[DE3P]

Hi all, I'm being made redundant on the 19th Dec and tried my hardest to find another job but with no luck. I have a mate who bought a round 5 yrs ago and as never looked back, he's given me some good advice but I would like to know more from you guys here. I'm going to be doing some canvassing on Sunday and would like any advice on that please too, I’ve printed 100 leaflets but hoping to speak to the owners personally instead of just posting, any help would be much appreciated.

[windolene]

Hi,

Speaking to them personally is a great start.

Kevin WINDOLENE.

[Chris Galloway]

There are many start up threads in the last few weeks so dont expect a massive result from yours, peruse through the pages of threads, to find the best ones.

Your probably better off asking your "mate" if you can help him and get a feel for it.

Good luck.

[DE3P]

Thanks will do, i did look for a search button, i may have over looked it, i'm sorry for going over the same topic.

Edit: ahh found the seach, thanks.

[michael papworth]

Have a look at this:

www.windowcleaningcoach.com/

[thompsonr]

Hi
I was a trad window cleanr for 8 years,accident had to stop and am just starting back up using WFP so I know how you feel.
If you want a long term business I would suggest you get trained and use  WFP.Y ears up and down a ladder is hard on the body and you are one accident away from injury/loss of livelihood.Learn from someone in the trade if poss.
Getting customers is hard.Leaflets produce poor results.Canvess(ie door knock) looking smart and be honest.Saturdays and Sundays are best day are to go.Look for new build and if WFp look  for houses where trad w/c ers can,t get to windows(you ae then offering a better service!) GOOd LUCk!!!!   

[mark dew]

If your getting redundancy pay, you should also invest in the cheapest wfp to give you more options of earning than just working from a ladder.
You should be able to get a cheap RO unit, 18ft pole and a backpack for around £350. 
If you have this you can also offer conservatory roof cleans, fascia and gutter washes etc.
Canvass in the countryside as much if not more than towns, as there will be less choice for customers out there. Prices are also better.
Getting an advert in a parish magazine for a year will get you some decent rural work as well.
The winter time has been my best time for picking up new customers.
Good luck.

[matt]

when canvassing

where nice smart clothes
be polite
try not to do the job too cheap ( even though you need the work )


you will get a MUCH better result speaking to the person, leafets often dont even get looked at before they reach the bin

[mr D]

Hi,

Speaking to them personally is a great start.

Kevin WINDOLENE.

best tip you'll get.

i jacked my job w/c for a very big w/c company 1st april 2007 with a morgage, bills ectect and no job to go to. i went out on the friday and canversed for the saturday. got a whole days work, they were rotten but at least there was money at the end of the day. i then canversed sunday for monday. before i relised i was doing 2nd cleans and was still making my morgage/ bill payments.

also dont run b4 you can walk.
start your prices off reasonable but not to cheap.
and be nice. if you do a good job your customas will be pleased but wont nessaserly pass your number around. but if they like you they will hopefull want to help.

[ma159]

I started up in the summer - have canvased all work.

I leaflet then go back 2/3 days later and knock on the door to talk - I find this easier that just knocking - at least you have put them in the position when they have already thought about a window cleaner.

Leafleting alone produce very poor results - 1 or 2 out of a hundred.

[Ian Lancaster]

I started up in the summer - have canvased all work.

I leaflet then go back 2/3 days later and knock on the door to talk - I find this easier that just knocking - at least you have put them in the position when they have already thought about a window cleaner.

Leafleting alone produce very poor results - 1 or 2 out of a hundred.

From my umpteen years experience I can say that this is by far the best way to go about it.  If your leaflets tell the customer everything they need to know (except the price) all you have to do is knock on the door, hold up a copy of your leaflet and say: 'Good morning/afternoon, my name is xxxxxxx and I put one of these through your door a couple of days ago.'  Give them a few seconds to gather their thoughts, then say something like: 'Would you like me to have a quick look around and write you a quotation?'

[DE3P]

Hi all, first off many thanks for the great advice you've kindly given me. I've had to wait till today to get back to you because I didn't have an Internet connection all weekend. Anyways, I went out on Sunday with my wife and we hit an area near by, Knocking on doors and leafleting the ones who weren't in. Having only printed 100 leaflets we went through them in 1 1/2 hrs but I managed to get 7 jobs! I know that’s not a lot but to start off on I thought that was quite good. I'm going to hit the area again this Saturday and take at least 400 leaflets and see what that brings.
 I like the idea of the WFP one reason being a few of the customer I spoke to had guttering that ran the length of the street above the lower bay window and said in the past the W/C had broken it so they were too happy about it maybe happening again.  Mark Dew mentioned I maybe could get one for £350 is that right? If so could you please point me in the right direction as to where to purchase one? Would that get me started bearing in mind I have had no real experience yet in cleaning.
 I may well have gone in too low on pricing the job but I’ve worked out the time and also the income I need to make my new venture work so at the moment I think I’m ok. But please, any more advice on purchasing a cheap WFP to start me off would be great, times are tough in my household atm (which I'm sure it's the same for everyone) so I really need to keep the prices down best I can.

[mark dew]

For the water purifying you will need a RO unit. 100gpd for £100
www.ro-man.com/shop/index.php/cPath/22_91

DI resin from the same place is around £35 for a canister + resin

tds meter from anywhere for around £15

A water butt from bnq for £30 or something, to store the pure water.

25 litre barrels. Tenner each?

This place does a backpack for £80 ex vat. Out of stock at the moment
though.
www.windowcleaningwarehouse.com/

The above comes to around £320. With 4 X 25 litre barrels.
And then you need to buy a pole. 24 ft pole would be best for gutter/fascia cleans. They are around £120 new.
An 18 ft pole would reach most average houses. And a bit cheaper.

So around £400 to get you started wfp. Another 50 quid on trad gear and your away.
You should look in the buy and sell section of this forum as you could find things cheaper in there.

I dunno if these are the cheapest places cos there are plenty of good suppliers out there.
Good luck.

[smearo]

where would you get best advice on how to set up water fed pole system at home and how long would 25l barrel last
 curious regards ffc