Amy Boggs, owner of Sparkling Palaces, Portland’s Premier Green House Cleaning Company shares 10 Great Tips for Home.  Yet another professional ARCSI Member taking Home Cleaning to the Next Level!

My favorite way to learn about my competition is www.Angieslist.com. Angie’s List is a member’-only service and the cost to join is $35 – $70 a year depending on the market. Members of Angie’s List post reviews on service companies in a variety of areas including ours. Once you’re a member just log in and read all the reviews on your competition. The customers will tell you how much they charge an hour and everything good and bad about the company. It is a great way to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the competition.

I also check the websites of the business brokers. Most businesses are sold by a broker and you can learn a lot by seeing what businesses are being sold. In my area two franchises changed ownership in the last year and both were posted on these sites including their sales, profit margins, and number of employees. While the businesses are not named there is often enough to narrow it down if not flat out identify it. One business was described as “This company with their well known yellow cars has the franchise rights to Warren county.” www.bizbuysell.com and www.sunbeltnetwork.com are the two I use.

Finally I read the employment pages every week to see who is hiring. Seeing your competition advertising for a lot of employees is often a sign of growth. They will also often give away a lot of details. For example one employment ad I read recently said “We need 3rd shift employees for a large new medical complex we have signed.”

This does not need to be a huge and time consuming project. I normally do these activities once a week while watching “Glee” on TV.

Written by:

Derek W. Christian
Owner, My Maid Service, with locations in Cincinnati and Dallas
www.mymaidservice.net

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Identifying your “Dream Client” is critically important.  The process of defining your Dream Client pushes you to become far more clear and specific about the nature of your business and your marketing focus.  The creation of your Dream Client allows you to identify exactly the client with whom you want to work the most.   This simple yet powerful concept will empower you to make better decisions for your business as well.
Highest Profit, Most Enjoyable, Best Client Relationship, Least Problems, Most Referrals

For instance, knowing that X is your Dream Client, helps you stay focused upon their issues, needs and likes/dislikes.

You can make better decisions about where to spend your marketing dollars and your efforts.

Who do you want as your Client?

What are your most profitable services?

What frequency is most profitable?

What is the “3-D Picture” of your Dream Client?

• Home Value $XXX,XXX.00
• Bedrooms/Bathrooms/Square Footage
• Age of Home
• Services Provided—Cleaning with Carpets, Windows & ?
• Household Income
• Dual Income or Single Income Couple
• Children
• Pets
• How many cars
• Professions or Careers of Homeowners
• Own Additional Homes
• Travel Volume per month
• Pay by Credit Card; Pay for service in advance–# of months
• Phone Estimate or In-Home Home Health Audit
• How many Affiliate Services Used in One Year

Here are some examples of actual Dream Clients

Actual Dream Client (middle-income buyer)

$195,000 Home

2BR/2Bath

1780 sq. ft.

Weekly Service is $105 (averaged)

5 year old home

Weekly Cleaning with Windows 2X/yr., Carpets 1X/yr.

$78,000 Annual Income

Dual Income-Both Full-time

2 Children under 10—daycare or school full-time

1 dog

2 cars

Teachers, Engineers, Computers, Office, Paralegals

No additional home

Travel less than 2 weeks per year

Pay by Credit Card (pays two weeks in advance)

Phone Estimate

Uses 3.5 Affiliate Services per Year—painter, landscaping, lawn service, pest control, carpets are the most commonly used

Refers 3 or less new Clients per year

Residential Cleaning Service Owner loves this and only hopes to improve this Dream Client by:

1. Increasing Carpets to 2X/yr.
2. Pay by Credit Card with one month in advance
3. Uses 5 Affiliate Services
4. Refers 5 or less new Clients per year

So now the Owner has a focus upon which to work in terms of what they are targeting as their best Clients, along with “stretch goals” upon which to focus with their existing Dream Clients in order to maximize annual revenues from these current Dream Clients.

Actual Dream Client (Affluent Buyer)

$550,000 Home

5BR/3.5Bath

3450 sq. ft.

Weekly Service is $265 (averaged)

10 year old home

Weekly Cleaning with Carpets & Windows 2X/yr., Pest Control monthly, Outdoor Pressure Washing 2X/yr., Two cars washed/detailed 12X/yr.

$310,000 Annual Income

Single Income

2 Children—16 or older

2 dogs

4 cars

Business Owners, Lawyers, Doctors, Executives, Old Wealth

2 Additional Homes

Travel 8 weeks per year

Pay by Credit Card (pays 6 months in advance)

52% are Gold Plan Service Clients (Silver, Gold, Platinum)

24% are Platinum Plan Service Clients

Phone Estimate

Uses 6.5 Affiliate Services per Year—painter, landscaping, lawn service, pest control, carpets, party servers/bartenders/valet parkers, and home theater or computer tech support services most commonly used

Refers 3 or less new Clients per year

Provides team members $500 Holiday Cash Bonuses annually

Residential Cleaning Service Owner loves this and only hopes to improve this Dream Client by:

1. Pay by Credit Card (pays 9 months in advance)
2. 35% are Platinum Plan Service Clients
3. 60% are Gold Plan Service Clients
4. Use 8 Affiliate Services per Year