Social Networking

I have been busy the last couple days getting knee deep in social networking. I have been working hard on my LinkedIn page creating a company page, creating a group for Canadian Window Cleaners, and trying to connect with other window cleaners and current and former customers, friends and colleagues. I am also learning how to use Twitter properly and the etiquette that they expect.

I certainly think that all this work I'm doing will in the end bring some dividends in terms of more traffic, more phone calls, better SEO and less of a chance that my customers lose my info and lose touch with me.

I have followed Rob Young's sage advice and made sure that I always have a signature that has all my information. I thought I did. But when I checked my signature I realized some information was missing. You should make sure that all social networking has all the necessary info filled out, including your website, phone number and other ways to connect with you.

It certainly is a time wasting endeavor. Hopefully the time will be an investment and not a waste.

Now I have to go back to the urgent matter of preparing my books to send to my accountant to do my taxes. I hate doing that.

Mike Polsky
647-409-8144
http://mmwindowcleaners.com

Google Adwords

 

I have used Google AdWords to help draw more people to my site, and hopefully get more phone calls and sales.

My initial experience has been one of disappointment. It's challenging to create an ad that will get many people to "click-thru". As well as creating a good ad you must use correct adwords that match what people enter when wanting to find your company.

I'm committed to getting my click thru ratio high because it is all part of my plan to get my phone to ring off the hook. I want to massively increase my revenue and get many more stores, condo units and residential houses.

I understand that Google advertising is optimal since you are finding people that want to use you, rather than distracting and annoying people that have no interest in your service.

My click thru ratio is a dismal 0.1%, but I have managed to double it to 0.2%. According to Facebook discussions a good CTR is between 2 and 4%. I would love to get to that point, get more sales and greatly increase my Google spending.

I have bought Adwords for Dummies, and I'm trying to implement the suggestions of some information online.

 

If you have any suggestions for me, feel free to email me

mike@mmwindowcleaners.com 

647-409-8144

http://mmwindowcleaners.com 

 

 

Updated Working As A Subcontractor

Working as a subcontractor

Working As A Subcontractor

I wanted to speak about something that could really add a nice income stream to your business. Subcontracting. Many janitorial companies in particular, don't want or don't know how to properly clean windows. Many are very eager to work with a window cleaning company to clean windows for their clients. They may be happy because they may have turned down window cleaning jobs before, but now, they can have someone they trust clean the windows, and they can make a tidy profit on it.

Also, if you think about it, many jobs are locked out of reach. Janitorial or cleaning companies have the contract to clean the windows, and no matter how much we try, it may just be out of reach for us. So working with janitorial companies, or property managers opens up a huge new market for commercial window cleaning.

I have worked with several janitorial companies over the past year. One janitorial company I have cleaned a restaurant for. Another has me clean some insurance office windows. Another had me clean payday loan centres, And one had me clean a condo sales office. Generally there are two kinds of companies, serious business owners who charge good prices, and are reaping the benefits, and ones who charge very little and are working like dogs. I have worked with both.

The important things to deal with when you work with companies is this. Provide a pay period that they must pay you by. For example due on receipt or due in two weeks. You deserve your money, and don't stand for not getting paid til the customer gets paid. Let the contractor manage the risk, that will be a large weight off your back.

One cleaner that I worked for took one whole year to pay me. Thankfully it was a tiny amount, but it really shows that you must clearly state payment terms, which I did, and be on them persistently for payment.

Try to put things in writing, even if it's just an email. For each new job you bid on send an email outlining what work you will do, and how much you will charge. Often terms are forgotten and arguments or misunderstandings may arise.

Don't feel that you need to cut your prices. I have charged decent prices, and the contractor was still able to put a decent cut on top of it.

Good communication is key. A janitor doesn't think like a window cleaner, and he might not understand your pricing, what work is involved, or other issues.

An advantage of working as a subcontractor is that you may get jobs that you may not get through your marketing efforts, or you may not be allowed to bid on.

Of course, janitors are not the only people you can work with. You can subcontract for property maintenance companies, national service companies, even other window cleaners. Any window cleaning job where the customer is not yours is subcontracting.

So, in summary. Set payment terms, communicate, put things in writing, and don't cut your prices if you don't have to.

Just recently I've added another company to the janitorial companies I deal with. It's an initial clean, that is decent money. I'm going to do the initial clean on Tuesday and we are going to sit down for coffee that day and talk about cleaning all the buildings that he cleans. He called me based on a referral from a client I serviced last year so it also shows the power of referrals.

Currently I only clean for several cleaning companies. In fact I can count them on my hand. However, I would like that part of my business to explode so that I can diversify my revenue quite a bit and not be too dependent on any one aspect or customer. I plan to call up janitorial companies and see if I can meet with them and make arrangements to provide quotes.
Thanks for reading my blog. If you are in the Toronto area, and want your windows cleaned. Call me. I am the Toronto Window Cleaner. 647-409-8144

What every window cleaner hates

Yesterday I pulled up to a gas station to clean their convenience store windows. When we parked we saw that there was a bucket and a pole and clean windows. My heart dropped. I went inside and stood in line to see that a tall man in his forties with brown long hair, a scruffy unkempt beard and eyes that looked like he was sleep deprived or a drinker or drug user was awaiting payment. I asked for the owner but he was on holidays so I spoke to the assistant manager. She is a nice women who always gives me a Tim Horton's coffee (they have Tim Horton's there sorta like Dunkin Donuts but better). She is very nice.

I spoke to her and asked what was going on. Well, a few weeks ago this man gave the invoice. He said he works for me. He gave her a small invoice, whereas mine is a nice Quick Books computer printout, 81/2 by 11. He just said they changed the invoices. I have no idea why she paid him in the past with a different price, a different invoice, and he is a scruffy scary looking guy, whereas I may be scary because I'm tall and have a deep voice. But I'm clean shaven and I try to dress neatly.

I charge her $20+tax whereas this guy charges $10 no tax. He didn't even want payment, he wanted a $10 worth of gas for his old beaten up unlettered Cargo van. He had a another guy with him that looked like it might be his brother who was just a scruffy looking.

I made clear to her that he doesn't work for me, that they are still under contract with us because they haven't cancelled. And furthermore we have been doing the windows for months.

I told her not to pay him. 

She said there was nothing that she could do, we had to wait for the owner to return. But strangely enough she still paid him, sounds like she still has some authority.

He cleans several other gas stations of the same company, but he may just be lying for all I know. And he said that the owner got him to do the windows.

So either I lost the job and they forgot to tell me, or this guy is an impostor, otherwise the owner would have told her about the change.

In any case it's a very small job so it won't hurt me to lose it, but it was maddening.

I did feel like emptying his bucket or doing something, or at the very least threatening him to never return. However I'm a professional and no good comes from revenge or getting even it would just reflect badly on me. Besides this guy could probably beat me up.

I will have to speak to the owner when he gets back and see what's going on.

This occasionally happens to me, but it's fairly rare, usually I'm told on the phone or in person that they are cancelling for someone cheaper I don't remember the last time that I had a situation like this.

Check out my website at http://mmwindowcleaners.com
647-409-8144

Marketing with Other Service Professionals

Today I had the privlege of doing cold and warm calling with Victor a printer and toner salesman. He sells printers and cartridges and also services them when needed. He is well liked and has two hundred and fifty accounts.

I moved out to Bowmanville where Victor has lived for many years. We both attend the same place of worship so he graciously offered to help me find accounts in Bowmanville and Oshawa.

Today for the first time I canvassed with another salesman. It was quite the fun experience. It was far more encouraging and easier.

He introduced me to his clients who were very friendly and took my card. That is what I call warmcalling. Victor simply said this is a friend of his who has moved to the area from Toronto proper and is looking for some clients. It worked well. WE only visited about 5 or 6 places and of those I have two serious prospects. That is quite something, often when I cold call I have to make several dozen visits or calls before I get a serious inquiry.

We are going to plan to do this again. Speaking in person to existing customers is very valuable since the clients are warmer and they trust you more quickly. I am likely to get jobs that I wouldn't normally get since they may only choose a window cleaner who is recommended by their friends.

On an encouraging note a pizzeria owner called me. I had left a quote and card a couple months ago, and she wanted me to come biweekly to clean the windows. She was happy with our work and is now a new client. It restored my faith that leaving business cards works at times, I was starting to think that it was pretty useless since I seemed to get little response from even serious people that took my card but for one reason or another never called me back

Are you looking for a reliable Toronto Window Cleaner. Call Mike, 647-409-8144

mike@mmwindowcleaners.com
http://mmwindowcleaners.com

Training Employees

Do you like being a teacher? When we are teaching someone to window clean or perform any skills for us in our small business, we are the teacher. So, how can you go about teaching someone to clean a window, or do any other mechanical skill?

Well, I find that teaching someone in a very slow motion is good. Window Cleaners use an "S" technique or a swirl technique. And it is very hard to do if you show someone fast. But if you show them the motions in very slow motion, and have them go slow and not rush they will get it very quickly.

Don't feel the need to critique everything. Not everything they may do is wrong. Everyone has their own way to do things, and sometimes what they do is better than what you are doing now.

Catch major errors early, and stop them from forming bad habits that will be very hard to stop later.

Most of all be fun to be with, give sincere commendation when warranted. And encourage, and patiently work with your employee.


I remember when I was learning piano as a child. I had a teacher who yelled at me when I made mistakes. It didn't help, I just froze up, and was more likely to make more mistakes.

One of the major reasons why I stuck to window cleaning was that my employer patiently trained me. He didn't yell, he didn't make me feel bad when I messed up, he was very patient, because I was a very slow learner.

So be kind, be patient, commend where possible, work and teach in slow motion, and use whatever instructional videos that have been produced.

As it says in the bible book of Luke "A pupil is not above his teacher, but everyone that is perfectly instructed will be like his teacher."

Money, Money, Money? Are you getting yours? How to get paid quickly.

Are you sitting on a mountain of unpaid invoices?

I wrote before on the importance of getting paid. I make sure that after just 2 weeks the majority of my customers that haven't paid an invoice that is aged 14 days get a friendly reminder letter.

I have found that this has sped up payment for me and enabled me to have more cash flow and less uncollected invoices.

Another important thing to do in your small business is to make sure that you have created all the invoices for all the work that has been done, and not delay in emailing or mailing the invoices.

Today, I was surprised at the hundreds of dollars of work that I have not billed going back to Dec 2011. I was wondering why my business bank account was leaner than usual of late.

So, very simple things to do to keep your cash flow healthy is to remind customers after two weeks to pay your invoice and to make sure all invoices have been created and are sent to customers quickly. Remember you have a right to your money. You don't need to apologize for that.