How to make your softwash business a REPEAT business

February 02, 2018

The problem softwashing contractors often face when building their softwashing 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 softwashing contractors generate repeat softwashing 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 longer-term residual protection against re-colonisation.

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 facet of softwashing that we seldom hear talked about: Many customers want their properties kept perpetually clean, just as they want their windows kept perpetually clean.

And Bio Cleanze is the perfect softwash product 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 profitabie 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 softwash maintenance programme using Bio Cleanze.

Now let's be clear here. We are not suggesting roping your 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 customers off.

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 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 Tip: 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.

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

When a customer agrees to a maintenance programme during the first clean, they will be prepared for the contractor's call-back, whenever that is.

But if not set up at the start, and the contractor calls back (when of course, the customer will not be expecting them) the customer is highly 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 softwashing 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 maintenance programme in advance of your call-back is infinitely more effective than spending hours attempting to explain later.

We hope this information is helpful.

Cheers,

Ben, Leo & Fiona

Click Here to explore the full range of Benz popular softwash cleaning products

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