[Ian101]

Been wanting to book Leading Call -  Becci Swan for a while now but somehow never got around to it.

 We seem to be going more commercial these days (just seems one decent big job put on website / facebook gets the phone ringing with more big jobs)  so that was the push that made me book  Becci - to speed things up if you like. 

So booked 20 hours spread over this week Mon - Fri @ £320 +vat £384 with free data sourcing. ... 50% deposit as never done business before which is fair enough - unfortunately forget to send payment so Becci kindly reminded me and kept slot open 

Will post a daily update with how things are going.

Not expecting a large number of leads but not an issue as prefer quality over quantity and tbh if one / two big jobs lands from it then will be happy - pushing windows and pressure washing.

Ive asked Becci to source from areas as opposed to say schools / nursing homes (got things in place ourselves for these 2)

Chasing customers in Wrexham Ind Est and Deeside Ind Est however Becci suggested Golf Clubs, car dealers, leisure centres, shopping centres, offices which is ok with us.

Becci also went onto qualify our ethos i.e. price competitive so explained were more about quality and reliability and would hate to win  a job on price alone - no profit in this IMHO.

Yesterdays results below.

[Ian101]

Mondays results below

Hi Ian,

Please find attached the results of today's 4 hours calling.

Overview:
2 appointments in green
5 info requests in yellow (need sending)
1 call back request in blue
19 not interested in grey

[Ian101]

unfortunately they seemed to hit a patch of small ind units with one or two windows 
  2 appointments booked so will update this thread on how it goes

The 2 appointments booked already have window cleaners however going forward have asked Becci not to make appointments with calls that already have a supplier - as don't want to get in an undercutting situation.

Becci has agreed going forwards  that they will only make appointments if the lead is unhappy with their current supplier, contract up for renewal or don't have a supplier in place (obviously rare)

So yes have made their job harder but not a numbers game for me so will update when more to tell.

[Mick Kent]

I use Marje Gilbert at £90 for 8 hours calling. I used to use Becci but found the leads and appointments pretty poor considering the cost each session, i got fed up with so many zero or 1 appointments made so gave her a swerve as was obvious the hours i was paying for wasnt being used.
I always get 3-6 appointments from Marje each calling session as an average and have never had less than 2 where most get closed into jobs so i keep going back for more.
Maybe you will have a better experiance with Becci than me. I found her double the price for half the work.
I did still get jobs and was quids in overall with Becci so cant complain i just find Marje a good choice to use overall as she doesnt seem to skip corners and she trys that much harder where she does all the calling herself.

[8weekly]

I use Marje Gilbert at £90 for 8 hours calling. I used to use Becci but found the leads and appointments pretty poor considering the cost each session, i got fed up with so many zero or 1 appointments made so gave her a swerve as was obvious the hours i was paying for wasnt being used.
I always get 3-6 appointments from Marje each calling session as an average and have never had less than 2 where most get closed into jobs so i keep going back for more.
Maybe you will have a better experiance with Becci than me. I found her double the price for half the work.
I did still get jobs and was quids in overall with Becci so cant complain i just find Marje a good choice to use overall as she doesnt seem to skip corners and she trys that much harder where she does all the calling herself.

I was very disappointed with Marje. She never did the work when she said she would do it and focussed on schools which I'd asked her not to. I got about three appointments with schools who only really want a once a year clean, but I did get one small hotel out of it worh about £600 a year so it wasn't a complete disaster.

[Ian101]

schools and nursing homes too obvious and very easy to do yourself utilising google maps, their websites and emails

[8weekly]

schools and nursing homes too obvious and very easy to do yourself utilising google maps, their websites and emails

Which is why I suspect she focussed on them.

[Tom-01]

schools and nursing homes too obvious and very easy to do yourself utilising google maps, their websites and emails

Which is why I suspect she focussed on them.

Especially when the sales pitch is 'We are in the area can we stop by to give you a free estimate?' Never once did I actually meet a decision maker and the jobs were awful.

[Tosh]

schools and nursing homes too obvious and very easy to do yourself utilising google maps, their websites and emails

Which is why I suspect she focussed on them.

Especially when the sales pitch is 'We are in the area can we stop by to give you a free estimate?' Never once did I actually meet a decision maker and the jobs were awful.

This is what I found with Becci. Im not saying its her, Im saying I think this method is going to attract issues we all would rather do without. Such as never meeting decision maker, the facilities take it as an opportunity to check out their current cleaners rate, which is fecking annoying; I cancelled a couple of meets after they said they had a cleaner and were entirely happy with him. Whats the point then??

[ChumBucket]

schools and nursing homes too obvious and very easy to do yourself utilising google maps, their websites and emails

Which is why I suspect she focussed on them.

Especially when the sales pitch is 'We are in the area can we stop by to give you a free estimate?' Never once did I actually meet a decision maker and the jobs were awful.

This is what I found with Becci. Im not saying its her, Im saying I think this method is going to attract issues we all would rather do without. Such as never meeting decision maker, the facilities take it as an opportunity to check out their current cleaners rate, which is fecking annoying; I cancelled a couple of meets after they said they had a cleaner and were entirely happy with him. Whats the point then??

The point is.... They have nothing to lose. Some Desperado has contacted them trying to drum up business. Put yourself in their shoes- why not, they "might" be able to save some money at no cost or hassle to themselves!

[Smudger]

I think we have used both marje and becci. ( would have to check with Mrs smudger ) but you need to be more specific with what you want and the appointments - target business types like schools, nursing homes, and others ( it's easy to say you can do this yourself, if so you didn't need becci in the first place )
Our rules were simple, only book those with NO window cleaner otherwise your leads will all be about cheaper prices, both had some great results for us, but just like canvassing, leaflets, other forms of ad's it can be hit and miss, be interested how many genuine leads to get to quote for tho Ian

Darran

[Tosh]

schools and nursing homes too obvious and very easy to do yourself utilising google maps, their websites and emails

Which is why I suspect she focussed on them.

Especially when the sales pitch is 'We are in the area can we stop by to give you a free estimate?' Never once did I actually meet a decision maker and the jobs were awful.

This is what I found with Becci. Im not saying its her, Im saying I think this method is going to attract issues we all would rather do without. Such as never meeting decision maker, the facilities take it as an opportunity to check out their current cleaners rate, which is fecking annoying; I cancelled a couple of meets after they said they had a cleaner and were entirely happy with him. Whats the point then??

The point is.... They have nothing to lose. Some Desperado has contacted them trying to drum up business. Put yourself in their shoes- why not, they "might" be able to save some money at no cost or hassle to themselves!

All very true, still annoying, regardless.

[Frankybadboy]

i found beckys data abase out fo date so watch out for that 

[cgh window cleaning]

I found  it to be a waste of time and money.
Had  a few appointments  booked in and most just wanted  a cheap quote one whent as far as to pull an invoice out from  there present window cleaner and said it will need to be cheaper then that.
One didn't even bother to turn up at time when  arranged  and most  where just looking for a cheap quote.

[SB Cleaning]

I found  it to be a waste of time and money.
Had  a few appointments  booked in and most just wanted  a cheap quote one whent as far as to pull an invoice out from  there present window cleaner and said it will need to be cheaper then that.
One didn't even bother to turn up at time when  arranged  and most  where just looking for a cheap quote.

That was my experience as well..

This one nursing home I went to quote for was massive easily a all day job for 2 men..The window cleaners who were already doing it were charging £80

[jwplasterers]

Nothing beats knocking the door yourself, they want to see you not hear someone on the phone does there head in I bet

[Ian101]

TUESDAYS RESULTS FROM LEADING CALL - NO APPOINTMENTS

Hi Ian

Please find attached the results of today's 4 hours calling.

Overview:
1 info request in yellow (needs sending)
3 call back requests in blue
25 not interested in grey

[Ian101]

Of the 2 appointments from Monday

One cancelled when I contacted them to confirm appointment - manager said happy with their current window cleaner.

2nd appointment turned out to be very small 5 windowed unit 5 minute job. quote going in but we have a minimum charge for any job so don't think this one will be coming off.

[dazmond]

Of the 2 appointments from Monday

One cancelled when I contacted them to confirm appointment - manager said happy with their current window cleaner.

2nd appointment turned out to be very small 5 windowed unit 5 minute job. quote going in but we have a minimum charge for any job so don't think this one will be coming off.

why dont you stick to larger domestic ian?less cut throat and loyal customers(usually)in the long run.you can earn really well cleaning 5-8 jobs a day on well priced domestic.

[Mick Kent]

TUESDAYS RESULTS FROM LEADING CALL - NO APPOINTMENTS

Hi Ian

Please find attached the results of today's 4 hours calling.

Overview:
1 info request in yellow (needs sending)
3 call back requests in blue
25 not interested in grey

Expect a few more zero appointments buddy..
No way 29 phonecalls take 4 hours when most simply put phone down within the first 20 seconds as already have a cleaner.
You payed over £100 for somebody else to phone 29 places for zero appointments!
Thats why i stopped using Leading Call as i felt short changed more times than not.

[Ian101]

WEDNESDAYS RESULTS   - NO APPOINTMENTS

Hi Ian,

Please find attached the results of today's 4 hours calling.

Overview:
2 leads in light green
1 info request in yellow (needs sending)
2 call back requests in blue
23 not interested in grey


2 LEADS OF WHICH 1 WAS FOR HIGH LEVEL INDOOR CLEANING WHICH WE DONT DO.

[Ian101]

THURSDAYS RESULTS - NO APPOINTMENTS

Hi Ian

Please find attached the results of today's 4 hours calling.

Overview:
1 lead in light green
1 web application in orange (needs submitting)
4 info requests in yellow (need sending)
14 not interested in grey

THE ONE LEAD WAS FROM A CAR / VAN DEALER WHO WOULD USE US IF WE WERE TO BUY VEHICLES FROM HIM

[dazmond]

get out canvassing/leafleting if your want more work ian.....you know the score.......

[Ian101]

Thought i would try this tele sales

[8weekly]

Thought i would try this tele sales

Yep, I had two days go at it. I reckon you're best doing it yourself with a background in sales.

[AuRavelling79]

I've averaged this over 4 days at 26 calls per 4 hour shift.

That is just over 9 minutes per call. (Bearing in mind that the bulk are "not-interested's" and probably very short)

Just seems a low rate of calls per hour to me for professionals. I would have thought 50 per shift would have seemed about right. Or 40 if there were some good leads that needed writing up.

I know that they will write up details and a good call should have time spent on it but less than half a dozen in the whole 4 days seem to be "good calls" and perhaps only one or two "hot leads" at all.

[Perfect Windows]

When I cold-called, we worked on 85 calls a day (over 7 hours).

Vin

[Tosh]

She's gonna love this thread.

[AuRavelling79]

When I cold-called, we worked on 85 calls a day (over 7 hours).

Vin

Which is almost exactly what I would have thought in my post above. (50 in 4 hours = 87.5 in 7 hours) What sort of response did you get Vin?

[AuRavelling79]

She's gonna love this thread.

But "not a lot"! 

[8weekly]

When I cold-called, we worked on 85 calls a day (over 7 hours).

Vin

Quicker with contact names. Perhaps they had to source them?

[Perfect Windows]

When I cold-called, we worked on 85 calls a day (over 7 hours).

Vin

Which is almost exactly what I would have thought in my post above. (50 in 4 hours = 87.5 in 7 hours) What sort of response did you get Vin?

I was booking appointments for myself when I sold some fairly specialised software about twenty years ago.

85 calls would get about 13 or 14 conversations with the person we targeted, leading to one appointment.

Vin

[Smudger]

Think your being a little harsh, sometimes it takes a while to get connected to the correct person.

Ian- did you specify that you didn't do high level internal cleaning ?

It was hardly the cold callers fault the van sales guy wanted you to buy something before cleaning his windows.

Were you aware or state that you expected say 60 plus calls per 4 hours

Darran

[Ian101]

Think your being a little harsh, sometimes it takes a while to get connected to the correct person.         ? I never said it didn't ??

Ian- did you specify that you didn't do high level internal cleaning ? window cleaning and pressure washing only however theyre only reacting to how the call panned out so no issue from me

It was hardly the cold callers fault the van sales guy wanted you to buy something before cleaning his windows. I never said it was ??

Were you aware or state that you expected say 60 plus calls per 4 hours didn't state or expect anything

Darran

so far ive only reported the results .. ive not made any comments about anything - at least I don't think I have so not sure if the questions above are for me or not ??

[Ian101]

When I cold-called, we worked on 85 calls a day (over 7 hours).

Vin

Quicker with contact names. Perhaps they had to source them?

Part of the package deal they sourced the date and I reviewed it before they started

[Ian101]

She's gonna love this thread.

I have never seen a thread with an as it happens slant for leading call so thought it may be handy for others on this forum.

[Ian101]

FRIDAYS AND FINAL DAYS RESULTS - NO APPOINTMENTS

Hi Ian,

Please find attached the results of today's 4 hours calling.

Overview:
3 info request in yellow (needs sending)
16 not interested in grey

The remainder in white are where we were unable to obtain an outcome during this session.

[Ian101]

ok now week all done and final results are in this is how im feeling about leading call and their performance.

Yes obviously a few more appointments would have been great and was hoping for about 3 proper good strong leads from this week which unfortunately haven't happened. Not getting into how many calls they made in an hour as not concerned from a first try experience - if I was going to do this again then yes would want to drill down more and get into calls per hour etc but this exercise wasn't about that - it was more to see if telesales would work for me the way I hoped it would and if the 2 big industrial areas near me were "ripe for the picking" .

is it their fault ??  no I don't think it is as I gave them a narrow spectrum to work from as wasn't into trying to compete with their current supplier so only wanted appointments with people who are without a window cleaner.

the upside is now got about 300 names and addresses on a database I can go at for the next however many months / years.

The big question is would I do this again = a big fat NO as for near £400 I can pay a canvasser a day rate for door knocking the industrial estates - this option wasn't available a few weeks ago but a local guy has just started up canvassing residential so will be trying him at some point in the near future - however wanted to try it and see if it worked.

[Smudger]

The first line of my post was just the general way in which people were picking thugs apart

For yourself, the posts looked and felt very anti - all caps and surly ( just my reading of them )

Tis a shame you didn't get anything this time, but just like door to door you can draw a blank, next week may have yielded that £20 a year contract.

Please post the results of how your canvasser does, be interesting to compare the results

Darran

[Ian101]

The first line of my post was just the general way in which people were picking thugs apart

For yourself, the posts looked and felt very anti - all caps and surly ( just my reading of them )


Darran

  ALL CAPS SO THE POST STOOD OUT FROM EVERYONE ELSES.

yup will repost after canvasser done his bit

[Tom White]

the facilities take it as an opportunity to check out their current cleaners rate, which is fecking annoying;

Or they'll use the cheaper quotes to barter the price down with their current window cleaners.

[Mick Kent]

What baffles me is the so many zero appointments.
I dont get zero's with any other companies i have used.
SL markenting charged £100 per 4 leads which was great.
Marje is much cheaper at £90 for 8 hours and always gains leads lowest was 2 in 8 hours i had.
Maybe im lucky on location though as have so much around london for them to target.

[Dave Willis]

Just a thought, why on earth don't people canvass for themselves? If I was the potential customer I think I'd rather be in contact with the guy wanting the work from the outset. If you want blocks of flats then pop in yourself and find out who's in charge of the maintenance then drop them a line or phone.
£400 to get someone to pick up the phone is ludicrous to me. If you've got the gaps to take on the work then you've certainly got the time to press a few doorbells or dial a number.

[steve rix]

Just a thought, why on earth don't people canvass for themselves? If I was the potential customer I think I'd rather be in contact with the guy wanting the work from the outset. If you want blocks of flats then pop in yourself and find out who's in charge of the maintenance then drop them a line or phone.
£400 to get someone to pick up the phone is ludicrous to me. If you've got the gaps to take on the work then you've certainly got the time to press a few doorbells or dial a number.

+1