In the disaster restoration industry, work has ebbs and flows. In the midst of major seasonal weather changes and patterns, the work never stops and crews work around the clock to keep up. Then, there are the slow times where the warehouse suddenly becomes extra organized, the trucks have been detailed 10 times, and you’re living on a hope and a prayer that the phone rings with another loss soon. That is why many restoration companies are trying to find continuous, scheduled revenue sources that can be counted on year-round. Odor removal services are a great place to start thinking outside the box.
If you want to offer odor removal services and own some hydroxyl generators, here are three potential ways to generate new revenue for your company that don’t come from insurance companies.
- Realtors & Property Managers
Realtors and property managers alike have a constant, revolving need for odor removal services.
For realtors, a home free of malodors is key to a quick sale. The ability to remove ethnic food odors, cigarette and marijuana odors, and pet odors is invaluable, and you can be the one they call. Scheduling these odor removal jobs for realtors throughout the month means little more than sending a tech to set up some hydroxyl machines, and then picking them up when the job is finished. You can bill the realtor and not be left waiting for an insurance company to pay the tab.
Property managers have the same struggles. A tenant moves out, but was smoking in a non-smoking apartment. Or, they turned out to be heavy marijuana users and the strong odor is permeating every surface. Hydroxyl generators eliminate these odors not just from the air, but also from contents that absorbed those odors. So, just place several machines throughout the space and eliminate all of the odors in the carpeting, drywall, cabinets, and other surfaces while getting rid of residual odors in the air.
Both of these examples involve simply creating an ongoing relationship with property managers and realtors in your area, and educating them on the services you offer. They may not even realize you have a solution for the odor problems they tackle regularly, nor that it could be an affordable service they too can offer their customers. Hello referrals, and yet another source of private-pay income.
- Schools: Locker Rooms & Uniforms
If you have a contents restoration line and offer odor removal services, this one is a grand slam home run for scheduled and reliable income. After all, it’s rare to walk into a boy’s locker room at the end of football season and not be hit with the smell of sweaty football pads. Not only do odors linger in those locker rooms, they absorb into all the gear and equipment used by the football team – and any other team for that matter!
Creating a relationship with local school districts can land you some big odor removal and contents cleaning jobs every year. Offer to clean and sanitize uniforms and gear in your ultrasonic machines at the end of the season, and let them know you can get rid of any bad odors in the locker room too! Having an ongoing contract with the district for various sports and facilities means revenue, and work for your team, year-round.
- Auto Detailers & Auto Body Shops
Hydroxyl generators were made for more than just removing odors inside structures. With their efficacy in large spaces, imagine the efficacy they would have inside a car or van. Auto detailers and body shops are constantly tackling tough jobs that involve removing strong odors from vehicles. If the previous owner of the car was a heavy smoker, getting that odor out of the upholstery and other surfaces can be tricky. Or, they might be dealing with a vehicle where someone passed away – and there is the need for some forensic restoration services, which include odor removal. Either way, creating a relationship with auto detailers and body shops should give you the ability to partner with them on trickier jobs that come into their shops nearly every day.
These three areas can provide a consistent source of revenue to bring in some extra profit and make sure there is always something for your guys to do. A tip for billing the client is to use a fixed price that is agreed to ahead of time instead of the per day rates found in Xactimate (CLNDODHY>). Finally, one last benefit of pursuing this is when those contacts you’ve been working with have a flood or fire, who do you think they’re going to call for the restoration work? With the right relationships and client education, they’ll be calling you every time.
