Sales Questions & Answers

Here are questions from carpet cleaners around the world and answers to them. If you'd like to have your carpet cleaning related question answered, drop me a line!. I'll send a personal answer directly to you and also place it on these pages for the benefit of other carpet cleaning technicians. Check back often, these pages will be changing frequently...

Hello Ron,

I am interested in carpet sales. How do I price this service? Also, do you know how I can obtain instructional videos on repair & reinstallation?

James from Maryland, U.S.A.

Hi James,

When we sell carpets we get anywhere from $3.00 to $10.00 a yard over cost. $3.00 at the minimum, however, for large jobs, (for example, we recently installed several hundred yards in a church) we'll charge $2.00 over cost. When you figure cost, you have to figure in all the factors; your installer (ours charges $2.50 a yard), padding, furniture moving, removing old carpet, overhead, etc.

Here's another great thing you can do once you have your 'in' with the carpet mills... Sell carpet as a distributor to other carpet cleaners in your area! They are in the same situation as you; in clients homes day after day, many of whom need new carpet. I have sets of carpet samples available at my office for carpet cleaners anytime. And when they order through me, they have access to my advice, access to the installer I use, and my low-priced padding connection. I charge carpet cleaners $1.00 a yard to order carpet through me and they gladly pay. If they were to go to a carpet store and price what I sell, they would pay much, much more.

I average $150.00 or so for every carpet order from a carpet cleaner. It doesn't take much time or effort...a couple phone calls to actually 'order' the carpet and make arrangements for the installer to pick up the padding and the carpet once they are delivered. Pretty simple.

Word gets around fast in the carpet cleaning business and once a few carpet cleaners know they can buy carpet through you, you'll start hearing from them. Not many carpet cleaners have access to mill 'direct' carpet.

As far as the videos go, unfortunately I haven't run into any videos on repair and reinstallation that have impressed me enough to recommend them.

Here are some carpet repair/installation schools you can try:

Bridgepoint (800) 658-5314
Cleaning & Restoration Learning Center (800) 342-2297, ext. 107
Pemberton & Associates (800) 342-2297

If you can't get a quality instructional videos on repair and reinstallation from any of them, at the very least they should be able to point you to one that will...

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Hi Ron,

My name is Kenny and I am just starting out in the carpet cleaning business. My problem right now is that everyone wants to wait until March or Spring to get their carpets cleaned. How do you handle the winter months? What do you say to a customer who won't get their carpet cleaned until Spring? I really could use your advice.

Thank you,

Kenny from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Hi Kenny,

It's a bit slower during the California winters as well. A lot of people don't want to get their carpets cleaned when it's cold and wet outside. That's the way it is out here and the way it is in many areas of the U.S.. Now if you were in Florida, it would be a different story. Their BUSY season is in the winter, when many retirees flock down to enjoy the warmer weather. I have carpet cleaning marketing clients in Florida that generate more revenue in 3 winter months than they do for the other 9 months of the year. They thrive and prosper in the winter. In most other parts of the country, it tends to slow down.

When the slower part of the season hits, I like to start working on new advertising promotions...and I become more aggressive promoting to property managers and commercial accounts (these kind of accounts aren't affected as much by the winter as residential clients are) I kind of like it when it slows down...it gives me a chance to catch up on things and lets me market and promote other areas of my business that I normally don't have time to get to.

So, what should you do to drum up business when it slows down?

Well, there are a lot of effective things you can do...too much to mention in an email. But if I were you, here are the first things I'd do. I'd try to land:

1) Property managers (offer them a free 'demo' cleaning on any unit to get your foot in the door)
2) Commercial Accounts
3) Call back or send a personal letter to your past clients...offer them a 'winter' special.
4) Telemarket to 'cold' customers.

This is just a start that won't cost you an arm and a leg. There are about 25 other things you can do in the slower part of the season to make money in this great industry we're in. If you're not real busy right now, these are an excellent start...

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