7 Advertising Strategies for Pressure Washing Businesses to Get More Leads While On Jobsites
A lot of business owners in the home services industry treat advertising as a process that has an on/off switch — and that switch gets temporarily turned off when the crew shows up at the jobsite. Once business owners can approach advertising as an ongoing process that BEGINS when you show up on-site, you will really start to see the power of referral business. These 6 advertising strategies for pressure washing businesses will take an additional 5-10 minutes per job and have the potential to TRIPLE your business's revenue when consistently executed.
1. Smile and Wave at Neighbors
This sounds dumb simple but it is amazing how many home service contractors that I see in my neighborhood who don’t greet or even acknowledge other people walking or driving by. Being outwardly friendly will help you get referrals — but at least being approachable is a good start. New business can be won by a smile and a handshake. Friendliness should be the bare minimum here.
How many times have you been pressure washing the front of a house or the front walkway and a neighbor strolled by?
Now here is the important question: How many times did you smile, say hello, and wave at them?
Believe it or not, some people are too shy to initiate conversations. Often people need a gentle push in order to start a conversation. Instead of waiting for people to open up to you, open up to them.
By simply being a friendly and approachable person, opportunities will open up in your life.
You don’t have to have a conversation with every person who walks by. But you will have people stop and ask what you are doing. You don’t need to pitch them, tell them that you clean siding safely and effectively and hand them a business card (by the way: always carry business cards on you).
2. Scheduling Weekend Jobs
This strategy works best when:
It is the summer or spring and everyone in the neighborhood is outside enjoying the weather, doing yardwork, or running errands
Are you willing to work the weekend or do you have employees who are willing to work the weekends
Is the home in a neighborhood with sidewalks and people walking/deriving around who are able to approach you (ie. not on a busy road)
Is the homeowner ok with scheduling for the weekend
If all of these criteria are met, I will try and book a couple of Saturday jobs to maximize exposure. My pressure washing company would consistently get the most walk up leads on Saturdays where everyone is outside and in a good mood.
3. Wrap Your Work Truck
People walking or driving by while you are working might not stop to talk with you. You might be cleaning the back of a house, or pressure washing the pool deck…but your work truck is parked out front. Get it wrapped. You can normally expect 2-8 leads per week from people who just see your truck around town.
As a small business owner, you want to own assets that are getting you leads and making you money without you having to do anything. I have had people take pictures of my truck while we are both stopped at a red light. I have had people call me after seeing my company truck parked at a gas station. A one-time expense of around $1500-$5000 will continue getting you leads while also adding legitimacy and professionalism to your company. Pulling up to a customer’s house doesn’t quite feel the same in an unwrapped truck. Your business looks more fly by night rather than professional. Spend the money, and get the truck wrapped.
4. Door Hanger 5-Arounds
This door hanger strategy is incredible for advertising to targeted homes and takes an extra 5 minutes. The strategy is simple, when soft washing a house in a residential neighborhood, after you finish, put door hangers on 5 houses to the left of the house you are working on, 5 door hangers on houses to the right of the house you just washed and 10 consecutive houses on the other side of the street, opposite of the house you just washed. That is 20 total door hangers. This takes an extra 6 minutes to advertise to 20 homes effectively and creates familiarity with your company. This might be one of the best pressure washing advertising strategies based on the short amount of time and money it takes to implement versus the potential to generate new jobs.
5. Put a Yard Sign Out at the Start of the Job
When you are pressure washing a house, put a yard sign in the customer’s yard. When you finish the job take the yard sign back with you. I have never had a customer object to us putting a yard sign out temporarily. If your truck is NOT wrapped, then it is doubly important to have signage with your contact information visible while working.
If the house is on the corner of an intersection on a busy road even better!
6. Incentivize Your Employees to Door Knock
I cannot tell you how important this advertising strategy is for your pressure washing business. Hanging a door hanger is one thing, but knocking on the door and confidently greeting the homeowner and looking them in the eye face-to-face is far more impactful for closing a sale. Incentivize your employees to knock on doors by giving them a commission for jobs that they sell. This will be especially motivating for homes with dirty roofs because the commission would be larger.
Equip your service techs with a script and how to knock on doors and speak with neighbors. It is such an easy win-win situation for you and your employees.
7. Be Pleasant to Work With
If you follow basic etiquette:
Not blocking the homeowner’s driveway
Careful hose management
Alerting them of any open windows
Not tracking mud everywhere
Going the extra mile on the job
You will get more referral jobs from homeowners. When I worked in the field one of my favorite parts of the job was talking with homeowners. You meet some interesting people and most people are friendly if you are friendly yourself. No homeowner is going to refer your company if the pressure washing techs were grouches or they tracked mud all over the front walkway and didn’t wash it off.
Double down on referrals with a referral program that people want to use.