Favorite Articles

Fine fabric cleaners often advertise their ability to clean fabrics that might brown, bleed, experience texture distortion or shrink. This tactic of advertising that they are willing to "clean what others refuse" can be effective, but it misses what is foremost in their customers' minds: "Can you fix this?"...keep reading

We wash hundreds of rugs a week, so we see "flawed" product relatively quickly because we wash a whole host of natural and synthetic woven and tufted rugs. Without a doubt, there is something seriously wrong with the tufted rugs coming out of India today, and in particular the lines being sold at Pottery Barn. Following are some of the problems we are seeing on a consistent basis from TUFTED rugs from India....keep reading

In my experience, business networking works the very best when your goal is that of developing a commercial cleaning business in your marketplace. ---- BUT, FIRST, you need to come to an understanding of what "networking" is, or better yet, what business or professional networking is....keep reading

In the commercial and institutional marketplaces, nothing takes the place of a Belly-to-Belly meeting. There are more benefits of meeting in person than you may realize, including:...keep reading

A feeling of trust and mutual respect, or 'rapport'- is essential when you are marketing 'Packages of Specialty Home Cleaning Services'.

There's actually no need to discuss the problem or issue at hand when you're just building 'rapport' at the beginning. Establish 'rapport' first, and then start discussing the prospect's problems and the service packages available to control their problem....keep reading

Overcoming procrastination isn't about doing work, it's about getting things finished (100% completed)! But, it can also be a real business killer - and we all suffer from it at some point in our businesses....keep reading

You ever have a customer tell you that the price to clean the rug is more than they paid for it? I have. Many times. Especially if they have a polypropylene rug! The rugs may have been cheap to buy, but that does not make the labor and solutions required to wash them any cheaper...keep reading

Is my door hanging campaign well-targeted? The best marketing campaign is wasted without a relevant target. Ideally, your target should consist of the people or businesses in the market to buy your cleaning service at the moment they receive your door hanger. Residential homes may not be the most receptive in the dead of winter here in the northeast....keep reading

Faced with today's digital/social media, new and often misunderstood opportunities for online and offline marketing can be complicated and easily misunderstood, resulting in the risk that small service businesses like ours can easily spread their marketing money and > TIME < far too thin to be the least bit effective!...keep reading

Yes, it is that time again! Business is slow. Maybe it's time to save money by killing our marketing expenses until things pick up? No! No! No!...keep reading

In an effort to dry structure and carpet, high value upholstered furniture is often overlooked, and as a result, items that could have been saved end up being ruined. . . . . the following recommendations may enable you to save valued items from permanent damage....keep reading

"Talking logo's" or "elevator speeches" are tools that allow you or others in your employ to quickly and clearly communicate verbally the single greatest benefit of doing business with your company, (and you must do this in 60 seconds or less)!...keep reading

When it comes to credibility-building, the three most powerful words in the English language are: "I don't know."...keep reading

There is a favorite saying I really like -- "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly." (I am not sure who said it, but it is most certainly true) This simply means that since you're probably going to make a mess of it the first time around, it's probably best to try something - anything - and learn from your mistakes....keep reading

Marketing with stories is the most effective marketing technique available to a small service business! Stories, especially stories about your customers, help boost confidence and trust for many reasons....keep reading

The odds are, there is at least one topic in this industry of ours on which you are already an expert. But the real problem is, how do you demonstrate to customers and prospects that you are someone whom they can trust and benefit from this problem solving expertise you have?...keep reading

In todays massive services reality, what gets people to buy is perceived value, not the cost of materials. With the ease of obtaining customer data through the internet today, more companies are setting their prices the right way by using customer-driven pricing.
Once your customer understands the unique value of a package of services, what do they expect to pay for it? What are they willing to pay for it? Customer-driven pricing works because it puts the emphasis on the customer, not the service. You set your price according to their expectations....keep reading

Focusing on current technical and micro-business trends that may have a major affect on cleaning professionals. IN THIS ISSUE -- WHO CAN YOU TRUST? RECENT POST AT JIMS CLEAN CHAT BLOG, NEWS YOU CAN USE, EDUCATION ALERT -- IICRC S520 Mold Standards Workshop, March 6, 2009....keep reading

The latest style in jeans is to purchase them softened, worn, faded, and actually torn. These "Vintage Destroyed Washed Jeans" are so popular that it can be difficult to find jeans that are not in such condition, especially in stores that cater to the youth market. However, you can be certain that this style would not be considered to be attractive or desirable in furniture fabrics!...keep reading

Do you want to completely screw up your business and ensure that nobody sticks around to buy from you again? It's not hard to do. Businesses excel at doing this every day of the week!
Here are five things you should be doing if you want to drive customers away and ensure that your business is a complete train wreck!...keep reading