Hello again, Steppers! TODAY, a “top secret ninja marketing technique” I learned along the way as I was building a window cleaning company.
Let me set the stage a little bit. As you are building a business, you’ll find that the Shoestring101 Steps will take you a long way… at first. Then, somewhere along the way there will be a shift that, if you are smart (and you are) 
you will take a ’Step’ BACK and re-evaluate your Steps.
You may have known one way to get results, but you’re open to finding out better ways as you go.
About nine years ago I noticed that my window cleaning company was getting less and less NEW business. The cost of getting new clients was going up. I wasn’t getting the results that I had been from the Yellow Pages and from newspaper ads, but I was still spending the money. Not cool.
Then I opened the newspaper and found out why:
On the same page as my dinky little business-card sized ad… that HAD been doing the trick up to now… was a half page, super-professional looking ad of a national franchise.
Those sons o’ guns were taking away my target market! They were better capitalized, too. I called the local franchisee… who was actually very polite even after I identified myself as his local competition… and found that he had invested $15,000 in the franchise and had even more than that budgeted for ads.
Wow. How to compete?
Easy. Go to Top Secret Sneaky Ninja Marketing 😎
I exchanged my dinky, business-card sized window cleaning ad… for a dinky, business-card sized SCREEN REPAIR ad.
Wha’..? WHY on Earth would I do that? Was I shutting down the window cleaning company in favor of a new Shoestring business?
Nope. I was just getting devious.
Let’s think about what Step Two is for a minute: Learn What People Want. That particular Step breaks down even further into more W’s: Who they are, Where to find them, hoW to reach them.
Well, Who was I trying to find with my window cleaning ads? Easy. My ideal customer met these three criteria:
- They’re concerned with the appearance of their windows
- They don’t have the time, skill, or inclination to do it themselves
- They have money to pay MY Shoestring biz to do the windows!
The franchise fella was reaching those people the same way that I HAD been, only better. His ad was bigger, more expensive, more professional-looking… and it just plain worked.
Only guess what: My dinky little screen repair ad went on the same page. It didn’t appear to compete with the franchisee directly… meaning that I wasn’t pouring mo’ money into a big, expensive ad to try and compete with his… but that little business-card sized screen repair ad DID have the tendency to put me into homes of people that:
- Were concerned about the appearance of their window screens
- Didn’t have the time, skill, or inclination to repair the screens themselves
- Had the money to pay MY company to repair the screens
See a nifty little pattern forming? Heh, heh, hehhhh…
This actually kicked marketing butt MORE than I could have imagined. READ ON…
Before, if someone called me from an ad I would have to either ask very specific questions about the number of windows they had, then I would have the challenging of selling them a $300-$400 job over the phone… OR I had come to their house (for free) to give them a bid. That pretty much SUCKED when gas hit $3 a gallon.
It takes only 10-15 minutes worth of work and $4 worth of material to pick up $39 repairing a screen door. But a LOT of the same people that wanted nice screen doors also wanted nice windows...
NOW, guess what? Instead of trying to overcome $400 worth of sales resistance over the phone, or driving to the customer’s home to give an estimate I hoped they would take… I was getting PAID to do estimates.
Check it out: a customer would call me and ask how much to repair a screen door… I would say, “It’s only $39 and I come to YOU” …and I’d score paying jobs easier than falling off a log.
Ten minutes of work and $4 worth of material later (read: $35 PROFIT so far…), I would say “You know, this screen repair service is actually an extension of my window cleaning company.” I would be wearing my Crystal Clear Window Washing polo shirt and hat. “WHILE I’M HERE ANYWAY… wouldja like for me to give you a bid?”
Mua ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaa… (maniacal laughter)
I used to give free bids before this. Now, not only was I getting PAID to be there… but my closing ratio went up. Because folks that have already bought something from you once, are likely to do it again.
By my doing some work already on-site, my customers would learn that I showed up on time, that I did a great job at a reasonable price. What a grrreat impression… and what a great way to market a window cleaning company. WITHOUT marketing window cleaning at all!
I soon had more business than I could handle and had to hire help, even when the competition had moved in with bigger guns.
Top Secret Ninja Marketing… if you know Who your customers are, and Where to find them… Don’t compete directly with the big boys and their big ads. Instead, offer a low-cost leader item or service as an introduction. Once they’re impressed with you (make sure they are), you can write your own ticket by offering your exclusive clients more of the same!
You like? Then click “like”! And let’s hear your comments below!
Til then,
Keep Stepping!
Kurt
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