Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jo5hm4n on March 11, 2017, 03:08:30 pm
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I know it's probably been said on here before, but can anybody who has used them please tell me of your experience with them, whether it was good or bad. Yes i know there are other canvassing companies out there, but literally every company is booked for over a year, so that just wont do i'm afraid.
Spoken to the guy and he seems really nice and genuine and like he has a good business that he is running.
Obviously the best review i can get though is off anybody on here who have already used them before pleaseeeee
danke schoen
:D :D
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someone i know used them and they did get the volume of work he asked for but the problem was it was spread over a wider area than was asked for.
This meant there was travelling involved and instead of being compact it was spread out, he reckons he as about 30% left from the original amount
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i have not used these guys but know some one who as bought a round from them was told it was a well established round turns out that all of it was cleaned once only make of that what you will
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Used them twice and have them booked in for later this year. Needless to say I'm happy enough.
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Used them twice and have them booked in for later this year. Needless to say I'm happy enough.
Adam, was the quality of work they got for you good? Ideally i need to hear some more good things about them before my mind is made up really, as upto now only mainly heard things that are not so good.
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My friend said they ripped him off. No idea why. Think he bought a round off them
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I know some good guys if anyone needs work in London or Kent ;)
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I know some good guys if anyone needs work in London or Kent ;)
do these people cover Essex and Chelmsford ?
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I used them they over priced All the houses by 50 % lost most of them or had to drop the price of nearly all the houses to keep them
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I used them they over priced All the houses by 50 % lost most of them or had to drop the price of nearly all the houses to keep them
Why did you have to drop the price? Did the custys agree a price with kapre and then tell you it's too much?
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they canvassed my work one day a few years ago.they even left a card in my van next to my hose reel! ;D
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I used kapre and his team in the summer last year, very professional and did what he said he would do, currently have about 35-40 percent of what was originally canvassed (this includes walk ups so the original canvassed work actually under 30 percent), lots of cancels, bad payers and messers, had to write off hundreds of pounds worth of money owed from work done due to non payers. not kapres fault but this is what happens with canvassed work. I wouldn't use any canvasser again the retention rate is poor.
I remember speaking to a few customers at the first clean who seemed good then turned into messers shortly after,
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I used kapre and his team in the summer last year, very professional and did what he said he would do, currently have about 35-40 percent of what was originally canvassed (this includes walk ups so the original canvassed work actually under 30 percent), lots of cancels, bad payers and messers, had to write off hundreds of pounds worth of money owed from work done due to non payers. not kapres fault but this is what happens with canvassed work. I wouldn't use any canvasser again the retention rate is poor.
I remember speaking to a few customers at the first clean who seemed good then turned into messers shortly after,
This is pretty much bang on my experience of canvassed work.
I've used kapre and will conine to do so as they are by far the best I've used for prices and professionalism.
I've used a few other canvasser and I've canvassed work myself before.
Too many people have over the top expectations of canvassers and this is what gives it a bad name
It is not possible to have 1000 of work canvassed by you or anybody and retain that work 1 year down the line. Retention longterm is totally pot luck on the customers you happen to have picked up.
In my experience it will go something like this.
600 of work.canvassed, 500 quid goes ahead on the first clean. Out of these a couple won't pay. Another couple will cancel immediately and a couple you'll have to drop won't pay online etc. The next clean you might do 400 and so on. I would say 25% retention a year down the line isn't bad, youve made your money back after a few cleans and now they start to make you money.
Canvassing itself is a lottery but kapre are as good as any company, they won't rip you off and will do as you ask. I specify no terraced, no council and no through the house jobs. That's what they deliver, the pricing they get is very good for the area and I will continue to use them.
If you buy a round you might be paying 5-6 times, canvassing probably works out the same but it's work on your terms not someone else's.
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25%!!! Flippin heck, I'll go canvass myself. At least then I can tell messers from day one, I'll sign them up and never do them. Get them out the way immediately.
So if they canvass you £1000, you pay them £2000? And eventually only retain around £250? But you paid £2k?
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No mate 3k! Plus expenses in some cases
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To be honest, anyone can knock on a door and ask if they want a window cleaner. OK I know some are simply too busy or just not inclined to do canvassing, but those retention rates are terrible arnt they?
For me I don't regard anyone as a propper customer untill I have cleaned them for at least 1 year. So unfortunately if I used a canvassing company I wouldn't be paying anything until a year had elapsed and I'm sure they wouldn't like that. ;D
So.. I do it myself.
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I have nothing against canvassing companies per se, but have always done my own canvassing for the following reasons:
1. I am meeting every potential customer face to face so both parties get a first impression..
2. Business is discussed and agreed first hand.
3. I am choosing where and when I want to canvass.
4. Retention rate seems to be better according to others' experiences.
5. It's free!
John.
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Retention rates will vary because the people who answer the door vary. You could gate all great customers or all crap customers but usually a mix.
In my experience having used at least 4 diff canvassers and done it myself and paid local lads to help me that a year down the line I would expect to retain anything from 25-75% from canvassed work.
But what you guys are forgetting in your calculations is this.
You pay 3k for 1200 of work.
You clean 1000 the first time
Second time maybe 900
Third maybe 800
Fourth maybe 700
There's your money back. Now you are in profit from this point on. Its called investment. And it's the first 2-3 cleans where most who are going to drop out do so. The rate of drop offs dramatically reduces after the first 2-3 cleans. Remember you haven't had to go out and bang these doors yourself you've simply taken some money invested it and then a later point you get a return on that investment.
Another way to look at it is that you are investing time not money in reality. It takes you extra hours to do the extra work and go through the process to get the end result of having more customers. You get the money invested back but not the time. If you do it yourself you invest the time also but I don't like canvassing so would rather clean than canvass.
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I have nothing against canvassing companies per se, but have always done my own canvassing for the following reasons:
1. I am meeting every potential customer face to face so both parties get a first impression..
2. Business is discussed and agreed first hand.
3. I am choosing where and when I want to canvass.
4. Retention rate seems to be better according to others' experiences.
5. It's free!
John.
This is fantastic and its all true and good.
BUT it misses out the most important reason why it's not possible for some people to do themselves.
Which is because they hate it so much they would rather fork out thousands for someone else to do it.
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I know some good guys if anyone needs work in London or Kent ;)
do these people cover Essex and Chelmsford ?
Hell no!
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I have nothing against canvassing companies per se, but have always done my own canvassing for the following reasons:
1. I am meeting every potential customer face to face so both parties get a first impression..
2. Business is discussed and agreed first hand.
3. I am choosing where and when I want to canvass.
4. Retention rate seems to be better according to others' experiences.
5. It's free!
John.
This is fantastic and its all true and good.
BUT it misses out the most important reason why it's not possible for some people to do themselves.
Which is because they hate it so much they would rather fork out thousands for someone else to do it.
I appreciate the reasons some use canvassers and that's fine if they accept that the retention rates are low compared to doing it yourself. I also understand its investment potential.
Whether you are paying a canvasser or doing it yourself, you are either investing money or time. There is nothing wrong with either method.
John
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Retention rates will vary because the people who answer the door vary. You could gate all great customers or all crap customers but usually a mix.
In my experience having used at least 4 diff canvassers and done it myself and paid local lads to help me that a year down the line I would expect to retain anything from 25-75% from canvassed work.
But what you guys are forgetting in your calculations is this.
You pay 3k for 1200 of work.
You clean 1000 the first time
Second time maybe 900
Third maybe 800
Fourth maybe 700
There's your money back. Now you are in profit from this point on. Its called investment. And it's the first 2-3 cleans where most who are going to drop out do so. The rate of drop offs dramatically reduces after the first 2-3 cleans. Remember you haven't had to go out and bang these doors yourself you've simply taken some money invested it and then a later point you get a return on that investment.
Another way to look at it is that you are investing time not money in reality. It takes you extra hours to do the extra work and go through the process to get the end result of having more customers. You get the money invested back but not the time. If you do it yourself you invest the time also but I don't like canvassing so would rather clean than canvass.
This is without doubt the best comment i have seen on this forum in regards to canvassing. Totally agree with you 100% and i haven't even used a canvasser as of yet, but understand that it is an investment and when the round has paid off how much you had to pay for it, anything after that is profit and even if you only end up with 25-50% work after a year, it's all been paid for and now its making you the profits, but you didn't have to invest the time yourself.
My problem is that i don't have the TIME, to canvas as much as i would like too. Ideally i need £500-£1000 more of work, but i'm lucky if i can find the time to go out canvassing once a week, so it's just not quick enough for me to get the work at the rate i need it. I do enjoy canvassing but at the same time, i love the idea of being able to pay somebody and then they bring in £1000 of work to you, all in one hit, rather than scattered like when your canvassing yourself.
For example, lets say i go canvassing once per week for 2 hours. I may pick up £25-£50 in new customers(good day). That's still only £100-£200 in new work every month. That means it would take me 5 months just to hit the goal that i am looking for, which too be honest i need in the next 1-2 months. The quicker i start doing all of this work, the quicker its paid off and the quicker i will see the profit.
This is why i am considering using a canvasser, because its bringing in more work and more money, much quicker than i can bring it in.
Thanks for posting your experience on retention rates from canvassers and your personal experiences, that has helped me to understand just that little bit more clearly the benefits of using a canvasser.
;D ;D
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main problem remains you are never gonna get any thing like compact work with a canvasser when I go out knocking I go around the area I have work already and close buy to plug the gaps were possible I just do a couple of hrs for example I went out last Saturday on a small estate were I have a few and got an extra 4 not a great deal but it means I have a foot hold in that area to work with imo any body can achieve the numbers they need just keep chipping a way I go round the same area a couple of times a year with flyers just to let people know that I am regular and not some summer brigade chav
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This is without doubt the best comment i have seen on this forum in regards to canvassing. Totally agree with you 100% and i haven't even used a canvasser as of yet, but understand that it is an investment and when the round has paid off how much you had to pay for it, anything after that is profit and even if you only end up with 25-50% work after a year, it's all been paid for and now its making you the profits, but you didn't have to invest the time yourself.
My problem is that i don't have the TIME, to canvas as much as i would like too. Ideally i need £500-£1000 more of work, but i'm lucky if i can find the time to go out canvassing once a week, so it's just not quick enough for me to get the work at the rate i need it. I do enjoy canvassing but at the same time, i love the idea of being able to pay somebody and then they bring in £1000 of work to you, all in one hit, rather than scattered like when your canvassing yourself.
For example, lets say i go canvassing once per week for 2 hours. I may pick up £25-£50 in new customers(good day). That's still only £100-£200 in new work every month. That means it would take me 5 months just to hit the goal that i am looking for, which too be honest i need in the next 1-2 months. The quicker i start doing all of this work, the quicker its paid off and the quicker i will see the profit.
This is why i am considering using a canvasser, because its bringing in more work and more money, much quicker than i can bring it in.
Thanks for posting your experience on retention rates from canvassers and your personal experiences, that has helped me to understand just that little bit more clearly the benefits of using a canvasser.
;D ;D
Let's do the math:
Canvassers get you £1000 (80 house for example)
Month 1 - you earn £0 minus expenses (your wage or any employees, fuel, water etc)
Month 2 - you earn -£100 (10% drop off) minus expenses
Month 3 - you earn -£200 (another 10%) minus expenses.
Month 4- you earn £800 minus £300 paid to Canvassers even though lost customers, so £500 then fuel for having gone to 216 houses in last 3 months, say £50, so £450
Month 5 - you earn £650 (another 15% drop off)
Month 6 - you earn £500 (another 15% drop off).
TOTAL EARNED - £1,650
You canvass £200 a month yourself (£50 a week very easily done)
Month 1 - you earn £180 (10% drop off)
month 2 - £340 (20% drop off - 10 this month, 10 again for last month work)
Month 3 - £500 (20% drop off)
Month 4 - £660 (20% drop off)
Month 5 - £800 (20% drop off)
Month 6 - £960 (20% drop off)
TOTAL - £3,440
Even if you earned half that from your own canvassing, it would still be more than the work you bought, and it would be more compact, exactly how you priced it and the rest.
Canvassing only makes sense when you need an extra £10k plus of work and you need it NOW.
Just my 2 pence!
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The figures may stack up in favour of doing it yourself.
But like I said before the figures are irrelevant if you would rather chop your male organ off than go knocking on doors yourself. Some people hate canvassing some really don't mind it so it's up to the individual.
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As long as you start making money after a few months, who cares.
I personally like my round spread apart.
Also if you tell a customer where to go, you wont lose all the street, from them telling tales :)
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They canvas you a £1000 worth of work for £2000.
First clean you get £900 in.
Second clean you get £800 in.
Third clean you get £700 in and your in profit.
How long would it take in man hours to canvass that work yourself?
Let's be conservative and say you could do that in a week..say 5 days....how much could you have earned in that 5 days?
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They canvas you a £1000 worth of work for £2000.
First clean you get £900 in.
Second clean you get £800 in.
Third clean you get £700 in and your in profit.
How long would it take in man hours to canvass that work yourself?
Let's be conservative and say you could do that in a week..say 5 days....how much could you have earned in that 5 days?
Nothing. The week after you earn £1000 when you work it.
Canvassing company - your earn nothing for 2 months and pay to clean them in expenses. And then you start earning.
But it's clearly not about the money, it's about the nerve of knocking on doors.
I personally love it. Picking up customers is favourite part of the job, not cleaning haha.