Today, I want to tell you a simple question you should ask clients that can potentially double your profits in as little as 3 months.
This question is incredibly powerful. Your clients will appreciate that you asked it… and you can start using is right now.
Yet, many carpet cleaners never even think to utter these words.
What is this profit-pulling question?
Simple. The question is…
“Would you like to schedule your next clean in 3, 6 or 12 months?”
Now I understand that some people have an issue asking to schedule another appointment immediately after doing a job. It feels a little like a ‘hard sell’.
But it shouldn’t.
If you think about it, you are actually making the client’s life easier by ‘taking care’ of carpet cleaning for them. People are busy. They have a lot of things going on in their lives. Automatic scheduling means there is one less appointment they have to remember.
Of course, it also benefits your business because:
- First, you will get more repeat work. Since you don’t leave it up to the client to remember your service and call after 3, 6, or 12 months, you will get a lot more repeats.
- Second, you actually make more money. You will have clients who want their carpets cleaned every 3 months, but take up to 6 months to call you. With automatic rescheduling, you remove this tendency to procrastinate. This means you could potentially double the amount of work you get.
- Third, it allows you to plan your workload in advance. You can avoid the trap that many cleaners fall into of too much work followed by too little.
Now that you understand the power of this technique, here’s how to use it.
- When the job is complete, ask the owner if they are happy. If they are, tell them why it’s so important to get the carpets cleaned regularly.
- Explain that to make their life easier, you normally schedule the next appointment immediately after completing a job. Ask them if they want to reschedule in 3, 6 or 12 months. It’s important to phrase the question this way because if you just ask them if they want to reschedule, they may automatically say ‘No.’ (It’s human nature! We dislike buying stuff.)
- Tell the client there is no-obligation. Make it clear that they can cancel or reschedule the appointment at any time.
- A fortnight before the appointment, send a reminder text message, email or letter to let the client know what date you will be coming. You can use the example reminder below.
- Call two or three days before the appointment. No-shows are expensive for your business, so I recommend this, even if you have to hire a secretary to make the calls.
TODAY’S TASK: Prepare Your Reminder Letter
Today’s task is relatively quick.
- Use this sample to prepare a reminder letter or email for clients.
Dear Name,
My name is John Smith from ACME Carpet Cleaning.
A few months ago, you scheduled an appointment and I’m just writing to remind you about it.
Your appointment is scheduled at Date and Time. If for some reason this is no longer suitable, please call our office on (XX) XXX XXX to reschedule.
I look forward to helping you keep your carpets in peak condition!
Sincerely,
Name
Contact Details
2. Ask every client to reschedule. From this point on, when you complete a job and the client is happy, always ask “Would you like to schedule your next clean for 3, 6 or 12 months?”