Soap Warehouse Blog

Free press coverage can be more effective than any other advertising since it is usually a much larger all at one time exposure for your business. But how do you get coverage without paying for it? You must first write a great press release.

Since writing a good news release is not easy you may need to find someone to do this for you that in the best senerio will do it for free. If not maybe they will trade off service for service. But if not you can follow these steps to help you create a release on your own.

1. Establish that what you are writing about is a newsworthy event. So what is news worthy? Announcement of a new product you will be using or service you will be offering. The gain of a new notable customer. Hirings, adding a new rig or equipment, opening a new office, launching a new web site or offering a mobile application for customers. How you just completed an industry approved certification or won an award.

2. Identify the main elements of; Who, What, When, Where, and How. Use these to build your headline and body of the release. Anyone interested in your story must be able to learn all these from the headline or first few lines of the first paragraph.

3. Know your audience. If you are writing for the everyday Joe, then do not use techincal terms they may not know, write for the unknowing layman. Are you trying to reach home owners or commercial property managers? Make sure your information will be of interest to the group you are trying to reach.

4. Use your headline to "Grab" a reader. You must make it stand out. If it starts out like every other article about the subject you will be passed over and left unread. Be sure it brings out the main point.

5. Be concise but informative and be sure to give the reader correct contact information for follow up.

Following these steps will help you create good press releases to bring awareness to your business and product offerings.

Everyone loves something for free but as they say "Nothing is Free" realistically.

The same can be said for advertising. The only true free advertising is "Word of Mouth" but even then you as a business person did something that cost you money to earn that free recommendation "Who shared it with their friends".

But here are some ways for just a little effort of your time you can and should get as much FREE advertising as possible.

First and foremost use every no cost on line asset you can find. This will include all business phone directories that are out there. "Yellow Pages" at yellowpagecity.com or Superpages.com are some of the largest but there are many others as well; Whitepages.com, Yelp.com, Kudzu.com, dexknows, Tupalo.com, Hotfrog.com, mojopages.com, linktown.azfamily.com, 411.info, switchboard.com. Local city and business groups have listing, here we have atlanta.citysearch.com, locallife.com, local.com, citysquares.com, showmelocal.com, company.com, ziplocal.com, directorycentral.com, justdial.com, 2findlocal.com, insiderspages.com, tree.com, go.hubbiz.com, getfave.com and I am sure even more. Even local newspapers and magazines can have on line listings, here we have local.post-gazette.com and radarfrog.gatehousemedia.com to name just a few.

To find the directories being used in your area first look up your competition and see where they pop up, then be sure to register your business there too. If you can get in some they have not heard of yet all the better. I have a local customer that doesn't even have his own web site yet he can be found in over 25 directories when you type in "pressure washing Monroe GA". Then if you end up putting in his business name and search he covers over three whole "Google" search pages. And make sure to do searches in more than one search engine. Try Bing.com and Yahoo.com as well.

Then there are all the business contact sites you can list your business in like Merchantcircle.com, Foursquare.com, Manta.com, Linkedin.com, Stik.com. Some that you may pay for like the BBB.org or must be added by customers only like Angislist.com.

Make sure you update and check your listings at least a few times a year. Keep an excel spreadsheet of all the sites addresses to your listing and with any sign in or listed features you can use on that site. For example some let you list coupons or have blog entries. You must know which have what and post on a calendar or a to do list of when to go back to each one to make changes or additions.

Next post I will talk about another free way to advertise; to create and plubish news releases about your business and what you do.

Since all of these cost you noting but your time they will be about as free as you will every find for ways to expand and improve your business.

It is that time again. Time for the Mid America Trucking Show, held in Louisville, KY, this year from today March 21st until Saturday the 23rd.

Although we are not exhibiting and I am not even attending any of the three day event, Soap Warehouse is having a presence through the publications we are advertising in, special offers sent out via Twitter and interacting with those on Facebook that are at the event.

We are in Transportation Topics buyers guide this entire year on their web site at http://www.TTNews.com.

We have also been running ads in Fleet Owner magazine and this month we have a quarter page ad on page 136 that contains a QR code directing scanners with smart phones to view a special offer.

Here is Jim Mele from Fleet Owner on the show room floor.

I hope you take the opportunity to join in and order some Fleet Wash products during the sale time for MATS. Look for the Twitter links that also post to our Facebook to get to the pages with the offers.

This can mean many things to different people. To a trucker it may just mean where can he find the cheapest truck wash, but to the mobile fleet truck washer it may mean a few other things.

1. The least expensive cost per wash
2. The least expensive soap
3. The lowest labor cost per wash
4. The shortest time spent to clean

Well here at Soap Warehouse we have some products that can be all of these things.

Our top seller and performer for the last nineteen year is Brown Derby. This high alkaline truck wash is the best at removing magnetic road film and is considered "Brushless" in the industry since you only need to spray it on, let it work and then rinse it back off. The only similar results you could get would be to two step, but then you would be taking up more time and labor.

Compared to similar Brown Soap products in the marketplace our Brown Derby is still the best value when compared wash for wash. Others may seem to have a lower cost per gallon, but once you actually get out in the field using it, theirs will take more soap per wash, therefore costing more in the long run. Brown Derby is highly concentrated and easily adjusted to each contractors specific needs at the job site. You should always take into account, hardness of the water used, the equipments dilution ratio, water pressure, flow rate, outside air temperature, temperature of the water used with the soap, and even the temperature of the surface being cleaned.

These other factors will also effect a contractors costs, time and labor needed along with the soap to get the proper cleaning.

Now if polished aluminum is an issue and you do not want the added cost of product, time and labor with using an acid cleaner after, or even with two stepping prior to washing, then you should consider one of our "Safe Finish" washes; Blue Lighting, White Lightning, Big Rig Brite or Truck N Tuff (TNT). 

TNT is our light wash product that is great for the frequent fleet washer or to use in between the heavy cleaning washings. One pail of TNT super concentrate can make 54 gallons of RTU (ready to use) truck wash, which gives great savings in shipping costs.

Blue Lightning is our most popular "Safe Finish" as it is economical while still giving the "Brushless" features contractors want. Used most commonly at a 1:35 dilution many can get good performance up to 1:50 and even further using hot water machines.

White Lightning is the same as Blue just with twice as much of the active cleaning ingredients making it better for those not washed as often fleets or dirtier than most fleets such as company delivery vans or electric company fleets.

The last of our "Safe Finish" products is Big Rig Brite. This is our top of the line finsh safe product that has added water softeners and sheeting action ingredients, that leaves a near wax shine without the cost or use of any wax. It leaves a practically spot free shine on polished aluminum and chrome.

With proper dilution and equipment settings these fleet washes will save you money, with lower shipping costs due to product concentration, less labor cost due to time saved during washing, contact use today with your current soap product information and we will be happy to provide you with a comparative cost analysis between that product on our of ours. Call and see how much money we could save you this year for your fleet washing business. 1-800-762-7911, info@soapwarehouse.biz or visit www.soapwarehouse.biz.

I have spoken in the past about customer service, referral programs, attending networking events and getting commercial jobs, but the one thing they all have in common to bring your business success is in learning how to do the follow up.

The hardest thing after the initial terror of first contact is in the follow up, but that is where your business can be made or lost, right there.

Not every person that starts a pressure washing business or any business for that matter is a natural born sales person. Most would just like to be called, asked to do a job and then just go out and do it. But the calls are not just going to magically come in, most job opportunities must be created and nurtured by you, the business owner for them to happen.

It is always surprising that business owners go to the trouble to attend an event, exhibit at a trade show, send out a marketing piece that yields them business cards, filled out contacts or questionnaires and then they do nothing or little with them.

In too short of time these contacts will be lost or tucked away to never be used to generate the business they were intended to and why? Because these owners failed in the follow up. Follow up does not have to be scary, complicated or difficult. It only takes a simple call or short contact first as a refresher to start you on the road to more jobs and profit.

As soon as possible after you get the contact make your first follow up. Best if it in within the first 24 hours. It can be very brief and doesn't even have to ask for a job commitment. A simple "It was nice to meet you." Even if left as a phone message or in an e-mail, along with a promise to get with them soon about their shown interest in your business. Here is a great time to mention exactly what was discussed to help bring your contact back upm in their mind. Then once the promise is made, that becomes your next opportunity for follow up.

Remember the person you met also met many other people and businesses at that same time and just this short reconnect will bring you back up into focus in their mind and put you ahead of others when you do make your next contact. It takes 3-4 times of contact before most people will consider using you, even if they are interested in both your service and business in particular.

Next contact should be made giving the specifics about what you discussed with this potential new customer as promised. Here you can spell out the benefits of your service, who else you have worked for, and the positive results (the same ones this person is after), along with the cost. You do not have to start out with a special offer, unless one was promised or discussed at the first meeting. You may be successful right away with the customer paying full price for your service, so do not offer any deal until later if needed. Why give money away for no reason.

Once you have given them the information do not ask for the job, allow them to feel in control and let them have some time to go over the information you have given them. But you should not give them long or leave it open, you need to set up when and how the next follow up will happen. Will it be with you calling them again in the next two days? With you sending them an e-mail after the weekend? Try to make the next action still under your control. If they insist on being the one to contact you back, go ahead and agree but state that if you do not hear from them by a certain time, such as the next 7-10 days, that you will be contacting them again for the follow up. Statistics show that as many as 80% of new business is lost due to the lack of follow up by the potential customer.

The next contact is when you should ask for the business that was discussed that you provided the information on. It should be some thing like "Mr. Hall, are your ready to book the "service" we discussed on "date"?" If they say no try to find out what is the reason for their delay? Time isn't right, cost is too much, scope of work not exactly what they need right now. This is the time where you answer questions, make suggestions and if necessary make a special offer if cost is a factor, or offer a free service to go with the planed on, like cleaning the sidewalk or stairs with the house wash.  Even with a special offer put a short limited time for this opportunity to happen. You do not want someone to come back months later when you are busy and other customers are paying you full price asking for you to take the time to do a discounted amount of work. Tell them you can do this job this week because an opening has come up for this price but if they wait until a weekend or later in the month they will have to pay full price, reminding them that they do not have to be home for you to work.

Follow up is not just for new customers it is also important with your current customer base. Statistics show that as much as 60% of client loss is simply due to losing touch. The customer can't find your number, remember your business name to look you up from last year or they saw a competitors ad when ready for service again and doesn't want to take the time to contact you about matching it. It is ideal to try to touch your clients at least once every three months during the year, or in the 30 days just before the service they bought before would be coming up to be performed, such as Spring cleaning, Summer deck or pool deck cleaning, Fall gutter and roof cleaning. At least twice a year is the minimum you should try to make contact. Money is in the "Follow Up".

While follow up takes discipline, it is not hard and does not have to be frightening. Spending a little time putting together some simple keep in touch marketing campaigns by mail or e-mail, to foster your business relationships, with both prospects and clients will more than pay for themselves. Good luck with your follow ups.

The backbone of any service business, right after the labor force, is the equipment.

And the best way to monitor and mange that investment is by keeping good records including all maintenance needed and done. I think every business should keep track of their equipment maintenance and here is an inexpensive way to do it, to make and keep a log book or binder.

When you first purchase a new piece of equipment it comes usually with loads of printed materials most of which, guys I know, will loose or throw out within days of getting it. And I know most of us could care less about the extra pages written in Spanish or other language, but file those away too, you never know when you may have hired an employee that could use it. 

So the first rule is to look at each piece of paper, to see what exactly it is and use it to create an individual maintenance plan for that specific piece of equipment.

You will get the bill of sale listing the name of the equipment, model number, and other information like motor size, dimension etc. You will need to make a few copies of this; the original needs to go with the method of payment you used to make the purchase, like a check or attached to the paid credit card statement for regular bookkeeping but you should also have it other places as well. You will need a copy to place with your tax records so you will have the info and value for your accountant to figure your taxes for your equipment deductions, a copy should go in your insurance file in case it is ever lost, damaged or stolen and to be sure you level of coverage is high enough for all your equipment on hand and last a copy should go into your maintenance log book. It is also a good idea to list on or attached to the receipt how and where on this piece of equipment it is going to be marked or identified as yours. Good rule is to permanently etch into it a specific code. I personally like the, Initial(s) followed by the last 4 digits of a SS or Tax ID number format. My personal one I use is LMC3285 or for Soap Warehouse SW3660.

Next is the registration card, DO NOT THROW THIS OUT. Not every item will have one but this card can be more important than the paid receipt. Make sure you fill it out completely, make a copy of it (front and back) and mail it back to the manufacture. This way you will be made aware of any recalls, defects or warranty issues by the company. This also identifies you as the owner of the equipment for insurance coverage and starts the warranty period. If you wait or forget to send it in you may not be covered for warranty repairs. A copy of the card should stay in your log book attached to the manual.

The owners manual. The one thing guys never seem to want to completely read. If it is small (a folded page or two) make a copy and you can place it in a file with other equipment instruction papers but no matter what the size you will want to be sure a copy of the entire manual gets placed in the log book for easy reference. Best if placed in zippered binder folder so it will not fall out or be damaged. This way at any time you can reference the manual on how to change a part, trouble shoot a problem or refresh yourself on how to use a seldom used item or equipment feature.

Next READ THE MANUAL cover to cover, taking note of important information you will want handy, like type of oil an engine may need, make a list of sizes of belts, hoses and other replaceable parts you may need to change or replace often. It would be smart to go ahead to order, to have on hand, at least one of each replaceable item now while it is still easy to get the part, to have it readily available. Consider these parts purchases as just the additional cost of the initial equipment purchase, you can even deduct it just like the equipment itself. This way a small break down will not leave you high and dry and unable to finish a job looking or waiting for a part. Also once a part is used, immediately find and purchase its replacement. Nothing is worse than having a machine you love break down after years of service, to find out a simple part you would need to get it working again is no longer available, forcing you to purchase a replacement under pressure. If later if you sell this equipment you can include the spare parts in the sale as a bonus or feature of the sale.

While reading the manual you will find out information, like how often the oil needs to be checked, added or changed, ex: Top off after first 10 hours of use, Check oil every 100 hours of use, Change with new ND SAE 30W every year or 1000 hours of use. This is the type of information that you will use to create your maintenance schedule in your log book.

Now you should be able to get by with just a 1" or 2" three ring binder to use for your log book. But for the businesses that have gotten so big that they have multiple rigs, vehicles and crews you may want to look at and invest in some Maintenance Software Programs in addition to having a binder with each rig out in the field. Some can cost thousands and others just a few hundred dollars from easy on-line downloads.

List of items to buy:

• 1" or 2" three ring binder(s) - Can be one for everything or one for each rig, trailer or truck unit you have.
• Pack of page dividers, what ever kind you like. Enough for one for each peice of equipment.
• Zipper binder pockets for manuals, come in different sizes, buy as needed.
• Pack of assorted binder pockets for receipts for short term storage, normal page size.
• Package of three ring page protectors 25-50 should be plenty to start.
• A 8x10 or 8x11.5 calendar for the current year (you can probably get this free from some advertiser or vendor).

Set up the binder the way that is easiest for you to use, alphabetically by item name, type of item, small items to largest, by location ex: which trailer or truck it is on. Punch holes in the folded edge of the calendar to fit the binder rings and place it in the very front of your binder. You can fold over and change to each month as needed through out the year. Put the name of the location followed by equipment name in the tabs of the page dividers. Put one of the log sheets (see sample below) in a page protector behind each tab, followed by a binder pocket to place receipts for parts and repairs until you can enter them and move them to their permanent location, the zipper binder pocket with the manual is the last thing before the next equipment item divider page to start it all over again.

Now each log sheet (see sample provided) has the name of the equipment, make and model. The place purchased, the date purchased and date equipment went into service. The next section will list the next scheduled date for maintenance, date when serviced, what was done, who did the work and how much it cost. There is also a place to list parts, by name and number as well as space to list where to call to purchase the part, and normal cost of item so you don't have to waste time looking for it. Depending on how many entries must be made, each sheet could cover more than one year or you can plan on replacing a new sheet each year per item.

The very last bits of information are the dates the equipment went out of service and when this items was sold if applicable with selling price, which may be needed by your accountant. Once the item is taken out of service or sold you can remove that section out of your binder to file into your other office files.

With this binder you will be able to see at a glance all your equipment in service, look up and plan dates on your calendar when to do maintenance and keep records of the costs for maintenance. You will still have to enter the scheduled dates on to the calendar and the figures into your bookkeeping records or software program but this way it will be easy to find the information you need.

Pick a certain time of the week or month to check your calendar to schedule to do the next upcoming needed maintenance for your equipment. This way you can make sure your equipment will always be available and in top condition for scheduled work.

If you would like a copy of this Excel Log book sheet, contact me at info@soapwarehouse.biz subject: Maintenance log sheet, and I will send you a copy of this page that you can customize for your business.

First I want to wish each and everyone you a Happy Holiday season for what ever holiday you and your family will be celebrating.

Next I must let you know about a general across the board price increase that will go into effect on Jan 2nd, 2013.

As many of you know we try very hard to not make product price changes unless absolutely necessary. And most times it is only for certain items as they are effected by specific ingredient price changes. But once every 3-5 years we do have to make an all over adjustment to counter the everyday, always increasing, small price changes that we as a business face each and every day for office supplies, insurance, postage, packaging, product cost and delivery rates of the inventory items we take in and use.

So because of these we are having to make an average 3% price increase for all products. For small items it will be as little as 50 cents but for a some of our very popular kit items most will see an average $10 increase per ordered item. The complete new price list will be available on our web site very soon but those that would like one now, please e-mail me at info@soapwarehouse.biz Subject Line: Price List and I will send a copy by reply e-mail.

Now for some good news! We have a few items that you can buy and use that will save you money when buying from Soap Warehouse through out the year.

First is a handy Soap Warehouse calendar mouse pad for your desk. Order this from our Zazzle store and you will get $10 off your first order in 2013. A single mouse pad runs $12.50.

Order Mouse Pad 

For even more savings each and every month order our 2013 Product Savings Wall Calendar. With this purchase from our Zazzle store you will get a $20 rebate credit on your account to use during the year, plus you can use the posted savings for products featured for that month in the calendar for the discount mentioned. You can only use the calendar discount for the specific product(s) and not inconjuention with your $20 rebate credit. Order Calendar

We are back and getting back to normal business after the good time down in Orlando, FL for the Power Washers of North America convention, October 23-25th.

We made it down last Tuesday in time for the first of two round table lunchs. Soap Warehouse was the sponsor of the Marketing table and we enjoyed eating and discussing ideas with some old and new contractors like Mrs. Ruth Shepley with Klean King, her son Curtis Hunsinger's new business, with Mrs. Vicki Eubanks with South Shore Building Services out in California who along with her husband have been in this business since 1979. Also at the tables was a current Soap Warehouse customer Mr. Nevin Mast of Holmes Siding and other exhibiting vendor staff.

Wednesday was all about the Exhibits and the Contractors coming around to meet with the sponsoring vendors. This year our booth was supplied with quarts of many of our most popular exterior and fleet washing products, as well as 10 lb. pails of our newest powder items.

We gave away two $50 product coupons as door prizes, which were won by Jake Mortensen of Red Rock Window Washing from Las Vegas and Jesse Juban of Juban's Pressure Washing in Walker, LA. We also donated two 10 lb pails of powder product for the PWNA auction which were won by Vickie Eubanks of South Shore Building Services and Stewart Esposito of Absolutely Clean Power Washing. We also took enteries at our booth for a free 60 second marketing video valued at $279 that we drew for after returning here and was won by Jeff Jacobs of Jacobs Pressure Cleaning in Melbourne, FL.

Soap Warehouse always enjoys sponsoring industry events that allow contractors the chance to learn and network with others just like themselves. Until next time.

Well September is here and with it the last quarter of the year. Now is a good time to look and see what business goals you set back at the first of the year still have to be done, evaluate things you have tried this year so far to see if you want to continue with them next year or put on the front burner things you still need to do before this year runs out.

So far we have done all the major products we had planned like putting out a monthly newsletter, writing in this blog at least once a month, trade shows and new advertising campaigns in new channels. But even I still have some things that got pushed aside that I need to get done and marked off my to do list.

One big one is to contact every customer to make sure they have a copy of an MSDS for every product they have purchased from us. This one item is very important for you, for your business and for your employees if you have them. This needs to be done and checked at least once a year. So very soon you will be getting either an email or letter in the mail with a list of the MSDS's you should have on hand especially if you still have the product at your house, on your truck or rig.

MSDS's are always sent out by us the first time you buy a new product, when the product contains Hydrofluoric acid or when it is requested by you, our customer. You can get a needed copy by calling 800-762-7911, emailing us or downloading it from the website.

By law (OSHA either federal or state) you need to have a book made up of all MSDS for every product you use routinely in your work that you or employees can be exposed to. So many more products than just ours should be in there. They need to be cataloged in alphabetical order; by letter tabs are even better. You should probably have more than one MSDS book in your possession. The first should be at your home or office where the bulk of your chemicals are kept. And the others should be carried out on the road with you in your truck or on your rig itself. And if you have more than one truck or rig, one for every one of those as well. It is also best for at least the ones on the road to be kept in a waterproof binder with the pages inserted in plastic page covers so dirt and water will not mess them up. If you do not have these books in place yet, this is a great time of year to get them at the lowest possible cost, while back to school supply sales are happening.

If you do not know what is found in an MSDS, or all the sections of an MSDS, now would be a great time to learn. You can go here to learn everything you need to know about an MSDS, like why you should have them, what are the different sections of an MSDS so you know where to look if the situation comes up and you need it. During an emergency is not the time to wonder if the health cautions or first aid directions are found in section III or VII! Plus if you ever get asked for your MSDS by OSHA, the DOT, a police officer or even a customer to prove what is or is not in a product you are using at their home, this will help your business look professional and possibly not be fined for not having them.

The most frightening calls I have gotten are when customers call us frantic with an injured employee and they do not know where an MSDS is or they did not keep the MSDS we sent them and that employee needs immediate emergency care. I hope you never have a need to open your MSDS books but it sure is important that they are there if you ever do.