We have just launched The Kitchen and Bathroom Factory website. The Kitchen and Bath Factory is a division of Morey Construction, Inc., a well established design and build contractor in Southern California. President, Benjamin Morey has been recognized for fine design by The National Association of Home Builders as one of the Big 50 top design, build remodelers in the nation in 2005.

Here is a good article for pressure washing contractors:

Having been in the pressure washing business for some time know; a few decades. I have come to the realization that most pressure washing companies are missing many lucrative markets; market segments, which are uncommon but not unprofitable. Here are some ideas, which can help you in your pressure washer business if you wish to increase sales and expand your business.

Lumber Industry & Services

Some pressure washing companies wash heavy equipment for many U.S. and Canadian timber companies, lumber mills, and logging trucking companies. We recommend that you paint your equipment a bright and safe color; our equipment is painted safety yellow and our crews have worked in and around the timber industry, so we realize the importance to stay “heads-up” in work zone, as well as out of the way of the massive equipment we are cleaning while they are in operation. You should take a similar approach and mindset to safety when working pressure washing in the lumber or timber industry.

Many times you will need to work weekends cleaning equipment so that you are undisturbed. This is also good for the timber or lumber company since they you don’t have to worry about another crew in the yard. You may be asked to clean and work on cranes loading rail cars, barges moving timber down the river and steam cleaning mills. There are many lare companies in this industry such as Boise-Cascade, Potlatch and Mead Paper. Logging trucks are also good accounts, some are owned by fleet companies and others by independent operators.

Drainage Ditches As you know, the county flood control, districts, EPA and State’s NPDES permits require that you meet all required code; otherwise you can’t work. Once the authorities know you can clean without polluting you will find they also have lots of work to be done. Debris and dirt in cement ditches must be removed and the organic material flushed out to keep the drainage clean and clear. When inspectors show up and find a dust free excavated field, clear drainage ditches, hay bales in strategic locations and cement cutters installed, they’ll smile, take a cup of coffee and leave you alone. Then they will take your business card and pass it around the public agencies for more work. Government work although it is riddled with paper work and regulation and they are extremely slow to pay their bills can in fact be good for fill in busy work on long-term contracts.

Dairy Industry Cleaning

In your pressure washing business you might find you can help dairies and independent distributors with all their cleaning needs. You can steam clean costly pasteurization equipment using corrosion resistant soaps on a routine preventative wash maintenance schedule. Make sure all of your products meet USDA inspector codes and are FDA approved. The easiest way for the Dairy Industry to keep from being milked by the FDA, USDA, EPA, OSHA, and animal rights groups is to run a tight ship. You will also find lots of work cleaning facility forklifts, delivery trucks, buildings, and equipment. Make this one of your market niche specialties. Here is a link to a reclaim system called a vacu-boom, which we use. You might use something similar in your pressure washing company. With livestock all around it is imperative that your reclaim your water for the health of the animals and our food supply.

http://www.truckwashguy.com/reclamation.shtml.

You may also find the dairy companies asking you to wash down bars, fences, covered awnings, troughs, barns, storage tanks, fittings, concrete pads, etc.. These are important items to take care of as well. Make sure you have convenient monthly billing, workers compensation, SB198 safety plan (if in California), OSHA approved safety ware, EPA approved soaps, NPDES recognized Best Management Practices (BMPs), MSDS for all products and fully comply with all government regulations. There are always lots of visits from government inspectors to such facilities and you need to run things right.

Think on these additional industries when determining your focus in the pressure washing industry, sometimes the most lucrative accounts have little if any competition involved.

Lance Winslow

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Though I am not really a sales person, I made a common mistake that most sales people make. I didn’t shut my trap once I told a previous client the amount of our marketing program.. I was so nervous that the only thing which quelled my anxiety was the sound of my own voice which kept droning on and on and on like an annoying empty gong. It was almost as if the silence begged to be broken by my voice and I couldn’t help myself. “And you get unlimited updates, and a monthly newsletter,” I said. No answer. Long pause. “And the direct mail pieces. It’s all there. Look at that, sir. See? See? That’s big savings.” No answer. Long pause. “Look at that. And you get free hosting also. That’s even more savings, sir.” Long pause. Long pause. Long pause. More nervousness. “Did I tell you that our company was founded in . . .”

All of a sudden this quiet man finally said something, and it’s something that I’ll never forget. “Boy,” he said in a thick southern drawl, interrupting me right smack in the middle of my enthusiastic babbling. “I done bought from ya ten minutes ‘go. But ya just tawked yersef outta it. You kin go now.”

He bought from me ten minutes ago. I talked myself out of it. I could go now. But . . . it’s not . . . fair, I thought to myself. No, it wasn’t fair, but it was a great lesson on the power of silence. Sometimes silence can be a powerful force, powerful enough to close the deal for you. Powerful enough to even tear it apart after it already closed.

When you are on your next sales call, pay attention to how silence is used in the meeting with the homeowner:

After you present your formal proposal to the homeowner, let them look at it. Let them be the ones to say something first. There is an old rule of thumb in the world of selling and negotiating that says whoever talks first loses. Let them bring up the questions and issues after you present it to them. If they don’t say anything, then just let them mull it over. They’ll ask you questions when they are ready. Don’t appear too anxious to be the first one to speak.

Use silence to convey a point. When you are talking to someone and want to emphasize a key point, pause right before it. Say it like this: “Bob, this is why I think you need to consider our company. (pause, pause, pause). It’s because of…” The longer pause gets their attention.

When you are asked a question, you don’t need give the first answer that pops in your head. Give them the right answer. And if you need more time to answer their question, say, “That’s a good question, Bob. Let me think about that for a second.” More than anything, you will be considered a true professional who is giving serious thought to solving their problems.

Anytime you are in a negotiation, when someone makes an offer to you, pause before you give a response. It makes you seem more cautious and less eager. When it comes to making a concession, remember that the way you offer the concession is just as important as the concession you make. Pause before you concede as if you are reluctant to give something up. This shows the other party that you value your product or service and it increases the likelihood of you negotiating a better deal.

During your next meeting with a homeowner, pay attention to how this tool of silence can be used, and how effective it is in your ability to influence others. And, if anything, at least it’ll keep you from babbling your way out of a closed sale.

Direct mail postcards allow marketers to pinpoint specific neighborhoods with their message. And many landscapers focus heavily on neighborhoods in their marketing efforts. This makes postcard marketing the perfect promotional tool for landscaping companies.

Better still, the number of ways contractors can use postcards is limited only by their imagination. Here are but a few of those ideas:

1. Seasonal Reminders

Many homeowners know very little about the seasonality of home maintenance. So why not tell them. Try sending regular reminders. This works well for hvac contractors who are changing from the cooling season to the heating season, for lawn care companies who need time to mulch or plant.

2. Customer Follow-up

You’re probably familiar with the 80/20 rule — you get 80% of your business from 20% of your customers. You’ve probably also heard how much more expensive it is to acquire a new customer than to retain a current one.

With this in mind, why not send your best customers thank-you cards, holiday greetings or special offers? It’s a great way to stay in touch with the 20% who mean the most to your business.

3. Neighborhood Prospecting
You’ve worked hard on a specific home in a specific neighborhood. And the project look great, regardless if it is a new roof, lawn or cooling system! So don’t be shy — tell the rest of the neighborhood who’s behind the beauty. With postcard marketing, you can target the exact streets and subdivisions you want. This lets you draw attention to projects the recipient has probably already seen!

4. Tip-of-the-Month Series

If you are not going to send a direct mail newsletter, this option of a simple postcard may be a cost effiecient form of marketing. Try a tip-of-the-month series. The concept is simple: take your sales message, and wrap it inside a helpful hint so the homeowner has an extra reason to keep it.

The goal here is not to give away your trade secrets — but to make your audience aware of your services, while also increasing the shelf-life of your postcards. Try to envision the kinds of postcards people might put up on their refrigerators or bulleting boards. That’s your goal! You can check out more about our mini-newsletters in our past newsletters.

5. Special Offers

Postcards with strong offers outperform the more “informational” pieces. So if you’re offering some kind of discount or special, send it straight to your audience’s mailboxes. With a newspaper or magazine ad, you’re limited as to how specific you can make your offer. But with postcards, you can speak more directly to the various segments of your audience.

That’s the winning formula of direct mail — a strong offer with relevant information, sent to a precisely targeted audience.

For instance, maybe you send a postcard to a new subdivision with a headline that reads:

“Furnace Tune-Up Special for the Residents of Huntington Beach” This kind of relevance and specific targeting can dramatically increase response rates.

6. Website Tie-in

Have a website? If so, you have a perfect marketing partner to complement your postcards. The reasons are somewhat psychological:

The goal of any marketing program is to gain new business, but sometimes you have to offer indirect paths as well as the direct ones. Direct paths are for direct people. A direct path on a postcard would be a phone number. Some interested prospects will choose the direct route and call you straightaway.

But those who are less direct would rather learn more about you first. They need to get comfortable before they “raise their hands.”

So why not build an informational resource section of your website and point to it with your postcards? Maybe you’ll offer tips on how to be more energy efficient, or how to plant rose bushes. Maybe you’ll post a photo gallery showing some of your past projects and clients. Or both!

The point is to offer different response channels for the different personality types. A direct phone number for the direct people, and an indirect website path for the more timid souls. Then mention both paths on your postcards, and you’ve increased your chance for response — be it direct or indirect.

Don’t overlook postcard marketing the next time you want to target potential customers. Postcards achieve almost a 100% readership and have an impressive ROI, while being inexpensive and simple to use.

Postcards keep your name in front of customers and have an impressive ROI. Flexible, informative, and creative – postcards generate sales and keep your name in front of potential customers.

Though I am completely against purchasing leads, there are many contractors out there that continue to use this method as a form of their marketing budget. This article is written, for contractors who decide to purchase leads. Be careful and follow some of the advice below:

Make sure you are 100% confident that the lead company you are dealing with has a fair return policy. Most lead companies have software in place, or verify the lead before they sell it to weed out any fake, or bogus leads. But even with these barriers in place, it is not unusual for one to slip through the cracks. If you receive a bogus lead, there is no reason why you shouldn’t get your money back. There should be a rock solid return policy in place. This includes, no contact, bad phone number, etc.
 
If you have no interest in sharing leads with anyone else, you may want to consider buying them exclusively. A majority leads that you purchase will be sold to a minimum of 4 other contractors. Some lead services don’t do any background checks of their clients, so someone can receive leads from a major lead company and then sell that lead again. If you have ever experienced a rude response from a homeowner when calling a lead this may be the case. There have been many cases in the lead generation industry where a single lead has been sold up to 20x times. Think about it? You go online, looking for a kitchen remodeling contractor, and then when you are eating dinner, you receive 20 phone calls? It happens.
 
If you decide to buy your leads exclusively, you can plan on paying a bit more for them. As opposed to buying old or recycled leads in bulk or at two dollars a lead.
 
An exclusive contractor lead should not only be exclusive to you and you only, it should be sold to you in real time.
 
A real time exclusive contractor lead is one that is delivered to you within seconds of the applicant filling out the form on the internet.
 
If a real time contractor lead is any older than a couple of hours, it can hardly be called real time, let alone exclusive.
 
My suggestion to you if you are considering buying exclusive contractor leads would be to take your time and research the lead companies you are thinking about investing your money in.
 
Remember, you work hard for your money, so make sure the lead company you invest in will get you a return on your investment.
 
Be sure to call the lead company and speak with a live person.
 
Ask the customer service representative where they obtain their leads, and how they are delivered. Also, ask what the time frame is between the potential customer filling out the online form and you receiving it.
 
Ask for an actual website where potential clients are submitting their information. You will not believe how many lead companies survive by simply purchasing leads from one company and reselling them.
 
If the answers do not live up to your expectations of what real time exclusive leads should be, than move onto the next lead company.
 
Keep searching until you find the lead company that guarantees they will sell the lead to only you, and that they will deliver it promptly. If they can’t have it at your e-mails door step within seconds of receiving it, than keep searching until you find the company that will. Your time and money will be well spent, trust me.
 
Even better eliminate this form of money-spending and put your marketing dollars into a way to generate your own leads. Online lead generation is not difficult and can be managed with one person. Educate yourself on this, and you won’t have to buy leads from any lead service company.

Lead Purchasing Tip: The larger the lead company, the worse the lead will be. Large corporate lead generation companies need to make a profit. They do that by getting more clients, which means for every lead generated, needs to be sold “X” number of times. If you can find a small lead generation company that fills all the requirements above, you are more likely to get exclusive leads first. Even though they may take those same leads and sell them to the larger lead service company after you receive them.