[martinj]

Sorry me again, I know Im a pain in the a**e but you have to stick to what you do best!

Am I right in thinking canvassing ie door knocking is the best way to go to get new customers? Seems to me then that if youre prepared to knock doors for several hours a day ( evenings and weekends probably ) it wouldnt take long ( month or two ) to build a decent small round - maybe 120-150 customers? Thanks for your advice

[richywilts]

yep i reckon u could canvass and do that many in a few weeks to a month no probs, if u really are canvassing every day for a long time say 4-6 hours a day

[dazmond]

just do it martin although 120-150 custies is a bit optimistic as some of the custies you pick up will be messers and one off cleans.

it takes a few years to build a solid round.

canvass with leaflets/business cards.one things for sure! you wont pick up work sat in your house on your laptop!!

best wishes

dazmond

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

Knocking is the quickest method and weekend or evenings will get more people home.

Don't get obsessed with numbers of houses, rather work on £'s as not all houses are the same.

You want about a 50% acceptance rate when you do give a quote. 100% and your too cheap. Try different prices for similar houses and see how it goes.

And do the actual work as soon as possible leave, them with a referral form to recommend a neighbour in the same postcode. Don't however offer discounts as you will work for nothing.

[Sseddon]

Don't get obsessed with numbers of houses, rather work on £'s as not all houses are the same.

You want about a 50% acceptance rate when you do give a quote. 100% and your too cheap. Try different prices for similar houses and see how it goes.

50%? Ok for someone with a full round, but a bit daft when building one.

[martinj]

Thanks Daz

I think youve hit the nail on the head, I could spend the next year seasonallly adjusting a spreadsheet full of predictions of customers and revenue or I could just jump, pull and hope the chute opens before the savings run out.

I reckon a good service and canvassing like a demon will win through. Just need to grow a pair!!
How did you start?

[lee09]

Don't get obsessed with numbers of houses, rather work on £'s as not all houses are the same.

You want about a 50% acceptance rate when you do give a quote. 100% and your too cheap. Try different prices for similar houses and see how it goes.

50%? Ok for someone with a full round, but a bit daft when building one.

Trust me whats daft is having 300 customers that pay £1500 every 4 weeks when with a  little more confidence and time taken to build, the same 300 could pay 3000 per 4weeks.
Anyone can be a busy fool. Starting out gives you the chance to build your business the way you see fit, but do not under value yourself.
Lee

[Sseddon]

Don't get obsessed with numbers of houses, rather work on £'s as not all houses are the same.

You want about a 50% acceptance rate when you do give a quote. 100% and your too cheap. Try different prices for similar houses and see how it goes.

50%? Ok for someone with a full round, but a bit daft when building one.

Trust me whats daft is having 300 customers that pay £1500 every 4 weeks when with a  little more confidence and time taken to build, the same 300 could pay 3000 per 4weeks.
Anyone can be a busy fool. Starting out gives you the chance to build your business the way you see fit, but do not under value yourself.
Lee

I don't and I perfectly clearly see the pitfalls, but a 50% acceptance rate is not wise starting up. 75% or so is ok. I don't get all of my quotes accepted & I am not underpricing. I do say to customers though that I'm building a round and pricing keenly and will revisit the price later, but even then I'm aiming for £30+ an hour once I'm up to speed.

[TonyD]

I don't get good results at weekends as people seem to be out, better this time of year get out in the evenings now as it's still light till 8.30 ish.  I don't like knocking in the dark (winter) as much because I worry that people are concerned opening the door to someone and wary of my sales pitch when there's a stranger on the doorstep in the pitch black.

You'll find quite a few area's are already happy with/have a window cleaner and in these roads you'd just pick up a few stragglers, but every now and then you'll hit an area/road where they've had a crap cleaner or he's disappeared, then you can gain a customer almost every house !  

In 2 or 3 hours evening canvassing I normally average 5 to 10 new customers.  sometimes more if you get a needy area, and sometimes less, quite a few times 0 new customers !

I'd defo agree on the comment to price properly as much as you are able to from the start, better to grow slower and have the right customers/pricing.  

Conquering the fear - 99% of people that answer the door open it looking sour and defensive, but once they realise you're just asking if they have a reliable window cleaner at the moment then they relax and are friendly, knowing they aren't going to have to get rid of a pushy salesperson, many will even apologise that they couldn't give you the business !
Don't forget to canvass commercial work too like small shops if you're trad only.  

[martinj]

Thanks Tony and all, good advice, keep it coming!

[richywilts]

i price high but i explain the benefits clearly why using my company is more beneficial, and i can easy pick up between 5-10 new custies in a 3hour canvass

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

been knocking doors for ages and seems to be the best way as i have said all along leaflets are a bit hit and miss mate keep on those door knocks

[andyM]

Door knock and put a leaflet through the one's that don't answer and make a note of the address so you can knock there again next time you're in the area.
Don't price too cheap just to get the work. Do you want to be known as a cheap window cleaner or a good one?
Charge a reasonable rate based on what you want to earn per hour, customers usually prefer to pay a little more if the window cleaner does a thorough and professional job. In this business its the quality of the work that will help you to succeed and not how cheap you are!

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

Don't get obsessed with numbers of houses, rather work on £'s as not all houses are the same.

You want about a 50% acceptance rate when you do give a quote. 100% and your too cheap. Try different prices for similar houses and see how it goes.

50%? Ok for someone with a full round, but a bit daft when building one.

Do you want to earn well from day one or do you want to wait 18 months until your round is full?
Too cheap and 100% acceptance THEN trying to raise prices will alienate customers. You will pick up all the dross and be stuck with them and have to re-canvass in 18 months time.

Start as you mean to go on.

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

Agleam I would listen to your own advice:

If you are new to an industry and want to succeed, only a fool would ignore the opinions of people more experienced.

20 years not 20 days, and I have more than 3 customers!