WoodDefender Newsletter
August 2007
July 2007 Training Class
The attendance at our July 27, 2007 training class was excellent, with companies representing Montana, Tennessee, Oklahoma and multiple cities in Texas. We had a wide variety of attendees ranging from fence companies, power washing companies, entrepreneurs, and mobile detail companies. It was a very interactive group and we appreciate everyone taking time out of their busy schedule to attend.
Displayed to the left is the demonstration job that we sprayed for the training class. Luckily the weather cooperated and we were able to complete this 2532 square foot fence in 41 minutes with $537.98 in gross profit!
If you are interested in attending our August 24th training class, call soon to reserve your spot. This class is nearing maximum occupancy!!!
Standard Paint News:
Extended Training Program
Standard Paints Inc., Wood Defender announces its new extended training program. In order to further our customer's as well as class attendee's knowledge and fence staining ability we are now offering an extended training program.
The extended training course is designed for the new fence stain applicator wanting a one on one personal training day or days at his or her location. Wood Defender will now offer this training program nationwide. This will allow us to help train the actual applicator, crew of the entrepreneur or fence company adding this service to their business.
We feel this program will not only better educate users of Wood Defender but will help to eliminate the fear some have bringing their employees to the class. It is part of the curriculum at the class to openly visit about the profit potential. This is information that may not be discussed as openly between the investor and crew.
The extended training program will help to eliminate the investor feeling as if he is missing out on a training day by not bringing his applicator to the monthly training class. This service will require a minimum purchase of and ST-250 Show Special and charges will be based on travel expenses and days spent with crew.
Competition:
Additional fence stain companies entering a market: We have had many conversations with potential and current customers about having an exclusive territory for their fence stain business. In fact, we actually put a small article about this very same subject in our November 2006 newsletter but we felt like it was important to visit it again.
One of the most common questions we receive when talking with entrepreneurs is “can we have a protected territory?” No protected territories are available through Wood Defender, the fence staining business is an opportunity not a franchise. We will do whatever we can to help you with your new business including monthly training, product and equipment support, along with technical support. What we won’t do is require a monthly royalty, contract, percentage of profit, six digit investment, or a franchise fee from your company, and all of the listed items would be associated with a protected territory.
What it really comes down to is this; the more companies selling the service in a reasonable area the easier it is for you to sell the same service. For example, if there is only one company in the Chicago area they are going to have more of a challenge selling the service as compared to if there were 50 companies selling the service. Chicago is the third largest city in the United States with a population of 2,886,251 (within city limits), one company couldn’t service this area in a lifetime.
A quick internet search for “Lawn Service” in the Chicago area yielded 48 companies. That’s 48 companies in the city limits of Chicago that are out every day mowing lawns, trimming trees and planting flowers. The idea of having your lawn mowed by a professional company has taken off because of all these companies out there on a daily basis. If there were only one or two of these companies, everyone would just mow their own yard. The same principle applies to the fence stain market. The more people that have their fence stained the more that want it done. A few more companies in an area doing the fence staining service helps promote the business itself, not hamper it.
Vehicle Signage
Through many conversations with successful fence staining customers of ours, we have found that some form of vehicle signage is the best place to put advertising dollars. Our customers with trailer wraps are consistently getting business simply because it’s obvious to the consumer what they do. We constantly hear stories from customers who get additional jobs while staining a fence because their trailer was parked in front of the house. Getting your business up and running takes time, however making it obvious what service you are performing in the neighborhood on a regular basis is the fastest way to grow your business. One thing to remember, it costs you to advertise and it costs you if you don’t!
Marketing Ideas
Follow-up Calls On Estimates
Operating a service business requires a bid process before the work can begin. Once you provide a bid to a potential customer they have officially entered into the bid process. In order for this process to take place you must have their contact information. Giving someone a bid without getting their contact information is useless. Without it you won’t be able to make follow-up calls or have the information needed to reach them three years down the road for a recoat.
Upon accepting an estimate, the customer should expect follow up calls from your company. This is a normal procedure and you should not feel bashful about making these calls.
No one likes a pushy salesman but a potential customer will appreciate a phone call a week or so after the initial bid was given. This will reiterate the fact that you’re serious about getting their business.
Beauty Shot Roundup:
We will be running a 6 month contest for the “Best Beauty Shot”! This is a chance to have your best work showcased in our newsletter and be qualified to receive a prize! To submit you’re best stained fence project email to: wpierce@standardpaints.com.
We are looking forward to seeing a sample of your work.
Tech Tips:
While not a daily occurrence, you may find yourself staining fence built with metal poles. This may look like a daunting task to clean these poles but we have a simple methodcan use. After completely staining the fence and doing other cleanup on the jobsite (by doing these other steps it will give the stain time to soak into the wood), you can a pump up garden sprayer with mineral spirits to clean poles. By drizzling the mineral spirits at the top of the and allowing it to run down, it will remove any stain on pole along with any stain between the pole and the brackets. You may have to come back with a dry rag and lightly wipe few spots but this method can be a huge time saver.
Phone Interview
Aspen Country Fence - Chris Penchoff
1. What was the driving force behind your company adding the fence staining program to your existing business?
“After meeting you guys at the FenceTech in Las Vegas, we thought about the opportunity and decided it was something we needed to add to our business but there was no sense in trying to reinvent the wheel. We liked the additional revenue potential, value added service and ability to increase market share.”
2. Had you thought about adding the staining program to your company for some time?
“Prior to meeting your company we were referring an individual in our area for the staining. We knew there was a demand for the service but had a bad experience when we tried staining a fence with pump sprayers using a stain from a home improvement center.”
3. How has your experience been using the Wood Defender stain & equipment?
“I wish we would have met you guys sooner. We have missed out on a lot of revenue by not applying the stain ourselves. Your products and equipment are full proof and function flawlessly”
4. Has the response from your customers been favorable?
“Our customers have loved the added service available now from our company. We are also looking forward to the maintenance opportunity with the stain three years down the road.”
5. How have you gone about letting previous fence construction customers of yours know that you’re now offering the fence staining service?
“Since we weren’t able to get our ad in the yellow pages this year we sent post cards to all of our customers for the last three years. We got a great response from this approach and are expecting more.”
6. What has been the most successful lead source for your company? Door hangers, direct mailers, knocking on doors, fence signs, trailer wrap, offering the stain at the time of supplying a bid to build a fence?
“Honestly, the trailer wrap has been the most successful form of advertising for us. One day while Bill was on a perimeter fence construction job with the trailer, he had five people stop and ask him for a bid and information on the staining service. We feel that the money spent on the vinyl wrap has been invaluable!”
7. Have you stained any of your competitor’s fences?
“As of right now we haven’t stained any of our competitor’s fences yet. We are looking forward to that day though.”
8. If your company didn’t offer the fence staining as an additional service, would you have been receptive to a subcontractor doing the work for you?
“If a reputable company would have approached us we might have considered. However, our reputation gets us a lot of business and we try to uphold a high quality standard. We would just want to make sure that they did good work before we would have let them represent our company.”
Ask Jim
Technical answers from a 30 year wood care professional chemist
Jim, I am constantly asked by potential clients the difference between Transparent and Semi-transparent stains. The customers want to know why one includes a three year warranty and the other only two. I seem to sell more semi-transparent stain jobs in these circumstances. I am just curious as to what causes the variance in warranty length and why?
Jake Frazier
Red Oak, TX.
Jake,
Stain protection is accomplished mainly by three methods; pigment, vehicle and bio protection. These three methods are the materials left on and in the wood and endure ongoing exposure to the elements, water, temperature fluctuation and ultraviolet light. To effectively protect and preserve the wood from all the elements, there has to be a comprehensive formula that works in a synergistic manner to refract ultra violet light, repel water while allowing the wood to expand and contract and fight micro organism attack (mildew/fungus).
It is a proven fact that Semi-Transparent stains do hold up better than Transparent stains in harsh hot climate areas due to their ability to better block U.V. sun light. The Semi- Transparent stains have a high pigment loading as opposed to the Transparent stains, providing a “hiding” effect, hence the term Semi-Transparent. Transparent stains use expensive Trans-Oxide pigments which have been known to block U.V. light as well and allow for the “transparent” look, but have limitations due to the lower pigment loading and must be selective for intended end use.
For example, when staining an older (aged) fence that has been weathered the Semi-Transparent stain functions and looks better in appearance than the Transparent stain, by hiding all the discolorations and imperfections in the wood, yielding a more uniform look. On the other hand when staining a new clear cedar fence (selective) the transparent will show the natural grain of the wood along with protecting the cedar from darkening or discoloring.
In conclusion, both stains have their place and serve a purpose. The Semi-Transparent stain is more widely used because of its “heavy duty” formula, offering a universal product for multiple uses, new and aged wood alike. Transparent stains work well in selective areas offering a natural look allowing for the natural wood grain to be highlighted; knowingly more re-applications will be required in harsh climates versus the Semi-Transparent stain.
I hope this answers your question. Keep up the good work. I look forward to answering more questions in future newsletters and giving our customers the product knowledge needed to sell jobs.
Jim Hughes
