Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: davids3511 on July 03, 2007, 10:44:19 pm
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Hi all
Finally went canvassing for the first time tonight. Wasn't expecting miracles but had hoped for better. Targetted a pretty new estate thinking there should be a few prospective customers in there. Knocked on about 40 doors but not a single person was interested. Many said they already had a window cleaner but they were obviously lying. You could still see the outline of the stickers they put on windoes when they have just been installed. They wouldn't be there if they already had a window cleaner.
Is it always this dificult?
David
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I've always stayed away from large estates, for two main reasons:
1. All the houses are neally the same, so they get really really boring to clean.
2. Most people on an estate already have a window cleaner.
When I first started I targetted roads of older largish houses, and thats worked for me.
Persistance is the key though!
Andy
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you just need to perservere and if you are not getting a good feeling somewhere then just go somewhere else .....
OR you could use the services of a canvasser to do it for you and pay them 2x monthly clean
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I clean on a new estate in my town, I started to canvass as soon as the first people started to move in, there are 300 houses on this estate and I clean 180 of them, other local window cleaners waited until all the houses were built before canvassing, but by then it was too late!!!!!!!!!!! ;D
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OR you could use the services of a canvasser to do it for you and pay them 2x monthly clean
I swear I am in the wrong game as I actually prefer canvassing to cleaning the windows lol.
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your right .. ;D You can earn 200 quid in 3 hours if you are good
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I hate door knocking and found that delivering a leaflet a couple of days before knocking was getting me more customers.
My first time door knocking was real bad spent 3 hours and not one customer.
Now I get a average of 1 in 10 which I think quite good.
Just dont give up keep knocking
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I have always had a very hard time canvassing. The majority of the time we don't get anyone so I know how you feel when you say it can be hard.
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I've never door knocked
personally I hate having cold callers on my doorstep, I'd likely say I'm not interested even if I were to be after a bit of consideration, it just always seems to be an inconvenient moment, but then maybe thats just me, mr grumpy >:(
I've only left leaflets and so my start up was slow.
I think a-r window cleanin and others who suggest a leaflet drop followed by a call back at the door a few days later have the right idea and if possible leave space on your leaflet where you can quote the price for the houses in that street, its less in ya face and may give better results, good luck!
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Hi
Thanks for all the replies. I am going to give it another go tonight and will see how I get on. Will also leaflet drop anoither area and follow it up in a few days, just to see if that gets better results.
The way I am looking at is it that the customers are out there, I just need to be determined to find them. It does look like it will be a very dispersed round though. I don't see much hope of a compact set of houses.
Thanks
David
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The best way I have found of getting new customers is with the A4 'clean me' flyer
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Hi
So you must put a price for the house on the flyer and the day you will be intending doing the cleaning? How do you follow the customer up afterwards to make sure it isn't a once off job?
Thanks for the advise
David
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Been out tonight again in a different estate. Got 3 customers (one not sure, wants a clean next week and will then decide on whether to make it a monthly thing) for 2 hours work. Things are looking up.
David
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Thats excellent!!!
I have a challenge for you :)
Can you think of 10 words describe how it feels. Think back to how you felt when you were walking down the path after getting them if you need a bit of help.
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I swear I am in the wrong game as I actually prefer canvassing to cleaning the windows lol.
You can come and canvas any day for me!!!
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Never ever quote a price on your flyer, that is the worst thing that you could ever do!!!!!!!!!!!!! unless you are going in cheap and want to undercut other window cleaners, which you will end up regretting as you will have a low paying round!! Deliver your leaflet, call round in person smartly dressed and sell yourself and your business, tell them what a fantastic job you do and how reliable you are, then you will be able to get a far better price than if you are daft enough to put a quote on your flyer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hi
So you must put a price for the house on the flyer and the day you will be intending doing the cleaning? How do you follow the customer up afterwards to make sure it isn't a once off job?
Thanks for the advise
David
No you don't need to put the price and date on the flyer. In fact, putting the price on is a bad idea IMO because you don't know what's around the back (conservatory, extension etc). Also, it could give the impression that you've been around the back of their house without permission.
If a customer only wants a one off there'sa not much you can do abouit that. However, charging a fair bit more for the first clean will at least ensure that you have been partly compensated for the extra time a first clean often takes.
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got £110 of new work on one road(6 houses,1 bungalow) after weeks of nothing goes to show u have to keep trying u dont know whats around the corner
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I always put my price and the day I will be coming to clean on my A4 CLEAN ME flyers. I also put that is does not include extras like con's etc.
I also put the price quoted is for a regular service
The price I put on them are high and I still keep getting a good response.
If I turn up and think it's worth more I just tell the customer that with my leaflets I take a gamble with the price and sometimes it's too low.
I have only ever had 1 person when I have had to increase the price on arrival say I must clean them for the price quoted to which I apologised that I could not do and he decided to take his business else where.
But like I said it is a gamble and a few times I have put out flyers with a price of £10 as they look nice and small 2 up and 2 downs from the front and have gone round the back and theres been loads of windows
On the plus side I get a massive response- last month I put out only 100 of them and got 18 new customers for £10 each with only one of them under priced
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I really really do not like the idea of posting a price through someones letter box. Here is the main problem with it...
you have no idea if the house already has a window cleaner, if they do and yours is cheaper it is just like poaching.
Put it this way, if I had a bunch of well priced customers in a street and you came down and leafleted them and stole them based on price, and lets be honest your system does not care if they are cleaned already, I would think you were not a very nice person to call a window cleaner.
The worse thing is, one day your going to put it through someones letter box who is going to think "wow! I could do that for half the price!" and they will.
On top of that I work in the Midlands too, so it stands a chance this could happen to me.
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you have no idea if the house already has a window cleaner, if they do and yours is cheaper it is just like poaching.
Put it this way, if I had a bunch of well priced customers in a street and you came down and leafleted them and stole them based on price, and lets be honest your system does not care if they are cleaned already, I would think you were not a very nice person to call a window cleaner.
Karl, that's just life I'm afraid - we don't own customers.
If a prospective customer calls you and you don't want to take work from another then just ask if they already have a w/c and decline to do it.
If you do decide to take the job then you may have not picked up a loyal customer.
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The main issue with canvassing IMO is that you meet the customer face to face.
Have a chat, a good look around at what the job entails and then quote from that.
I am sure people would rather meet and see who is going to clean their windows, have access to the back of their house etc.
I have canvassed up all my work and feel I have a good rapport with my customers,
I have also posted hundreds of leaflets and had exactly one phone call and new customer via that route. :(
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Karl, that's just life I'm afraid - we don't own customers.
If a prospective customer calls you and you don't want to take work from another then just ask if they already have a w/c and decline to do it.
If you do decide to take the job then you may have not picked up a loyal customer.
I really do not mind losing customers, if they are correct in what they say "blah blah is cheaper" then thats fine. No problems. Like I said I find canvassing very easy. Even on hard days I enjoy it.
But I want you to see the bigger picture if you can. If window cleaners make a habbit of selling themselves on price alone, and lets face it, if you can't even be bothered to knock the door to give a quote you are just selling on price, then what will the next window cleaner have to put on his flyer, and the next after him, and so on. It would soon dawn on them that the only way for there flyer to work anywhere near as good as canvassing is if they use the price as a hook. And big prices make lousy hooks.
The end result is it would become the fashion for window cleaners to sell themselves a cheapo service.