How to make your soft washing business a REPEAT business

February 02, 2018 4 Comments

The problem soft washing contractors often face when building their soft washing business is the grinding "churn" of having to constantly find new customers.

Fortunately, there is a simple and profitable solution.

Window cleaners have a great business because customers want them to come back every month to clean their windows. They have a repeat business. And everyone who runs a business knows that repeat business is the best business because constantly finding new customers is both tiring, labour intensive and expensive.

So how can soft washing contractors generate repeat soft washing business?

The answer lies in our Benz Bio Cleanze softwash product.

We all know that a first clean often (but not always) needs the rapid cleaning power of Benz Lightning Cleanze to quickly shift the ingrained contamination that is the result of years of neglect. This gives our customers the rapid results most people want and expect.

Then we follow up immediately, or after a few months, with a treatment of Bio Cleanze to give long-term residual protection against re-colonisation and continue deep sanitisation of the treated surface.

But then what?

Most contractors never go back to their old customers. They think they need to always find new customers, spending large amounts of money on advertising and often travelling great distances to do the resultant work.

This ignores a principle of soft washing that we seldom hear talked about: Many customers want their properties kept permanently clean, just as they want their windows kept permanently clean.

And Bio Cleanze is the perfect softwash solution to offer this service to your customers. This is because, once surfaces have been cleaned from the years of built-up contamination, a relatively quick and simply spray with Bio Cleanze is all that is required to keep the surfaces permanently clean.

This means that the hard work you put in during the first clean does not have to be repeated. Simply capitalise on the "Spray & Go" nature of Bio Cleanze, which requires no rinsing and is fully biodegradable, and you'll have a simple, easy and profitable softwashing business.

How to set up a highly profitable softwash maintenance programme

To keep your customers happy for several years – and have a nice flow of money into your bank account during those years – simply offer an ongoing soft wash maintenance programme using Bio Cleanze.

Now let's be clear here. We are not suggesting roping your domestic customers into a written legal contract. Realistically a simple verbal agreement is all that is required. A written contract, apart from being unnecessary, would likely put most domestic customers off.

Quick tip: In contrast, managers of commercial properties often prefer a written contract, which states exactly what the contractor is doing, with what, when and at what price.

Patios and paths are the easy "low hanging fruit". They can repeat every 6-12 months, especially given the damp, warm winters we are experiencing and the subsequent rapid algae growth.

Even walls and roofs can be put on a maintenance programme, although the time span of the repeat cycle will be more like 2-5 years. This may at first seem too long to run a repeat business ... but think about it.

If a contractor makes a note of when they clean a property and stays in business for 5 years, at the 5 year mark they will have a database of "warm" prospects to offer their services to. And assuming the contractor did a good job, those customers will welcome the renewed contact.

Quick tips:

1) Obviously people move house, so make sure you leave your business card and/or leaflet with your customer and ask them to add it to the helpful information pack they pass on to the new owners.

2) Send Christmas cards (or whatever holiday your customers celebrate) is another simple but effective way to stay in contact, so when the time comes for you offer your customers a repeat soft washing treatment you will not be a stranger to them.

Now comes the REALLY IMPORTANT bit of building a repeat soft washing business:

But if not set up at the start, when the contractor calls back (when of course, the customer will not be expecting them) they will likely have forgotten who the contractor is.

The customer is likely to think the contractor is just trying to con them out of more money. Consequently the success rate of the contractor's canvassing will be greatly reduced.


This is a very, very important – and highly profitable – bit of sales psychology.  This simple principle, of setting up your customers to expect a call from you at some point in the future (timing determined by the nature of the work), will pay dividends for as long as you run your soft washing business.

You'll find that when you carefully explain to your customer the reasons why you will be calling back, so they understand the benefit to them, they will welcome your call when the time comes.

You'll find that a small amount of time invested in explaining the reasons and benefits of why your customers should accept your "Clean & Maintain" programme, in advance of your call-back, is infinitely more effective than spending hours attempting to explain later.

We hope this information is helpful and sincerely wish you great success in your soft washing business,

Ben, Leo, Fiona, Stevie & Anthony

Click here to get more practical soft washing how-to tips

How to find answers to most soft washing questions: Simply enter a relevant "keyword" or short phrase – e.g. keyword for the above link = "how to" – into our in-site Search Engine (magnifying glass icon on the main menu).

Click here to download our Product Documentation Pack (includes Application & Dilution guides, SDS, PDS, RAMS, PPE & Mask info, COSSH, sample Contract and more)

Order Benz Softwash chemicals & equipment online or by phone:

GB (England, Scotland, Wales)

Phone: 0800 70 74 222 

Online: www.benzsoftwash.co.uk

Ireland and other countries

Phone: 00353 214 622 978

Online: www.benzsoftwash.com

Lines open Monday - Friday, 9am – 5pm

Please note: The above numbers are for orders only (click here for tech support)

PS: Click here to set up your "Clean & Maintain" programme. After completing an initial soft wash treatment, put your customer on a "Clean & Maintain" ongoing maintenance programme. Your customers will enjoy a permanently clean property and you will enjoy a steady stream of repeat business.

This is clearly a win-win arrangement for you and your customers.

Click here to explore the extensive range of Benz softwash cleaning chemicals & equipment

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