[Helen]

Leaflets do work, but it depends on a couple of things.

1, whether the leaflet is any good.

2, where and when you deliver them.

You could put 20,000 leaflets out, but if they are poor quality unprofessional looking rubbish you won't get anything fom them.

I personally stopped delivering leaflets during the day as well as I got a much better response from leaflets delivered during the evening.

Just adding a number 3 to the list:
If a leaflet falls through a letterbox of someone that is considering having their carpets cleaned, you probably will get a response. Just got to work out who behind all those letterboxes is considering it

[Colin Day]

Listen guys, I hope all you poor rechid folk make it through the winter.

Please check out the link, these people will help you all.

http://www.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/

... And here's a website that may be of interest to you, Matthew...

http://www.bpdworld.org/
 

Thanks Colin, I'll put the guitar string and stool back where I found them.

[Colin Day]

People are still responding to my first leaflets I had produced when I started up 3 years ago!

The response isn't necessarily immediate

[Billy Russell]

Well i'm having a crap start!

Went back officially on tuesday! 1st job in a high school going really well then bent down to pick up my solution hose! Then things went bad! i heard a noise in my back! ouch!!!!!!!! i'm in agony, i've torn the main ligament in my back again!!!!   all i can do is rest!!!!!! but i will be having my truckmount fitted in a couple of weeks regardless how i feel!!!!!!!!!!

[garyfindlay]

I delivered leaflets at night a couple of months ago, and had booked 7 jobs for 3 1/2 hours leafletting. One guy chased me down the street to get my advice, and one called when I was in the next street. I think it is all about timing. I have spent all day leafletting with no response.

[seamus campbell]

just wondering, why does it seem to work better in the evening. Do you knock the door?

[wayne zabel]

I think its because leaflets dropped in the day tend to get mixed in with the post ect and not looked at properly.If a leaflet is dropped in the evening its there on its own on the matt and will have a better chance of being looked at.Sundays are a good day to leaflet for the same reason.

[Linds Russell]

I built my business on leaflets back at the start and got a great response. I still say that if I hadn't put the time and effort in with leaflets, I would have struggled. I had 10,000 leaflets dropped over October and November and got a strong response and I am still getting calls from them.

Leafleting at night does work as stated but you have to make your leaflet look appealing with the right message to your target audience regardless of how and when you deliver them.

[clinton]

Think you also have to keep leafleting the same area regular and mikeHalliday is the one to ask about that..

[JandS]

I use glossy double sided postcards.
A lot dearer than leaflets but people hang onto them if
they look good.
I still get calls from postcards dropped 18 months ago.
Guy whose booked me for Friday for his 3 piece said he
got my card 14 months ago and as been meaning to phone
me ever since but just not got round to it.

John

[craig melvin]

So leaflets delivered in the evening - why would that be better then - just interested?

i ve already mentioned that people hang onto them for a long time - so we know that.

but why a better response at night? - Do they feel sorry for us? out at all hours?

Craig

[Matt Seymour]

So leaflets delivered in the evening - why would that be better then - just interested?

i ve already mentioned that people hang onto them for a long time - so we know that.

but why a better response at night? - Do they feel sorry for us? out at all hours?

Craig

As someone else said, it's because a leaflet delivered in the evening is not lost amongst the rest of the post.

When most people come home from work to find a pile of letters on the mat they are far more interested in the "proper mail" and generally toss any leaflets and junk mail to one side. It then generally goes in the bin without so much as a second look.

If you leaflet in the evening when the occupants have already picked up their mail, your leaflet will be the only thing sitting on their mat. Not only that, but the sound of the letterbox opening and closing will get their attention and they will probably go straight to the front door to see what it is that has just come through their letterbox. In short, you get their full attention.

Also, in the early evening husband and wifeare both home. While hubby might take one look at your leaflet and discard it, the mrs might have other ideas. Delivering in the evening means they are both likely to see it so one can't make a decision without the other knowing.

[from edge2edge]

Matt my mate has access(looked through their office window in a block he does of offices) and the chart said they pulled in over £20k in one week.He works in Portsmouth too and is just getting scraps at the moment and maybe this is the reason for your poor return of late(he has done 2 jobs recently where they had these chancers in a got ripped off previously   this outfit are here to stay i think.Regards Alan(swindon)

[MAX Carpets]

Call me negative, but I have had time to look at all reasons for being slow, I've looked back at the last few years figures, one conclusion! Economy, carpet cleaning this year I feel is going to be tougher than any of use can imagine, or have ever experienced. Will the last one turn the lights out! 

[Andrew Briscoe]

I have been self employed since early 80's,
i find during the tougher times i get more carpet cleaning.
Its cheaper to clean than replace, maybe there is an angle
there for leaflets.
We were up 12 % last year on carpet cleaning,
contract cleaning for us is up 85% 
 
Maybe it depends how long established and size of customer base.

Andrew

[MAX Carpets]

Started in 1988

Data base over 3500 customers

[wynne jones]

That size database has to help you sleep at night. Really from day 1 you have to do this.

For the price of an advert you have been persuaded to buy which may or may not yield anything you can buy Cleanersmate and never lose another Client due to losing their contact details, not keeping in touch or not remembering what their hot buttons were.

[MAX Carpets]

got that already.

[Matt Seymour]

Matt my mate has access(looked through their office window in a block he does of offices) and the chart said they pulled in over £20k in one week.He works in Portsmouth too and is just getting scraps at the moment and maybe this is the reason for your poor return of late(he has done 2 jobs recently where they had these chancers in a got ripped off previously   this outfit are here to stay i think.Regards Alan(swindon)

I take it you are referring to Enterprise?

You're right, £20k a week sounds pretty accurate. They were doing a similar amount last year as well.

Whatever anyone thinks about their bait and switch sales techniques it works wonders for them and they are going from strength to strength despite the Watchdog programme and the bad reputation they are getting.

Sure, nobody would use them twice, but they don't need repeat business such is the size of their sales team. There isn't a carpet cleaning company in the area that can compete with that.

It is for this reason (and a couple of others) that I have decided to call it a day. There were already a lot of carpet cleaners around here even before Enterprise showed up and there simply isn't enough work. The more established guys should be ok due to their already established customer base, but for the newbies it's becoming harder and harder to get any kind of work.

Throw in a recession, VAT increase, job cuts and everything else and it's a very bad time to be trying to compete with the likes of Enterprise.

[Neil Grainger]

Right time to leave me thinks, Problems will really hit home when Interest rates go up to counter Inflation that is going to rise due VAT going up.

There will be major implications in the south to Interest rate rises.