[chris no 1]

hi guys i,m looking to build my round up just wounder if door knocking realy works i work with my dad we both are a bit shy when it comes to knocking doors i all so suffer with a stutter so you could amagen what is like for me any in put from you guys would be great many thanks and a happy new year to you all

[Majestic]

Doorknocking is the way to go.
When I first started window cleaning I tried it, I did not like it at all . There are people out there who will do this work for you

http://www.doorknockers.4t.com/

Or round builders

roundbuildersuk@hotmail.com

There used to be another one but I cant remember the link, I think they were ladys

[S_RICHARDSON]

Definatley mate that's the only real sucessful way to gain customers!

[jeff1]

hi guys i,m looking to build my round up just wounder if door knocking realy works i work with my dad we both are a bit shy when it comes to knocking doors i all so suffer with a stutter so you could amagen what is like for me any in put from you guys would be great many thanks and a happy new year to you all

Hi Chris
I bet your stutter is worse when your nervous?? I have a very good friend who stutters and I find my self trying to finish of a sentence for him,
Sometimes its hard work talking to him (and I'm being very honest with you now) I think if you are the nervous type as well, you will find it very difficult, as potential customers sometimes don't know how to deal with it. and there quickest  way out of it is to just say no thanks.

If Dad does not stutter, then I would get dad to do all the talking until you can feel confident in your self, to have a go, once you get the confidence the world your oyster, Just remember Christ they can only say yes or no.

I wish you and Dad the very best.

[a-r window cleanin]

My partner has a stutter but when we go out door knocking I just get him to stand there looking friendly whilst I do all the talking.

[Londoner]

Leaflets work as well. The sucess rate is not as high as door knocking but you should get one or two phone calls from every hundred leaflets you deliver. And you can deliver a lot more leaflets per hour than you can knock on doors.

 I find door knocking is hard work and you have to be quite tough to keep on going in the face of endless refusals and quite a lot of rudeness.
Its better to get a few thousand cheap leaflets and just keep on banging them through the letter boxes until you get the customers you want.

This year I am going to get a leaflet printed saying "I was cleaning windows in your street today. If you would like me to clean your windows next time ring me on....." They will be used only on the roads where I have existing customers and I will do the roads several times during the year. Don't give up on a street just because you have leafletted it once. You get more the second and third times around.

Even though the hit rate is fairly low with leaflets I also think that the quality of the customers that you do get is higher. You don't get the "oh alright then" sort who  hadn't really thought about it but say yes on an impuse but then messes you about later.

If you are not happy about door knocking don't worry, you are far from alone.
If a customer takes the trouble to phone you they are serious about it.

[pylofm]

Great advice Vince...this is exactly how I am finding leaflets and the work generated...I also have 'I cleaned in your street today' leaflets...these seem to generate a little interest.

The few accounts that I did get from doorknocking have proved themselves to be 'wasters'..

I too re-leaflet area and as you have said...don't give up on a street...I have in my head the idea to get just 1 more customer from each street that I have customer at present...hope this works out.

I shall continue to deliver leaflets this year, I am ordering a further 12,000 leaflets and aim to deliver 20,000 leaflets during 2007...

[simon knight]

I agree with Vince you do get a better quality of customer who responds to a flyer. But I found that the response was between 0.5% and 1% therefore I need to deliver 1000 to get 5-10 customers. I reckon 1000 flyers would take me roughly 7 hrs to deliver. Whereas if I door knocked for 7 hrs from past experience I reckon I'd get 20ish new customers (seems to be 1 every 20 minutes for some reason).

7 hrs door knocking is absolutely knackering and Vince you're right, some people are rude to the point of being hostile so a hide like a rhino is necessary.

An idea for you Chris: If you're uncomfortable with door knocking and doing the sales talk why not get some leaflets printed up, knock on the door and say "Can I ask you to have a quick read of this".  To my mind this is a combination of leafleting and door knocking.

Good luck mate.

[Ian Lancaster]

By far the best way is to have your leaflets carry the message: "I will be canvassing in a few days time and I hope you won't mind if I call on you."  Then when you knock you show them the leaflet and say:  "I put one of these through your door a few days ago,  would you like me to give you a quote?".

Takes all the stress out of cold calling.  If they want it they say so, if they don't they say so.  You don't have to stand on the doorstep trying to explain what you're doing there, they already know.

Cheers,

Ian

Ps - saves on leaflets, too.  You only put out as many as you can canvass over in a few hours, but the return will be many times that you would get from just dropping leaflets

[simon knight]

Great idea.

[windows_chepstow]

7 hrs door knocking is absolutely knackering and Vince you're right, some people are rude to the point of being hostile so a hide like a rhino is necessary.

I agree with doorknocking being knackering; it does drain you, especially when it's 'no thank you' again and again and again, etc.

But I've never experienced anyone ever being overtly rude to me.  Even the odd individual who I'd gotten out of the bath or shower were pleasant enough; though I've had that 'irritated look' from some.

Just give them a big smile.  It's makes it difficult for people to be nasty to someone when you're smiling at them.

Also, (I'm no salesman mind), I always gave a quick 'get rid of me' option with the 'patter' I use.

I used to say, 'Good morning (or) afternoon'.  Give a BIG SMILE, then pause for a second.   Then say, 'Would you like a window cleaner?'

If they declined, I'd thank them for their time and give them a business card, telling them that if they ever changed their mind, they could call me.  Then I'd naff off to the next house.

I started out with leaflets and when my confidence increased, I canvassed.

A big smile works a treat; even if you're missing two front teeth; like me!

[Londoner]

The other thing to remember is that the one or two customers you get per hour from leaflets is only the start of the process. Once you start cleaning their windows you nearly always pick up at least one of the neighbours within a couple of visits and it starts to grow from there.

I deliver about a hundred leaflets an hour and if I get one or two new customers out of that its worth £100 to £200 a year in increased turnover. So five hours leafletting could be worth anything between £500 to £1000 a year which makes it look more attractive than saying you only get about 1% response.

[pylofm]

Thats exactly how I view my additional customers.....so the .5% return does not seem so bad....each sunday I run a income forcast in George for the following 12 months and this generally makes me feel better even if I have only increased my round by one customer.

Cheers Dave.