Turn Stains into Gains
Read time – 3 minutes
When I was 21 I worked the summer at a high end carpet cleaning company.
They charged 4x what a normal carpet cleaning company charged.
I couldn’t understand it. Were we doing something special?
They were paying me $10/hour, which seemed like a lot (in 2009) to someone with no carpet experience or skills.
As the summer went on, I started looking at the invoices and look around the office and noticed 3 things that helped them justify their prices.
1. Connections with the interior design industry
The company I worked at had two salespeople who only targeted interior designers and decorators.
The salespeople went to the interior design trade shows. They had booths at these events.
They were very good at telling a story of a white glove specialized/personalized experience.
All day, they called and emailed designers, creating relationships with them.
This led to many high-end referrals from designers.
They may have even given the designers a commission.
2. Selling a maintenance plan
The company sold a maintenance plan that used its “patented” product, the Fiber Seal Fabric Care System, to prevent stains on carpets and furniture.
They applied the product for a client twice a year on couches and rugs.
This routine maintenance was a great recurring revenue source for the company.
Applying the sealer to a room only took a carpet tech a few minutes.
You can offer your clients a routine cleaning maintenance plan or sealing preventative plan.
3. Speciality cleaning of furniture and rugs off-site
This one requires a workshop, which I realize not everyone has.
If you do, you can add a white glove service. Pick up and drop off.
Pick up the rugs or furniture. Clean and protect them in your shop.
Give these clients special attention. Make the experience memorable in a good way. Charge a high price.
Bottom Line
By making connections with interior designers, you can get high-end clientele referrals and charge higher prices.
Adding maintenance programs where you re-coat and protect furniture and rugs generates recurring profitable revenue.
Another way to increase profit is to offer white-glove, off-site cleaning for furniture, rugs, or other expensive items.
Increase your prices across the board to make sure you give them high-end treatment and increase your profit.
