new company

“All-inclusive”: I assume that means you don’t bump up the price with hidden charges.  Customers hate it when the bill is more than they were led to believe – wouldn’t you?  If you want to do business this way, you might as well work for Stanley Steamer.  It’s fine to give estimates over the phone, but make sure the customer is OK with the actual price before you clean because you will need to charge extra for scotch guard, deodorizer, and some time-consuming spot removals like candle wax or those ##*@! Red stains.  Otherwise, I do include spots in with the regular price.  (As far as spot removal goes, always promise small and deliver big.  Anything you tell the customer before cleaning is a “reason”.  The same explanation after cleaning is an “excuse”.)

As for marketing, Dex is a waste of money.  Even without it, when they get the Dex Yellow Page/ Iinternet thing set up, you can still pull up your biz on a Dex search and get them to show your biz name, phone no., and web address.  Local newspaper ads help, but whether they are worth it depends on the cost..  Radio is too expensive and too hit or miss.  Get good signing for your vehicle.  Ted on KleenKuip has some kind of van-exterior business card holders.  I would think in a big city these would be very effective.  Get a good (not huge) Yellow pages ad.  When you have a satisfied customer, leave some extra cards and ask them to let their friends know, if its a neighborhood leave a few mailbox hangers.  Any groups your involved in like church, softball, little league, Lion’s Club, etc. let them know what your doing. Craigslist is free – use it.  Do call on restaurants during their non-peak hours.  Just a quick price, biz card, answer any questions, and go ahead and ask for the appointment to clean if you are talking to the manager.  You might offer a ½ price to show what you can do, just make sure they know it’s ½ price.  For business cards, check out Overnight Prints http://www.overnightprints.com/main.php?A=qual&ONPSESS=58b1d148be77c37eac545a8f21dada12

Good Luck