[easy clean]

I know some of you guys swear by doing leaflet drops!
Here's my experience
2 weeks ago when we had some sunshine I went out and posted approx 1500-2000 leaflets myself on new builds, which most of the houses had dirty windows and till now I still haven't had a single enquiry, how can you build a business on dropping leaflets?

[Mike #1]

With people who have just moved in to new  build estates most are skint and cant afford a window cleaner

New estates are a terrible way to gain custys , Established estates are the way forward but they can be  a little dry due to windys cleaning their for years but their is always a way in .

My leaflets are double sided offering window cleaning on a 4-6 or 8 weeklly clean  and exterior fascia and gutter clean along with a half price window  clean , They have got to be the right leaflet in the right area .

I have gained over 40 custys in 3 weeks along with Fascia and gutter cleans , I have dropped less than 2500 flyers . Mike

[easy clean]

One of the estates was in a very affluent area tho, where they ain't short of a few quid

[wpclean]

You have to follow up the flyer drops with a visit,  When you do you will be amazed how many people will say " they were going to call but forgot "!

Best to call a couple of days after dropping flyer, and the best thing to say when calling is to ask if they had recieved the cleaning flyer.      People like to put a face to the business.

There is so much work out there at the moment, but too many of us cleaners are just lazy to chase it 

[windiewasher]

Ive leafleted new estates and got nothing.
Ive knocked the doors and picked loads up but find most are bad payers and are stretched to there limits.
They havent a pot to p in and a house they will not get there money back if they sell it.
 i do a lot of work for the builders doing showhomes etc and all stock houses and ones ready to move in to.
 they are very overpriced.

[robbo333]

It could be your leaflet isn't quite right. Show it to as many friends and family as you can and be prepared to alter it if need be.
Also, try other areas, because it could just be the area you chose is no good. I use leaflets, internet advertising, website and canvassing and get good results from all of them. Not all the time, but overall it always pays for itself. Experiment a bit and you'll start to get an idea of what works and what doesn't.

[HampshireWindowCleaning]

It will take you forever to build a round solely on leaflets, you really need to canvass aswell. I picked up 5 new customers  today canvassing for a couple of hours. I left a leaflet at all the houses that I didnt get an answer at (probably 50%) I will be very happy if I get 1 job ftom the leaflets.

[PAUL ERITH]

So far this year I am averaging 1 customer per 150 leaflets. I haven't delivered any leaflets since the end of april though due needing a few weeks rest after next week.

Some new builds get free cleaning for the first year as well so even if they look dirty they may be hanging out for the free clean.

Paul

[Ian101]

One of the estates was in a very affluent area tho, where they ain't short of a few quid

more they earn the less they have to spend on window cleaning - all on finance mate

big mortgage payments
2 x posh cars on chucky
school fees for Tarquin and Justina
pony fees - dnace lessons - football coaching - piano lessons
gym memebership thats never used
golf club membership
2 holidays a year to Tuscany and Aspen

etc etc etc

[Ian101]

however leaflets do work but can take years to build best way is to leaflet and canvass.

example of an estate I work on all nice houses .. redrow type of estate - approx 160 houses on it

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Buckley&hl=en&ll=53.178984,-3.072739&spn=0.026131,0.084028&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=6.744857,21.51123&oq=buckley&hnear=Buckley,+Flintshire,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=14&layer=c&cbll=53.178694,-3.072902&panoid=iZO3MiKKTByWQjmlX6BwDA&cbp=12,224.84,,0,0

June 2010 when first started done a leaflet drop - 1 customer gained from leaflet

by end of 2010 still same customer and their neighbour gained during the year

early 2011 - leaflet drop - nowt gained
mid 2011 - leaflet drop - nowt gained

early 2012 - leaflet dropped - nowt gained
mid 2012 - bought 4 customers of another windie all next door to each other and next to 2 i had already
late 2012 - bored 1 evening so canvassed and gained 4 houes in 20 minutes all next door to current customers  

early 2013 - leafet dropped and gained 2 more customers
early 2013 - picked up 2 neighbour of current work who had seen me working and thought i did a more thorough job of their current trad cleaner so binned him and took me on

last week - gained 1 from leaflet drop in Jan this year.

so 15 customers in 3 years all from a mix of leflets, buying work, canvassing and people seen me working

all takes time but in this case started with 1 customer from a leaflet  

[david wood]

hay ian there not to far away from me can I have them ive put about a 1000 flyers out in the last couple of weeks where I live  and only got about 4 jobs from them so far 

[formb]

I (almost) always get around 1% from leaflets. I'd be interested to know a little more about why you seem to get such a poor return.

Do you have your address and a local phone number on your leaflets?

[Richard iSparkle]

1% is an outstanding response for door to door leafleting.

1% is what you would hope for from as targeted direct sales letter so you've done really well to get this.

i wonder how much is a result of the leaflet you use, and how much it is your area, or something else?  do you have any ideas how you get this rate?

[robertphil]

 buy a local street map and do every lane ,every sidestreet  

make sure your flier stands out in some way , and fold it so it has to be opened to see what it is

[Smudger]

You have almost a 'perfect storm'  - Leaflets - Economy - New builds !

i have tried several ways to get work on 'new estates'  either they are waiting for the building to be finished - or they moving on ( just take note
how many go up for sale within 6 months) or they are credit rich but cash poor

Leaflets do work but will take time - they can be a slow burn - we've had a calls a good year after the original drop - leaflets this year have worked well but i believe thats because the vans are seen regularly in the streets and ad's in local parish mags etc..

To start out you cant beat door knocking - our first 400 odd customers were mainly got this way over a 2 1/2 year period

Concentrate on more established areas or country lanes with large houses - it's amazing how many of these have no windy  

Darran

[formb]

1% is an outstanding response for door to door leafleting.

1% is what you would hope for from as targeted direct sales letter so you've done really well to get this.

i wonder how much is a result of the leaflet you use, and how much it is your area, or something else?  do you have any ideas how you get this rate?

They are 'targeted' to an extent. We put leaflets through doors that we want to do and that we would expect to get.

Our leaflet is simple. Black and white A5. No frills just a word document with the logo on it.

One good tip; KEEP OFF THE GRASS. If they are in and they see you deliberately avoiding the grass and going out of your way to walk on the path they are already looking at you in a positive light.

[Sean Dyer]

I know some of you guys swear by doing leaflet drops!
Here's my experience
2 weeks ago when we had some sunshine I went out and posted approx 1500-2000 leaflets myself on new builds, which most of the houses had dirty windows and till now I still haven't had a single enquiry, how can you build a business on dropping leaflets?

you need to drop more than 1500

i did 10 000 in april and still getting 2-3 inquiries a week now

already picled up £500 in extras and about £180 regular custies a month

and this in an area that i reckoned i wouldnt get anything because there is already loads of cleaners who are very territorial....
i have dropped a few hundred in past and got nothing, definitely need to do 10 k minimum to get anywhere near a decent return , double if you can!

[roundbuilder]

It surely depends on areas. Where easyclean lives and works there are literally hundreds of window cleaners and competition about. It seems up north leaflets work miles better than down here even though we can get much better prices. Anyway i still believe the customer preferes to put a face to the window cleaner hence choosing canvassing as my main method of customer gain. In the 10 years i have been in the game canvassing has never failed!! I have had evenings where i havnt got any but i have had days getting over 20. There is defenatly an opening out there for an honest reliable national canvassing company who isnt a 1 man band who has a few teams of canvassers to hit the doors. If i had time id consider doing it.

[Sean Dyer]

i suppose it is whatever suits you personally, canvassing is a hard thing to do if you arent comfortable with it  , i did door to door sales for years and started most of my rounds that way , but now i'd much rather come home in the evening and spend it with my family after working all day - so leaflets work for me,

i have found that by having a good design and dropping in bulk you get a good return... but it costs money, whereas canvassing is free other than some diesel and your own time... and i doubt it's a northern thing look at the results lee pryor got , he is in sussex i think?

I reckon if you need the work quick or like canvassing then yes it is a good way , but if you dont have the time or want a steady trickle of constant work , leaflets work very well with almost no physical effort if you get them delivered , so even the busiest of window cleaners can still be finding more work!

Just a point on area - The area i put mine in during april is probably one of the more competitive areas full of window cleaners in the country , i had more threats than customers ringing , the only reason i put them out in it is becasue it is close to home and i wanted to try get some local work as majority of my work is ten plus mile away -- but to my surprise i still got work... so i dont think that comes into play , it is about how many you drop !
And i have found that those areas which are tied up by ladder cleaners in patches have lots of custies desperate to get away as many offer a crap service and come round to regularly , i have picked up loads who are sick of fortnightly cleans who miss windows etc , they are willing to pay much more for better service monthly (that isnt a slur at all trad cleaners, just the majority )