with water right on the job.

Looking at our pressure-washing setup, it’s extremely simple. We have hoses, cold water machines with a flow tank on the

38

November - December 2011

side, a little hose reel in the back, and a few chemical buckets. You can usually tell which trucks are used for pressure washing just by looking at the bed of the truck. There’s chemical residue all over it that gets cleaned the next morning before it goes on any jobs.

We don’t keep a lot of equipment on the trucks because everything gets stored in our garage. Most of it gets signed in and out every day by the window cleaners. Things we sign out on a regular basis are different-sized extension poles (Ettore and Unger) that are readily available for storefront accounts, winmates and a few waterfed poles. Right now we’re stocked up for gutter season, so we have a bunch of brooms and extra poles especially for gutter cleaning. In the same garage that the supplies are signed in and out in, there’s a towel-washing station. With about twelve crews going out each day, we go through a ton of dirty towels. The station is comprised of one washing machine and two dryers that are going every day from 6 am to 5 p.m. There are also about fifteen buckets of clean towels that get folded by some of the sales staff (when they have down time) and the residential manager throughout the day. These buckets are generally filled with about 50-75 towels per bucket.

Attached to the garage in a separate room we have a break room where the guys come before and after work to punch in and out. Here, our pressure washers are stored along with the stack able ladders. Some window cleaners leave their toolboxes and rain gear here. This is also where they see the schedules as well as any important notices. Even though they don’t spend a lot of time here, we try to put up nice comments and compliments from our customers to boost their morale and let them know all of their hard work is appreciated.

With thirteen trucks and twelve crews running every day doing storefront and residential, roof-washing, window-cleaning, and pressure washing, it’s hard to have just one setup suitable for everything. Our main goal is to make sure that every window cleaner is as prepared as they can be for their day.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

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All County Window Cleaning’s employees utilize their GPS Systems everyday and it’s not just for locating the next job.

Part of the Finance Department uses the GPS Systems for...

The Sales Manager uses the GPS Systems for...

I use GPS to try and locate a crew when a customer calls wondering when they are going to show up and I can’t reach the supervisor on the phone. This also helps if I just need to know where they are at in their day for add ons or estimates that may need to be done.

40

November - December 2011

I have set up an automated report that gets generated daily after all trucks are back for the day. These reports show me exactly how long it took each crew to get to each job, how long they were there and all stops in between. This is very helpful in my position because I close out the jobs for the previous day. Utilizing the GPS reports I transfer the amount of time the crews were at each house or business and put that into our system and close out the jobs. This is helpful because when we go back to the same house or business the next time we have an idea of how long the job should take to complete.

I can also use another report that allows me to view how fast each truck was going on which street or highway and anything over a set speed limit that I pick gets “red flagged”. So incase there is an issue with an employee speeding we will know about it immediately and take the steps needed to fix the problem.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

The Residential Manager uses the GPS Systems for...

The GPS system allows me to see where every crew is at. It greatly helps when a customer calls asking where the crew is and I can just look them up and see if they are still working or are on the move to their next job. I also use it to check periodically where crews are and make sure they are still moving along on time with their day. If I see they are still at a job that they should have finished already I then can give them a call to find out how much longer they will be and then be able to notify the rest of their jobs that day with more exact times of arrival. The customer loves getting a call from me letting them know what’s going on.

4

8

I also use the GPS to send me alerts when the truck is getting close in mileage for its next maintenance service and also speeding reports. Every time a truck speeds I can then call the driver right away and tell them to slow down.

5

Some programs work directly with Google Maps making it very easy to navigate and find all of their vehicles.

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

November - December 2011

41

The Final Push

42

November - December 2011

How Do You Prepare?

Every fall All County Window Cleaning prepares itself for the huge gutter cleaning push they do to get them through the winter months. This will be the last push to get in money before it slows down for the winter season. We took a look at 2 of the departments that are affected the most by this push and asked them, “how do you prepare?”

The Residential Manager Prepares by: Post Job listings, interview, hire, and train gutter cleaners Inventory and purchase gutter cleaning supplies, like number all the tools that will be signed out each day and have backups for lost or damaged tools Schedule truck maintenance services so they don’t break down during our last push.

Investigate weather predictions as to when the leaves will start to fall Map out every gutter cleaning so we can optimize the routes our trucks will take each day Talk about gutter cleaning season every day with the techs so they know it what is coming and will know what to expect.

The Sales Manager Prepares by: We take a few (a few what?) to do exactly that… prepare. All new scripts are put together, focusing mainly on gutter cleaning, but never forgetting about our other services.

All fall mailers are geared toward the gutter cleanings, and prices are adjusted to make early booking with us early more appealing, and of course we hammer hard and fast on the calls to each and every one of our customers.

Our department gets quite creative on a daily basis with deals and coupons that we create to entice each customer.

Customers are like snow flakes: no two are exactly alike, so we have to adjust our attitudes and, scripts a little bit and even out deals in order to satisfy and accommodate each individual.

We take a few...

www.windowcleaningbusinessowner.com

November - December 2011

43

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