Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: James Styles on May 29, 2019, 07:47:53 pm
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To get to 100 customers when you first started up? Just curious really, I’m at about 35 now started up bout 2 months ago, I do about 3 days canvassing a week for 3-4 hours a time.
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To get to 100 customers when you first started up? Just curious really, I’m at about 35 now started up bout 2 months ago, I do about 3 days canvassing a week for 3-4 hours a time.
Everyones experience will be different James. You might be in an area which is over subscribed with window cleaners. WFP has made window cleaning more attractive to many who would never have considered it previously.
Things have completely changed in this industry over the past 15 years. As traditional cleaners the vast majority of our cleans were 2 weekly and never more than 4 weekly.
If you are running on an 8 weekly cleaning cycle then you will need 4 times the number of customers.
So I wouldn't get disheartened with your results. Just keep plodding away.
In the early days we were also short of work. So we offered add on services; conservatory roof cleans, gutter clearing and fascia, gutter and soffit cleaning. Try to clean a garage door for an addition £2 as part of the clean. We also offered internal window cleaning but we discourage that now.
Make your customers work for you. Ask each of your customers for recommendations of family and friends locally. Some won't but we had a customer and his wife who brought us in at least a dozen new customers. Those new customers also referred more to us. Nowdays, the majority of our customers are from recommendations of other customers.
I remember embarrassing my son and stopping the van twice to speak to a person cleaning their own windows. I got a window cleaning job from the second one which we had until he moved away 5 years later.
Door knock and/or leaflet neighbours of the houses that you clean. "We clean the windows of the Gibsons at number 21 and wondered if we could quote you for cleaning your windows."
If you are cleaning the windows at the Gibsons and the neighbours are in the garden, greet them over the fence and ask. If they say no, don't fail to greet them the next time you see them. Always be friendly. People buy from sales persons they trust.
We cleaned 4 houses in a cul de sac but not the 5th sandwiched between 2 of them. We always asked them how they were and how their narrowboat was etc. 8 years later he asked us to clean his. He always cleaned his own but had had a heart attack so decided that climbing a ladder wasn't a good idea.
The other question that comes to my mind is how many quotes are you doing to achieve your 35 customers. We have always said that the ideal is around a 40% acceptance rate. If you need to gain customers quickly then price to around 60%.
If you are getting 50% of your quotes then you have 70 potential customers, so you are doing well. Remember, you are in this for the 'long haul.'
It will take time before your customer base starts to snow ball.
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Good post Spruce
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I've never counted customers, even now after 16 years I couldn't tell you how many I have- I have never known. I have the means to find out ofcourse. However, IMO it's far more important to concentrate on maximum profit per customer rather than the quantity of customers. Get the former right and all else will fall into place. Even that will still depend on certain circumstances/factors but don't get fixated on quantity.
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Took me a long long time . But once you get the snowball effect , then your sorted 8)
I first started pricing everything single job at £6 as I didn’t have a clue- detached houses with conservatories £6, front only £6 , everything £6. I actually made very very little the 1st year ( not enough to live off) . Luckily I had other sources of income and knew I was in it for the long haul.
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I needed to hit the ground running and had around 100 by the end of month 2 - bear in mind that was a good ten years ago - rural villages where windier were/are thin on the ground.
I canvassed every single day, as soon as I had finished my work, right through to 8 in the evening - all Saturday and then Sunday morning
but as peavey posted - numbers are not what counts - its income - just keep battling away - I think your doing fine mate
Darran
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I think spruces's coments really sums it all up James, especially for a lot on here who have been window cleaning for a long time and have seen the changes to the window cleaning industry.
If your in an area where it is saturated then it might be hard pressed, but over time and regularity of yourself, then you will gain more but it will be hard.
As I expanded my rounds in the begining I was quite fortunate as my areas of work weren't saturated at the time and so all I needed was a foot in the door way, so to speak. If I got one in a street due to it being a friend of a customer, after I cleaned that house for several months I then canvassed the street. Even though you may not see them, people will be watching and will notice you. So I then quickly built rounds up, on the same street and then the next street n so on n so on!
However it is slight harder now a days. My wife came out with me today, kids staying at their nans for 2 days (yippee!), so she posted some flyers on some new streets I was working in (in the new area I'm building up), an old couple asked for a price but said they had a cleaner, just curious. My wife said by the shocked look on her face, her cleaner was a whole lot cheaper! This is what your up against, it doesn't mean they will be bad at their job, but a lot of cleaners keep their prices low in order to keep several houses on one street. It doesn't always work as I've picked up several and I'm double his/her price. But you are competing against this attitude. Just keep on knocking and building, mate, it will come together at some point
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When I started up I canvassed during the day, and kept knocking until I found a customer. I would then clean them straight away, so as to a) be earning straight away, and b) advertise myself to the neighbours who may be watching.
I did this continually until I started to pull in work via recommendations and walk-ups. It took me 4 years before I considered myself to be established, but didn't worry in the slightest as I knew that I would win people over once they got to know me and the reputation I set out to build. (I'm not boasting, but where I live it's a 'quick money and run' culture and I am the complete opposite to this, which people can't fail to notice).
James, once you've built a good reputation for yourself, the work will find you, but it will take time. Just keep plodding away and you'll get to where you want to be.
All the best,
John
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As a newbie I am quite fortunate that I am taking over an established friends round, but for other newbies what would the old hands say is better:
Self Canvassing
or
Paid canvassing
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As a newbie I am quite fortunate that I am taking over an established friends round, but for other newbies what would the old hands say is better:
Self Canvassing
or
Paid canvassing
Same but one costs more than the other ;D
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self canvassing
Darran
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About a year for me.
I never canvassed myself apart from a handfull of hours to confirm i hated it.
.my round has been built mainly from facebook and paying canvassers.
About a 100 customers a year is my rate of growth. That's 100 on the books and probably 200 gained and dropped.
Now I'm much more fussy, I dropped 2 yesterday for access issues, I would never have dropped them when starting out.
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How longs a piece of string...
Just keep at it mate, the more work you get the more it snowballs, your doing well at the mo, keep at it and you’ll hit 100 customers sooner than you think.
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About a year for me.
I never canvassed myself apart from a handfull of hours to confirm i hated it.
.my round has been built mainly from facebook and paying canvassers.
About a 100 customers a year is my rate of growth. That's 100 on the books and probably 200 gained and dropped.
Now I'm much more fussy, I dropped 2 yesterday for access issues, I would never have dropped them when starting out.
Same here , iv actually got a nice message saved in my notes on my phone especially for letting customers go who don’t fit into my schedule anymore . 2 of them being with me for at least 4 years , on both, they had massive ground floor extensions at the back so I had stand in the garden with the pole near enough horizontal to reach the bedroom windows - painful to say the least :'(
Much happier now I never have to see them again :D
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About a year for me.
I never canvassed myself apart from a handfull of hours to confirm i hated it.
.my round has been built mainly from facebook and paying canvassers.
About a 100 customers a year is my rate of growth. That's 100 on the books and probably 200 gained and dropped.
Now I'm much more fussy, I dropped 2 yesterday for access issues, I would never have dropped them when starting out.
Same here , iv actually got a nice message saved in my notes on my phone especially for letting customers go who don’t fit into my schedule anymore . 2 of them being with me for at least 4 years , on both, they had massive ground floor extensions at the back so I had stand in the garden with the pole near enough horizontal to reach the bedroom windows - painful to say the least :'(
Much happier now I never have to see them again :D
Never ceases to amaze me how many customers have large downstairs extensions built without giving any consideration as to how upstairs windows will be cleaned and how gutters will be cleared above them.
We had 1 a few years ago, upstairs only, who also had a large extension built and couldn't believe we would charge extra to reach those same windows. She cancelled us.
Nice couple, always say hello if I see them on the street since, but no understanding that extra hassel will add additional costs to the job.
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Luck is a big part of it, but I always find that the harder you work the luckier you become.
I have after 8-9 years have just canceled my website and yell advert, as I can't take on any more work. Well, there's always room for one more but I shouldn't!
I took this job as a part-time source of income for the first 5-6 years and then realized that if I put more into it I could get a lot more out.
I work 4 1/2 days a week and earn more than I could plumbing or sparking.
The growth of you and your business happens during the journey, you never stop learning though. Now I'm working on molding the finished article into the best it can be.
Get stuck right in mate, sleep it, eat it, dream it become obsessed with cleaning windows to perfection (I still am) and the work will flow right to you.
Be polite and respectful to your customers, look smart, turn up when you say you will and learn how to clean them windows to perfection, the rest will all fall into place!
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Luck is a big part of it, but I always find that the harder you work the luckier you become.
I have after 8-9 years have just canceled my website and yell advert, as I can't take on any more work. Well, there's always room for one more but I shouldn't!
I took this job as a part-time source of income for the first 5-6 years and then realized that if I put more into it I could get a lot more out.
I work 4 1/2 days a week and earn more than I could plumbing or sparking.
The growth of you and your business happens during the journey, you never stop learning though. Now I'm working on molding the finished article into the best it can be.
Get stuck right in mate, sleep it, eat it, dream it become obsessed with cleaning windows to perfection (I still am) and the work will flow right to you.
Be polite and respectful to your customers, look smart, turn up when you say you will and learn how to clean them windows to perfection, the rest will all fall into place!
post of the week.... :)
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Luck is a big part of it, but I always find that the harder you work the luckier you become.
I have after 8-9 years have just canceled my website and yell advert, as I can't take on any more work. Well, there's always room for one more but I shouldn't!
I took this job as a part-time source of income for the first 5-6 years and then realized that if I put more into it I could get a lot more out.
I work 4 1/2 days a week and earn more than I could plumbing or sparking.
The growth of you and your business happens during the journey, you never stop learning though. Now I'm working on molding the finished article into the best it can be.
Get stuck right in mate, sleep it, eat it, dream it become obsessed with cleaning windows to perfection (I still am) and the work will flow right to you.
Be polite and respectful to your customers, look smart, turn up when you say you will and learn how to clean them windows to perfection, the rest will all fall into place!
post of the week.... :)
Excellent post, except that I would disagree that it's down to luck. I believe you get out what you put in in terms of time, effort, determination, professionalism and an ability to engage with people from all walk of life.
John
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Luck is a big part of it, but I always find that the harder you work the luckier you become.
I have after 8-9 years have just canceled my website and yell advert, as I can't take on any more work. Well, there's always room for one more but I shouldn't!
I took this job as a part-time source of income for the first 5-6 years and then realized that if I put more into it I could get a lot more out.
I work 4 1/2 days a week and earn more than I could plumbing or sparking.
The growth of you and your business happens during the journey, you never stop learning though. Now I'm working on molding the finished article into the best it can be.
Get stuck right in mate, sleep it, eat it, dream it become obsessed with cleaning windows to perfection (I still am) and the work will flow right to you.
Be polite and respectful to your customers, look smart, turn up when you say you will and learn how to clean them windows to perfection, the rest will all fall into place!
post of the week.... :)
Excellent post, except that I would disagree that it's down to luck. I believe you get out what you put in in terms of time, effort, determination, professionalism and an ability to engage with people from all walk of life.
John
When you started up if 5 other guys had moved into your area and started up at around the same time as you would it have been as easy for you to get to where you are now ?
Even the person who started Amazon couldnt do it now if he had to compete with Amazon, luck always plays a part.
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Work on Saturdays to begin with then people will get used to seeing you around.
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James if you haven't got one already, then get yourself a decent website sorted.
You don't even need to spend alot of money.
TSO host have affordable and easy to set up self build sites. They come with basic SEO but teach yourself some SEO, which is easier then you may think, and you can get your site high on Google pretty quickly.
You'll be amazed at how many enquiries you get when the sun comes out. Sure there's lots of one off enquiries but in your position work is work and you should take anything you can get, that can enhance your reputation and potentially lead to more work.
I get around 10 -15 enquiries a week this time of year just from spending £17.99 a month a website. Best money you can spend on your business...
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Luck is a big part of it, but I always find that the harder you work the luckier you become.
I have after 8-9 years have just canceled my website and yell advert, as I can't take on any more work. Well, there's always room for one more but I shouldn't!
I took this job as a part-time source of income for the first 5-6 years and then realized that if I put more into it I could get a lot more out.
I work 4 1/2 days a week and earn more than I could plumbing or sparking.
The growth of you and your business happens during the journey, you never stop learning though. Now I'm working on molding the finished article into the best it can be.
Get stuck right in mate, sleep it, eat it, dream it become obsessed with cleaning windows to perfection (I still am) and the work will flow right to you.
Be polite and respectful to your customers, look smart, turn up when you say you will and learn how to clean them windows to perfection, the rest will all fall into place!
post of the week.... :)
Excellent post, except that I would disagree that it's down to luck. I believe you get out what you put in in terms of time, effort, determination, professionalism and an ability to engage with people from all walk of life.
John
When you started up if 5 other guys had moved into your area and started up at around the same time as you would it have been as easy for you to get to where you are now ?
Even the person who started Amazon couldnt do it now if he had to compete with Amazon, luck always plays a part.
I started up again when I relocated from the UK to Ireland in 2011. The area I moved into was decimated by the recession. I was almost laughed at when I told some people that I intended to start a window cleaning service here. They reasoned I wouldn't find enough work to make it happen, and to go back to England.
It took 4 years of very hard graft to establish myself, and I even began to wonder at one stage if they were right after all, it was that tough. But I told myself that failure was not an option, persevered and now work is flying in. No, I don't believe it's luck at all. In my experience it was all down to what I said above.
John
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A day will come when you will think about packing it in. Typically, a whole load of things will go wrong at the same time and will test your resolve. Keep pushing on and you will get there.