[dustdees]

Hi all,

I don't know what has happened but I smell to be struggle taking on new contracts.
I have been tramping the streets, with leaflets, phoning letting agents, landlords, updated my website and nothing has come in new over the last three weeks.
I am feeling that I am flogging a dead horse!
I have had ad's in local papers, newsagents, supermarkets, but enquires seem to be more rare than rocking horse poop.

I have a fairly large ad being published in Thompsom local, which is due to come out in October.I have arranged for a few adds to be published on year planners and local directory cards.

Can anyone advise me of anything else to do, which doesn't cost the earth.

I have re check my rates and service portfolio and everything is ok.

Wot more can I do appart from offering a free service,

Love Denisexx

[blacksheep]

hi denise,i dont know how much this would cost but find out about local raido a silly gingle or saying might work,it looks daft now i have wrote this but i intend to try to promote my business this way,if the price is right

[Prestige1]

Denise
You seem to be doing all you can hold your nerve and I am sure it will come. You could try the following
Write to all your clients and offer a £10 Sainsbury voucher for a referral which lasts more that a month? Or what I have done in the past when it’s quite, go in to businesses and speak to the receptionist and just say I hear you’re having problems with your cleaning contractor they will look at you confused but will not know who contacted you! A bit cheeky but you will find work this way. You are bound to find someone who having problems but changing the cleaner is last on there list! And you have come just at the right time.
Another good investment. I have 3 swing sings saying my company and that our maids are cleaning homes in this area. You could leave them with you staff to display or just target an area put them on the grass verge for the day. You may get a call from the council to move them but it’s never happened to me. Hope this helps kind regards Phil

[dustdees]

HI, I HAVE DONE A POSTCARD SIZE FLYERS FOR THE CLIENTS I HAVE OFFERING THEM A 50% DISCOUNT ON ALL FULLY PAID UP REFFERALS.

BUT ONLY HAVING 4 CLIENTS DOESN'T SEEM TO FEEL HOPEFUL!!
LOVE
DENISEXX

[Jan K]

Hi Denise!

Don't fret too much, I have weeks where I get nothing and then weeks when I am run off my feet. Use this quiet time to maybe spec letter particular professions......schools, or estate agents etc. Sit in front of the computer for a couple of hours reeling off letters to people like these. You have the time and it doesn't cost too much. I did this at the beginning and managed to get a few teachers and solicitors as customers!

If you can afford it, well even if you can't I would suggest an ad in the Yellow Pages and Yell.com with enhanced listing and a link to your website (quite expensive but worth it). I still get 95% of my customers this way.

Good luck!

Jan

[dustdees]

jan,

I would be interested to see what you put in your letters and where do you get the addresses for these people from,


Luv
Denise

[Ged]

Hi denise

not much help but i'm in the same position nothing new since the kids broke up from school i wonder if it's the time of year with people away and stuff.

hope things pick up soon

ged

[Jan K]

Hi Denise!

Just a simple letter introducing myself and offering our services, what they consist of and giving them food for thought....eg just how much time they could save, for the better things in life, if they had us in for their cleaning (and ironing).

I trawled the Yellow Pages for schools and colleges and wrote to all in my local travel to work area (got 2 clients from it, who are still with me a year later (their first 2 weeks payment covered my costs for the exercise...eg. postage, ink, paper, my time, electricity). I also had requests to clean the schools, but I am not insured for that type of clean).

Again the same with the Solicitors just went through the Yellow Pages (again 2 clients, although 1 was actually an office and I didn't stick that one out purely due to lack of convenient parking as it was in the town centre)

I did the same with the Estate/Letting Agents and the Builders but no joy there......I get more enquiries via my Yellow Pages ad from Agents than anywhere else. Builders aren't interested, again more enquiries from actual owners of properties being renovated etc than the builders (spose it isn't their job to find the cleaner, but I guessed it didn't hurt to put my name around)

I never looked on the domestic cleaning service as being seasonal, but it is I suppose......I have 2 exisitng clients who have suspended all cleans thro the hols, and will re-instate (definately 1, but hopefully both) in September, and 2 potential new ones starting in September too.

Over the hols I have requests for temporary cleans which is not something I have promoted much, but one of my ladies likes getting her hands on the new cleans, especially the realy dirty ones.....gives her a sense of satisfaction leaving a gleaming property when perhaps it wasn't beforehand........something I can relate to myself, so one-offs, temporary cleans and after tenancy cleans are something I will promote more in the future!

The holidays are always a quiet time for me, so I use them to 'tidy up', re-think my marketing and advertising strategies and kick back and let the kids wind me up lol!

Ged and Denise, like I say Yellow Pages ads are invaluable.......dunno about where you are but my new one comes out in January.......it is going to cost me about £1200 quid with the website and the enhanced Yell.com listing, but it can be paid over 10 months and is definately worth it!

Jan

[Ian Gourlay]

Have you investigated having a stand in your local town centre, hospital fete etc to promote your service.

[dustdees]

Hi,

Yep, I have done standing in the street with leaflets, my hubby does and car boot sale evry Sunday and he has a box full of flyers on his table. People have been taking them but again no enquires from it.

Thanx for the suggestion tho!!

[Jan K]

Denise, what are your charges like compated to similar companies in your work area? I initially started off charging rates at the lower end of the market. I would get the customers but it wasn't really worth the slog. In the end I market researched again and discovered that nearly all my competitors were £2 to £3 more expensive than me, and the ones that were the same or cheaper were people who worked on their own and had very low overheads including NO insurance. I decided I had to take a chance and increase my prices (very scary, but as I was selling the company rather than myself people were happy to pay the prices I charged and still charge)

Jan

[nlaservices]

Hi
     It hard work at first, but I found the best approach to be the personal one. Get a list of your contacts even the ones you are not doing business with yet. Try to make an appointment with the person dealing with your business. If an appointment cant be made tell them you will pop in when they have five minutes.

Try not to talk about prices (at all) explain what you do ask them the questions what service would you use, then tell them the benifits of using your business (personal, one on one contacts, reliable etc, etc. NOT PRICE)  before you leave ask if they would mind if you telephone them on a monday or friday every week to see if there is anything you can help with.

    And before you know it you get a job in. Ring them when the job is completed, make sure they are happy, thank them for the business and ask if there is anything else you can do, if there is take it, if not ring them again on the chosen day.

   It takes time but believe me it is worth it, I started seven years ago on this method, and have never advertised anywhere, i am still here and very happy and so are my clients.

 

[Ian Gourlay]

How about doing some Desk research names of all Solicitors in a Practice from Web Site. 


Write to each one individually explaining your service.

Same with Doctors.

If cost is a cosideration post through companies letter box after close.

Each one must be individually addressed.

Perhaps handwritten to make it look more personal.  Could even be marked Private


I did not mean handleaflets out in street I meant have a display stand promoting your services, perhaps with a competion questionaire.

So people actually enquire about your service.


How many leaflets have you had put out. Respose rates could be as low as 1 in a thousand but that one customer could be worth 2 grand a year to your company.
or say £400 profit. It should cost you less than £50 to print and distribute a thousand
you need 5 thousand a week

A much higher customer value than us carpet cleaners achieve.

[MAXJB4]

Hello,
It is a hard world we work in and difficult to get started in.  First thing is a PMA Positive Metal Attitude. Then image is so important, be professional. Now to open the doors to the customers.  The market place is full of customer who do not know you and would like to know you.  Build a data base of names of the types of customer you want to work for.ie Offices - Pubs - Hotels and so on.  Find out the person in charge of the cleaning.  Send a letter to this person with the things you can do for THEM. Follow up with a phone call for an appoitment. Keep following up every six months with a flier of interest (new products and cleaning methods - cut price offer etc.) 

Kind regards
Christopher