Residual Income for Plumbers?

[psolutions]

With the economy the way it is we are rethinking a lot of things. This is almost making us see the light on how much we where missing out on when the getting was good.

My question is on residual and repeat income. I know service plans are one, but they are often hard to sale, but we do try.

How many plumbers find ways for that repeat income from customer to customer? We do have some luck with service plans, but i was looking for other ideas?

Upgrades, pairing services together, service plans, anyone had any luck with creating a second income stream off of your plumbing company with anything like this?

[SewerRatz]

What we do is contact a lot of the local plumbers that do only new construction. We inform them if they get any calls for service work instead of blowing them away to subcontract us and we will split the profits. Some money is better than none. So its a win win situation for the both of us.

[hj]

The only way to make money on service contracts is to word them so that the customer ALWAYS pays for necessary repairs. The service contract is just to get into the house and do the minor tuneups and find the things that you can sell as a repair. A friend of mine had a service contract on his AC unit, and every year when they did the service, they found some "expensive" item that needed to be replaced. One year he forgot to call them and did not have any problems, so he let the contract lapse so he could see how long it took before he had one of those "expensive" repairs that they found every year. It took 15 years before it happened and by then he had saved enough by not paying the yearly fee, (and those "repairs"), that he was way ahead financially.

[master plumber mark]

just sitting at home witha sick kid today...

yellow pages is the best ......

their are plumbers that are doing service contracts here in Indy,
but their price is so high that I get most of their
work hands down when they call me.for an estimate..


Now you might already do this....and I have posted this before...


This absolutely AMAZES me how many customers FORGET
who they called last year for a plumbing problem....


for the best repeat business, the one thing that has worked best
for me is to simply stick my name on the water heater, furnace, well tank,
water softener and disposal in every house I step foot in...



If you have a few service trucks and you enforce this rule
with all of your employees, pretty soon you got thousands
and thousands of your logos and telephone numbers in homes everywhere...
and after ten years its a lot of names..... and then they remember you........


many of the stickers I put on as far back as 1980 are still there....
.but the house has changed hands once or twice, the original customer
has died, moved, divorced or whatever.....


eventually the heater gives out and they call me again...

becasuse my name is right in front of their noses.......

a nice colored eye catching laminated sticker with everything
you do on it costs only about 4 cents each..



I have at least 250,000 of them stuck out there

and it sort of feels like hitting the lottery every thim someone
calls me cause they saw the sticker I put on
their heater back in 1995...


4 cent investment majically becomes 800 dollars.....



but you got to start this habit and stick with it...


http://www.terrylove.com/images/weilhammer_label.jpg

[Dunbar Plumbing]

I was doing a good job of that, putting them on heaters, garbage disposals, and the handles on ball valves.


I've pulled away from that and I don't know why....lack of interest but I know that works well.

I'll put the stickers back on the truck after reading this. Just been really unorganized these past 8 months.


Crap!

[Joe the Plumber]

I like sticker too.
Speaking works too for extra money.
I'm finding that when you are a plumber, it's like being a rock star.
So I say, you gotta think about public speaking for money.
Yeah, ok that's what I'm thinking.
And stickers are good.

Magnets, Magnets anyone?

[GPRACING]

The stickers are the way to go.We have used them for years and they do work!In service you will die without a yellow page ad.Just dont get to fancy.Those full page ads are nice but in a slow economy they get hard to pay for in a hurry.

[Cookie]

Magnets are never a waste of money. When someone gives me a magnet it goes right up on the fridge for future reference. It is just so easy when you need the plumber, electrician, mechanic; Plus, you can put your kids to work on making them on the computer for you, and buy the magnetic sheets anywhere they sell printer stuff. The stickers are really convenient and when I needed to call the furnace people for help one day, I used the basement phone and dialed right from the sticker. Another thing you could again, get your kids to make them for you. See, kids can be useful. :) The money they save you, you can spend on them.

[Redwood]

Magnets, Magnets anyone?

Oh Yea! I've got magnets! If the fridge already has magnets on it I automatically toss one at the fridge while we're settling up. 9 times out of 10 I stick it from up to 10' away! If they don't have any on there I always ask if they want one... Most do!

[nhmaster]

The best way to get repeat business is to not fix it the first time :D

Anyway, the whole plumbing gig is pretty much dead. I'm thinking of getting into real estate or maybe the futures market.

[hj]

quote; Anyway, the whole plumbing gig is pretty much dead. I'm thinking of getting into real estate or maybe the futures market.

Maybe you would be better off opening a big 3 auto dealership. It would have about the same success as those choices.
__________________

[99k]

quote; Anyway, the whole plumbing gig is pretty much dead. I'm thinking of getting into real estate or maybe the futures market.

Maybe you would be better off opening a big 3 auto dealership. It would have about the same success as those choices.
__________________

LOL ... bingo

[Cookie]

I think you are underestimating the RE business, maybe your local area is down, but not all areas.

[nhmaster]

quote; Anyway, the whole plumbing gig is pretty much dead. I'm thinking of getting into real estate or maybe the futures market.

Maybe you would be better off opening a big 3 auto dealership. It would have about the same success as those choices.
__________________

Hadn't thought of that. That's a great idea, all three on the same lot. I'll make a fortune. Thanks HJ, I owe you (and probably everyone else) one. :D

[master plumber mark]

Magnets are too expensive and
are usually thrown away sometime down the road


Pernamant laminated stickers made so that that are almost hell to peel off are the best route..


even if the customer dont like you,
most people are just too lazy to get one off the heater or disposal
or furnace..... ...


so they are stuck on and remain there forever....


....
http://www.terrylove.com/images/weilhammer_label.jpg

[Cookie]

I would just use magic makers on mine, :)

BUT, I keep the magnets, for other reasons too. I hang tons of stuff on my fridge and use them. I love magnets.

[hj]

Having three dealerships on one lot would have an added benefit. Maybe then you would sell THREE cars a week. One from each company.

[Cass]

You could entice in customers by having a free plumbing inspection give away, 1 time a month...and 1 free water heater + installation a year...

[psolutions]

I havent done stickers yet, but after reading the positive feedback here i just placed my order with NEBs.

How about product sales, etc.?
Anything you try to pitch for extra sales while at the customers house? I always look at other items and if something looks faulty make recommendation, but what about other services youve successfully coupled with plumbing?

Service unfortunately by its nature seems to be more of a one shot deal. The customer calls you for one issue and done.

Many companies around my area go for that one big price tag and take the customer for all they can first shot in the door. We use more of a repeat business mind set when setting prices. We do get repeat business this way, but it probably takes 2-3 trips to get the profit some of the larger companies get on the first and only trip.

The way i see it though... more trips equals more brand power with the customer and more word of mouth.

[Terry]

The way i see it though... more trips equals more brand power with the customer and more word of mouth.

I don't know about that.
A local publication in Seattle gave one of the highest charging plumbing outfits it's "Best Service Plumber" award based on customer votes.
They advertise on television, radio, buses, sporting events, heck they probably have a blimp too. Most of the people doing the voting haven't used them yet, that's going to be a real shocker. I can't remember the name now.........

I talked to a customer this week that I installed a Toto Guinevere for, last Saturday Mr Ben did a service call for him on a different toilet. (Not the same outfit mentioned above)
He was charged $120 just to have his name on the list that day. The plumber got there at the end of the day, and wanted to charge him $120 to say it was too late to do any work. The customer made him go get the tank parts and replace them in his $80 toilet. The repair wound up costing him $515.00
I felt kind of silly, I quoted him something like $175 for the same job. (M through F)

This week he called up, and we were called in to work in another bathroom,
He decided to go with the new $600 toilet and install.
Maybe I should order some stickers so he can remember who to call next time,

[nhmaster]

You want repeat business? Be perfect. word travels fast.

[Redwood]

I'll tell you the one thing I do is take the time to look around at all the plumbing and just mention the other things that need doing. I even include tips on how they can take care of the small nusance call type things. Like cleaning out under the pop up of a tub or lav sink before they call us, changing out washing machine hoses to no burst hoses, showing them how to tighten a loose packing on a valve. This is done with out any sales pressure and is all matter of fact.

I am here to fix your problem and I do charge a good price. I am also here to educate you and show you the things that you can do to avoid future problems and fix small things without having to call me. I'm the guy that you want coming to your home! I'm not cheap... But I'm good!

[master plumber mark]

Customer just called me..at about 1 today...

no hot water , and it can wait till Sat......

She looked at her 1994 Smith Gas water heater and saw the sticker I put on it sometime waaaay back when..

I think we did the plumbing in the home...

anyway its 14 years old and she is getting a new one on Satruday...

4 cents just became $750 ......

ohhhh how I love it so...

http://onsmartpages.com/weilhammerplumbingco/nss-folder/pictures/si_UEw80h80_DSC07813.JPG (http://onsmartpages.com/weilhammerplumbingco/pictures/view_alone.nhtml?profile=pictures&UID=10283)






.Redwood, every time I try to sell a customer somethign that I
did not come there for in the first place, I always get the feeling
that they are turned off by the whole thing..


we will get back to you on that issue ,,,,,,,,, thanks anway...
now could you please get back to work .......


Now , if they ask me to look at something, and ask me first,
then its a whole nother ball game.....


I usually come across like I am too busy today and really dont care
about being there for any other reason than the plumbing mission I
came to do.....


I usually say that I am more than happy to give you
a price on anything you need done, but it aint gonna happen today.


moms got supper on the table...and its getting cold.......


..
http://www.terrylove.com/images/weilhammer_label.jpg

[Redwood]

.Redwood, every time I try to sell a customer somethign that I
did not come there for in the first place, I always get the feeling
that they are turned off by the whole thing..

That's just it Mark...
I'm not putting any pressure on them...
Just a quick inspection pointing out potential problems. In fact I tell them to put on the washing machine hoses themselves. I tell them if they can attach a garden hose to an outside faucet they can probably handle it.
I'm there to do the task at hand and provide an assessment of their plumbing.
If they want any of the work done they have to ask the question.
The walk around is loaded with tips they can do themselves to avoid calling me.

I view it as planting the seeds...
When they decide to do the work I'll be happy to do it.

One of the components of the walk through is making sure that they know where the main shut off is and how to operate it.

[master plumber mark]

That is basicaly a good thought out approach Redwood...


do the walk through and show them a few pointers..

I will mark the main water shut off valve for them with a majic marker.....

I basically do about the same thing, more or less.
just in fast gear...without any come-ons.......


I try to let the customer know I got so much time that day for their call and I got to keep on my schedule...

basically I dont go around looking for trouble , but I will point out something obvoius , and I dont push it unless it is something of a dangerous nature......


I tell them if they would like an estimate to have the work done on some other day , I will write something up and it can be arranged for alter that week..........



It seems if you play hard to get, and dont play
sammey sales with them...folks....this price is only good for today.......

they realize you are not trying to get one over on them, bcasue they always have the chance to compare prices with someone else...

[Redwood]

That is my thought exactly!
The pressure pitch is such a turn off to me that I can't use it on anyone.
I'm the guy that tells the used car salesman to shut up and take a walk...
I'll come talk to you when I'm ready to deal.
I then look over the vehicles real good decide which ones I'm interested in,
check the book values take em for a ride...

Now we're ready to talk...
Spare me the BS cause if I walk off the lot without a deal I'm gone forever.
This one here how much give me a good price...
Kinda high seeing as it needs shocks, you did a pad slap on the front brakes the rotors weren't turned, rear brakes are 75% gone and the tie rod needs replacing...
Wanna sharpen your pencil and give a real price...

At this point he better get real or, it's have a nice day!

Years ago I was sent to a call where a young couple had just gotten a house from the womans grandfather. They were concerned about the septic system. they had the lid exposed and I took a look at it.The tank was small with a very small inlet baffle area. I told them that there really wasn't anything wrong with it and since they were planning on adding on to the house they would be upgrading it then. Run it your fine but when the young one potty trains be very careful with excess paper usage.

Lets go look at the rest of the house...

The cast iron in the basement was shot...
Leaking, rust stalactites hanging down and all...
I told her that I would be much more concerned about this than anything else.

The supply side was all old brass with quite a bit of corrosion at the joints.
I told her that she probably had a couple of years with those but it should get replaced at some point. Don't use the pipes as clothes hanger rods when you do the wash and save your money it will be about $3k. When the first leak hits don't play around do it all.

She wanted the leaking cast Iron replaced and we did that job.

A few years later the brass sprung a leak and as advised she wanted it all done at once no playing around.

I was right they didn't have any problems with the septic tank!

When you give customers the real deal with a heads up on the future they like it!