Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Stoots on June 02, 2014, 12:11:23 pm
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Hi, i currently have a part time business as a car valeter alongside a part time employed job. but have been looking to get into window cleaning for morer regular work, the valeting i mainly get business from my website.
I have bought the basic stuff for water fed pole and had a practice, (trolley system, D.I.) and i have just recieved 5000 leaflets.
I went out this morn to post my first leaflets, i managed to put out about 100 but all the time i felt like a twat. I was nervous posting what some may consider crap through peoples letter boxes and the thought of knocking on doors made me feel a bit ill. I admit to having a history of anxiety but have always managed when i was in full time employment.
Anyway i tried to psyche myself up a few times, but got thoughts in my head of everyone saying no or not answering or already having a cleaner or even getting upset i was knocking.
In the end i got back in my car angry with myself and went home, im now annoyed at myself because i know if i dont do this i might as well just go back to employment
has anyone else struggled with canvassing and being confident with selling etc?
thanks adam
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Most are going to say no. You have to gear yourself up for most saying no and finding the ones who will say yes or those who are a maybe. When you have booked a few jobs the confidence will start to come.
I wrote the following blog post a while ago if it's any help "Window Cleaning Canvassing ... what do you say?" http://www.solutionsforwindowcleaners.co.uk/2013/11/canvassing-what-do-you-say.html
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You have to put it into perspective really. You posted 100 leaflets, how many people came chasing you down the garden path with a pitch fork? None? So therefore you have 0% bad experiences so far. You can't let what ifs and maybes stand in the way. You may get the odd old man coming out for a moan about junk mail. But I bet you the person who has been screaming out for a window cleaner doesn't see it as junk.
Canvassing is a little different. You will have to knock and speak to people. You'll always get the miserable idiot who wants to moan but I always asked "Well if I post leaflets I get moaned at. If I knock doors I get ear ache, how do you suggest I advertise?" The old saying on here is canvassing is a numbers game. The more you knock, the more you get. Every no is closer to the next yes.
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It is nerve racking at first... It gets easier tho'. Dropping leaflets before canvassing helps a lot.
Here are some things that might make it easier.
Give yourself about 20-30 doors to warm up and get into 'The Zone'. You will need to knock on about 50 door to get one job.
Dress smartly ie. polished shoes, shirt and tie.
Set yourself targets. An experienced canvasser can generate £100 of monthly work per week (from a two or three nights a week and couple of hours at the weekend.)
A realistic target for a beginner would be £25 worth of monthly work per week by going out for a few nights and saturday and sunday morning.
Canvass between 5 and 8 pm during the week and between 10.30/11 and 12/12.30 at the weekends.
Start off with sessions that are about 60-90 minutes long.
Hope this helps and good luck.
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Colley is right its like chucking mud at a wall throw enough and enough sticks. When i go canvassing im a bit nervous for the first few but just view it as part of the job. I used to ask if they needed a windie but thats too easy to say no to so now i say"Sorryto bother you can i give you a quote for your window cleaning" i get a lot more say yes that way but if you expect about 1 in 20 say yes for a quote i reckon thats about right. The way to look at it is like mining, the gold IS in there but you have to shift a lot of dirt to get it. If you look at it like that you know you will suceed if you put the legwork in, just tell yourself you will do an hour no matter what and see how it goes. Also if youre polite most people will be also and put yourself in their shoes it makes it easier. Youre bound to get a numptyhead or a nutter but just smile sweetly and make sure youre walking back down the path before you start laughing. And lastly i would leaflet in the day and canvass between 4 and 7 ish when people are in. Good luck
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ive done door knocking for years.. so i suppose im biased
i really dont think theres any secret though other than smiling and being nice - genuinely , people smell if your fake so if your not a nice person pay someone else lol
but seriously , just do it , theres only one way to get used to it and thats doing it. Oh and in all the years ive knocked doors - full time for a few years at one point , i can honestly count the bad experiences on one hand, and they were only old men and nutters , you can come across them when cleaning anyway
99.9% of people just want to know why your at the door quickly, if you smile you give yourself a few seconds to tell them, also when you say your building your window cleaning round most people understand and will be fine
most around me are scared of giving a window cleaner the job if its not his patch ! Even the customers are trained into that rubbish . You want to drop leaflets here , nothing but threatening calls , i just laugh them off , you need a bit of a thick skin to survive if you want to build your business and deal with strangers and upset window cleaners
Good Luck , but just do it ! the work wont come to you , maybe read some motivational stuff from salesmen and entrepeneurs to boost your willingness to get stuck in.
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You have to put it into perspective really. You posted 100 leaflets, how many people came chasing you down the garden path with a pitch fork? None? So therefore you have 0% bad experiences so far. You can't let what ifs and maybes stand in the way. You may get the odd old man coming out for a moan about junk mail. But I bet you the person who has been screaming out for a window cleaner doesn't see it as junk.
Canvassing is a little different. You will have to knock and speak to people. You'll always get the miserable idiot who wants to moan but I always asked "Well if I post leaflets I get moaned at. If I knock doors I get ear ache, how do you suggest I advertise?" The old saying on here is canvassing is a numbers game. The more you knock, the more you get. Every no is closer to the next yes.
colley i heard you had given up and went to university??
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Each time you get a no, the closer you get to a yes
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You have to put it into perspective really. You posted 100 leaflets, how many people came chasing you down the garden path with a pitch fork? None? So therefore you have 0% bad experiences so far. You can't let what ifs and maybes stand in the way. You may get the odd old man coming out for a moan about junk mail. But I bet you the person who has been screaming out for a window cleaner doesn't see it as junk.
Canvassing is a little different. You will have to knock and speak to people. You'll always get the miserable idiot who wants to moan but I always asked "Well if I post leaflets I get moaned at. If I knock doors I get ear ache, how do you suggest I advertise?" The old saying on here is canvassing is a numbers game. The more you knock, the more you get. Every no is closer to the next yes.
colley i heard you had given up and went to university??
Yeah I have Bob. I finished for the summer a couple of weeks ago.
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Hi Adam
I am relatively new to the industry and I started out by door-knocking and canvassing. It can be a bit of a pain at times, but picking up new jobs more than makes it for it. Its a great feeling when you pick up one job, then you feel even better when you pick up another 2, 3, or 4. I have had evenings when I haven't picked up a job but I have found most people to be polite and pleasant, and wish me good luck too. I feel it is the best way and you usually find that one job leads to another and so on. Keep at it, and good luck.
Joe
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you need to get over your fear of canvassing and leafleting mate otherwise your doomed.you ll never build a decent round unless you do.
even if you buy a round you ll have to go and meet the customers at some point and introduce yourself.
IMO you need to be easy going,approachable and friendly when your working at peoples houses.
a strong inner drive to succeed and self motivation is essential as well.
best wishes
dazmond
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On the subject of canvassing.
A mate of mine canvassed for 3 evenings over the bank holiday, first time window cleaner.
He got £800 regular monthly work :o :o :o in 3 nights!!!
Has anyone ever done anything near that?
I certainly haven't.
He has got a really nice manner about him but I thought £800 was incredible.
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Sorry to say it but if you haven't got the balls to leaflet, then I doubt you will ever be able to canvass.
Maybe window cleaning isn't for you.
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Wait till you get a "not today thank you" when you turn up to clean.
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Well there's a higher percentage take-up than with leaflets - but you cover less properties in the time.
I tend to think of it like this (the numbers are deliberately conservative as it's likely that you will do better than this): Knock on forty doors, get one new customer. New customer = 8 cleans per year at £15 so £120 per year. So that's £120 for 40 door knocks. So, on average, every door you knock on is worth £3 per year to you. Obviously there will be better and worse times than that. However, the bit where it gets good are the referrals. Also, the more jobs you have, the more walk-ups you get.
So, knock on 20 doors on your way home from cleaning each evening and obtain work worth £60 per year. Or just do 10 an evening - £30 per year. Do that 3 times per week for a month and that's £360 a year.
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I hate canvassing and I hate people canvassing at my door! If I want your service then I'll ask for it ........
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Whenever I have canvassed, I always introduced myself by smiling and saying something along the lines of "Hello, my name is John, and the reason I am calling is that I am offering a window cleaning service locally, and am wondering if this is something you would be interested in."
The worst response can only be "No thank you" followed by the door shutting. Don't take it personally, and keep on trying. Every 'no' brings you closer to the next 'yes'.
In my experience, there is no need to be in fear. I believe people who don't like to knock doors don't like people knocking on theirs. A tip here is to be nice to the next person who knocks your door. They may feel apprehensive too, and like you are only trying to make a living as well. Golden rule and all that...
Best wishes,
John
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If knocking on doors is not for you, don't do it. You can build up a solid round without having to disturb anyone. The best thing about leaflets is customers phone you. In my opinion that sets out a more solid round.
Mick Kent will be along shortly to explain how I am an idiot and canvassing is fab.
Each to their own but, I'm with J D. I dislike cold calling in any form.
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Unfortunately leaflets don't work for everybody and there's as many people who
hate junk mail as much as door callers.
Certainly give leaflets a go but you need to be able to canvass if they don't work.
If I had to do it over again I would pay somebody to canvass instead of putting my money
into leaflets.
All you really need is about 40 customers spread out in a few different areas then just do a good job
and the work will come to you.
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I disagree.
I don't think canvassing is a necessity. Get your leaflets right, do a good job, and work should come. Other things like on line advertising and word of mouth bring customers in too.
Worst thing that'll happen with a leaflet is it goes in the bin. Very few people will be annoyed by cold calling, virtually zero people will be annoyed by a leaflet.
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What's the worst thing you can think of that's going to happen when you're canvassing? Someone might be rude to you. Big tommy two poos. Who cares? Never be rude back, just smile nicely and leave them a card.
But in reality it would be a very rare instance when someone is rude to you. Most folk are decent and will just decline.
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I love it I just ring billy whizz and he does it all so I find canvassing very easy its just one phone call
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If knocking on doors is not for you, don't do it. You can build up a solid round without having to disturb anyone. The best thing about leaflets is customers phone you. In my opinion that sets out a more solid round.
Mick Kent will be along shortly to explain how I am an idiot and canvassing is fab.
Each to their own but, I'm with J D. I dislike cold calling in any form.
I dont think your an idiot at all!
I have built my business up just how i want now and couldnt give a monkeys how anyone else does it weather leaflets or canvassing, all methods work just in some areas some methods are better than others.
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Cheers guys, like with most things i suppose the fear is worse than the actual doing.
I will try to keep leafleting for now and hopefully canvassing will follow, afterall no doubt i will bump into people when leafletting and have to talk to them anyway.
If its just not for me i guess i will pay someone to do it or just use leaflets
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I love it I just ring billy whizz and he does it all so I find canvassing very easy its just one phone call
;D ;D
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Hi, i currently have a part time business as a car valeter alongside a part time employed job. but have been looking to get into window cleaning for morer regular work, the valeting i mainly get business from my website.
I have bought the basic stuff for water fed pole and had a practice, (trolley system, D.I.) and i have just recieved 5000 leaflets.
I went out this morn to post my first leaflets, i managed to put out about 100 but all the time i felt like a numpty. I was nervous posting what some may consider crap through peoples letter boxes and the thought of knocking on doors made me feel a bit ill. I admit to having a history of anxiety but have always managed when i was in full time employment.
Anyway i tried to psyche myself up a few times, but got thoughts in my head of everyone saying no or not answering or already having a cleaner or even getting upset i was knocking.
In the end i got back in my car angry with myself and went home, im now annoyed at myself because i know if i dont do this i might as well just go back to employment
has anyone else struggled with canvassing and being confident with selling etc?
thanks adam
and apparently wakefield is the worst place in the uk to canvass :o :o
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Cheers guys, like with most things i suppose the fear is worse than the actual doing.
I will try to keep leafleting for now and hopefully canvassing will follow, afterall no doubt i will bump into people when leafletting and have to talk to them anyway.
If its just not for me i guess i will pay someone to do it or just use leaflets
the hard part is getting good solid work in the first place adam.if you dont overcome your fear and have a drastic change in attitude you gonna fail mate.
regards
dazmond
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I disagree.
I don't think canvassing is a necessity. Get your leaflets right, do a good job, and work should come. Other things like on line advertising and word of mouth bring customers in too.
Worst thing that'll happen with a leaflet is it goes in the bin. Very few people will be annoyed by cold calling, virtually zero people will be annoyed by a leaflet.
Didn't work for me, I delivered thousands of professionally designed leaflets that even offered some freebees for new
customers.
Didn't get a single job from them.
Canvassed the same area over one week and got about 60 customers, the rest of my round came from word of
mouth and people approaching me while cleaning.
Yes leaflets do work for some but you need to be prepared to canvass if they don't.
If you think that people don't get annoyed by leaflets ask a postie.
My mates a postie and you want to hear the abuse he has taken over the years from people moaning and complaining
about junk mail.
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Putting leaflets through letter boxes, what the worst that can happen......
It's not like you're going to get shot or tortured.
So what if some people don't like it, tough, as there are plenty who are after a window cleaner.
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Putting leaflets through letter boxes, what the worst that can happen......
It's not like you're going to get shot or tortured.
So what if some people don't like it, tough, as there are plenty who are after a window cleaner.
Well he could get bitten by a dog. I and two of my leafleters got fingers bitten. ;D
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I disagree.
I don't think canvassing is a necessity. Get your leaflets right, do a good job, and work should come. Other things like on line advertising and word of mouth bring customers in too.
Worst thing that'll happen with a leaflet is it goes in the bin. Very few people will be annoyed by cold calling, virtually zero people will be annoyed by a leaflet.
Didn't work for me, I delivered thousands of professionally designed leaflets that even offered some freebees for new
customers.
Didn't get a single job from them.
Canvassed the same area over one week and got about 60 customers, the rest of my round came from word of
mouth and people approaching me while cleaning.
Yes leaflets do work for some but you need to be prepared to canvass if they don't.
If you think that people don't get annoyed by leaflets ask a postie.
My mates a postie and you want to hear the abuse he has taken over the years from people moaning and complaining
about junk mail.
Yup, same here. In my locality there are many, many properties with 'No junk mail' stickers on the letterbox. Knock on the doors though, and people here are generally ok, therefore in my experience canvassing is the way to go. Elsewhere one may find more signs saying 'No cold callers'. Therefore
either method will have a measure of success depending on local conditions.
John
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I'd be interested to see your leaflets.
I will ask my postie about junk mail.
We have delivered lots of leaflets. I'm talking many many many thousands. Over 22 years. Never had one single person moan.
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
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Most are going to say no. You have to gear yourself up for most saying no and finding the ones who will say yes or those who are a maybe. When you have booked a few jobs the confidence will start to come.
I wrote the following blog post a while ago if it's any help "Window Cleaning Canvassing ... what do you say?" http://www.solutionsforwindowcleaners.co.uk/2013/11/canvassing-what-do-you-say.html
Hi Paul,
Thanks for this detailed script on how to do it.
This follows along the lines of the American sales pitch. The salesman learns the script off by heart before he gets to the door and has responses for each 'objection' the customer can throw his way.
With regard to the OP, there is nothing to worry about with canvassing. All you are doing is looking for someone who needs a service that you can provide. Nobody is going to shoot you or punch you. Yes, there maybe a couple of rude people who close the door abruptly to get rid of you, but it's nothing to get anxious about. Just move on and keep genuinely smiling.
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
That's good of you to make that offer Ian. I'm impressed.
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I think when you start to see results and the work comes in your attitude will change.
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
Thanks Ian, but with the lack of funds at the moment a drive over to liverpool would probably skint me lol but i would like to take up the offer sometime in the future. :)
So what would be the best method of canvassing and leaflets then?
I mean, if im going to leaflet drop i may as well just knock the door well im there and if no ones in leave a leaflet i suppose
Best times to knock? i am thinking 5-8pm
And do you guys taget anyone or should i concentrate on decent areas, semis and detached houses, i have a lot of council estates and terraced houses in the city centre, but i think i would be more confident canvassing in the more pleasant parts of town tbh
After reading all your comments i think i need to have a word with myself, my self confidence isnt that good i suppose but i will hate myself more if i dont do this and like you say im sure that first YES will make up for all the over thinking ive done lol
Im working all day to day till 8 in my boring part time job but tomorrow im only working 12-4 so think im going to spend tomorrow morning cleaning and polishing my old van, and hopefully get out tomorrow evening for an hour or two and just do it, we shall see lol.
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
Thanks Ian, but with the lack of funds at the moment a drive over to liverpool would probably skint me lol but i would like to take up the offer sometime in the future. :)
So what would be the best method of canvassing and leaflets then?
I mean, if im going to leaflet drop i may as well just knock the door well im there and if no ones in leave a leaflet i suppose
Best times to knock? i am thinking 5-8pm
And do you guys taget anyone or should i concentrate on decent areas, semis and detached houses, i have a lot of council estates and terraced houses in the city centre, but i think i would be more confident canvassing in the more pleasant parts of town tbh
After reading all your comments i think i need to have a word with myself, my self confidence isnt that good i suppose but i will hate myself more if i dont do this and like you say im sure that first YES will make up for all the over thinking ive done lol
Im working all day to day till 8 in my boring part time job but tomorrow im only working 12-4 so think im going to spend tomorrow morning cleaning and polishing my old van, and hopefully get out tomorrow evening for an hour or two and just do it, we shall see lol.
TBH Ian is very experienced in the sales game having worked in the motor industry. If you can borrow money to make the trip, then do that. This is an offer you can't turn down - it means your future.
From my experience leaflet distribution was a waste of time and money. Another window cleaner in the same area found exactly the same thing. If you get a 0.4% return, then why waste the money and effort doing it?
Why don't the motor trade send mail shots much anymore? It's because the return is not worth the cost. In the early days of mail shots we got a 4% return in the motor trade, but this method of producing sales interest has long since died in most areas.
Beg, steal or borrow, but take Ian up on his offer and then door knock.
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I would absolutely take Ian up on the offer if I was you mate.
My trick for leafleting and canvassing was to wait until Bob had been round leafleting and then knock.
Joking aside, if I had a quiet day then I would pop my leaflets in the van then go out to a new build estate. Once there I would leaflet all the houses and then go back after tea and do a few hours knocking doors. If I was you I'd do enough leaflets to do an hours canvassing each evening. I wouldn't go mad, I'd pick a different area for each evening, within a month you'll get an idea of which areas are covered and which areas need a window cleaner. When I did this I basically did it for one month and built up a nice little run of jobs in each area as I didn't like canvassing myself. However I have a friend who loves sales and I used to take him out for the day and I'd start my first job as he would start door knocking. We built instant full days work that way.
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
Thanks Ian, but with the lack of funds at the moment a drive over to liverpool would probably skint me lol but i would like to take up the offer sometime in the future. :)
So what would be the best method of canvassing and leaflets then?
I mean, if im going to leaflet drop i may as well just knock the door well im there and if no ones in leave a leaflet i suppose
Best times to knock? i am thinking 5-8pm
And do you guys taget anyone or should i concentrate on decent areas, semis and detached houses, i have a lot of council estates and terraced houses in the city centre, but i think i would be more confident canvassing in the more pleasant parts of town tbh
After reading all your comments i think i need to have a word with myself, my self confidence isnt that good i suppose but i will hate myself more if i dont do this and like you say im sure that first YES will make up for all the over thinking ive done lol
Im working all day to day till 8 in my boring part time job but tomorrow im only working 12-4 so think im going to spend tomorrow morning cleaning and polishing my old van, and hopefully get out tomorrow evening for an hour or two and just do it, we shall see lol.
From my experience leaflet distribution was a waste of time and money.
But that isn't my experience. I have built up a fantastic round that far exceeds some of the dismissed claims in terms of hourly rate and weekly income from working 5-6 hour days - all from leafleting! I am in my fourth year, but I believe with a sign written van earlier and a better lifestyle I could have achieved it by year 2. Built on leafleting.
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you will get nasty old gits that are on inverlidaty benfits that have blue stickers in there cars running like ben Johnson out the door moaning at you about junk mail they forget they cant walk and claim for this
yet one bit of paper can sort it out in seconds ;D
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
That's good of you to make that offer Ian. I'm impressed.
Happy to help anyone who is keen to get on :)
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
That's good of you to make that offer Ian. I'm impressed.
Happy to help anyone who is keen to get on :)
And that's the rider - helping someone who is keen to get on.
I remember a post a few years back from a chap in south London who couldn't afford to take up an offer made by Vin from Perfect Windows in Southampton for a day's free on the job training.
I don't recall ever seeing a post from that chap again. If he didn't take up the offer, then he turn down a winner.
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
Thanks Ian, but with the lack of funds at the moment a drive over to liverpool would probably skint me lol but i would like to take up the offer sometime in the future. :)
So what would be the best method of canvassing and leaflets then?
I mean, if im going to leaflet drop i may as well just knock the door well im there and if no ones in leave a leaflet i suppose
Best times to knock? i am thinking 5-8pm
And do you guys taget anyone or should i concentrate on decent areas, semis and detached houses, i have a lot of council estates and terraced houses in the city centre, but i think i would be more confident canvassing in the more pleasant parts of town tbh
After reading all your comments i think i need to have a word with myself, my self confidence isnt that good i suppose but i will hate myself more if i dont do this and like you say im sure that first YES will make up for all the over thinking ive done lol
Im working all day to day till 8 in my boring part time job but tomorrow im only working 12-4 so think im going to spend tomorrow morning cleaning and polishing my old van, and hopefully get out tomorrow evening for an hour or two and just do it, we shall see lol.
£30.00 total for the day?....thats the best training course i have ever heard off
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I'm in the same boat, suffer with anxiety badly.
I went self employed 6 years ago but my round is only now starting to look half decent, I'm not keen on dropping leaflet but will do that from time to time - canvassing is another matter. I did that in the beginning and hated it, so avoided it - I used to send my missus out for a couple of hours here and there, she'd get the leads and then I would quote them. But it's not been enough, it really has been a big stumbling block.
Planning on a huge leaflet drop later this year instead. Wish I could offer advice, good luck with your situation though :)
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Make an effort to take up the generous offer. You'll learn loads, get motivated and more confident, all in one go. How bad do you want it?
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you will get nasty old gits that are on inverlidaty benfits that have blue stickers in there cars running like ben Johnson out the door moaning at you about junk mail they forget they cant walk and claim for this
yet one bit of paper can sort it out in seconds ;D
;D
Reminds me of the saleman who did the motobility cars.
The sick, lame and disabled always came in their wheelchairs and all the props needed to get a new motobility car. Once the 'deal' was done they left their props behind and walked in like all the others when they came to collect their new car.
I'm sure they felt the saleman was the person who had the authority the approve their status to begin with.
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Still not had the bottle to do it.... so ive booked p.dale lol
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Paul will sort you out mate ;D
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What's there to be worried or scared about?
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Someone once said no ................. effected me for months :o :o
knock knock
Hi do you need a window cleaner ?
or
Hi Im the local window cleaner looking for a few more customers do you need a window cleaner ?
or
Hi do you have anyone looking after your window cleaning at the moment ?
or
Hi whatever your window cleaner is charging I will do it for £2 less
the last one was a joke btw ;)
easy peasy simples
never say summit like "oh er hmmmm hi sorry to disturb you but do you ...." ::)roll ::)roll
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Someone once said no ................. effected me for months :o :o
never say summit like "oh er hmmmm hi sorry to disturb you but do you ...." ::)roll ::)roll
That's what Mick Kent does. ;D
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Hi I'm just calling to see if you need a window cleaner with a smile usually does the trick, picked up £80 yesterday afternoon, £150 2 weeks ago in an afternoon, you've got nothing to lose mate and every thing to gain ;)
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A bit of luck helps too I've canvassed a few areas lately where the old window cleaner hadn't been for months, and go into new estates even if you think other cleaners, are in that estate its still worth knocking I got a grumpy man tell me yesterday that I was the 6th person to knock for window cleaning but I still picked up 6 houses in that estate and you can see which houses people might move into soon so keep going back and knock when they move in ;)
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Hi I'm just calling to see if you need a window cleaner with a smile usually does the trick, picked up £80 yesterday afternoon, £150 2 weeks ago in an afternoon, you've got nothing to lose mate and every thing to gain ;)
Yup, that's all you need to do. Smile and keep it simple.
John
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It is John and when I get the grumpy ones I still smile as I walk away onto the next one, I'm really enjoying canvassing atm :)
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I have only ever done leaflets by myself. the first year I did 20 000 ish and the second I did about 10 000 and this year only about 5 000.
Its been busy this year but I was picky about who I took on as I am getting busy now.
Next year I will rather pay a leaflet to drop about 10 000 in April and I am going to follow up with some knocking with a helper.
Its a different strategy for me but I know thats the one that works the best.
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I have only ever done leaflets by myself. the first year I did 20 000 ish and the second I did about 10 000 and this year only about 5 000.
Its been busy this year but I was picky about who I took on as I am getting busy now.
Next year I will rather pay a leaflet to drop about 10 000 in April and I am going to follow up with some knocking with a helper.
Its a different strategy for me but I know thats the one that works the best.
I've never had much luck with leaflets do you have any tips for a good leaflet as I would like to leaflet on bad weather days?
Cheers
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It is John and when I get the grumpy ones I still smile as I walk away onto the next one, I'm really enjoying canvassing atm :)
I enjoy canvassing more than leaflet drops, the latter with which I have had no success at all. As I said earlier, in my locality there are loads of properties with 'No Junk Mail' on the letter box, (including many of my own customers) and relatively few 'No Cold Callers' signs, so canvassing is the way to go where I live.
I prefer meeting people face to face anyway, so potential customers can see who they would be dealing with (and vice versa). That said, I am 3 years in from building my current business up, and am now getting enough referrals to eliminate the need for me to canvass at the moment.
Best wishes,
John
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I have only ever done leaflets by myself. the first year I did 20 000 ish and the second I did about 10 000 and this year only about 5 000.
Its been busy this year but I was picky about who I took on as I am getting busy now.
Next year I will rather pay a leaflet to drop about 10 000 in April and I am going to follow up with some knocking with a helper.
Its a different strategy for me but I know thats the one that works the best.
I've never had much luck with leaflets do you have any tips for a good leaflet as I would like to leaflet on bad weather days?
Cheers
Sunny days produce alot better response rates. The reason is simple if you really really think about it.
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If you want customers and want them Fast there is no better way than to do it via sold boards! Nothing comes close to the retention and simplicity of it as well as costing nothing.
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Awesome thread. I still feel anxious with canvassing but I find after the 30 mins the fear fades and I feel more confident. I’m a lot calmer with it then I was in the beginning, I’m hoping after a few more months it will be even easier.
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This is not a windup
My nephew has a nice looking wife.
He went canvassing in the south Manchester area., affluent areas mostly, Bramhall, Poynton, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge etc.
He built up a round worth 2 or 3 full days a month a short time after he left a dull civil servant's job.
That was 3 or 4 years ago, he is going strong.
What's this got to do with his wife.........
She went canvassing with him!!!!!!
Hope this doesn't sound sexist😱😱😱😱
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My wife is nice looking but hates canvassing so i bought 3 or 4 small rounds with £5000 of my redundancy money and naturally expanded these rounds.
That was 20 years ago after i left a good job in
I. C. I.
Canvassing, leafletting, websites, referrals etc were all part of the expansion.
Horses for courses!!
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I love canvassing ... I love leafleting ... both work just differently.
To the OP ... you need to pshyc yourself up before hand ... play it thru your minds eye like the pro athletes do before a big event.
I would offer to come over to you but as im a scouser I like to keep away from Manchester unless its the Trafford Centre or John Bishop playing the MEN .... get yourself over here to lovely North Wales one Saturday morning and I will show you how to canvass for free (brekky in café is on you though ;D) and no coming back to work my area :o :o
Lemme know if any good for you
That's good of you to make that offer Ian. I'm impressed.
Happy to help anyone who is keen to get on :)
I know Ian, he's a good honest, reliable bloke.
Even if I did catch him cleaning the gutters of one of my customers one day 😊😊😊
BTW Ian, how's it hanging????
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Also Ian, "Lovely North Wales"
I thought you lived in Wrexham😱
LOL
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Flippin heck, i just noticed how old this thread was.
Its the middle of the night and i cant sleep💤💤💤💤
Just shows how the old threads were the best, (as entertaining as the posts from Lee Pryor were a few months ago😁😁😁😁)
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Lol
Thank for digging this up.
Fast forward 5 years and over 500 customers later I never did get to grips with canvassing.
I dont fear it anymore, as for my anxiety I'm a lot more confident these days this job as helped me grow as a person through the struggles of starting a business ... but I still don't canvass because I just don't like doing it.
In the end I built my round by spending money on canvassing, leaflets and online ads.
I would estimate I've spent about 15k on advertising/marketing etc.
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I once spent £75 on lead generation
That's not for me
I don't canvas or leaflet now
My website silently tops my round up now, don't need much (I'm 62)
I'm slipping off into retirement when my fooballers knee needs replacing 😱
Most, probably, 90% of my success has been down to CIU members
Give yourselves a round of applause (except Nathan NK that is😍😍😍😍)
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This is not a windup
My nephew has a nice looking wife.
He went canvassing in the south Manchester area., affluent areas mostly, Bramhall, Poynton, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge etc.
He built up a round worth 2 or 3 full days a month a short time after he left a dull civil servant's job.
That was 3 or 4 years ago, he is going strong.
What's this got to do with his wife.........
She went canvassing with him!!!!!!
Hope this doesn't sound sexist😱😱😱😱
I now rarely canvass or look for new work and my wife probably works with me twice a year - maybe on a school or an internal business clean I do annually as she can trad clean. I would describe her as "easy on the eye" even though she is now in her fifties. (Bear in mind most of the couples I work for are in their 60's through eighties) ;D
I had an area which is about two dozen properties in the £25/£50 range along a mile of semi rural road. I had about five of these houses so I asked her to come out and canvass in between my work while I cleaned the windows. It was a nice sunny day and she got me five more and so the value of the work there went up from about £150 to about £300. They have all "stuck" and are good customers.
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I turn into Nathan K when canvassing and waffle that much to the potential customer that I actually confuse myself.
Back when I first started I spent a week canvassing and got 2 customers my wife went out and in one evening got 20.
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I turn into Nathan K when canvassing and waffle that much to the potential customer that I actually confuse myself.
Back when I first started I spent a week canvassing and got 2 customers my wife went out and in one evening got 20.
Nah Sean your doing it wrong. You need to waffle that much that they agree, just to get rid of you
😂😂
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I turn into Nathan K when canvassing and waffle that much to the potential customer that I actually confuse myself.
Back when I first started I spent a week canvassing and got 2 customers my wife went out and in one evening got 20.
Nah Sean your doing it wrong. You need to waffle that much that they agree, just to get rid of you
😂😂
Are you a JW Nathan?
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I turn into Nathan K when canvassing and waffle that much to the potential customer that I actually confuse myself.
Back when I first started I spent a week canvassing and got 2 customers my wife went out and in one evening got 20.
Nah Sean your doing it wrong. You need to waffle that much that they agree, just to get rid of you
😂😂
Are you a JW Nathan?
What’s a JW ???
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JW = Jehovas Witness. Window cleaning is a popular career choice for JW's because the work allows them to devote time to their religion.
Adam,
Don't take ANYTHING a prospect says or does personally.
Use numbers to get you in the grove
Here are some I use:
1. Yes/No Ratio (should be about 60 No, to 1 yes).
2. Time per sale. Mine is one every 2.55 hours, and that is signing up a customer to DD.
You will need at least half an hour to get in the groove, so give yourself a 30 min practise session to warm up.
Get your customers to write you some testimonials and then hand this across if you get any indications of interest. Give them time to read it.
To make things easier for you, I would just hold up the leaflet (put it on a clipboard) and just say: "Hi, I put this through your door".
Don't try to be happy and smiley all the time, with fake niceness like a check out operative at Waitrose.
It is too exhausting if you are putting in the hours that successs at canvassing demands. Just be yourself, and conserve energy where you can.
I canvass every evening and I do at the weekends as well, and I've been doing this 20-30 hours a week since 1st of Jan. If you think canvassing is bad now, try doing it in January at 7 on a dark evening in sub zero with 8 layers on to keep warm!
Get two umbrellas. One is a small foldable one that goes in the briefcase. The other one is a double skinned Stormshield Umbrella. Nothing stops me canvassing - not even the rain.
I've added nearly 100 new customers so far this year, and every one of them has signed a DD mandate on the door (I'm allowed to this because I've got the Go Cardless 'Pro' package.
As much as canvassing is hard sometimes, when things are tough, and they often are, I try to be grateful that we're in a game where we can just go out and get new customers, and you can usually speak to the decision maker straight away.
What you wear is important. I used to wear suit trouser and an embroidered fleece. Then I canvassed in my work gear. Recently I've started to wear chinos, leather shoes, a dress shirt, and a smart blazer with my company badge sewed onto the breast pocket and a pocket handkerchief. Also carry a leather holdall that I got off ebay for £50 and polished up at home.
You only get one chance to make a good first impression and people are noticably 'warmer' at the door.
Don't forget to nominate me for Best Dressed Door Pest 2019 :-))
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Forgot to say: Read Paul Dale and Ian Lancasters posts if you want more info on how to do it.
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Alan Partridge comes to mind.
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FIRSTLY . You got a 100 out , well done , that’s the first brick in the wall ! You could have done nothing but you didn’t. 100 doesn’t seem like a lot but do it every day forever and your customers will stream in as steadily as well. SECONDLY try to think of the anxiety this way ... it’s new it’s change it’s anxious ... but humans (and chickens for some reason) have the ability of foresight, so what repeated exposure to the leafleting will do is reduce anxiety over time as it’s not new and scary any longer (a dog for example doesn’t think like this so once scared of the Hoover always scared of the Hoover. and lastly excersise raises serotonin and will lower anxiety . So good on you man lee going , download the headspace app , don’t drink coffee before you go and yall be great . I leaflet all the time , you won’t see that many people anyway
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Exercise is a good one
What I do sometimes is log how fast I'm going on Strava and for a couple of weekends in March I put trainers on, ran between doors, and logged how far I'd run in two days.
It was something like 11 miles a day, but I was so knackered afterwards I stopped running and canvassing at the same time!
Everyone feels 'The Fear' at first. I read somewhere that this completely irrational fear that you feel is a biological mechanism called "Approach Anxiety"
A long time ago, Back when all humans lived in small rural communities, only the Alpha males had access to the females, and the beta males would sometimes make attempts to approach the females.
If the beta male was rejected by a female, this would occur in front of the entire community, and it would completely ruin that beta males chances of accessing a female for a very, very long time.
Fairly recently (in terms of the length of time it takes to for evolution to happen) we've moved to cities and towns. And so, a beta male could now, in theory at least, approach 10s of thousands of females, with very little social consequences (watch any nightclub Lothario or read Neil Strauss's "The Game" for evidence of this happening).
So, according to this theory, that terrible fear of 'Approach Anxiety' you feel (and anyone who has canvassed will know exactly what I'm talking about!) is rooted in evolutionary biology. It is a biological mechanism that evolved when we were living in small communities and there were serious consequences for you if you approached someone and they rejected you.
Now we live in large cities, there are literally millions of doors out there to knock, and this fear you feel is a biological artefact from a different time. According to this theory, "Approach Anxiety" is basically a historic artefact of your biology messin' with your head.
Good point about constant exposure to risk habituating you to it.
I used to be a mountaineer (see www.super-7.co.uk (http://www.super-7.co.uk) if you ever need a cure for insomnia) and constantly putting yourself in 'The Danger Zone' makes it so much easier to do it. So does pre-leafletting areas, because you are familiar with the area. Time spent in Reconniassance is never time wasted.
Two mental tricks that mountaineers apply to danger can be deployed for canvassing.
1. VISUALISE THE ROUTE
When I think of this long term canvassing mission I'm on (If things go my way, I have 12-18 months of canvassing 20-30 hour a week before my canvassing days are hopefully over, and I can afford to grow the biz with leaflets). I think of it as a route to the top of a mountain. So, every night and weekend I go out, I'm ticking off a section of the route. Break the 'challenge' down into small steps. A little and often is the way to go. You can also give yourself 'half time', a break to relax and celebrate what you've achieved half way through the session / week / month.
2, FOCUS ON THE PROCESS NOT THE OUTCOME
As you walk to the door, be in the moment and focus on your posture, your breathing and take a couple of deep breaths, (yogi's teach you do 'darth vader' style breathing because it 'settles' you more). Knock knock, this is when I quickly slam a couple of business cards thru the box. Boom! . Count to 12. At six seconds a leaflet (already pre-rolled on the walk up the drive) gets fired thru the door. Boom!
I can hear them approaching the door now. 10 seconds, I Swing body so I'm facing sideways towards them when they crack open the door and am in a non-threatening, sideways posture when they first see me. The door opens, I turn towards them, hold up leaflet so it is as near to my eyeline as possible. Eye contact, pause, smile if you have the energy and "Hi, I put this through your door...."
By focusing on the process, you will start to become less dependent on the outcome. In thousands of hours of canvassing I can count on the fingers of my hand the times when I've been a bit scared, because a homeowner is using foul language or is verbally threatening. It is very, very rare, maybe one or two times a year if you are canvassing full time.
Adam, I used to climb with a guy who was born with half a hand, and he climbed routes that were way harder than what I could do. He had a poster on his bedroom wall of a climber and the words he'd written on it were:
"Don't Let Your Fears Stand In The Way of Your Dreams"
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Thank for the advice guys ;D
But this thread is 5 years old!
I no longer have any interest in canvassing or leafletting myself, I've found easier and less stressful ways to build work these days.
Mainly paying someone else to do it or using online methods of lead generation.
I don't fear canvassing anymore, I just don't need to and can't be bothered to do it.
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Thank for the advice guys ;D
But this thread is 5 years old!
I no longer have any interest in canvassing or leafletting myself, I've found easier and less stressful ways to build work these days.
Mainly paying someone else to do it or using online methods of lead generation.
I don't fear canvassing anymore, I just don't need to and can't be bothered to do it.
My fault for the 5 year old thread thingy 😱
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I found the thread on search function and just commented how helpful it was to me I think it’s my fault on the confusion haha
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Nostalgia isn't what it used to be🙄
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Hi, i currently have a part time business as a car valeter alongside a part time employed job. but have been looking to get into window cleaning for morer regular work, the valeting i mainly get business from my website.
I have bought the basic stuff for water fed pole and had a practice, (trolley system, D.I.) and i have just recieved 5000 leaflets.
I went out this morn to post my first leaflets, i managed to put out about 100 but all the time i felt like a twat. I was nervous posting what some may consider crap through peoples letter boxes and the thought of knocking on doors made me feel a bit ill. I admit to having a history of anxiety but have always managed when i was in full time employment.
Anyway i tried to psyche myself up a few times, but got thoughts in my head of everyone saying no or not answering or already having a cleaner or even getting upset i was knocking.
In the end i got back in my car angry with myself and went home, im now annoyed at myself because i know if i dont do this i might as well just go back to employment
has anyone else struggled with canvassing and being confident with selling etc?
thanks adam
yep i struggled.
i have had a stammer since I was a kid so the idea of knocking on strangers doors was pretty terrrifying for me
the thing that made me do it was i was not happy with the direction my career was going in and wanted to build something better for myself. when i had decided to start the business it was more a case that i was more scared of failing than of knocking on doors.
once you've got over your first 20 min of knocking you're fine. the only thing is for me, its the first 20 min of knicking that are scary each time i go out. the difference is i suppose, is that I have done it before so i know that i just need to get over those first dors then i'll be fine.
if youve got the drive to start your own business you'll be fine. if not, then maybe its not the business for you... its a challenge! good luck