[CJWalker]

dave f - thanks for the post, not in full time work, was working at tesco for 5 years, but left 6 months ago due to the stress of working nights, and the company cutting back, increasing an allready impossible work load to save costs and increase profits, and then just before i left i was attacked with a glass bottle on the way to start my night shift...

I've been in secure jobs for the past 10 years, but i'm finding getting a new full time job, that pay's well, a very hard task, so not really got much to loose, my nanna is paying my equipment costs, so would you suggest i just go for it :-), and would it be quite during the winter months? dont you just do the same amount of work?

[AC Window Cleaning]

That ladder in the link i posted will be fine for 2 story.
Winter,i lost 5 over winter ("come back in spring"),regained 3 from march.

[CJWalker]

Yeah going to purchase the ladders from them, but do i need them that long? wouldnt one size down still be suitable (Open Height 4.88m)

[AC Window Cleaning]

Those will be fine,any smaller and you can guarantee you wish you had bigger,They will reach up to gutters on most 2 story houses so you can do gutter cleans with them also

[CJWalker]

Cheers for the heads up, did consider even smaller, but it would probably just reach, well not going to order the equipment for around 2 weeks, just in the middle of moving home, which is a bonus, because wifes mum lives in the area, and shes not seen a window cleaner for a number of years, and in the middle of the estate, a brand new development started about 6 months ago... so this should make it easier to start up...

So going the ladder route thats decided, now what about the equipment, any good http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ettore-Window-Cleaning-Starter-Kit-/390236095575?pt=UK_HomeGarden_CLV_Cleaning_CA&hash=item5adbe24457

[AC Window Cleaning]

Will be cheaper from here

http://www.soapnational.co.uk/

[Paul H]

10k leaflets

1% return = 100 Calls / Customers ... Min @ £8 (say)... = £800 (per 4 weekly)

0.5% Return = 50 Calls / Custmers ... Min @ £8 = £400

Plus one offs etc... maybe in the return rate  

10k Double sided leaflets (150gsm Good quality) shop round and you'll get them for £124! (for 10k)***design extra***

then you have to dish them out....

Its all about the ROI (return on investment).. and 0.5% on the above prices may break you even after month 1....

Then you'll have referals .. people who see you working in the street doing a good job etc...  so from that leaflet drop you may inherit a few extras ...

You have to do the maths... cover your costs....price right....and keep at at it...

Good luck

[Ian101]

I'm not a windy, I just like reading all the banter,

what are you the tax man or even worse an escapee from the carpet beaters section ? 

[Ian101]

for the OP where ru based as maybe someone on here who will be happy to take you out for a day or 2 ......... if your local to me then Bob Plumb will take you out on Day 1 then I will show you how its really done on Day2 

[Lee Pryor]

Ian lancaster is absolutly right. I think its safe to say that we deliver more leaflets each year than anyone else on this forum, and if you get better than 0.5% return then your doing very well. 1-2% is a total dream. On pricing, if your mum gets hers done for £6 what is the reason to be any cheaper than that.?

how many leaflets have you put out so far this year Lee ?
it also has a lot to do with what is on the leaflet as this will affect the %

120,000 so far this year. Ordering another 50k in the next 2 weeks. next question 

[GDwindowcleaning]

Customer numbers from that many leaflets?

[Lee Pryor]

Customer numbers from that many leaflets?

who knows? several hundred so far

[CJWalker]

Cheers guys, this must be the best forum i've ever used, some great comments 

lee pryor - Not based near you, infact im based in Leeds, so you believe leaflets really do work?

What make's a leaflet stand out from the usual rubbish

[Lee Pryor]

Cheers guys, this must be the best forum i've ever used, some great comments 

lee pryor - Not based near you, infact im based in Leeds, so you believe leaflets really do work?

What make's a leaflet stand out from the usual rubbish

Yes I do. Canvassing also has its place especialy at the start. we canvass a bit still but its mostly all leaflets now. There are pros and cons to both. Leaflets require high volume, so dont expect to be swamped from 10,000. Hmmm what makes it stand out?? good question. I think that if you put your mind to it you can probably answer that. What works for me might not work for you. Why not save up all the leaflets that come through your door over the next few weeks and see what you can learn from them when designing yours. Then you can tell me what stands out 

[GDwindowcleaning]

Customer numbers from that many leaflets?

who knows? several hundred so far

Lee I find it hard to believe you dont know exactly how many have come from the leaflets....

I know you like to think you are protecting your business but it feels like its not gone as well as you hoped..... Cos you are not shy of telling everyone how very good you are....

[William McCafferty]

Hi Cj

A couple of points from some of your posts

Prices, check what the local cleaners are charging in your area and charge the same, this is not to stop other cleaners getting upset with some newbie undercharging but because that is the rate for the job.  Where I work if someone started up, charging what you are thinking of, I would not lose one customer and there will be a time when we meet up, but while you are cleaning your customers house for £4.50, while I will be cleaning the neighbours and earning almost 3 times as much.

Ladder safety

All ladders are perfectly safe if they are in good condition, the problem though is the user, a ladder will not cause an accident, but the user causes all of them.

There are over 5000 falls from ladders each year and not one of them was planned, you will find that the user takes a shortcut or gets complacent, so treat a ladder with respect, you also need to use some safety devices with them as well.

Leaflet or getting work in.

There have been a few numbers bounded about about how mny customers you will get from x amount of leaflets, this is great and some of the figures are spot on, the only problem is, it takes time for all of these customers to get in touch, my fastest time for a call froma leaflet is 20 minutes while the longest is over 3 years.

Dropping 10000 leaflets, should produce about 20 customers, but it could be weeks or months before all of them phone you, with leaflets you need to keep on putting them out on a regular basis, I would recommend that you drop 5000 every week to start with, after about a month you should be getting 8 to 10 calls a week.

The best way to get started at first is to network all your contacts, these can be friends, relatives, ex work mates etc, get in touch with all and expain what you are now doing, ask for their help to sprea the word, also ask them if they need a cleaner, you will be surprised how much work this produces, also ask them if they can pass on your details, someone worked it out once that we all know at least 200 people, so if they also know 200 and they pass on your details in theory you will soon get you name around the local area.

Leaflet design

Keep it simple, always have your mobile and landline number.

[Lee Pryor]

Customer numbers from that many leaflets?

who knows? several hundred so far

Lee I find it hard to believe you dont know exactly how many have come from the leaflets....

I know you like to think you are protecting your business but it feels like its not gone as well as you hoped..... Cos you are not shy of telling everyone how very good you are....

How can I give an answer at this point of the year when the summer hasnt even started. It shows how little you know about this kind of marketing. Lets say 10,000 leaflets get droped. It can take 3 months to see the true picture of those results.

Of course I know exactly how many we have, the figure changes daily. I have always planned to give the results when the year is closed. To do it now tells us nothing.

I will say that it is going as well as I hoped and we are on target for the year. I employed a new team member who started yesterday and another will be starting in 2 weeks.

One more thing................ I am good, very good. Now go knock some doors.

Yeah I love this forum to!  :

[GB Window Cleaning]

your too cheap at those prices! and i personally would never never never undercut on purpose! you need all the friends you can get in this business mate and doing what you suggest will only find you enemys! rethink if i were you!

george

[Perfect Windows]

Customer numbers from that many leaflets?

who knows? several hundred so far

Lee I find it hard to believe you dont know exactly how many have come from the leaflets....

I know you like to think you are protecting your business but it feels like its not gone as well as you hoped..... Cos you are not shy of telling everyone how very good you are....

When we leaflet, a fewer than 25% of responses are in the 7 days following.  Similarly, more that 25% come in four or more weeks after leafletting, so if you're doing regular drops rather than isolated ones (where thos figures came from) it's pretty tough to give a sensible reposnse rate.

The only exception was a drop in our local freeads paper, where over 95% of the response was on the Monday after the drop.  Lively day, that was.

Vin

[CJWalker]

HYDRO Cleaners - thanks for the great post! you talk about ladder safety devices, what would you suggest...

Yes it seems your all saying the same, dont undercut, if anything charge a little more, just might do that 

Also you talk about doing regular leaflet drops, would you say drop 5000, weekly in the same area, so technically each household would get 4 leaflets within 1 month? then move onto a different 5000 households and repeat the process?