Toronto Cleaning Tips

I remember when I was younger, I ran another small company that dealt with the restaurant and hospitality industry.

I struggled pretty hard to get my first few customers. I tried going door to door, shaking hands…. but it didn’t get me anywhere.

It just so happened that these industries were heavily marketed-to. Because of this, all of my potential customers had gatekeepers that would prevent me from even presenting my value proposition to the key decision-maker.

So then I changed my approach and started writing letters. I put together some short 1-pagers introducing myself and my services. Noting!

Then I started reading about marketing and sales. And as many marketing books have said before, this one suggested sending an introductory offer to my prospects. Today, I look back on this and think it’s so obvious.

But at the time, I was young and inexperienced… so this was like an epiphany from the heavens for me.

So I got very ambitious and decided to offer to work 1 week for free! Who could resist that? Even if nothing came out of it, at least I would make connections and gain experience. And who in the world could turn down FREE?

I thought I had found the Holy Grail.

I bought the finest paper, and hand-wrote the letters to my top-10 prospects. I made sure to do everything as perfectly as possible, paying attention to every minute detail.

Nothing! Not a single nibble. I was just beside myself.

Who could possibly turn down FREE? So I called each prospect to follow up. Because of the gatekeepers, I was only able to get a response from one manager who said that they had gotten the letter and would “think” about my offer.

What is there to think about? It’s free?

That’s when a business-savvy friend of mine gave me some advice. He suggested adding an expiry date to the offers. But the expiry dates should be no longer than 1 week from the date the letters were received.

At this point, I was feeling pretty defeated. I was ready to try almost anything. So I tried another list of 10 prospects, and sent out 10 more letters (printed via computer) with the short expiry date. I wasn’t really expecting any results.

To my surprise, I got 3 responses. This totally changed the way I look at human behaviour.
This is when I saw that people only appreciate something if

• They have to make an effort to get it
• You threaten to take it away

In other words, the value of anything is what you have to give up in order to get it.

This is why infomercials always end with something along the lines of “and if you order within the next 20 minutes, you’ll get a free puppy shaver” This is a compelling call to action that has a pain motivator for people that want to hold off until later before making a decision.

So how does this relate to coupons in general?

Most coupons you’ll see in the papers have an expiry date of about 1 year after publication. If they would just set the expiry dates at 1 or 2 weeks after publication, they would probably see a much higher ROI on their efforts.

Think about this next time you’re sending out lead-generation material or advertising a new offering.

Human nature is really funny sometimes.

Removing blood stains from fabric is a difficult task, as Lady Macbeth could attest. However, it is not impossible. There are several methods for removing blood from fabrics, the key factor to all of them being speed. Blood stains need to be treated as quickly as possible no matter what method is used.
First, determine the type of fabric. If the garment or fabric is Dry Clean Only, do not pre-treat and get it to a dry cleaner as soon as possible. Pre-treating may make the stain impossible for the cleaner to remove.

First Steps

At the first sign of blood on the fabric, if at all possible, blot with a dry paper towel or other disposable cloth. Blood stains can appear without being noticed due to cuts, splinters or other accidents that aren’t noticed.

If the blood stain has already dried or once the blood has been blotted prepare a pre-treatment made of one spoonful of laundry powder or dish detergent with one cup of peroxide. Using a clean sponge lightly dabbed in the mixture, blot the stain, making sure to get it covered with the mixture but not soaked in it.

There is an exception to this. If the fabric is soaked in blood, it might be necessary to soak it for a few minutes in a pure peroxide solution. Heavier areas of blood might need to soak longer. (Of course… If this is the case, you might have bigger problems)

Wash the fabric according to the washing instructions on the label. Do not wash in hot water and do not dry in the dryer. Heat will cause the blood stain to set into the fabric and possibly become permanent. Air drying allows for a second opportunity to remove the stain.
If at First You Don’t Succeed

If the first attempt at removing the blood stain doesn’t work and the fabric was air dried, there are other options to try.

First, fill a bowl with a mixture of ammonia and water at a 50/50 ratio. Dab with the solution, again using a clean sponge so as not to add another stain to the fabric. Next, use a commercial stain pre-treatment solution and launder according to directions. Air dry the garment to prevent any remaining blood stain from becoming permanent.

Adding Salt to the Wound

An age old remedy for blood stains is also a successful remedy for blood stains. First, run cold water over the area stained, never hot water as it will basically cook the blood into the fabric.
Next, sprinkle a heavy dose of table salt over the stain. The salt will bond to the blood stain. Finally, scrub the stain with a bar of soap. The soap removes any particles of the stain that are not from blood. Finally, rinse well and repeat as necessary.

More than Once

Regardless of the option chosen to remove the blood stain, more than one application may be required. There are also commercially available blood stain removers that can be purchased and used with varying degrees of success. The most important thing to remember is to use cold water and air dry the fabric. Any heat applied will make the stain impossible to remove.