Fliers/Ads/Postcards that really work
Okay, let’s get into some real juicy, meaty material now!
If you are starting out in the window cleaning business, and have no clients, one of the best ways to get a whole bunch of them, is to pass out fliers and or postcards in the neighbourhoods you want to secure clients from. For now we will focus on residential clients.
What are you going to put in your flier or postcard (from now on I’ll simply refer to both of these as ‘flier’ for simplicity sake…) to make people call you and hire your window cleaning services?
USE A GREAT HEADLINE
First of all, let’s talk about the headline for your flier. Your headline should always telegraph a major benefit to your prospective client will gain by investing in your window cleaning services.
To get your head around this, consider an example: If a magazine ad was trying to sell an ointment designed to relieve muscle fatigue to middle-aged men, a powerful headline would say something like “54-year-old Father continues to out wrestle his 18-year-old Son!”, or something like that. A headline like that emphasizes a key benefit that comes from consuming the product, in this case being able to out-wrestle your teenage kids without being in pain. Apply the same thinking to your window cleaning flier.
Instead of choosing as a headline “window cleaning”, pick a headline that clearly communicates a benefit. Perhaps something like “You can relax, because your home is in safe hands”, or “Brighten your world and bring a smile to your face every morning”, or “Impress your friends and neighbours at your barbecue this weekend!”.
Are you starting to get the idea? A successful flier starts with a well-chosen, benefit-oriented headline. If it can also catch their interest and instill some curiosity in the rest of your ad, by coming up with some kind of “big idea”, as some marketers have described it, then your headline will be even more powerful.
Something that would fall into this category would be a headline like “Monkeys now trained to clean windows!” or “Desperate housewife seeks comfort of window cleaner”, or something similar. Of course in this last example involving the housewife, and as with all of your advertising, I wholeheartedly recommend that you keep the subsequent ad-copy on the up and up, and make sure your ads and fliers are always family-friendly!
One more tip: the words “new” and “free” are extremely powerful, and if you can find a way to work them into your headline, then your headline will become even more effective.
TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO
Okay let’s now talk about the next ingredient for your flier. Make sure that you tell people very clearly what is it you want them to do. Again, this may be “call us right now to reserve your spring window cleaning service”, or “drop us an e-mail and we’ll send you your free report right away!”, or “visit this webpage immediately to claim your downloadable gift!”, or whatever else you want them very specifically to do.
And make sure that whatever it is you restate it at least a couple of times on your flier. People respond to clear directions, and the more clear and direct you are (sounds redundant, doesn’t it?), the more likely it is that they will perform the action you wish them to.
MAKE IT DIRECT RESPONSE
Your flier must also incorporate some kind of measurable response mechanism. In other words there has to be something built into the flier’s offer, so that when people call you can immediately determine where that interest came from. This is where having a specific, new, unique webpage on your site can be very effective, because you be able to measure how much traffic visits that particular webpage over the course of your promotion. If you send out 1000 fliers that say visit www.thisexactpage.com and then, over the next two weeks, 59 people visit that page, you’ll know that during the campaigns first 2 weeks, almost 6% were motivated enough to complete the action that you were telling them to perform.
If you don’t have a website for your window cleaning business, you definitely need to get one! However, if you do not currently have one, you can replicate this strategy by using a phone promo code instead. To do this, all you need to include in your flier as part of the offer is a little comment or blurb that says something like “Use phone promo code ‘monkeys’ to save $25 off your initial service!”.
Ideally you would select a promo code “word” that directly relates to your campaign’s theme, in this case – ‘monkeys!’ Doing so will just cement a little bit more solidly in their mind the essence and value of your offer, and make it easier for them to remember and tell their friends about it.
Never create a flier or ad or postcard or anything designed to solicit new business, that does not have some kind of measurable response mechanism built-in. Otherwise you have no idea where to spend your next $50 or $5,000. You’ve already learned the importance of this when we discussed “Replication” as part of your POWER strategy for window cleaning business mastery, so consider this a small, friendly reminder.
Are your Invoices marketing tools?
This is a very interesting question to ask, since the whole concept of viewing invoices as a marketing tool in themselves is fairly rare within the small business community, and essentially nonexistent among small window cleaning business owners. And yet, I assure you that when you are done reading this little heading that you will be of the opinion that you must revamp your invoices starting right now to leverage their power to generate more business and more profit. Let’s get to it, then!
Let’s start with you again: What kind of invoice do you produce for your window cleaning clients? It would not be an exaggeration to say that some kind of super-boring “quickbooks-type-format” is pretty much standard operating procedure for 99% of window cleaning business owners, and likely very similar to what you’re using right now when you invoice a client.
But let me ask you:
Probably you would agree that the answer to those questions is “not very much”. And yet this has somehow become the way 99% of window cleaning business owners handle this part of their business. I’m going to show you how to revamp it instantly make your invoices a more profitable cog in your marketing machine.
Please place your finger on this page again, and reference the appendix. There you’ll find the invoice template I currently use for my window cleaning business, and that has been tweaked in many ways to become a very powerful part of my marketing plan.
Take for instance, the fact that my face is on this invoice. This alone elevates my company beyond the coldhearted corporate conglomerates of the world around us, and it reminds my clients that I am the real person behind the service oriented window cleaning company that they’ve come to love and rely upon. A small detail with huge impact.
Secondly, please note that I have incorporated photographs into my invoice template, to verify to my client that the work was completed as promised, and that their investment in our window and eaves cleaning services was well placed. Do you currently use photographs as part of your invoice design? Many of my customers have commented on how much they appreciate it, and it will strengthen the credibility of your business also.
Next, please note that I also include with the invoice an appealing offer that is designed to motivate my customers to refer me to a friend, family member, or neighbour. In the case of the example that you see right now, in the area where this client lives, I chose to offer them the gift certificate for a local popular restaurant as a bit of an ‘ethical bribe’ to motivate them to send me even more business! This works, it generates buzz among your clients, and makes it fun for them to do business with you.
Please also note that the invoice itself is unorthodox in its layout. Some may even consider it to be “pretty” or “fancy”. This too has been done on purpose, to justify and support the higher price points that my company has established. When people spend more money on any kind of premium service or product, a “specialized-looking” invoice like this can help them to feel good about their purchase, and make them feel pampered and special.
I have had some of my most lucrative clients comment on how beautiful my company’s invoices are, thus I have included Invoices in this chapter as something that you should pay attention to if you truly are after explosive business growth in the shortest amount of time possible.
Please also note that this invoice template includes a very strong reiteration of my promise to the client that if they are not absolutely satisfied they can contact me immediately, and that they are not expected to pay without resolving their concerns first. Over the past year, I had only one client take me up on this offer. Part of that is because I have systems in place to ensure that they are always given as high a standard of workmanship as possible, and attentive customer service.
But the other part of the reason why very few people will ever call you to complain, even though you have given them this chance, is this: your clients simply want to feel that their opinion and evaluation of your service counts with you, and that they’re not simply a number on your accounting spreadsheet. They want to know that they have the option of complaining, but they will very rarely actually do it!
So incorporate your solid guarantee into your invoices too, and your clients will feel respected and valued, and will be more loyal to your company as a result. Their continued loyalty = their money in your pocket year after year.
