Sun Brite Supply is staging a round table meeting for our new Georgia store on March 19th and 20th.

On Friday (the 19th) we will start with outdoor demonstrations of tools and products.

*Just added: Sun Belt Rentals will be giving a Aerial Lift Safety Training Friday morning!

On Friday afternoon, we have speakers lined up to talk to you about selling, landing contracts, and closing the sale. We will also offer a session on KEC work and we will have an informal pricing survey that everyone can participate in.

We are planning to offer two mechanical clinics at this event - one is on rebuilding a pressure wash pump and the other is a Deckster clinic. We urge all of you to bring your Decksters. We will have parts on hand and Tracy will help you learn how to fix any problems you might experience. Even if you don’t need to fix anything, it will be a great chance to take yours apart and put it back together with someone looking over your shoulder.

On Saturday the 20th we will start out with dynamite sales specials every hour. Sometime after lunch we will draw to give away prizes.

If you find yourself with nothing to do at any time during the day, we have a special treat for you. We will have a brand new 50″ plasma flat-screen HDTV and a brand new Wii console for you to play with. Challenge a few other players at different sports and have a blast!

Please call Nichole at 877-5-SUPPLY or 770-277-9924 or Click Here to make reservations to attend.

All attendees are entered to win a Wii Console with extra games and Wiimotes!

Grand Prize Drawing: 50″ Panasonic Plasma HDTV!

Hotel Info:

Country Inn and Suites
989 Duluth Highway
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
770-339-1991
Rooms $69.00 per night (excellent rate!)
BE SURE TO ASK FOR SUNBRITE RATE!

Winter is ending; are you tired of looking at your old equipment? Well, bring it to the ACR Swap Meet and Yard Sale to sell it, trade it, or buy something you want. If it has something to do with pressure washing, then bring it along. Some of the stuff for sale will be WADU Soda Blasters, water tanks, hot water skids, hose reels, and even whole pressure wash rigs! E-mail us your pictures so we can list them on our site. Then, check it out and see if you need something that’s listed.

We’ll have a blasting seminar lead by ESCA Industries, who will be educating us on blasting basics; Soda, glass and corn cob do’s and don’ts and how to add it into your business.

We’re also going to have a seminar on marketing your business, and we’ll be getting together in round table fashion to talk about the different types of power washing opportunities.

It’ll be two days of food and education!

We’ll have a safety seminar as pertains to the pressure wash business. We are working to get other good things added to the group, so stay tuned…

The Agenda

Saturday, March 6th from 8:30 AM to ???-Catered Breakfast and Lunch with Pig Roast Dinner

Sunday, March 7th from 8:30 AM to ???-Catered Breakfast and Outdoor Picnic to go with Yard Sale

RSVP by March 3rd, 2010: (610)253-8005

$35.00 per person, to be paid in advance

Catered Breakfast, Lunch &
PIGROAST (SATURDAY NIGHT)
DELCO PRESSURE WASHERS – INFORMATION
ARMSTRONG CLARK – PRODUCTS, INFORMATION &
EDUCATION
SEAL- N- LOCK – INFORMATION & DEMONSTRATION
E.S.C.A. INDUSTRIES – SODA BLASTING & EDUCATION
& PRODUCT INFORMATION
RESTORATION DIRECT – BUILDING RESTORATION 101
BOB PORT A TRUE EXPERT
SEE DIRT RUN – MARKETING INFORMATION

Now for the fun stuff…!
AFTER THE BUSINESS STUFF & THE PIG ROAST
WE WILL HAVE A Texas Hold’em Poker Game
SOME OF THE PROCEEDS WILL GO TO A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION
SUNDAY MARCH 7TH, 2010
SWAP MEET / YARD SALE
8:30 am - ?
CATERED BREAKFAST & PICNIC LUNCH
CONTRACTORS CAN BRING ANY USED PRESSURE WASH
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE OR SWAP
(BRING CASH IN CASE YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO BUY FROM
ANOTHER CONTRACTOR)
CONTRACTORS CAN E-MAIL US PICTURES OF THEIR
USED EQUIPMENT THEY WANT TO BRING & WE CAN
POST THEM ON OUR SITE.
TAKE TIME TO TALK TO MANUFACTURERS, CONTRACT CLEANERS & OTHER INDUSTRY EXPERTS.

“I’m excited about taking over the company and continuing to move us forward in a way that’s beneficial to the contractor,” said Michael. “We also want to celebrate all that Robert has done over the past 37 years.”

Robert founded what is now RAHSCO Cleaning Systems of Fort Worth in April, 1973. That was when he started his mobile power washing company, Mobile Enterprises, which continued to serve the greater Ft. Worth area for 10 years. At its height, Mobile Enterprises employed 26 staff members, had five mobile power wash units, and earned over $1 million in sales.

In 1983, Robert turned his attention to equipment distributing, and has since grown RAHSCO Cleaning Systems of Ft. Worth into a national mobile power wash supplier of equipment, parts, chemicals, schools, seminars and training videos. Since that time, Robert has been on the cutting edge of the pressure washing leadership. His endeavors include:

· Founding two industry trade associations for power wash contract cleaners, the Power Washers of North America (PWNA) in 1992, and the United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners in (UAMCC) in 2006.

· Speaking at several trade associations, including the international Window Cleaning Association (IWCA), the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association (IKECA), the Cleaning Equipment Trade Association (CETA), PWNA and UAMCC.

· Developing the industry’s first online bulletin board in the mid 1990s1996.

· Leading the country in environmental education, and helping create the ordinance environmental code for the city of Ft. Worth, area (wording?)which is now on the EPA’a website as an mModel oOrdinance for other municipalities.

Robert is excited about the new business, and will continue tojoin the company serve part-time in sales, and technical support and to share his environmental expertise. Michael will take serveover as the company’s president.

As Robert’s son, Michael grew up in the pressure washing industry, working nights and weekends for his dad before starting his own business, Steamaway, in 1985 in order to pay for his school and housinghis first home. “I focused on truck washing because it worked well with my school schedule,” he explained.

Michael graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in accounting, but quickly discovered he could actually earn a better living washing trucks. Along with Steamaway, Michael also now owns Facilitec Southwest, a kitchen-exhaust cleaning company. Now, he is adding Delux to his list of companies, and will focus on providing education to the contract cleaner and selling power washing supplies.

“I believe that all of my experience in the industry will be a great asset in my new role as a distributor selling back to the contractor. With the education programs that we have, the business information we present, the quality products we offer, Delux will be available to support the contractors so they can be successful,” Michael concluded. “In my opinion, making sure the contractor is successful is what makes us successful. I’m excited to be able to do just that.”

One of the keynote speakers at the event will be George Hedley. From the website www.hardhatpresentations.com:

George Hedley, CSP is one of the top professional business speakers in the USA. He is an entrepreneur, best selling author, business owner, and popular speaker. George is the author of “Get Your Business To Work!” “On-Purpose…On-Target!” and “The Business Success Blueprint” series.

Today, along with managing his development and construction company, he owns HARDHAT Presentations and speaks to national organizations, associations, conventions, company meetings, leadership conferences and customer retreats.

He provides inspiring motivational keynote speeches, offers ‘nuts and bolts’ business seminars and ‘how-to’ management and leadership workshops for business owners, executives, decision makers and managers.

He specializes in helping business owners, small business entrepreneurs, franchisees, manufacturing companies, contractors and service industry businesses.

As a general contractor and business owner for over 30 years, George Hedley is one of the top construction business speakers and industry experts. He is often called ‘The Construction Business Builder’ and specializes in presentations to help construction company business owners, managers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers build organized and systemized companies that make a profit.

George will be making a 2 hour presentation as well as 2 “breakout” sessions during the event.

Convention planners have secured a special room rate at the hotel of $119 per night. On the proposed agenda:

• Awards ceremony
• Social hours
• Entertainment
• Free website build giveaways
• Power Training Sessions
• Networking
• Manufacturer and Vendor Exhibits

This is shaping up to be the premiere event of the pressure washers season. Don’t miss out. Register right now by visiting UAMCC Convention Registration

We have just finished a stretch of months of weather-mandated downtime, we have been running down the saved money from last season that we salted away, we haven’t seen our equipment since we put it away (winterized) in storage, and we aren’t ready.  Even when we are ready, we don’t think we are.

The last season stretched out longer than we thought, so we booked extra work and put off storing the machinery.  We were making hay while the sun shone, right up to the day before the first winter storm.  On that day, we remembered suddenly how urgently we needed to get the equipment put safely away.  We rushed to get the job done, and then spent the next months fretting over what we might have overlooked.

We hoped for a January thaw like we “always” get, but this year, no dice.  No January specials or chances to drag the machines out to be sure they are wintering well.  The cold dragged on, and we spent our planned marketing bucks, took the early calls, followed up with the last Fall customers, tentatively scheduled the work, and the thaw just stayed away.  The tentative dates passed, the fall-back dates passed, now the Spring finally springs and we find ourselves overscheduled and understaffed.

The phone is ringing better than expected, but we are so booked we can’t see daylight.  We work every available second, getting the equipment back in running order, buying supplies, and actually (finally) washing something.  Just as we have the schedule functioning right…late-winter storm.  An unexpected return to sustained temps hovering five degrees either side of freezing.  We could cope with that, if it weren’t for the sudden addition of 6 new inches of heavy snow and slush, that just starts to thaw each day, and then freezes each night as soon as the sun has set.

Back into winterized limbo goes the machinery, and the chems that mustn’t freeze.  We run heaters as well, just to be safe, and that isn’t free but it is cheaper than a frozen line would be now.  Daylight Savings ends, and still we freeze each night.  The jobs we can do have to be inside, or chemical-free, as the frozen substrates slow the processes unacceptably.  Work is piling up, which is good in a way, but the latent fist of sleepless nights and endless days is looming larger as the temps inexorably rise, waiting to smash my sensibilities, to make a zombie of me and my help…if I can ever hire any.

And then we are busting loose.  The fist falls, and just as I expect I get crabby, tired, and hard to deal with.  I’m working so much that I don’t know when I ate last, or what it was.  My son begins to be visible only in the wee-est morning hours; to him I am missing, or at least invisible.  My wife knows I’m around because the coffee is disappearing faster than she can buy it, and the business account balances are constantly in flux.  We become desk-blotter pen pals, and share an occasional phone call at odd hours.  We can’t find any hirable help, we are going it alone.

Pressure washing contractors, I know your pains.  My earnest prayer for you all, is that you stay safe and profitable, and that you can see the points in the story above that can be changed by systematizing and being better at business.  I pray you all can work smart enough this season, that you needn’t work so hard at the job.

Every crisis is also an opportunity, so I wish you so much business this year that you have to make changes to accommodate it.  Here is to all of us having too much to do, and to finding ways to do it.

Scott Millen

www.stainlessdeal.com

Hopefully your leads provided you with the correct phone number and address and email. (This is why its important during the show to make sure they give correct information while entering your free house washing drawing, free estimate form, etc).

When you get home, divide your leads up. Weed out the “fake” or bad ones. After you have done this, create a spreadsheet document. Make columns for name, address, telephone numbers, email, and several other blank columns. You can use these blank columns to document the times you attempt to make contact with the leads.

Call your leads anywhere from 1-3 days after the show. At this time, the home show is still fresh in their minds. If you wait any longer, the excitement of the show and the willingness to improve the curb appeal of their home will have most likely worn off your potential lead. They are back to dealing with the pressures of everyday life….work, school, family, etc. If you reach the contact (or get an answering machine/voicemail), identify yourself and give the name of your business. Speak moderately slow and clearly, so the contact can understand you. Thank them for visiting your booth and mention that you are following up with them. If you are not comfortable with making calls, make yourself a script or recruit someone who is to make calls for you. After you call each lead, be sure to record the day and time on your spreadsheet.

Second, you could also develop a “Thank You” email and distribute it to all your leads. One idea would be to attach a special coupon or home show discount for the recipient to utilize if you did not already give them one at the show. You may choose to send this email out the same day as your first telephone call, or wait a day or two after. When you send the email, record it on your spreadsheet.

When you start getting jobs or estimate requests, be sure to accurately keep track of them. Home shows can provide you with several at once so be sure to stay organized. Since the potential customer provided you with their email address, you may also choose to send them newsletters, or ask if they would like to sign up to your blog. Also, don’t forget to ask for referrals.

Home Shows are a lot of work but in the end can generate tons of leads for your business. Hopefully you have a better idea of what you have in store for you. If you decide you want to advertise in a home show, good luck and remember to stay positive! You can do it!

Jenny Flinn

Gulf Coast Power Washing

This roundtable was held in Atlanta Georgia on April 18^th and 19th. Saturday’s key speakers included Carlos Gonzales with the UAMCC, Henry Bockman, Dennis Bunker, Robert Hinderliter (Delco), and Ron Musgraves.

On Saturday

UAMCC spoke about the organization and what potential members can expect out of membership. At the end of the roundtable, UAMCC was happy to have 10 new members according to Carlos Gonzales.

Henry Bockman spoke about developing an effective website and “ad ons” for your business. 

Although he was not able to attend due to illness, Dennis Bunker, gave his direct mail presentation via speakerphone!

Robert Hinderliter gave a presentation on environmental cleaning and spoke about how contractors need to educate themselves on the Clean Water Act and EPA regulations. He stressed getting involved to avoid extremely unreasonable restrictions.

Several folks including Ron Musgraves, B. Welker, P. Marentay, Robert Hinderliter and others were available on a panel for attendees to ask questions to.

Representatives from AT&T also spoke about designing a Yellow Pages ad. First American Payment Systems was also on site to discuss their credit card services.

Saturday night, roundtable attendees enjoyed a “Fun Night” at The Pool Room where they able to network and mingle with each other.

On Sunday

Sun Brite opened up their shop for contractors to enjoy a $50 discount. Several contractors took advantage of the savings. There were a few demonstrations that were conducted on site that included Delco environmental equipment, concrete staining, Prosoco products, Ready Seal, window cleaning, and graffiti removal.

The day ended with a game of “Redneck Horseshoes” where several others won prizes.

Many who attended commented on how well the roundtable was organized.

Nicole Anglin with Sun Brite said "We are pleased at the success of this roundtable meeting. Our speakers were very informative and the attendees felt they all gained something from attending. This was the best turn out we have had for a roundtable."

Jenny Flinn

 
]]> http://pressurewashingnews.com/sun-brite-supplys-georgia-roundtable/feed/ http://pressurewashingnews.com/429/ http://pressurewashingnews.com/429/#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:42:37 +0000 Ken Fenner http://pressurewashingnews.com/429/ 1. Shotgun Marketing: Confucius say, “Do not use a canon to kill a mosquito”. You may have heard the saying that advertising is a numbers game. At the core, there is some truth to that, but like any well oiled machine, its more about efficiency than it is brute strength. It may be best for a company owner to look at return on investment (ROI). Yes, sending 10,000 postcards will yield more leads than sending 500, but the person sending 500 well designed mailers with an attention grabbing headline and a good call to action will get a far greater ROI.

2. Poor Mailing Lists: Before starting a campaign, ask yourself about your preferred customer demographic. Who is most likely to buy your service? If your business is about servicing multiple commercial locations, target the right audience. The key is to match your company’s specialty to your market. In residential work, zip codes are not always an accurate indicator. Some zip codes will include variances in property value and income level. Work with a local mailing house that knows your service area. Lists will be a bit more expensive but will produce more viable leads.

3. No Attention Grabber: In everyone’s brain are what’s called reticular activators. These are subconscious sensors that less us know when something is worthy of our attention. A child’s scream, the screeching of a car’s tires just before an accident.. these are examples of events that make a person take notice. We’re the best, licensed and insured, In business since 1908, these are not attention grabbers and are easily ignored. A well thought out and properly written headline, an eye catching graphic, an unusual shape or color.. these simple tricks get far more mileage.

3. Too Much to Say In Too Little a Space: A postcard or a letter is not a brochure. Many contractors will water down their message by listing all of their services. Can you expect your prospective customer to sort through that list and find something that suits them? At that point, all impact is gone. Most often a laundry list has the opposite effect of parlaying, “jack of all trades, master of none”.

4. Not Getting Enough Exposure: This ties in with #1. If a contractor throws all of his money into a single mailer or advertisement, they have no budget left for future exposure. To react to advertising a person may need to be exposed to that company’s message several times in various media. If you are targeting 10,000 potential customers, you had better have a whopper budget. Using targeted lists with multiple exposure will allow you to stretch your budget.

5. Not Appealing To Emotion: Consumers buy what they want, not what they need. You will have an easier time convincing a potential customer that they want a great looking deck for their next barbecue, than you will telling them that their deck needs to be stained to protect it from the weather. Your marketing and your selling go hand in hand. It should always be about what benefits the consumer, not the contractor. Yes.. we all know our trades, but customers just want to know what’s in it for them.

6. Its Not About You: Truth be told, the customer does not care about you in the advertising stage of the game. Use words like “you” and “your” versus “we”, “our” and “us”. Always make your material all about the customer.

7. No Call To Action: If you have hand picked your list, written a killer headline, perfected a graphic design and wrote good benefit selling copy, there is one thing left to do.. make the customer act. Think of an infomercial you have watched. There are frequent calls to action.. act now.. call now and save.. order within the next ten minutes and receive.. Give the consumer a reason to react.

8. Not Sticking To A Budget: This is the biggest killer of a contractor’s marketing efforts. Set a budget percentage that you will continuously dump back into advertising. Try not to deviate from that. This is how you keep your lead generation machine rolling.

One final note that ties into your budget. Track your results and your return on investment. Marketing is a continuous cycle of fine tuning. The only way to know what works is to change things methodically and keep track of the results. Over time, doing these things will allow you to spend less and less money on advertising and grow your company faster than 99.99% of the companies out there.

Five Words To Never Use In An Ad

Words That Sell

Written By Ken Fenner

A Delaware County, PA Pressure Washing Service

 
]]> http://pressurewashingnews.com/429/feed/ http://pressurewashingnews.com/technology-making-a-difference-in-pressure-washing/ http://pressurewashingnews.com/technology-making-a-difference-in-pressure-washing/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:44:54 +0000 John Greene http://pressurewashingnews.com/technology-making-a-difference-in-pressure-washing/ As pressure washing professionals, we often fall into the "bigger is better" trap. We are always searching for more gallons per minute, more pressure per square inch, and the largest surface cleaner our machine can handle. We do this in the interest of serving the customer better, faster, and making more money in the process. As much as we concentrate on our equipment and chemicals, many of us lose sight of the tools needed to get us to the job. Technology has afforded us the opportunity to excel at customer service and many of us are not taking advantage of it.

Blackberry’s, email, and GPS units are simple ways to improve your customer service by offering instant communication in ways that are unprecedented in our industry.  My company has sold many jobs based solely on our response rate.  In addition to doing exactly what we say we’ll do, we try and make communication  as instant as possible.  This includes late night emails, instant call backs on holidays, and making the extra effort to contact potential customers instantly and when it’s convenient for them.  Today’s consumer is not only intelligent, but technologically savvy.  It is your job, as a business owner, to keep up with your customers by meeting their demands…in this case their demands being instant communication. 

These tools can be expensive, but will often pay for themselves quickly.  Let’s use the example of GPS.  Since purchasing GPS for our trucks we have not only saved paper and gas, which is an important “green” step for our company, but we have saved time in responding to quotes and adding jobs.  In this case, we paid for our new technology within a week.  There are many contractors that are resistant to new technology.  You gain an instant advantage over them by gaining the knowledge necessary to keep up with the average consumer.

The next time you are considering an equipment upgrade, or more gallons per minute, consider making yourself more money by saving time.  Spend the extra money on the tools that will allow you to be more efficient, leaner, and meaner.  The ability to offer better quality customer service will make your business better…and in terms of your bank account, bigger is certainly better.

John Greene, Pressure washing Charlotte and all surrounding cities.

 
]]> http://pressurewashingnews.com/technology-making-a-difference-in-pressure-washing/feed/ http://pressurewashingnews.com/home-and-garden-shows-part-2-during-the-show/ http://pressurewashingnews.com/home-and-garden-shows-part-2-during-the-show/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:38:27 +0000 Jenny Flinn http://pressurewashingnews.com/home-and-garden-shows-part-2-during-the-show/  

There are many “do’s” and “dont’s” of a home show, especially during the actual show itself. Booth set-up, professionalism, customer contact, and actual attendance at the show will all play major roles in your success.

If you have ever visited a home show, what booths caught your eye? Was it the booth with a simple table and person sitting down behind it, or the more elaborate booth with a friendly exhibitor? Well…the latter of course.

As potential customers walk by your booth, you have about three to five seconds to convey what you do to them. Seasoned exhibitors know that they must somehow use visuals to draw people in so that a conversation may ensue. For example, at our home show, there was a company selling hurricane shutters. This company built mini windows and covered them with their shutters. People stopped in to look and touch.

Another company sold palm trees. The owner brought in large and small trees for customers to purchase. People stopped in to look.

An insulation company built a small roof and sprayed in the insulation for people to see. People stopped to look.

Get the idea?

You do not have to spend a lot of money on your booth but you do want to instantly show them who you are and what you do. One of the ways to do this is to use a display board with before and after pictures. This needs to be large and noticeable so that people will glance at it and instantly be intrigued. You may also make a slideshow of before and after pictures and play it on a TV in your booth. Bringing in equipment is also an option. If your show will allow it, set up a small area to conduct a demo. Use your imagination!

Do: Find ways within your budget to incorporate visuals into your booth, allowing the customer to see exactly what you do

Don’t: Invest money into a home show and NOT have visuals in your booth!

First impressions are everything to the potential customer. As they walk by, they will be not only be looking at your booth but YOU as well. Be sure to wear company uniforms with your logo on them. This is not the time to wear your bleach stained jeans and a tee shirt! No matter what, keep a smile on your face and appear approachable. Watch your body language. Try not to cross your arms, as this makes you appear standoffish. Do not sit down behind your table and wait for people to come to you. Instead, walk around in front of your booth with your hands cusped behind your back and politely smile and greet people.

Do: Dress professionally and appear approachable.

Don’t: Have awkward body language or sit behind your table

We have already established the fact that you need to be stationed in front of your booth, not behind. This puts you right in front of the attendee and conveys confidence. Depending on the attendance, you may not have time to approach people, they may come to you. However, you still need to practice a sales pitch before the show. During a slower show where you do have to approach folks, it is a good idea to put together a few of your giveaways (brochures, pens, business cards…etc) in a packet and hand them to folks who are walking by. Don’t ask a question like “How are you”, because you will receive the same answer every time…”Fine.” Instead, welcome them to the home show. If they show a tad bit of interest and slow down in front of your booth, ask them if they are familiar with exterior pressure cleaning or roof cleaning (whatever your service may be) while pointing to your before and after display then go from there. You also have to watch the customer’s body language just as they are watching yours. After a few hours, you will know who to approach and who not to. There is no need to be overly excited and run up to every single person that walks by. Remain genuinely courteous, even to the people who are rude to you. Remember to say “Enjoy the rest of your day!”

Do: Hand out your promotional items and ask open ended questions.

Don’t: Become overly excited or pushy.

So your booth looks great, you have your sales pitch down pat, and you are prepared to hand out promotional items, but what happens when there is a lack of attendance at the show? At this point, above all things, remember to remain positive! Do not let this put a damper on your spirits. At our show, many exhibitors were upset about the lack of attendance and they simply gave up. Remember your goals and set out to reach them regardless. Without the hustle and bustle of a busy show, you can target potential customers a little easier. Stand in front of your booth and hand out your promotional items as planned and be friendly. You can still make the best of this situation!

Do: Remain positive at a slow show.

Don’t: Give up even when you see other seasoned exhibitors doing it.

By: Jennifer Flinn

www.gulfcoastpowerwashing.com

Next-

Part 3: After the Show/ Follow up