Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: pjulk on August 23, 2004, 02:26:40 am
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Is the yellow pages any good to advertise my window cleaning service in
Currently i am on yells 118 247 phone service which i have been on for 3 months and have had the total of 0 calls.
Have called yell about this and they say they can't unstand why i am not getting any calls and i'm stuck with it now for another 9 months as it's a 12 month contract.
So im a bit wary about placing an ad with the yellow pages just in case it works out the same.
Been going 3 months now and have 130 customers
So far all my customer have come from leaflets, local parish adverting book and word of mouth.
I will have to pluck the courage up and door knock which i have put off till now.
But like i said any advice on the yellow pages would be appreciated
Paul
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Good question.
I have been thinking about the yellow pages myself. From what I hear its a good way to get local commercial work.
You could also get domestic from it probably, but the problem there is you could get calls from all over town and thats not ideal.
One liners are probably not that good, a bigger ad costs more but will no doubt pay for itself in the long run
-Philip
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Thats exactly what i was thinking
thinking about one of those small box ads.
Its is mainly commercial work i am looking at from the ad so hopefully it will be worth doing
Paul
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;)Let me tell you first hand ;)we have been in yp since march this year,we have just come out in another ,we are on yell .com,so far nothing!is it good ???we are already cutting back the adds for next year,its a suck and see job,well I have sucked it,and I can see,I have just blown £1,300 ???
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£1300 and nothing yellow pages does not seem to good from this.
This is one reason i asked as the 118 247 service also sucks but it did not cost me as much as that.
Maybe advetising in local booklets is the way to go then as i'm doing pretty well from those
Paul
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hello
i have just put an ad in the new yp book which comes out round novemeber i am paying monthly so hopefully i will get some work from this. but i have a free online advert which has just got me a £35 house victorin style takes about 1 hour so am pleased about that thats my first call from the online one tho but the add was free also on the 118 24 7 as well.
right back to work lunch time over lol dave.
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I HAVE BEEN IN THE FED AD IN YELLOW PAGES FOR SME YEARS NOW AND MOSTLY GET DOMESTIC WHICH I PASS ON. IHAVE HAD A FEW COMMERCIAL WHICH HAVE MADE IT WORTH WHILE
I AM IN NORTH LONDON
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dave
Have you had much from the 118 24 7
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;)I have had nothing from 11247 thingy all a waste of money so far
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no ive had notink from 118 24 7 but i have not payed for this so thats good when ever i get a call from yellow pages they say iv seen you on yell.com or whatever
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yes yellow pages seams to be the best of all there services and get a lot of work from it but most in the summer so make sure when your out work you can A your home phone.
Andy
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best way to do yellow pages is join the window federation then ask for corporate rate you go in a nice box with nfmwgc logo and it is not expensive compared to the prices your talking about i think it costs me £16 a month it has not brought me any commercial work but i have a pole system and have put on ad specialists in large houses and it has paid for itself with some good jobs coming in. I think though it is a matter of how many are in your yellow pages already. I still think the best way after 20 years of window cleaning is go and see the people and build the contacts. you would be surprised how many people will respond to just being asked do you want a window cleaner i did about an hour of this on monday and have 3 commercial buildings to do quotes on today get yourself a nice shirt with your company name on and put your window fed id card in a badge holder and clip it on the pocket and you will feel right for the job act professional and it will come across.
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Great idea i am joining the fed just waiting for the application pack to come through.
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ive stopped advertising with yellow pages as i never get any calls from it i find your local directory does far better ;D ???
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had a reply yesterday from yellow pages as per above advert 2 houses £72 for the two "thought we,d phone you because you say you do big houses"
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At least it works for someone
Is there many window cleaners in the yellow pages for your area
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only 2 of us in the window fed advert box but lots of others i think the key to my results are my words "specialists in larger houses" in the ad
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Has anyone tried an advert in there local rag out of interest for example living in xyz areas need a window cleaner that you can rely on cal xxx window cleaning when i say tried this i mean a say 1/2 page advert right hand side of the page for obvious reasons if so what were results like?
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We do advertise in the yellow Pages, and the local Parish magazine (loads of work from that) but by far the best method is good old door to door canvassing. If you're friendly with a local double glazing firm, get them to give their customers your flier...nice new glass !
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We use yellow pages always have, get 90% of our work from it,we use a box not to big as we dont want to be quoteing for big stuff hospitals etc just done a new clean this morning 2 of us 5 hours work £180 every 4 weeks first clean paid my yellow pages bill! we stipulate in the advert NO domestic so we dont get any wasted calls, The phone is always on an answer phone or the mobile no is in the ad so no need to miss any calls.YP WORKS.. Now what about "web sites" do you pay to get onto Google etc?
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I used to use YP for my business & gave it up as a bad job because of the rest of the bandit element who will undercut you for the sake of it.
I now rely on word of mouth & a decent website. You really cant beat the personal approach, if you have enough hours in a day to spend canvassing for work.
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I have been in the yellow pages for 10 years now .I would say i have got 90% of my work from it But i am looking for commercial Window Cleaning and sub contact work and it cost me £1800 a year i do not know if that makes a diffence
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Been in yellow pages for two years now since got my wfp . have got 3 big commercial contracts and numerous houses from yp
after initial special offer which gave me a decent size box , i now pay £18.00 per month for 3 line box.
for a while i was only getting houses in areas i did`nt clean . told them to ask their neighbours . but know i go to see everyone who phones.
reason - picked three houses at £25 and and one at £35. all done and dusted in 3 hours.
now plan to cover whole area door to door which is still the best way , to get houses . but people phoning your advert in yp could start you in areas you dont think to canvass.
get a few lines and keep it in year after year. it will pay and could land you the big contract .
go for it.
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hi
Does anyone advertise in the business pages as well as yellow pages. i had yellow pages ring me up the other day asking me if i want to advertise in the business pages am not sure is it any good for commerical work?
dave
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i had yellow pages ring me up the other day asking me if i want to advertise in the business pages am not sure is it any good for commerical work?
According to them, it's solely for commercial so you shouldn't get any residential customers calling you from it. That's the plus point if you're chasing business prospects.
The minus point for me is the way it's set out. Get a copy for yourself and take a look at the area it covers. The one for me covers the WHOLE of Scotland, and everyone is listed alphabetically - so if you're looking for someone in your area you've got to trawl through every single entry to find out who's close. Great for Aardvark Window Splashers, but tough if you're Zetland Scrubbers.
If I was a business looking for any trade, supplier, what have you - I'd look at that and think "Where's the nearest Yellow Pages!" If you know the name of the folk you're trying to find that's great, but you'd find them in the ordinary phone book or Y/P - so what's the point of Business Pages? Apart from the salesman selling you a box entry so folk will find you easier.
Just to prove me wrong - anyone on here use the BPs?
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hi there, recently joined forum, so working through slow. i am interested in logo,s for BRITISH WINDOW CLEANING ACADEMY & SAFE CONTRACTOR APPROVED displayed on some members entries, ie Poleman please could you come back with more info.
Finding useful info & tips, hopefully i can pass on some too.
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Hi,
I've been in the same position, advertising both in the British Telecom book and the local pages.
For the past eight months all I've received is calls from domestic customers in areas I don't clean. I've passed them onto other window cleaners who I know do their areas; or just said 'sorry mate - ask your neighbors who does theirs'.
However, and I don't know why, recently I've just ended up getting phone calls from five large businesses to give 'em a quote.
I've already just bagged one of them (the biggest and best - a large, posh hotel - they made me jump through hoops to get the job with method statements, risk assessments, safety policy etc), and waiting to find out if I've got the others! It means I've got the potential to have lots (and I mean lots) of inside work too. Just right for winter!
I think you MUST advertise to get large commercial work, but at the end of the day - IT'S PURE LUCK - if a potential commercial customer phones you. Remember also, if it's a large site, he (or she) will be phoning at least three other competitors for quotes too.
Then it comes down to price, selling your company and the professional image you give during the quoting period.
Well that's my thoughts, but I still am very inexperienced!
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Hi all
Lots of wind and rain here in Northumberland last week. So got on the net looking at adverts etc. Saw some cleaning directories inc 1 with Terry Burrows on it. Are they worth it ?.
Cheers Malcal
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However, and I don't know why, recently I've just ended up getting phone calls from five large businesses to give 'em a quote.
Maybe they rang Yell.com? I got an enquiry today, and the chap said he found me in Yell. As far as I'm aware, I've never asked to be in there - in fact, I looked at it some time ago and turned it down after finding that once you get an enquiry you go down to the bottom of the list and then have to climb back up. You could get a whole office block, or the granny round the corner in a one-bedroom flat.
Anyway, I'm in there now somehow, and I can only presume that it's because I'm in the Yellow Pages book.
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Just canceled most of the yell.com yellow pages all not working,simply not worth going in,we are in 3 different areas and books,we cover a great amount of area in adds,waste of money,they will not get nothing for 2005 :P
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Just had a read through all your various comments and thought I'd add mine to them:
BT Business - Waste of time, cost me £175 last year, not a sausage from it. Cancelled for this year, lot of grief from BT salesman!!
Yellow Pages and Yell - costs me £52/month for two small boxes and enhanced yell adverts, one in Window Cleaning one in Carpet and Upholstery.
On average I would say I get at least one or two jobs from these each week (always ask customer where they got my name from). Quite happy with the response. Picked up a commercial wc job last week from it which is worth £150 every 3 weeks and then a recommendation from them which got me another £60 every 3 weeks. Given them both quotes for contract & carpet cleaning.
Never tried any of the directory enquiries, never been approached about it.
Still believe that customer will always go with recommendations first, yellow pages and any other search is a stab in the dark for them and they will try and avoid it. Therefore make sure you do a good job and leave a business card with them.
Potential customers are lazy, so go knocking on doors, introducing yourselves to them, it gives them a kick up the arse to get things done, they know their windows or carpets need to be cleaned, you've just saved them the job of looking for someone!!
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;)the last of the yellow pages adds got cancelled today £1000,will not waste no more time or money with them,I have been on both forums and see many of you have the same results,not much :P
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Give it a couple of days they will be on the phone to you offering a discount.
They did when i cancelled one of my ads still didn't take them up on the discounted offer tho
Paul
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;)yes paul I feel the same way,I know it will get me nothing in return :Pbeen there done it,time to move on ::)
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I am in British Columbia, Canada in a small city, Victoria. There appears to be alot of competition in the book. My first ad in the book was a "logo ad" same logo that is on the company truck. The ad was 1 1/2" by 2". I paid $1500 Cdn. for the ad and it had generated about $6000 in my first year in business. Make sure that if you place an ad that you incorporate your logo in the ad. People will see you round town and see you in the book. I also did alot of flyer/leaflette distrubution and have noticed that when the flyers get old they will look you up in the yellow pages, at least alot of the clientele that I have now have come from yellow page calls. I am currently in my 3 rd year of successful business. Each year my business has at least doubled, proper selection of advertising is crucial. Make sure you get your name out there as much as you can, referalls carry alot of weight in the industry. Hope business is good!
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;)well done to you ;D fellow window cleaner,I do think its your area as well,but for us its not worth it,nice to hear someone is doing ok with it ;) shiners unite across the globe ;)
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My opinion for what it is worth. The yellow pages is a fast track for someone wanting the cheapest job, folks ring around until they find a price they will pay...... Packed my ad in this year after 17yrs.
Steve