Soap Warehouse Blog

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.

There are many articles, webinars and e-book kits out right now on how to use Pinterest to market and sell, but most are not for service business owners like pressure washers, they are for the retail business owners. In other words how to interest people in buying a product not a service.

So I will go over some basic information and tips on how you can use this fastest moving new social media to your benefit.

10 basic things to know about Pinterest and how it works.

1. You must be invited by a current Pinterest member to start a page. So if you do not already know someone you can't just go and start a page because you want to. So I am offering any Soap Warehouse patron a free in. Just call me with your e-mail and I will send you an invite, that simple, 1-800-762-7911. But for most of you just ask your wife she is probably already on it. Over 80% of Pinterest users are women, but don't let that bother you since women are the most likely the person who will call for pressure washing or at least put their husband up to calling.

2. Create your page in your business name, not your name. This separates you automatically to the viewer or visitor as a business and not just some guy that does this type of work on the side. For instance as of this printing there are only 5 "People" that have the words "Roof Cleaning" as part of their name. But only be that specific if one line of work is all you do. If not make separate boards for each type of work instead. And congratulations to AccuWash for being one of these five.

3. Once you post a new board it will be the first board seen on your page. Right now there is NO way to change this, so pre planning is key to how your page will be seen by new viewers. You can take the time to move an entire board back to the first position but it would take alot of work. You can not just repin a whole board like you can a single pin (discribed later). You will have to make a new board first and it can not have the same name as a board you already have. So if you want to use that same name you first have to go and change the currents boards name and then create the new board with the name you want.

4. You can change the titles of the boards that come standard with Pinterest and you many want to change all or at least some of them before you start adding new ones. Most computer screens will see the first 10 boards you post so best if you can keep everything you want to show case under or equal to that number. Or at least your business boards under that number. Have some fun boards also above the fold to hold and bring those new people to your listing. If all they see is boring business items they may click right back off you.

5. Once you pin to a board it also will keep shifting back or down as new items are added and there is nothing you can do about that either, other than repining, which I will discuss later on. And be sure once you have pinned something to open it back up by using the edit button and adding a link. This way you can direct people to where you found this item, to a page on your web site or to a landing page with a special offer or opportunity. Links can be vital.

6. As you pin to your boards it is also being pinned to the general main Pinterest page showing the most recent activity. So posting frequently keeps you in front of new people every time you post, who can then subscribe to one or more of your boards. Fun posts will draw them in and only having good content will keep them or have them follow one or all of your boards.

7. Make the most of the description section to exactly match what you are showing. That way the search will work the best for you.  For example if you list pressure washing or power washing in your description and then do a search for that you will get results with all the words, pressure and washing, which will give someone looking also a lot of laundry washing items as well. Adding more descriptions will shorten the list but may not help if the searcher does not think to use it. For example 'Roof cleaning' gives a good number of results. Switching it to 'cleaning roof' gives you the same results, Pinterest does not care what order they appear in the description just that the words do appear unless quotes are placed around them "Cleaning roof" then will only give one result while "roof cleaning" gives you back all those others. Add the word "pressure" and it will help by making more of the results of where you want to be. Also add the word "No" and it drops the number down to just a handful.

8. Make boards not just pins using key words. I could not believe that no one right now has a board named "Roof Cleaning" but AccuWash. The more interesting you make the pin post names the more likely it will be looked at. But don't be like Wnc Roof Cleaning, that is the name of their page but NONE of the 30 boards on that page have anything to do with the business. They are all fun boards. What a wasted opportuinty. The page has had some acitvity but no where can these visitors see who and what Wnc Roof Cleaning is!

9. Make Fun boards only about things you really care about and like, things that you think prospective customers care about and like as well. Do you have a passion for certain food, sport, activity. Or just make a board with a broad topic, places I have been, want to see, Bucket list items. These are the boards that will get people looking, liking and following you. Then maybe a few of them are in your area and will try your services. You can not expect to have all business boards and generate any type of traffic. And you want to only show things you really are interested in. Having a board on nails (the ones on your fingers) would not be a good choice but one on 30 minute or less meals or on grilling out could be.

10. Now I will mention the moving or repinning an item from low down on a board to place it back at the top. You will have to go first to the board the pin is now. Click to edit the board, then click to edit the pin you want to move. You can now repin this pin to the top of that board or add it to any other board. But if you do not want two of the same thing on one board you will then have to delete that pin that will still be in the lower position. This is also an easy way to run a promotion. Just change the offer and repin the photo and new offer to the top of the board you want. You might have a board just for Specials that can be always be first on your page.

I am not saying that Pinterest will bring you a ton of new business like a local Facebook or Google ad can from people who never knew you. But I am saying that having a Pinterest page will make you look like a more rounded and real person that others will want to do business with. And once you are a member of Pinterest, be sure to connect to as many of your current customers as possible. This way you can always be around them and noticed when they are on the site so they can easily think of you and refer you to their friends. And that is the best way to earn new business and it will almost be for free.

This is the second part of the discussion I started last week.

Historically house washes where single step chemical washes made just to try and clean the surface with no other properties being asked for. But now more and more of the industry and customers are wanting more from a house wash. Yes they want clean, but they want mold killing, UV protection, and a shinny appearance of their vinyl siding homes.

As I have stated before most cleaners are alkaline since we live in an acid world but it goes even further than that. Now for a little more of a chemistry lesson here.  High Pressure soap formulations are primarily an anionic (negative) soap. Most of the soils on houses are also anionic in nature so the soap can clean off the dirt (Chemistry 101 says “like dissolves like”).  Un-likes, such as oil and water that repel or can never mix. Once rinsed, the cleaned surface of the exterior will remain slightly anionic.  High Pressure wax formulations are mostly cationic (positive) formulations that are attracted to the anionic cleaned surface of a cleaned house. Just like soil and dirt that are cationic and are also attracted to the just cleaned surface. So should your soap also contain waxes to help prevent this attraction?

Dirty Little Secrets

All in One formulations must contain both soaps and modified waxes to clean and protect the exterior of houses at the same time.  The difficulty comes in two areas:  first, the combination of both anionic and cationic ingredients in an All in one solution tend to bind with each other, reducing both effectiveness of the soap and the wax.  Second, the wax needs to be attracted by the clean surface and is hampered by the soap which is in higher concentrations (typically) than the wax.  An all in one formulation is a compromise usually shifted to cleaning, not protecting.  Some products enhance the wax and reduce the soap ingredients in an attempt to add better protection.  This all adds up to a compromise of properties in All in One formulations.

Example: Wax in Car Washes

You drive through the Car Wash Tunnel and have paid for the Three color wash and wax.  At the end of the tunnel, three streams of different colored foamy substance are squirted on your car just prior to the last rinse.  Magically the last rinse runs off the car and quickly!  You have experienced the Automatic Car Wash “cheater wax” which is not a wax at all.  Worse, weather you pay for the wax or not you will receive a stream of “cheater wax” (most likely in the final rinse) because, as you have seen, it makes the final rinse water run off the car surface quickly, enabling the blowers to more effectively dry the car.  You may get more of this product (or not) when you pay for it.  This product is an emulsion of a solvent and a quaternary ammonium compound (a cousin of your hair cream rinse active ingredient).  It’s attracted to the painted surface of your cleaned car (anionic) and puts a small amount of modified fat on the surface.  Don’t worry, it will not harm your paint job, and lasts at least until the next time the car gets wet.

Two Steps: Use Soap to clean, Wax to protect

Sometimes the compromise between soap and wax can be managed to yield an acceptable result, cleaning the exterior and delivering protection to the surface.  Generally, the results are better with TWO separate steps, using different formulations requiring two passes around the exterior of the house being cleaned. The Wash has no competition in the formulation, and has more than enough soap to clean. The Wax Spray will be attracted to the exterior surface that was just cleaned and will cover more completely. Properly formulated water based Waxes provide better protection of the exteriors and can even repel anionic dust and grime over time, plus be easier to clean the next time.

So shouldn't you also try and get the better results and do each step one at a time? That is for you, your businesses profitability and your customers to decide.

Well the first reason is simple. We live in an acid world!

Most things in and around us every day are acidic. Even we are acidic. Most people’s skin sits at about 5.3 on the pH scale (acidic). The air we breathe out, CO2 is acidic. The most pH balanced thing we deal with every day is water, that sits at about the pH neutral of 7.

Dirt and most pollutants are acidic and therefore since opposites attract, the best cleaners for most applications fall on the alkaline side of the pH scale. This is also the reason two step washing is so popular and works so well, such as in fleet washing. You first apply an acid, followed right behind with an alkaline and 'Voila' the dirt falls off, or is repelled from the surface.

So should we take this approach further into other cleaning applications such as house washing? Maybe yes and maybe no.

Most contractors would prefer to wash anything in as few steps as possible and house washing in no different. Many have even gone so far as to try and make or use single wash products; to clean, kill mold, leave a protector (mold repeller) and or surface enhancer (such as a wax) on the house, like a "Pert Plus" shampoo and conditioner for hair. The problem with this model is that you get less effectiveness and use more of each part when they are put together rather than used separately.

The best method, that would use the least amount of chemical resources, would be to first knock off as much dirt and debris as possible with a stiff stream of hot water, followed with an alkaline soap applied as hot as possible, rinsed, then a bleach mold killer added and rinsed, with a mold protector or surface enhancer like a wax then added at the end.

Now some parts of this cleaning can be put together without effecting results such as adding bleach (12 % Sodium Hypochlorite) to a stable soap to clean and remove mold, algae and mildew. Or adding a wet wax product to rinse water so that a house can effectively washed and protected (waxed) in two separate passes. Now depending on the soil type, soap and water temperature, extra time maybe needed for scrubbing or agitation of the chemicals on the surfaces to get them totally clean before they are rinsed free.

I will go more into the all in one idea for house washing products in my next segment. But for now understand that there is a dance you must do to see if using less of each product, but more in time and labor effort, is worth the cost difference. Rather than combining products that will use more in chemical costs, but less in time and labor, balanced out by the results that can be achieved with each.

The most important part in making sure you can pay your monthly bills is your business's cash flow. It doesn't matter how much money you have billed out and are sitting on your books if it is not in you bank account it won't help you. Making sure you have the money available to pay your obligations in a timely manner can also save you money besides improving your credit and bottom line.

Here are steps you can take to managing your cash flow.

Use dedicated accounting software. It is not just necessary to have a computer but to have and use software designed especially for managing your money. I love QuickBooks and there is a program level for just about any kind of business out there, big to small, basic to advanced. There are plenty of them out there and I am sure you can find something in your price range. Remember using it will save you countless amounts of money and time.

Set up auto bill payments. This is very common these days but makes financial sense as well. If you set your self up a few different checking accounts to manage your resources. You could have one that just handles payroll, taxes and license fees. One that you use for all your fixed monthly bill expenses like your phone, rent, vehicle payments, electricity that don't or seldom vary month to month and then a third general funds account where everything funnels through. You can set up that each week, a few set days a month or just once a month that a set amount will be taken from the general fund to go into the two others to fund them for their automatic payments to be paid from. Try to have a two week or monthly surplus of cash in each. This way you can easily see when you are gaining a surplus of cash flow, that could be set aside in a savings account or when you are having a shortage where funds will be needed to be added from savings or by other means of credit. You will also not have to watch and worry about each separate payment date since they will come out when needed.

Have a Collection Policy. Not having one is like planning to throw money a way and not following one you have in place is like setting a match to it. Many of you do not extend credit to most of your customers. Pressure washing is typically a do the job get paid right then business. But those that do contract cleaning, large company fleet washing, building management work, etc. you are doing a job and then having to wait for the money to come in sometimes 30 to 60 days letter. Letting customers get away with not paying you can sometimes hurt you more than not having the work in the first place so don't let it happen. Make sure your collection policy is a part of every contract and press it's points when needed. As soon as you let some slip, "Oh but they give me so much business.", you will be having to slip your self to your vendors and putting your business credit at risk, not theirs.

Immediate Payment on Accounts Receivables. Have a system in place where customers can pay you as easily as possible. The time for waiting for the check in the mail is disappearing. Money transfers are becoming instantanious so why shouldn't you have that too. Rather than spending time and money chasing down late payments use methods to get your money faster. Find the best deal to accept credit card payments. Yes there are fees involved but figuring in that small percentage to the cost of your doing business will pay off. Most smart phones and iPads can now have point of sale scanners and applications to accept payments, companies like PayPal and Intuit have programs. Your own bank may have web access payment options you could use even with checks by taking photos of them to be automatically placed into your account. Instead of mailing out past due notices you can send e-mails that contain payment buttons in the e-mail. Put in your contracts that they must supply you with credit card information and that your bill will be drafted each month on a certain date, 30 days after work is completed or some other set way. State, add and collect on late fees. Once a company knows you will do what you said and charge more for late payments, you will become one of their vendors they are more apt to pay instead of let side when their money is tight, freeing up your cash flow.

Increase Prices. No one likes to think about having to increase their prices to their customers. But as a small business owner you have to know what it takes to keep your business running while still giving you a fair profit. The added costs for creating a cash flow system, like the computer, software, credit card processing costs, bank fees, web site, e-mail program etc. are all things that add to the basic price that you should include to your customers. But that is not to say that you can't give something back to those customers that help you with your cash flow in the form of discounts or incentives. For instance, say offering customers charge cards services run you 4% of revenue. Then increase all of your services by that same 4% and then give the cash customers 4% off their invoices and those that pay by check 2% off. Or what ever the electronic check transfer cost percentage is. This way you are not penalizing those customers and maybe others that may have thought about using a card will pay in cash instead. Want your contract customers to pay you faster? Then offer them NET 15 3% as an incentive.

Reduce expenses. Things can change rapidly, just look at the price of gasoline for instance. Your operating costs could vary widely month to month with out really changing anything you are doing day to day. For this reason you should be looking at your expenses at least once a quarter if not every 30-60 days to see where you can make improvements. Keep in close touch with your own vendors to be able to take advantage of sales, ask to be on mailing or e-mail sales lists, friend vendors that are on Facebook have twitter or foursquare accounts etc. they may send out announcements you would want to use. These are tough times and many companies are shopping for new customers and are giving sometimes big discounts to get them.

Choose your customers wisely. Especially contract or big time and cost customers. It does not do you any good to have bid and won a fleet wash contract if they are having financial issues of their own, don't have all the equipment at the location when they are suppose to, requiring revisits or extended time frames for your employees. Do your homework on them first by using D&B or other credit reporting companies that we discussed earlier in the first segment of these posts. Have it clearly stated in your contracts that services can and will be skipped or suspended if payment falls behind. There is no reason to keep working if you have little or no hope of seeing payment in the near future. Work like that can not only slow down but block your own cash flow by using up time you could have had for finding or doing other work that would bring in money.

Communicate with your vendors. We all know it is hard to be waiting on Peter to pay Paul, but letting the vendor, that is also waiting for payment, sit in silence is not the answer. And doing so can start to damage or ruin your business credit with them. Sometimes just a quick phone call or e-mail stating that you have not forgot them, that you know your invoice is due and letting them know when you expect your payment in order to make yours is all that is needed to keep a good relationship. As bad as you feel having to call the vendor, they feel just as bad not knowing and having to contact you for collection. Sometimes it is easier to ask for NET 60 with a slight penalty than losing your NET 30 status which will only tighten your cash flow in the future if you must begin to pay that vendor for supplies or services up front.

I apologize that this post got so long, there for I will postpone our Corporate Credit Do's and Don'ts until next time.

On the surface it would seem building good credit would be easy, just pay your bills, treat your customers fairly and you should not have any problems. But sometimes not doing anything can in fact hurt your credit rating. Passive credit building in not always the best way to approach having a good or great rating. Active credit building is a much better method and one you can control.

There are multiple ways to determine and increase a company's credit worthiness:

• Paying obligations on time
• Maintaining a positive and strong balance sheet
• Avoiding legal problems and bad press
• Establishing business credit separate from personal ones
• Gaining and sustaining a strong business identity

Potential lenders or vendors may look at one or more of these factors with different weight measures depending on their needs. A equipment vendor may just care that you have a history of making payments on time where as a bank lender may feel a positive P&L history is more important, and an insurance company care more that you have never had any past litigation or claims filed for a policy rating.

Ways you can actively try to build and improve your business credit and rating.

Open lines of credit. Do this only with the type of businesses you will use in your daily routine. It makes sense to gain NET 30 terms with supply vendors and credit lines or cards with national companies you will buy or use services from, such as Home Depot, Nations Rental, gas companies etc. but at the same time you do not need to open credit just to show you can.  You need to keep your debt to cash ratio under 50% and more in line with 30%. It may seem that it is fine to be a strictly pay in cash as you go but that will not help build your credit. If you already have the cash use credit even if you do not need it right now and use the cash to pay it off.

Pay off card balances and loans faster than scheduled. The easiest way to be able to borrow is to show you really can do without it. So paying down a debt faster indicates you have a good cash flow than just making the minimum by the due date or carrying a loan out to its term. Even making one extra payment every 3-4 months can cut almost a full year off of a 5 year, 60 month loan, saving you interest.

Ask for deserved credit increases. Most companies that you have a long term relationship with are more than willing to revisit and possibly increase your credit limit every 12-24 months. A good time to discuss this is when you first open the account and to ask what that companies policies are in regards to credit increases and if they will be automatic or if they should be asked for. Once you know then be sure you do not let those time lines pass too far before asking for the increases available to you. Be care though because some credit card companies will look unfavorably to customer requests that occur too frequently, thinking that you are asking in need and may become a higher risk.

Not missing payment or discount dates. Besides the normal pay by a certain date each month or by NET 30, many cards or companies have other dates you should look at to see if you can gain savings and credit worthiness. You many have NET 30 terms with a vendor that may also give a discounted prepayment date as well, such as NET 15 3%. Where if you pay in less than two weeks from the purchase you can get additional money off the sale. Or just because your credit card is due the 5th of each month that you always pay off in full you may be still paying interest on charges that were made in the first 9 to 11 days after the last closing date, because that company may start adding interest after 21 days. Every card varies to be sure you know what specific terms each one carries. So sometimes paying your cards off more than once a month using the card companies on line payment system may save you extra interest and looks good as well.

Here is a link to a good article that gives you more tips for personal and business credit.

https://fitsmallbusiness.com/ways-to-build-personal-credit/

Your credit is one of the most important backbones of your business. If you as a business owner, and the business it's self, do not have at least a good credit rating you will face problems and added expenses in your everyday business life.

Reasons you need to check and stay on top of your business credit report and ratings.

1. You need to have a positive credit rating separated from your personal credit.
2. Your business is being rated year by year, whether you realize it or not.
3. Not doing some things can harm your rating more than doing others.
4. Do not assume that your vendors, no matter how small, are not reporting information.

Credit reports are an integral part of modern business and the more and more technologically advanced we become, the easier it will be for unfavorable reporting to effect your business. The key if stopping it before it happens or at least to correct it as fast as possible if it occurs.

Dun & Bradstreet use to be the only player in the business credit reporting world but that has also been changing in the past 5-10 years. They use to report only for the very top Fortune 500 companies but these days they cover down to much smaller businesses as long as it has a physical business address, has a business listing (usually in the yellow pages) and has been around long enough to have vendors and lenders that report to them.

The three formally only person credit reporting companies like Equifax, Transunion and Experian have also moved into the arena; Equifax with their Small Business Enterprise and Experian with their Small Business Reports as well as companies like Credit.net a division of InfoUSAR, Accurint Business and ClientChecker for the mainly freelance professional and contractors.

Your first step is to find out what information they have on your business good or bad, review it and then make the needed steps to improve, correct or even add your business to their listings. Because just like with personal credit sometimes no credit is just as bad as bad credit when it comes time to needing it.

With some of these companies you will not be able to give them new information as to your credit worthiness, only a creditor that reports to them can, but you can find out what info they have and to address any mistakes just like with your personal credit.

Here are the contact links to see what they have for your own business. Just go to each, plug in your business info and see what comes up. If you find you are listed make sure the contact info is correct. But unless you have been denied credit in the past 60 days, unlike personal credit reporting, business reporters do not have to give you a free report once a year. There fore you may have to pay to get a copy of your report if you are listed. If you do not even come up then there is no reason to pay for a report. Most run in the $50 range for the detailed report. Some as low as around $10 for a limited report. Then others like Credit.net offers a free 72 hour trial that will allow you to look at yours and others for free. Accurint is a fee only for output not for the search, they are inexpensive and you only pay for what is actually found. So if you are not there, no charge.

Dun & Bradstreet www.smallbusiness.dnb.com/
Equifax www.equifax.com/small-business/home/en_sb/
Experian www.experian.com/small-business/services.jsp/
Transunion http://www.transunion.com/corporate/business/business.page
Credit.net www.credit.net/
Accurint www.accurintbusiness.com/
ClientChecker www.clientchecker.com

Next post I will discuss "How to build good business credit".

Everyone knows the way to build a business in through loyal customers, repeat business and referrals. But how do you know you will get these when you first work for a new customer? Here are eight ways to make it almost full proof.

1. Be a knowledgeable professional. Customers tend to trust contractors that are serious about the work they are doing. Demonstrate that you have a deep understanding about the industry and the special needs of the work entailed. This can be shown by certifications, being a member of organizations or associations that are linked to your particular job set.

2. Be yourself and personable. No one likes to feel they are being given a sales pitch from a used car salesman or manipulated into buying something they did not want. So instead of talking like a salesman, simply speak to them like a friend or colleague by just stating facts, letting them guide the conversation and make the final decisions with you only supplying suggestions and answering questions.

3. Be curious about the customer and value the relationship. People are drawn to and remember others who show true interest in them. Notice things that can become points of the conversation. Make notes of the points discussed to include next time, a crucial element of relationship building. You both must believe that you honestly have something of value to offer, to the customer and the business relationship.

4. Be consistent. A customer must build trust that you are going to do what you say and can believe it will be the same over time. Once a customer can predict your behavior, they are more likely to trust you and recommend you to others. This is why it is so important to only say what you know you can deliver.

5. Seek and say the truth. Trust comes when the customer feels you are working in their best interest not yours. Make it a point to discover areas where you can give them what they want or could need but never be afraid to tell them when something is out of your normal scope of work and may be better performed by someone else.

6. Have a real dialog. As mentioned before every discussion should be a conversation, not a sales pitch or lecture. Spend at least half of the time listening to what they need, want and are expecting for the results. Make sure that most of the conversations are about the business at hand and not just mundane chit chat, about the weather, etc.

7. Keep an open mind. You may know absolutely that this customer needs what you can provide and the exact best way to do it, but the customer may think you may be self serving and close minded about other options it they have reservations with your methods. Be willing to concede that there is more than one way to skin a cat and if they can not be put at ease with education about your processes, be open in telling them that they may be happier with someone else doing the work for them. They could sense you may have their best interest at heart and proceed. But even if they don't it is better to have a 100% satisfied customer who will work for you, than a dissatisfied customer that was left feeling slighted hindering your future business.

8. Show integrity. Take a stand for your company, even when it may be unpopular with your customer, but you do not have to become adversarial. Make decisions based on what you know that is right and legal. Do not do something for a customer you know is not kosher. And as stated before, never say you will do something you can not deliver.

Trust is only one part of the business customer relationship, but once gained it will help to improve your business ten fold. You must of course also have a service the customer wants and needs and will want to ask you to perform again for them and others going forward.

A few weeks ago we are introducing our new line of 10 pound containers of powder products at the Pressure Washing Seminar held in Albany, NY.

These 10 pound containers have a re-sealable ratched lids which makes them easy to open and use only what is needed to be mixed at one time. Each container holds 10 pounds of powder and an 8 ounce measuring cup. The products that are going to be available so far are:

"So Safe" Wood Wash, a "Hard Surface Cleaner", a "Stripper" for paint and stain, a "Wood Brightener", a "Truck Wash" and a "Uniform Detergent".

These unique containers allow even normally hazardous products like stripper and sodium hydroxide truck wash to be listed as a DOT ORM-D (Other Regulated Material for Domestic transport) consumer commodity that ships just like a non hazardous item, thus saving the customer from higher Hazmat fees.

Even in these small amounts they are concentrated products. Each 10 pounds canbe mixed to make between 20-50 gallons of solution for cleaning. The Uniform Detergent can wash at least 80 loads of greasy dirty work clothes so clean you will want to use it all the time.

Most of these run $50 per unit, $40 for the uniform detergent, and for a limited time are being offered at $10 off each pail. Because of their low weight and non hazard shipping classification the cost to ship these in small quantities via UPS Ground average around $10 a unit as well.

For more information, to be sent individual data sheets or to order please call us at 1-800-762-7911.