[Smart Windows]

hello,

I have posted a few posts on here now about starting up in the w/c business,

I have had some nice feedback from you guys.

In your experiance is it possibly for me to go out 6 days a week whilst starting up and pickup 5 new customers a day by doorknocking?

I would need to cover £800 per month to start with and be earnoing £1200+ within 3 months, do you think that is possible in the current climate?

Is anyone loosing customers due to the Credit Crunch?

Peter

[windowwashers]

hello,

I have posted a few posts on here now about starting up in the w/c business,

I have had some nice feedback from you guys.

In your experiance is it possibly for me to go out 6 days a week whilst starting up and pickup 5 new customers a day by doorknocking?

I would need to cover £800 per month to start with and be earnoing £1200+ within 3 months, do you think that is possible in the current climate?

Is anyone loosing customers due to the Credit Crunch?

Peter

it is possible, though a little harder at this time of year because of christams cleans (one-off's)
I have lost a few customers to the credit crunch, but with the interest rate drop I can see that helping a little.

There should be no reason you cant get the amount of customers you need, you just have to stick at it.


Good luck.

Ian

[Paul Coleman]

hello,

I have posted a few posts on here now about starting up in the w/c business,

I have had some nice feedback from you guys.

In your experiance is it possibly for me to go out 6 days a week whilst starting up and pickup 5 new customers a day by doorknocking?

I would need to cover £800 per month to start with and be earnoing £1200+ within 3 months, do you think that is possible in the current climate?

Is anyone loosing customers due to the Credit Crunch?

Peter

It's perfectly possible to get five a day.  I suggest that you make it clear that you are open to accepting referrals.  Maybe provide a time limited incentive just until you build it up a bit?

[Smart Windows]

Thanks for your repys guys,

I would be doing Trad, Im based in High Wycombe, Bucks.

The prices im thinking of are

Bungalow
- £7.50

Terraced House

Front Only - £7.50
Back Only - £7.50
Front And Back - £10.00

Semi Detached House

Front Only - £7.50
Back Only - £7.50
Side - £2.50
Whole House - £12.50

Detached House

Front Only - £7.50
Back Only - £7.50
Sides - £2.50 Each
Whole House - £15.00

Maybe offer a permanent 25% discount for my first 100 customers?

Any thoughts on that?

Peter

[Paul Coleman]

Thanks for your repys guys,

I would be doing Trad, Im based in High Wycombe, Bucks.

The prices im thinking of are

Bungalow
- £7.50

Terraced House

Front Only - £7.50
Back Only - £7.50
Front And Back - £10.00

Semi Detached House

Front Only - £7.50
Back Only - £7.50
Side - £2.50
Whole House - £12.50

Detached House

Front Only - £7.50
Back Only - £7.50
Sides - £2.50 Each
Whole House - £15.00

Maybe offer a permanent 25% discount for my first 100 customers?

Any thoughts on that?

Peter

Yes.  Personally, due to past mistakes, I would only ever give a time limited discount - if at all.  I would only quote for whole house with more than 50% payable if no access to the rear (e.g. locked gate).  Wouldn't quote at all for back only or side only (nor for tops only).  What would you quote for short back and sides?     .
Treat each house individually I suggest.  A one size fits all pricing structure could leave you out of pocket unless you quote pretty high (rather higher than you've posted).

[Smart Windows]

yeah sorry, i meant to say after the prices that they are only a guide, there are alot of big houses in this area and i would never dream of cleaning all the windows on some of those detached houses for £15, id be there all day!

they would basically be kept in my mind when quoting as a guide price for normal sized houses (2/3 bed),

I intend on getting a uniform and signwrigting for my car, so i will be advertising the whole time im door knocking and working, not just advertising to the person that im talking to.

so 5 a day seems an acheivable target,

I just searched, spick and span, google and yell, there are no w/c advertising on any of the sites living within 4 miles of me, so my oca area could well be ripe.

Peter

[Paul Coleman]

yeah sorry, i meant to say after the prices that they are only a guide, there are alot of big houses in this area and i would never dream of cleaning all the windows on some of those detached houses for £15, id be there all day!

they would basically be kept in my mind when quoting as a guide price for normal sized houses (2/3 bed),

I intend on getting a uniform and signwrigting for my car, so i will be advertising the whole time im door knocking and working, not just advertising to the person that im talking to.

so 5 a day seems an acheivable target,

I just searched, spick and span, google and yell, there are no w/c advertising on any of the sites living within 4 miles of me, so my oca area could well be ripe.

Peter

What area you from then?

[Smart Windows]

I live between Amersham And high Wycombe, some of the sites are saying othert w/c are 2.44 miles away however that must be as the crow flys.

[macca]

Hi  i live and work in Hazlemere and there are a least 7 window cleaners i know of that cover the area, Penn, Tylers Green,etc... will be a hard sell, most of  us have been established for 10  yrs +

[Smart Windows]

Hi Macca,

Pleased that i have found someone local,

You say it will be a hard sell, do you think it would be poss to pickup 5 new custies a day in the area?

Peter

[macca]

Hi, not impossible, will need a lot of door knocking, speaking to a prospective customer face to face and explaining you are just starting up, your prices are not far off and i personally wouldn't offer back or fronts only, just quote for the whole house. On the Hazlemere Estate, a mate  of mine does them for £6, mad if u ask me, but he has been doing them for many years and he seems happy.
What i used to do  was walk around a selected area and see if the windows are dirty, which gives you a good start on door knocking where they would be interested to start with and just keep at it, despite the knockbacks you will get   some interest.

[Smart Windows]

Thanks Macca,

My Girlfriend lives in Chalfont so i may try over that way aswell,

Yeah i will just price for the whole house no messing about for half a house etc

Have you seen many new faces on the scene locally?

Peter

[Ian Lancaster]

It's a numbers game

You need to be resilient - ignore each refusal and treat every knock as the first one of the day.  I went out Friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, knocked on about 250 doors and got £115 of new work.

Ten years ago I would have got maybe £200-300 for the same amount of effort

You just have to keep at it

[Smart Windows]

Thanks Ian,

It seems from the replys im getting that,

1. The works out there for those who want it

2. The credit crunch seems to have had a minimal impact so far

Thanks again guys,

Ive got all my equipment priced up, inc a uniform and signwriting.

I will go out door knocking this afternoon and see how much intrest i can get before i commit, i really dont want to go back to being a slave lorry driver!

Peter

[macca]

No new faces as yet...... Good Luck..

[tonylee]

hi Peter.
I would offer fronts only if that gets you a sale. Some people can be wary of start up guys and may just let you do the fronts untill your trust is earn't. That said I would not actively look for them myself.
I have never offered deals to win customers as if you provide a good reliable service and ask them to recommend you, they will. I also think it devalues your service.
Tony

[Smart Windows]

Yeah, maybe i should do just fronts if anyone asks, I cant really afford to be turning down any business to start with.

Peter

[Trotsky]

  When I did Trad I said to myself "Everytime I go up the ladder= £1"
Downstairs window £1 each regardless of size!
Only exception was Bays £5-6 each)

Basically that formular has stayed.. only it's more like £1.25 a window now
(and I use the "Easier" method of pole system!) 

[baldeagle]

You may find that you will get work as a result of people seeing you working on the ladder.

Even though over 95% of my work is pole, I usually have the ladder on top of the van - people associate window cleaners with ladder/bucket, not pole/pump.

I also find that it is sometimes worth arranging to do a new job on a Saturday, ["Then, next time, it will be such and such day"].

On Saturdays, there are people at home who are at work during the week, and you sometimes get a few that way -   these are the people that think that there isn't a window cleaner in their street.

Do be prepared for stepping off the ladder, garbed about with scrims, squeegee, applicator, bucket, [on and off the belt], to be greeted with "Are you the window cleaner"!

You will have to think up a witty riposte!

Baldeagle

[groundhog]

5 a day!!! If you are determined and prepared to put some hours in leafletting and door knocking you should be able to pick up many more than that in a day! I once picked up over 50 in a day of door knocking!!