[Andyt79]

Well not literally! I'm fairly new to this game and in being so can understand that I've probably stood on a few of the established w/c'ers toes when I started canvassing the local area : So now that I'm just getting established myself I can understand the views of some on the forum and local w/c'ers when a new guy starts up in your area (I'm not forgetting this was myself recently!)

Now I'm that green that I don't realise that you'll face competition no matter what business you are in and it's a case of survival of the fittest But.. How have you made sure you're first choice in your area? even when your competitors go down the lines of undercutting you

I'd love to know how the big guys made it big but if it was that easy I guess I wouldn't be wrtiing this

[mci services]

just do your job to the best of your ability and worry about your own business, and you will grow just fine, plenty windows out there for a bit of competition and it keeps you on your toes, some will come and go and others will do well, no need for any badness

[Andyt79]

Cheers Stu, I guess you let your work do the talking? Something I've been thinking over recently is, do I price a little lower and increase the size of my round? Or stick to a higher price and have the possibilty of not gaining so much custom compared to the cheaper competiton?

Cheers

[Smudger]

A good way to rid yourself of all competition is to take out full page adverts in the local paper and flyer every houshold offering free win dow cleaning for the next 18 months this will kill off all other w/c's as custy's will flock to you - mind you i suggest you win the lotto 1st as this may stretch your own finances...

why worry about new guys - you have made a market for yourself and so will they and like you have made virtually no impact on any1 elses biz.

Darran

[windiewasher]

keep it priced correctly and if anyone says anything about your prices then you sell yourself and your services,explain why your more.
i.e you clean every window,frame sills and doors etc
you have insurance etc

Cheers Stu, I guess you let your work do the talking? Something I've been thinking over recently is, do I price a little lower and increase the size of my round? Or stick to a higher price and have the possibilty of not gaining so much custom compared to the cheaper competiton?

Cheers

[Andyt79]

A good way to rid yourself of all competition is to take out full page adverts in the local paper and flyer every houshold offering free win dow cleaning for the next 18 months this will kill off all other w/c's as custy's will flock to you - mind you i suggest you win the lotto 1st as this may stretch your own finances...

why worry about new guys - you have made a market for yourself and so will they and like you have made virtually no impact on any1 elses biz.

Darran

I gave up playing the lottery after only winning the odd tenner so put two and two together and calculated window cleaning would be the best way to make my first million

Seriously though, I cover a relatively small area and plan on making this my sole occupation (I currently clean windows part - time) How did you find it when you were trying to build your round? Just looking for some tips to acheive this goal.

[Smudger]

Almost at the end of my 2nd year - currently stand at just  over 600 regular customers

majority of it is down to canvassing -  evenings and weekends - get out and knock - i'd like to say the more you do it the easier it is, but no it makes me into a quivering wreck every time !

being reliable and friendly goes a long way to keeping custy's and them passing your details onto other people.
a sign written van or car with mag signs is a must ! get see while out and about brings in more work - 30% of
new customer pick ups in the last 2 months were simply by seeing the vans on the road

been too busy to canvass for six weeks so had a leaflet drop going on (0.5% return) plus ad's in local parish mags and other local community places.
- once you get going things snowball as more people see you more people they know the more work you get

Darran

[dazmond]

smart appearance,be friendly and reliable and do a good job.

dont charge too much or too little and do what you say your gonna do.

sometimes spend 5-10 mins chatting to customers.

always shut gates,avoid standing on their plants and tell them straight away if you break anything(plant pots etc).be attentive to their pets(dog and cats!)

if you do the things above you ll  pick up  a steady stream of work  every week until you retire!!!

[Johnny B]

I would just say that as we are all imperfect, we make mistakes occasionally. Therefore we can try and find ways of avoiding these, and try to improve in all aspects of what we do.

Don't worry about what the competition is doing. Just concentrate on what you are doing, and try to make yourself indispensible to your customers.

John

[Pope vader]

u have a choice make money or make friends,  all the big boys make money and have no friends becasue of the way they work and get there jobs,  but are making plenty of money

[Ian101]

I know all the names of my customers dogs .... Note section on George handy for that

[concept]

Buy them out! 

If not, befriend them, it comes in handy when you need advice, equipment, run past your ideas etc.

[Steve CM]

keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?

[concept]

Or just let them beat you at golf.

[L.J.Thorpe]

u have a choice make money or make friends,  all the big boys make money and have no friends becasue of the way they work and get there jobs,  but are making plenty of money

not strictly true
you can make friends and money and personally i have only ever benefitted from being on good terms with other window cleaners
as for the "big boys" they may turn over large amounts of work but they have bigger overheads and smaller profit margins

[Andyt79]

Thanks for the response guys  
I guess what made me start this thread is that I lost my first customer this week and I realise this is part and parcel of any business but it still hurts! The lady in question asked me to call her so I did, she says she doesn't think she can have her windows cleaned anymore as £12 is too expensive even though she agreed the price 3 months ago.
She says the old cleaner only charged a fiver (where is he now? I'm thinking?) and that £12 is too high, she continues to say this new guy in the area would do it for £7. So it seems he's been around asking how much I charge and undercutting accordingly either that or she's calling my bluff to try and drop the price? I however wasn't having it and stuck to my guns and said thanks for your custom and all the best.

So it got me thinking should I drop my prices and have the possibility of gaining a larger more compact round? Or stick to my original pricing structure and possibly not see the round grow as large as this new cheaper guys? There are a few w/c'ers in the area and things are fairly tight new customer wise.

Cheers

[Steve CM]

Or just let them beat you at golf.

With a 9 on the card?

[Johnny B]

Andy,

How long have you been in this game? Serious question. The reason I ask is that you say you have just lost your first customer. However long it is, you have done really well in what is a difficult economic climate.

My humble advice is to suggest that you stick with your prices, and not let this one ex-customer make you feel that you are not worth what you charge them. If you have been undercut, he will probably be gone again when winter comes, or he finds he can't make a living, or has to cuts corners.  

If you drop your prices, you will no doubt attract more work, which will keep you out on the glass much longer than you need to be. But will you he happy working much harder than you need to?

I used to underprice my work. Never again!

Best wishes,
John

[Johnny B]

Just an update to back up my previous post.

I was out canvassing this afternoon, and gave my price on a largish semi. It was deemed  too expensive, the first time this has happened since I restarted building my business following a relocation. I thanked the householders for their time, and moved on.

I got the next house at exactly the price I wanted.

Andy, just to reiterate, name your price and stick with it. You may not get so many customers straight away, but you will get those who are serious about having their windows cleaned, and are prepared to pay what it is worth.

John