How to increase sales #2: meet my windowcleaner

David Pinkham, Partner

I inherited the previous window cleaner on moving into the new house. He had “done it for years” and would be delighted to provide me with the same “excellent service for the same price”. This not only included giving the windows a monthly once-over but also regaling me with stories about his great aunt who had sailed on the Titanic.

Just as I was getting bored of hearing the same maritime story each month, he retired and sold his window-cleaning round to a larger business.

Future vision
The first I knew of this change in service provider was a welcoming letter from the new company.
It was very informative letting me know that whilst their standard price for a house such as mine was much higher than I was currently paying, they were happy to do it for just a small increase for the first twelve months. Lucky me!

Their operation is impressive. They are great at letting you know when they will come. The window cleaner arrives in a brightly liveried van clean enough to eat your breakfast off. He cleans the windows very efficiently with some high- tech equipment and equally “smart” water. He then drops a note through the door to let you know it is all done, and you’ll be direct-debited the next day.

After the first few visits, I began to receive more literature from the company offering me additional services that they thought I would benefit from. Patio cleaning, gutter clearing, moss treatment etc. They are probably right but I am still in their sales-pipeline for these.

It was a few months later that I had a thought that life seemed to be passing far too quickly. Surely it hadn’t been a month since the last window clean. I checked the bank statements to find thst I had paid seven direct debits in five months. I checked my diary; yes indeed they had cleaned the windows on seven occasions this year to date. Perhaps they use a different calendar to the rest of us

Four ways to increase sales.
Whether or not you consider the last point sharp practice, what the new business has demonstrated is how to increase sales:

1. Find (or purchase) new customers
2. Increase prices
3. Sell more products or services
4. Increase the frequency of sales to existing customers
   
   And, equally importantly, how to get paid quickly for the services provided.