Check out this rig

safetouchwash

New Member
I just build this rig.

2 Mounted Machines.
1 - 25 Koler - 10 GPM / 3200 psi pump w/350 Hose.
1 - 22 Koler - 8 GPM / 3800 psi pump w/250 Hose.
Remote control engine start/stop with remote 2 chemicals.
350 GL water tank with fire hose adapter
125 GL chemical tank with direct feed to 10 GPM machine by remote
85 GL Roof cleaning chemical tank with shure flow on hose reel w/ 350 hose.
2 Garden Hose reels.

I am knocking out 3000 sq ft houses with average size driveways in 30 to 45 minutes. Small 1500 sq ft box style, wrapped soffits in around 15 minutes. Its a dream...

Tell me what you all think.

Charles Worthley
Safe Touch Pressure Washing
210 8th Street N.
Jacksonville Beach Florida 32250
904-434-1108
charlesworthley@yahoo.com
 

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Christopher

New Member
I also would like to see it close up. Where did you find the remote controls? I have been wanting to do something similar with remote control solenoids to switch from chem tank to water tank to rinse. Thanks.
 

PressurePros

New Member
Thats awesome. What type of marketing are you doing to support the 25 houses per week you need to keep that beast up and running?
 

safetouchwash

New Member
Remote info...

The remote company is MPI - http://www.mechatronicproducts.com/index2.htm

I paid around 1200.00 for everything, 2 remotes. You have to buy the solinoids seperate, I paid 70$ from Dema.... Only prolem is I cant find a chemical injector that works for hose over 300 ft. Still trying to solve that one. I had it working the first 2 weeks untill the my hoses and hose reel got gunked up. Thats typical with a new rig, Ive had that same problem in the past. Anyway any sugestions out there???

Anyone wanting more pic's e-mail me direct so I can send them to you.

Marketing, I do door to door mostly, sweep neighorhoods. I look for dirty houses and offer very good prices. In most cases Ill stay on the same stret all day, do 4 - 7 houses per day. Since I have 2 machines Im doing house + drive in under an hour. I also have a good flyer too.
 

FCPWLLC

New Member
safetouchwash said:
Marketing, I do door to door mostly, sweep neighorhoods. I look for dirty houses and offer very good prices. In most cases Ill stay on the same stret all day, do 4 - 7 houses per day. Since I have 2 machines Im doing house + drive in under an hour. I also have a good flyer too.

How good is very good?
 

PressurePros

New Member
For people to bite at a door to door it has to be pretty low... your rig probably lends credibility to you though which is a plus. Washing seven houses a day would be too much like a job to me. The problem with this type of marketing is a) there is no customer loyalty and b) you have no customer base.

There are a couple of ways of doing things and your way is working for you. You are probably in the right region for that type of marketing. Congrats on your success and that monster rig.. Looks like you put a ton of thought into it. I wish you the best.
 

whit49

New Member
Try XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Watts, or XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. They carry chemical injectors that will work with 300 foot hose.
 

safetouchwash

New Member
Hey Easy Now Big Fella (ken)- Re Door - Door

I choose door to door over other marketing type because its basicly free. I retain a next year call back at 65%. They are the first jobs of the day to be done. Ive been at this for years and tried everything from radio to yellow pages, they work but. Heres the delemia with standard marketing. Yellow pages, to be competitive in my market means a similar size ad that most big guys are running will run around $700 per month. That is in the 3 best books in Jax's. So I get the call from the customer, I have to drive to the location accross town and spend anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Total down time not making money OK.. So lets say I got the job, I then jump all over town in traffic hitting those jobs sold , there again 2 - 3 hours time waisted in traffic/drive time. I day in and day out average no less than $100 PER HOUR. How I start my day is I group two of my regular customers in the morning and door to door the rest of the day. I have CREDITBILITY because A/ My rig tells people Im not a fly by night, B/ Neighbors have spotted me this and last year. C/ Im a hell of a nice guy........

So my point dont assume you know it all when it comes to presure washing and marketing because we all have lots to learn. Im blowing the competion away and making my customers very happy. But thank you for you comments on my rig. I too wish you good luck.. Feel free to get additioal marketing tips if you want, just ask....
 

LynxProWash

New Member
Marketing Q's

safetouchwash said:
Marketing, I do door to door mostly, sweep neighorhoods. I look for dirty houses and offer very good prices. In most cases Ill stay on the same stret all day, do 4 - 7 houses per day. Since I have 2 machines Im doing house + drive in under an hour. I also have a good flyer too.

What time of day do you do your door to door. If I'm not mistaken you go door to door during the day and perform the service on the spot??? I haven't had any luck getting any business doing door to door in the daytime. Everyone wants there spouse there to help make the decision (which is understandable) and half the time I can't get a woman to come to the door at all without husband home. So do you go door to door in the evening and then perform those services you sold that night the next morning?? Just curious.

Also to anyone who is writing in this thread against door to door: What "conventional" marketing tactics have worked for you. I'm planning on creating a brochure/flyer, but I don't know how to really use it other than door to door. In other words I don't know how else to "get it out there." Do you guys offer any promotional incentives?? I may need to just open a brand new thread with all these questions. Sorry if I "hi-jacked" this thread.

Jeremy Yoder
Lynx Pro Wash
417.207.0179
 
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PressurePros

New Member
LynxProWash said:
What time of day do you do your door to door. If I'm not mistaken you go door to door during the day and perform the service on the spot??? I haven't had any luck getting any business doing door to door in the daytime. Everyone wants there spouse there to help make the decision (which is understandable) and half the time I can't get a woman to come to the door at all without husband home. So do you go door to door in the evening and then perform those services you sold that night the next morning?? Just curious.

Exactly what I was thinking. Sounds fishy to me, but what do I know? I would never buy from a door to door contractor, regardless of the percieved credibility of his tools. My feeling would be, why would this company be going door to door unless they were desperate for business? Desperate for business means = here today, gone tommorrow. I think most people have the same thoughts in today's world of scammers. Put that together with the results you got Jeremy and 7 houses per day seems pretty far fetched. I'm not trying to knock him and if he is doing it, fine. But just keep in mind that people like to stretch the truth and you may be knocking yourself out trying to figure out why you can't achieve the same results.

LynxProWash said:
Also to anyone who is writing in this thread against door to door: What "conventional" marketing tactics have worked for you. I'm planning on creating a brochure/flyer, but I don't know how to really use it other than door to door. In other words I don't know how else to "get it out there." Do you guys offer any promotional incentives?? I may need to just open a brand new thread with all these questions. Sorry if I "hi-jacked" this thread.

Word of mouth referrals, business network gorups like BNI, direct mail postcards, phone book, local papers contarctors section, church bulletins. As you build a customer databse set up a newsletter, give out magnets or calendars.

I like to build a relationship with customers. Knocking on their door to introduce yourself might be well received.
"Hi, I'm Jeremy I own XYZ Pressure Washing. I'm just walking aorund the area introducing myself to my neighbors. Here is a coupon for 10% off of a housewash, I'd love to se you come on board as a customer."
I still say the days of successful door to door sales are over. Things are more sophisticated today and people are so bombarded with advertisements that the last thing they may want is some guy knocking on the door trying to sell something. Just my $.02
 

Jon Fife

New Member
Things are more sophisticated today and people are so bombarded with advertisements that the last thing they may want is some guy knocking on the door trying to sell something. Just my $.02[/QUOTE] (quote by pressurepros)

....And that is exactly why I think door-to-door (DTD) marketing can WORK. It's Old School. It's aggressive. It's challenging. It's risky. And you'll get some that hate, and some that have unbelievable respect for you. I've sold jobs to homeowners for 75K the SAME DAY that i knocked on their door. You just cannot predict what will happen. You have to have thick skin. I'm not very good at it, but my brother is a master.

The methods used by Safetouch are definitely radical. The thought of needing to do 5 jobs a day, and only having two scheduled and needing to sell the other 3 on the spot would definitely put some hair on your chest. I'd assume his price is low to get people to bit right away, and he can probably handle that through volume and speed.
 

PressurePros

New Member
Jon Fife said:
Things are more sophisticated today and people are so bombarded with advertisements that the last thing they may want is some guy knocking on the door trying to sell something. Just my $.02

....And that is exactly why I think door-to-door (DTD) marketing can WORK. It's Old School. It's aggressive. It's challenging. It's risky. And you'll get some that hate, and some that have unbelievable respect for you. I've sold jobs to homeowners for 75K the SAME DAY that i knocked on their door. You just cannot predict what will happen. You have to have thick skin. I'm not very good at it, but my brother is a master.

The methods used by Safetouch are definitely radical. The thought of needing to do 5 jobs a day, and only having two scheduled and needing to sell the other 3 on the spot would definitely put some hair on your chest. I'd assume his price is low to get people to bit right away, and he can probably handle that through volume and speed.

Will it work and get some business? Of course. Will most be skeptical and not buy? Yes again.

I bought a business, not a job selling door to door. Jon, you are right, at what price would you have to sell to close that many washes? How many "no's" would you have to hear?

I am a damn good salesman and my close ratio of people who call me is maybe 60%. That number would fall to maybe 10% cold calling.

Trading the "hassle" of respectable advertising like every other company does today (I don't dictate the market trends I follow them) and doing estimates for hot sales leads versus knocking on 60 doors and presenting sixty sales pitches every day is time saving????????

Jon you're market is way different. House and concrete washers are considered hacks. You may be perceived as a craftsman and you only have to close one job. His numbers do not jive. Trust me on this, been around long enough to know when someone is full of it.

Certain markets dictate cold calling. Showing up with your tools in hand ready to high pressure sell someone or give the job away based on splash and dash is gypsy marketing. To each his own. Not my style.
 

Jon Fife

New Member
Here is why I think what this guy is saying could work:

1) a housewash is reasonably cheap, I'd say $150-$500?? I've never done it, but I'd say those prices are reasonable.

2) It's like tall grass--it is easy to see who needs the work. I have pressure washers and if someone knocked on my door, has a monster rig, and offered to wash my house for a Benjamin I'd probably let him, cause it needs done and I don't want to do it.

3) Numbers: You get call. Schedule a visit. View home. Talk to customer. Explain why your price is higher. Close the sale. Go home. Next day. Drive out. Set up. Wash house. Go home/next job.

4) This guy (safetouch) is eliminating all of these step up to: Set up. Granted, he probably invests 2minutes per house that says "NO", and ten minutes per house that says, "yes".

For those reasons, I could see him charging quite a bit cheaper, and getting some "Yes"answers. I just think what he is doing could be functional----but I do see a short time limit to it. It would be tough to keep up the stress and hassle of that for long. I'd like to hear more from him on his methods,
 

grasshawg

New Member
Location, location, location. Door to door is not even an option for me living out in a rural area. 100 houses in about a 5 mile radius verses a few city blocks.
Fuel usage comes into play there. IF I get a yes in a days worth of driving, the cost of the house wash will barely cover the fuel.
Randy
 

FCPWLLC

New Member
I again agree with Ken on this one. I know some guys that do this very thing, make more money than me, screw up the prices, and have an attitude that "it's like taking candy from a baby." Those same guys are heavy drinkers, tax dodgers, and have no integrity. The type that it takes to go door to door, are the same type that is stereotyped as being fly-by-night or scammers. Not saying this guy is a scammer or like the guys I know. However, many feel the same as I do when somebody inturrupts my day and knocks on my door offering a great deal. I NEVER buy from them. Same with Cold Callers.

The Pressure Washing Industry hasn't got a great public view. Especially when they get such a drastic difference in prices and most of all drastic differences in quality of work. This makes our jobs so much harder to earn the trust and business from consumers at a decent wage.

Just yesterday, we went to a Sonic Drive-in to buy some Ice. I commented to my Father-in-law that thier concrete looked as if it hadn't been cleaned since last year, the last time I had been there. I give Manager my card and explain that I could provide a service that I felt he needed. He rolls his eyes and tells me that it had been cleaned last week. Tells me it was done for $250. (worth $450) So he mumbles a little and says he'll call district... blah, blah, blah..... It will be very hard now to gain trust and earn this guys business because he's been burned with shoddy work. Now, when I get in the door by offering to clean a section for free as a demo of quality, I will then have the challenge of explaining why I can't charge the same $250. Bad for the indstry on all levels.

Anyhow, house washes, no matter where on lives, are worth $250 +. Are we getting $250+? Most of the time, just the $250... Not the +. Why? The guy in each of our towns offering it for $99. Those guys aren't pricing based on real world business model type pricing. They are basing it on how much they could make at some sort of Labor job and think that If they do that 1 house today that they are better off than that Labor Job. No business sense at all. So they sell themselves short. They also do not beleive in themselve that the service they are providing is worth more. I talked to one of those $99 house wash guys and he says that it is "only" washing a house and it isn't worth anymore.
[puke]
 

M. Williamson

New Member
Maybe things are different in Jax Beach...I'd say 90% of my customers aren't even home during the day. They work. Do you only hit the houses where it appears someone is home, or do you waste time knocking on every door?
 

Deck Works

New Member
His RIG adds a ton of credibility. Plus its the same as sealcoaters...they usually get one Job in a neighborhood and end up with 5 because everyone sees them doing it.

I applaud him for his sales ability. Cold Calling / Knocking on doors is tough.

When I do decks you'd be amazed how many people call or stop by just cause they see me washing and staining. Leads to referalls.
 

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