[geefree]

hi everyone.
am sure you used to me now,
i am dropping 2,to 3 hundred leaflets per day and door knocking at nights.... its bloody hard work when nothing happens,
i have a background in sales..even canvassing... yet still nothing.....
im polite and persistent yet not not overpowering, yet something is wrong !
so my point here is , to all newbies same as me... are we being laughed at by all the pros ?
do they know how hard it is and think .. go ahead sucker because you wont succeed.....
i think to myself.. oh the advice here is fantastic...then i think .. hang on a mo.... i ask for a trip out in my local area.... suddenly it all goes quiet.... so come on guys if you really want to help.. then please help.... or is it that the real way to do it is to buy buy buy..?? then build!

because it seems to me that the newbies here try and build what they can.... then the real big boys snap up the bargains.. in other words ..when the newbie gives in through sheer exhaustion and pittance of a wage.. they have to sell !... so the big boys get bigger.... ..you may say i could be in an area saturated.... but i will tell you like i see it..... and that is ..the help is in abundance until you hit a brick wall.........then its a massive stop sign. !

that is my massive whinge for the day. thanks for reading.

gary.

[macc]

Hi Gary.

Sometimes i go out & dont get a sniff, like you i go home kicking myself. Another day i will pick up a few in no time. Try canvassing a bit out of town or off estates, they are usually the best to start as every one hits estates.

Macc

[geefree]

thanks macc,
guess am feeling a little ped off at the mo.
 i do know that canvassisng can be totally demoralising and that i may be just having a bad day syndrome...
thanks for your uplift, i appreciate it.

gary.

[supernova77]

Gary,

I only started in January 2006, and I also started from scratch. It was VERY hard work building a round. I doubt anyone on here has ever told you it would be easy?

You have to keep canvassing and canvassing and canvassing... Knock on every door, don't just put leaflets through.

The people you talk to... Do they already have a window cleaner, or are you quoting them and then they say no?

As I said I started building a round in January and its only now that I'm earning a "livable" wage... I still need to double what I have now to be comfotable really, and I plan to do that by the end of this year.

Andy

[captain lard]

I started in March and so far have found its hit and miss a lot of the time,hate knocking on doors but personally have found it works better than just popping in leaflets and hoping for a call.Once I get into a street and actually begin cleaning I pick up more jobs as people catch me but it is slow to accrue.
This week I need to go knocking again.Have found that some people who originally said no eventually ask,not all but a few.So yes it is hard work but I think there is no way of avoiding it when you are starting out.

[geefree]

thanks cap

yes i do suppose i may be having a dark day due to trying to start up
i do think in all honesty that this site is invaluable but i just feel am banging my head sometimes
thanks for your uplift guys..... shows that i am wrong about all the help you offer

gary.

[jinky230]

gary most of the guys on here have a good few years under their belt
and back then there was plenty of work about, now their is a lot more window cleaners about and the areas have become more scarce.

you need to plan your canvassing look at new areas growing up in areas around you . the details you will find in the papers of builders advertising new estates.

aproach the show house and offer to do their windows for free, for the length of the time of the site.The sales reps will give you the info first of when new customers are moving in, this way you are first on the door.Again the new customers will not want to be hassled by you as they are moving in, so give them the first clean free, they will tell you to go ahead, as no one can refuse a free meal,  leave your business card with them and tell them you will come in a regular basis.This way you will get most of the site and a very compact round

remeber you are only doing the first clean free, you will benifit from then on

the site manager will be more than happy to allow you to do the show house as he is getting it free as well, and will probably call you when they move onto a new estate.When you have enough you can stop this process

hope this helps- a slow process but one that works

jinky

[macc]

thanks macc,
guess am feeling a little ped off at the mo.
 i do know that canvassisng can be totally demoralising and that i may be just having a bad day syndrome...
thanks for your uplift, i appreciate it.

gary.

No prob Gary. Another good tip i got years ago canvass where your working, if you have cleaned a house & you have a spare half an hour, canvass round that house. A familar face & them knowing your already working in the street can bring results.

Macc

[mark dew]

in other words ..when the newbie gives in through sheer exhaustion and pittance of a wage.. they have to sell

It won't happen if you don't underprice.

Try a parish magazine or village shop windows.
There's more money in the countryside so you won't need 100s of jobs to earn a liveable wage. Go for quality (larger) houses.
It takes some time but it will come in the end if you just hang in there.
chin up

mark

[geefree]

jinky and macc.

do you know after a hard day and evening of canvassing..... with one call back........

you two are so uplifting and positive ..thats what i needed tonight. thank you both very much

i do know its hard, i always did... but not this hard lol. 
i wont give up with guys like you in the background

thank you.
Gary.

[geefree]

cheers mark

 thats another good idea and suggestion

 god! i seem to have got my ideas wrong bout you good guys eh ? lol
 i wont give up.
 just a bad day ....or two!! at the office eh

[geefree]

andy.
thanks for your post mate too. its good to know you are here.
gary.

[Trevor Knight]

.... i ask for a trip out in my local area.... suddenly it all goes quiet.... so come on guys if you really want to help.. then please help.... or is it that the real way to do it is to buy buy buy..?? then build!
gary.

Hi Gary,

Firstly, canvassing is a really hard job and one that is sometimes rewarding and sometimes not, but think like this, you reap what you sow. If you put out hundreds of leaflets and ask enough people eventually you will see a return from your hard work. It may be later on down the line, but it will come.

I still get calls from people who have had my card for 12 months or more!!!

If you want a day out post a new thread asking exactly for this. I would be really dissapointed if no one offered as pretty much everyone on here is keen to help each other.

Keep going at it, don't get dissheartened and look forward to tomorrow!!

Best wishes,

Trev

[paul mather]

I notice you have a background in sales. If I was you I would forget everything I ever learned in that industry. When it comes to WCing people prefer somebody they can trust & not someone who has a slick presentation.

Most sales training is based on getting that sale & then moving on to your next victim. It's not the same with canvassing for WCing work. Maybe dumb down your presentation a bit, focus on the fact you live locally & that this is not going to be a temporary thing until you find a proper job.

I have found the most important thing is to be reliable. Most customers will forgive the odd mark on their windows or the fact that you maybe a little dearer than the last one. Sadly you can't prove to them as yet that you are going to be reliable, but try & stress to them this is what you do , it's not just a sideline, you're there for the long haul.

It will come but it does take time.

Hope this helps.

[Paul Coleman]

hi everyone.
am sure you used to me now,
i am dropping 2,to 3 hundred leaflets per day and door knocking at nights.... its bloody hard work when nothing happens,
i have a background in sales..even canvassing... yet still nothing.....
im polite and persistent yet not not overpowering, yet something is wrong !
so my point here is , to all newbies same as me... are we being laughed at by all the pros ?
do they know how hard it is and think .. go ahead sucker because you wont succeed.....
i think to myself.. oh the advice here is fantastic...then i think .. hang on a mo.... i ask for a trip out in my local area.... suddenly it all goes quiet.... so come on guys if you really want to help.. then please help.... or is it that the real way to do it is to buy buy buy..?? then build!

because it seems to me that the newbies here try and build what they can.... then the real big boys snap up the bargains.. in other words ..when the newbie gives in through sheer exhaustion and pittance of a wage.. they have to sell !... so the big boys get bigger.... ..you may say i could be in an area saturated.... but i will tell you like i see it..... and that is ..the help is in abundance until you hit a brick wall.........then its a massive stop sign. !

that is my massive whinge for the day. thanks for reading.

gary.

As others have said, dorknocking is far more effective than leafletting only.  What you will find is that you may get a toehold in an area then, months (perhaos even years) later, you will suddenly get an influx of work from the area as someone else quits.  Sometimes people will need to see you around for a while before they trust you enough.  The sure thing is that, once you have been doing it a while, it will become self perpetuating.  It took two years before I considered that I had a full workload.  However, after six months or so, I eased up on the canvassing and allowed things to just happen.  There were times when the work came in just as fast as if I had been canvassing.

[ronaldo]

Gaz, you could also try the rural areas and farms i do loads out in the sticks as they could never get a wc before and you always get top class rates.

[Sarah Sarill]

Gaz,

Dont get dis-heartened.  Having a background in sales you should be prepared for this type of knockback 

IMO you can be the best cold-caller(that is what you are actually doing here) but if your approach or prospect base is not right then it is harder to succeed.

I also have an extensive background in sales and Marketing and have found out that w/c is unlike any other industry to canvass (close to Double Glazing though).

W/c is not a glamorous item to  spend money on and consequently is not bought with the heart unlike a new bag or dress !!) so you have to target your prospects carefully for maximum results.

Click on this link to get views from other old and current members on this subject and make your own mind up.

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=15281.0

KEEP GOING THOUGH  - it will happen if you are persistent

[DASERVICES]

  One thing that I have found leaflets hardly work, so I use Business cards
  now, even after 4 mnths people have rung me up.

   Leaflets will tend to get chucked in the bin without the house holder reading
   them. How many times have you come home seen the post on the floor, seen
   the leaflets and just screwed them up without looking at them.

   Another point drop the cards after 5.00pm, people tend to read them then.

   I did a test many moons ago, dropped 100 leaflets no answer. Three months
   later put my business card through and got 5 calls.

   Just my findings.

   Doug

[Moderator David@stives]

Gazza

I have been saying for years that door knocking isnt very good.

The best way to do it is to buy a round annd build on it, i know  a few here will disagree but they are a rare breed, i did the door knocking once , one job in 6 hours and then i underquoted it.

Dave

[julianbiggs]

I've only been going just over a year and found that word of mouth from my customers has got me 90% of my work. I had 2000 flyers made when i started and i've still got 1800 in my loft.  Once i'd got a customer i ensured i did a really good clean including sills and frames....spoke to them professionally, had really good business cards made, they were pleased and i asked them to recommend me to one or two friends or neighbours, it was as simple as that. I now have a full round. Make sure your business card has your full name, address and landline, mobile and email address. People are far more trusting if they know everything about where you're from. A few other people have mentioned but this is a really important point. DON'T UNDERQUOTE JUST TO GET WORK. You will regret it in a couple of months. If you're more expensive than their last window cleaner explain to them that you are conscientious, hard working, never leave a mess, will turn up every month, polite etc, etc,etc. that is why you are a little bit more than the last guy was.