[Robin Ray]

So what is your opinion, is training on a personal level really necessary in the carpet cleaning industry?

I personally subscribe to the idea that you can never stop learning and nobody was born an expert. Every course I have attended has been really beneficial even if I don't offer that particular service anymore. What are your opinions?

[Mike Halliday]

Depends if you want to earn  good money, if you want to earn £20 a room then knowing the basics might do.

 if you want to quote £120 for a living room it helps if you can back up your price with the impression that you are worth the price you are asking,  the best way to do this is by talking with authority (which requires knowledge which come from training  and studying our business)

I know a lot of carpet cleaners and It’s no coincidence that the people who know their stuff are charging higher than the average in our industry

[Kev Martin]

Depends if you want to earn  good money, if you want to earn £20 a room then knowing the basics might do.

 if you want to quote £120 for a living room it helps if you can back up your price with the impression that you are worth the price you are asking,  the best way to do this is by talking with authority (which requires knowledge which come from training  and studying our business)

I know a lot of carpet cleaners and It’s no coincidence that the people who know their stuff are charging higher than the average in our industry

I would agree with that wholeheartedly but it applies to all trades not just CC’ers.  Knowledge is power

[Mike Halliday]

And it goes further than industrial knowledge,  we should all try and grow personally as well.

I have just quoted a big job ( and booked it in) the reason I got it was I could communicate  at the same level as the customer (who although retired was obviously in his time a very successful business man)

I spent more time discussing the impact on local traffic from the new school at the bottom of his lane than  what we were going to clean. This is what a lot of people don’t get, initially we are judged by people on 3 things....

What we say.

How we say it .

How we look.

Increasing our knowledge of the industry and the world  ( and more importantly the little bit of the world where we live ) is a big part of how much success we achieve in life

[Robin Ray]

And it goes further than industrial knowledge,  we should all try and grow personally as well.

I have just quoted a big job ( and booked it in) the reason I got it was I could communicate  at the same level as the customer (who although retired was obviously in his time a very successful business man)

I spent more time discussing the impact on local traffic from the new school at the bottom of his lane than  what we were going to clean. This is what a lot of people don’t get, initially we are judged by people on 3 things....

What we say.

How we say it .

How we look.

Increasing our knowledge of the industry and the world  ( and more importantly the little bit of the world where we live ) is a big part of how much success we achieve in life

I would agree with that. Its also being able to adapt the approach to the particular type of person. After all Mrs Little old lady needs a particular approach, and Mr Chief Executive needs another. Using the same approach on both would be inappropriate and talking to anyone the same as the Geazzer down the local will only appeal that particular customer base, repelling others.

[Robin Ray]

So far we have 3 comments and 9 votes. What are the others thought on the matter?
I would be particularly interested to know the Rug Doctor and Laundry detergent users reasons 

[MarkSutcliffe]

just been laughed at for quoting £85 for a three seater laura ashley...

makes no difference that i'm spent over a grand on training in the last year...

[*Hector*]

Ignore the laughter unless it was because the price was too cheap.... because the price was far too cheap...

Laura Ashley furnishings can be a bugger to clean and the rugs are notorious for shrinkage if you are not careful..

My quote for a 3 seater Laura Ashley would be at least £150 (mainly because I used to hate doing suites and charged accordingly,but more often than not I got the job, so it was worth it for the money).

Price high, be confident.... it does work (especially if you have done the training and know what you are on about)

[*Hector*]

So far we have 3 comments and 9 votes. What are the others thought on the matter?
I would be particularly interested to know the Rug Doctor and Laundry detergent users reasons 

I was not the one who put rug doctor, however I could do a very good job with the said tools, but unfortunately not every time, as some stains and browning would never come out with just those tools... 

[Mike Halliday]

People laugh at prices because in their mind the work required is not worth price stated,

You need to sell the price you quote so the customer sees what they are getting for their money, I quoted a job on Saturday morning  which was £860, the guy nearly passed out!  He told me there  was no way he was paying that,  it wasn’t until I was leaving that I mentioned it was a 3 man job at that point his attitude changed, he thought it was just me ( it was my fault I hadn’t given him enough information to justify the price) so the price was the same but now he thought he was getting his monies  worth.

To get back on topic about training, if you want to use your training  in your sales presentation then tell the customer a white lie. when you inspect the suite or carpet tell them what a coincidence it is that their carpet or suite is the exact same one that was used on your last specialist stain removal course, then tell them a little bit about your ongoing training schedule to learn about the many new fabrics that are being used by modern furniture manufacturers ...bla...bla....bla...bla

[Kev Martin]

Selling whether it be condoms or sand to the Arabs is all about finding an affinity / common ground with the customer.    I often attend a job and may spend 20 minutes chatting about everything but the proposed job they called me out for.  Don’t get me wrong it doesn’t work with everyone but it does with most.  So this brings me to the point that not only Is it important you are knowledgeable and understand your particular trade / skill, it also helps if you have a good grasp on current affairs and a wide range of other subjects as well.  This skill is what puts your customer at ease and helps oil the sale.

[*Hector*]

good grief.... I agree with the drop short...

When I was a timeshare salesman, the first 90 mins was the warm up, where we just walked around the village and talked about anything and everything except the product.... the next 3 hours was plenty of time to talk about the product and close the deal..

 

[Robin Ray]

just been laughed at for quoting £85 for a three seater laura ashley...

makes no difference that i'm spent over a grand on training in the last year...

Mark, no worries I have also been laughed at many times for quoting certain prices on certain jobs. The fact of the matter is they just couldn't afford my prices.  A business costs £X to run which dictates the minimum which can be charged, if less than £X is charged the business will fail.  An old bloke I know put it this way " There is no point in buying work".

I don't want to be presumptuous as I know nothing about your business. So please don't take this as a criticism, you may know all this information. There is another thing which effects hugely how much you can charge, its marketing. Specifically the message to market match. A marketing message needs to match the audience you want to attract. For example if you put 1000 leaflets in the doors of 1000 council homes with 50% off all cleaning on them you are not going to be able to charge top dollar to the people who call. (No offence to council house dwellers, I live in an ex council house myself) If you put 1000 leaflets in to 1000 country homes with the message "Exclusive carpet cleaning for discerning home owners"  you will be able to charge more money because not only do the audience have the money but they also want the best service possible. Training gives you the ability to back up your claims. Conversely if you put the 50% off flyers in the country homes and the "Exclusive" flyers in the council homes that wont work either.... the message must match what the audience is looking for.

[Robin Ray]

So far we have 3 comments and 9 votes. What are the others thought on the matter?
I would be particularly interested to know the Rug Doctor and Laundry detergent users reasons 

I was not the one who put rug doctor, however I could do a very good job with the said tools, but unfortunately not every time, as some stains and browning would never come out with just those tools... 

Maybe I should have put tooth brush and terry towel. Its possible to clean a carpet with those too... not very efficient tho. 

[DB]

Some really sensible posts in this thread...

May I respectfully suggest those starting out read them again... and again

Of course there are those in the 'Trade' who will accuse this approach as 'ripping off the customer'

Talking to the customer....otherwise known as 'Kitchen Sink Marketing'... worth its weight in gold

Cheers

[Emil Dinev]

Training is of vital importance! It gives you knowledge, confidence and peace of mind when dealing with sensitive items. I did the advanced fabric cleaning course (this may not be the actual name of the course) at Alltec last year. Prior to that i had always shied away from using moisture in viscose, cotton velvet etc. Beginning of this year i did a job priced at £860, 3 duresta sofas cleaning & protection. Customer didn’t question my pricing at all simply asked when I was available.  Re speaking to customers I remember reading a post from Ken Wainwright years ago where he calls the approach “ kitchen marketing”. Engaging with customer on casual topics is so important. I often just look around the house while setting up and try to find what intersts them and simply start a conversation arond that. It can be anything really, say their well maintained garden or the retro car on the drive or just ask them which location from the many fridge magnets they liked the best etc. People like this...

[Mike Halliday]

You need to learn to talk to customers while quoting jobs, especially if you are high priced. People need to time to come to terms with a high price, tell them £350 and they will go into shock, they need time to process the amount. if you give them the price then ask for the order they more than likely will say no or some other excuse ( need to talk to the wife/husband etc)

Tell them how much it will cost then judge their reaction if they just say “that’s fine when can you do it” great but if they hesitate talk about this something else let them Relax but asking for the order.

Maybe give them the price then ask if it ok to do a colour fastness test just to  make sure  the suite is ok to clean, this allows time for the price to sink in

[benny d]

Hi Mike,
I didnt think you did carpets anymore? Im sure I read a post last year that you just do patios etc.

[Cleanevangelist]

the focus for carpet cleaning training has been for ever on just carpets and sofas plus rugs. this needs to change.

it needs to be much wider. how can you sell odour and hygiene if you dont know your stuff.

cleaning for hygiene has long been neglected..  If we stop thinking about ourselves as cleaners and more hygienist then things will improve for us all. Thats what BICSc will teach you.

Prochem has the best course because they focus on products and work back from there.  every product is a problem solver and a service we can sell.

people wait until their carpets look dirty before cleaning but dont apply this to everything else. Hygiene has done more and still does for humans life span that any drug.

With antibiotics nearing what they can do hygiene is going to become more important. stop the germs getting and spreading and you dont need the drugs. drug companies are sitting back waiting for someone to find the answer so they can just buy that answer and control the market, or for it to become a much bigger issue and then they can get the attention of governments and our taxes.

Ian Harper

[Mike Halliday]

Benny, yep kicked the carpet  cleaning  into touch and now concentrate of the exterior cleaning.... best  thing I ever did