[Peter J Rice]

Ive just returned to the industry after a few years out  and Im developing a sales and marketing process (for myself  right now)  from initial enquiry  through to  customer reviews and  retention :

My aim  is a  high value service and once ive sorted  it , will be looking to share with like minded  people in the industry.

Before you answer my question below , I'm only looking for positive  answers , please please don't give me reasons why I shouldn't be doing stuff only , just how  I could improve on my idea

lead gen , google, fb, blog, seo etc
conversion : face to face  , online self quoting
service packages
after care
reviews
email list and  marketing

I have a few holes in my  process atm lol and one that's  got me,  is demonstrating  carpet protector. Back in the day I used a company that provided demo cards that you could purchase with their product , now I know that ashbys have a  demo card and you get 10  free with  5 litres of their product , however i got short shift when I asked if i could purchase extras , bearing in mind  it would force me to promote and sell their product.
I know there are people out there with far more knowledge  than me when it comes t carpet protectors  , but all i want is a demo card to help the custom,er make up their mind , a visual selling aid , I cant tell you how powerful Ive found this is in  the past.
 
cheers Peter

[Robin Ray]

Make your own using blotting paper or card?

[Cleanevangelist]

Peter

First well done for returning back to a future where you get to make your own choices. with that comes freedom, but the dark side of making the wrong choice. but I am sure that you understand that good ideas that fail get you closer to the right choice.

these cards demonstrate carpet protector really well.  ask yourself why you cant find them?

To expand your idea more, how about you being the hero and not some product?  Its interesting that you are thinking about having the prospect in front of you to use these cards. thats great.

I am sure that you want to build a relationship with this prospect. well, I would like to recommend to you a book.

https://read.amazon.co.uk/kp/embed?asin=B00AHEKOFU&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_Yg.RFbJSC3Z47

In this book Seth will teach you how to get permission to market to them.  a great example for us is the free bottle of spotter.  to get the permission you just need to make it clear that it comes with a free lifetime refill. that way they are giving you permission to call contact them to see if need a refill. this is so different to "its time for your next carpet clean" approach.

If you do go down the carpet protector road. its important to tell them that they need to ensure that when they have the carpet cleaned after that its cleaned professionally as this protection can be stripped out and that if cleaned right will need toping up after two or three cleans in the traffic areas.  The fast track guys used to always add this into their maintenance plans, as it locks the customer in to use you for fear of damaging their investment in the protector.

Lastly, many, many years ago I was lucky to go to 3M on a stain protection course.  The reason is that they gave out guarantees on the protection. which gave confidence to the buyer. only problem was that they thought that if they got a stain that could not be removed that they would get a new carpet, wrong. it was only a guarantee for the product and meant that they could only get money back on the cost of the protector and not the carpet. carpet protector has always been oversold. now you really don't want to poff your customer do you?

only way I would use protector is to add value to the deal. in other words, FREE or at cost. depending on if the price charged allowed.

Good luck with it all

Respects

Ian Harper