[the red carpet]

hi all.
just finished delivering my first batch of leaflets today-5000 been doing them myself in between jobs and its taken me just over 2 weeks iv so far had 15 calls and done 5 jobs i do however expect a few more calls as iv done about 700 today and most people are just getting back from work now so fingers crossed il get a few more.
just wondered how this compared to you lot iv seen a lot of talk on this site about 1% or 0.1% returns etc anyone know what my return is?

i think the reason main reason im not getting all the jobs is price as a lot of people have said they find my prices a bit high or have had cheaper quotes.
i however think my prices are fair as a rough guide i charge around£38 for a standard lounge or double bed £60 for h/s/l.

[the red carpet]

also while im on the subject of leaflets iv just ordered a new batch splitting the cost with a friend who does car valleting his info on one side mine on the other. Since were both in the cleaning buisness and cover the same area and use the same printer this made sense to me its going to half the cost of the leaflets and on the days im to busy to leaflet im sure he will be putting mine out and vice versa. Anyone else tried this?
would you expect better results as theres 2 reasons for the pottential custy to hold on to the leaflet, or worse as is supposedly the case when you get your leaflet dropped with several others or local paper.

[Len Gribble]

Red

I can see the positive in splitting the cost, but not with a friend who is more or less in the same game as you! I would pick another trade like a plumber (very sort after so I believe)


Len

[neil 47]

Daniel

your price’s seem to be fine, maybe it’s how you sell your service .

I go to all my quote’s and explain the step by step process that I do very similar to the home audit.

I also ask the customer what their carpet is made off  9 out of  10  don’t know so I then do a burn test and explain why I,M doing this ie 55o for wool low ph etc.

I have a folder with letters from past customers saying what a great cc I am, plus insurance, IICRC qualification, c,r,b police clearance.
  And I’m currently making a cd with before and after photos on that I can play to customer  on a portable DVD player
 All this starts to give them confidence in you, make yourself remembered for all the right reason.
the next person that gives them a quote, will 9 out of 10 times have a quick look at the room and SAY, that’ll be about £40 quid love.
 who would you give the job to.
Build relationships with customers and they’ll stick with you and tell their friends .

Good luck

Neil   

[Ian Gourlay]

If you are starting out do not be put off because you are not closing a sale.

When I first started in Direct Sales  (not caroet cleaning) I went six weeks without a sale.

Now I can close 75% providing I remember to smile and relax.

Obviously the presentations improved aswell.

[Chris Bailey]

Hi Red

15 calls from 5000 leaflets, gives a return of 0.003%, 5 jobs from 5000 leafert is 0.001%

As far as price is concerned, do you charge a fixed price for a room or by the square metre/ft? I charge by the sqm, also do the tests as this demonstrates knowledge and knowledge is power! -  Yes mr red, i'd love you to clean my h/s/l, bathroom, bedrooms and lounge.  you wasn't the cheapest but you where the most thourough, infact you was the only one that came to look at my carpets.......

Some have said that if you are closing all of your sales opportunities then you are too cheap, if you are struggling to close sales then you are too expensive.  I use this as a measure on how my sales pitch is working and on my prices.  Don't be tempted to beat the competition, compete on quality not price.

Hope this helps

Chris

[the red carpet]

i have a rough idea in my head of what to charge per room and then go and look at it, and adapt the price if i know its gonna be a pain of a job but i usually charge by the room.

a return of 0.001% - 0.003% seems poor to me how does it compare to what the rest of you are getting?

i wasnt to happy with my last leaflet anyway but have just got my new batch and in my opinion they look a lot more proffesional so hopefully will start getting a better return.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys,

5 in 5000 is actually 1 in 1000 which is 0.1% and 15 in 5000 is 0.3% .

Thats about what you will get i'm afraid but it's better than nothing and it builds as your customer base builds.

Keep on trying,

Cheers,

Doug

[Londoner]

I've had replies from leaflets four years after I delivered them. Don't expect an instant response.
What ever you do don't cut your prices. If anything work on your image and just keep bashing away. Never give up

[gwrightson]

dont forget  that  1 customer from1000 leaflets, can lead to any number of referals, providing of course you make the right impression in the first instance ,and from them referals , again more contacts.
 As for the percentage you are attaining, I would say the figures you are quoting are the norm . I believe M Halliday has similar results, the difference been he drops in vasts amounts on a regular basis , same areas , therfore acheiving good results because of the numbers game.
       Price..................  stick to what you believe is worthwhile, dont worry about
  been more expensive than competion. that was one of my very first lessons drummed into me.   
    I have just experimented, with my latest batch of leaflets, printed on the back
 it states  " No I will not beat any other quote, I charge a fair price for a proffesional clean"    the response is similar to previous leaflets, the difference been  the customer is not price consious, alieviating the worry of quoting to high
          I THINK   
 geoff

[selectservices]

Hi Geoff

I sought some advice a month or so ago on marketing and was adised that around 1% would be quite a good response rate for domestic house cleaning, following that I got stuck in, desinged and printed various designs of cards and distributed around 800. The response was 7 telephone calls that led to bookings - not far from the target, but I noticed that in some areas the response was far higher - ie. 3 calls from the same road.

I have found that most of the callers visit the website prior to calling, 2 emailed the enquiry directly from the site.

I currently advertise my mobile telephone number, but am considering going to an 0800 number to see if the response rate increases.

With regards to response times - most calls appear to come a couple of weeks after the leaflet / postcard is dropped - and most enquiries (5) have come on a Monday or Tuesday.

I don't know quite what this all means - niether do I know the meaning of life, but if you can make any sense of it your brighter than me.

Regards



Cherie

[paul bruce]

Best not to put prices on leaflet, but offer a no obligation free quote,then close the sale when your face to face by doing the things Neil suggests ie give them confidence along with a friendly smile.

Paul