[Robin Ray]

As ive mentioned before Im Window cleaner considering carpet cleaning as an add on. I dont advertise at all at present apart from offering different services to my existing customer base. So i just wondered:

What do you all find is the best way of getting work?

If your way isnt listed tell us what it is.

[james roffey]

I use all of them, all with varying degrees of success.

 recommendations are very different and by far the best way of generating work and will lead to more work but only affective if you are competent and do a good job, if you dont

[derek west]

the best form of advertising without a shadow of a doubt is doing an amazing job while being polite and friendly to your clients, for that reason i clicked recomendations. 65% of my work this year has come from repeats and referals.

[JandS]

Recommendations have got to be the best but I confess
65% of my work comes from paper ads and roughly 25%
from t'internet the rest is recs at the mo.

John

[clinton]

Must say got to agree with derek and repeat anr rec,s are the way to go to build up a business mate..Just takes time and there is no instant solution mate..

[wynne jones]

I notice going out and talking to people yourself isn't on the list. 

[Robin Ray]

Talking to people is how I initialy got my window cleaning rounds. What im interested in is carpet cleaning specific advertising.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

To give you a straight forward answer Robin, there isn't one great form of advertising you need apart from regulars and old customers and recommends that come with time, a select set of adverts to pick up new customers. Window cleaning is different there you have a customers that have you every month and are more or less locked in, you can door knock successfully as people need a regular window cleaner where as door knocking carpet cleaning customers is no where near as successful and you need to keep going as customers may only have you once a year if you are lucky.

Shaun

[wynne jones]

Can't help you there then Rob, sorry.

[cannon]

Im a firm believer in leaflets, only just got a website so cant comment on that but ya def need one. Had a few jobs lately from my free listing in yellow pages been local jobs a few streets away obviously like buying local as i do, wish i had an address in every town  

Recommendations is def the best, I hit lucky with this 1 leaflet he was very happy with the clean and the custys just keep on coming. He turns out to be very well known in the area and he even put my leaflet up on the notice board in the local garage, a couple of people have lost my number and they go to the garage for it.

Then again you can go 1000 leaflets without a call.

[james roffey]

I did 4000 in one hit in Jan had one job so far

Did 1000 recently got four jobs from them

[MAX Carpets]

"Piece of string" Springs to mind!

[Robin Ray]

Why does a peice of string spring in to your mind?

[MAX Carpets]

he question is a bit of a How long is a piece of string question.

[robert meldrum]

The answer might be in another thread ( tongue in cheek ) ........cheapest ever.

[wynne jones]

Robert you are going to have to spell it out for the likes of me!

[Adam P]

recommendations = advertising?

[robert meldrum]

Wynne

My post was " tongue in cheek " as I was referring to the post titled......" cheapest ever "

[Robin Ray]

recomendations = customers advertising for you = Advertising

Maybe I should have re-frased the question
"how do you find most of your work comes to you?"

[clinton]

Repeats and recs all the way