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Pete_Riley

Well now its make or break
« on: May 12, 2004, 02:04:29 am »
Hi all,I started window cleaning about 3 months ago.As I am in full time employment (FLT driver) it is very difficult.After 3 months I have the princely amount of 14 customers (£93 per month).I have canvassed door to door and posted about 500 leaflets.From the figures above you would be forgiven for thinking I am packing it in.Quite the opposite,I hate and I mean HATE my job as a fork lift truck driver and absolutely love window cleaning.I have done everything above board (registered as a business with Inland Revenue).But I now realise doing this and a full time job just aint working.So today I have packed in my job and taken out a loan for 2 grand to cover the bills for 2 months.In 2 months time I am buying part of a round with my brother in law (£600 per weeks work for £8000 negotiable).Tomorrow I am getting 1000 flyers printed up and going out canvassing.I will post on a regular basis my progress.Hopefully this will paint a true picture of the hard facts of setting up be it good or bad.(Hopefully good).

seanc

  • Posts: 148
Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2004, 02:25:34 am »
good luck ther will be hard times ahead put cross fingers and all that
do it today tommorow never comes

matt

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #2 on: May 13, 2004, 01:06:42 am »
(£600 per weeks work for £8000 negotiable)

thats £2400 a month, ive brought in my round in stages, i only pay the monthly worth of the round

i have heard some charge X2 the amount per month, but thats only 4800

i would barter on that price, people selling are normally selling because they want to (retiring or have too much work)


Pete_Riley

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2004, 12:03:26 am »
1 week gone guys and still only 14 customers.I have delivered 800 flyers and canvassed 123 houses.No luck.I aint giving up though.

matt

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2004, 12:08:48 am »
Have you driven around and chatted to any of the other window cleaners ?? ??

have a chat with them, they might have work they dont want anymore and they might say "give us a few quid for it"

you can only try

seanc

  • Posts: 148
Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2004, 02:32:53 am »
is ther a local cleaning supplys near you have a chat they are alwasy being asked for w/cleaners aparently
do it today tommorow never comes

Pete_Riley

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2004, 05:48:01 pm »
Guys I just found my best way to get work.I just sat down with Thompson Local,picked a page (which happened to be hairdressers) and rung them up.After ringing 16 I have got 6 jobs.Five are to clean salon windows and other one is to clean the managers home windows.At last this gives me some confidence.(head was starting to drop).Ill keep you posted.

Reflective Property Services

  • Posts: 48
Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2004, 12:01:21 pm »
Just out of interest, what patter did you use?
Alex Freegard

Pete_Riley

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2004, 03:54:07 pm »
Kept it simple mate.
"Hi,may I speak to the manager?".
"Just a quick question as I know you're probably busy,do you have a window cleaner?".
Answer =yes  "OK sorry to bother you bye".
Answer = no  "I am now cleaning in your area so would you like me to come and give you a quote?".

seanc

  • Posts: 148
Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2004, 09:45:24 pm »
pete a bit of sales advise NEVER say "sorry to bother you" you are there to help give him a service that is not bothering him say some thing like "ok here is my card when the contracts up for renewal give me a bell"

sorry if anyone thinks im wrong but the word bother makes them think you are
do it today tommorow never comes

Ian_Giles

  • Posts: 2986
Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2004, 06:06:19 pm »
I am pretty staggered that you haven't picked up more work, are you just canvassing commercial accounts??
If so, then I can understand your lack of success, commercial accounts are the hardest of all to get, by a long, long way.
Pick smart housing estates, or if you are in a position to, call on houses in the countryside, the more remote the area's the less likely they are to have a window cleaner.
I know, because I do live in the countryside, and though I now have almost no domestic accounts, (all commercial now) when I did have, a huge amount of them were in the outlying area's of the various villages around where I live (Chepstow, South Wales)
You must live in a strange area indeed (or have three eyes :o) to struggle so vainly with so little result.

Try drawing a circle on a map of, say, 15 miles radius and canvas & leaflet drop every town & village in that area.
15 miles is only 20 minutes of travelling, it doesn't take many accounts along a route of that length to make the journeying worthwhile.
If indeed you are trying only to stick with commercial accounts it will take a long time to build up a round.

If you have the chance of buying a commercial (or mostly so) round, and it is paying £600 a week, then 8 grand seems a little on the high side, particularly if it takes 2 people to knock that out.
You need to spend a few days with whoever is selling it, see just how good the jobs are, how many hours a week it takes to earn said £600.

If the accounts are all domestic accounts, then unless the individual accounts have gold plated prices and it only takes one person 35 hours to knock out, then it is well over priced.

If you are canvassing domestics you should really not be having to many problems picking up work.

Just remember that you are not just 'selling' your skills to a prospective customer, you are 'selling' yourself.

Drss in a way that wouldn't offend an old grannie of ninety, don't chew gum or walk around with a f a g in your hand.
When people say no, smile and offer them your leaflet and card, invite them to think of you should their current cleaner let them down.
There is loads of work out there, over the years I have turned away enough work to build another round.

Don't lose heart!!!

Ian
Ian. ISM CLEANING SERVICES

Pete_Riley

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #11 on: May 28, 2004, 03:03:41 pm »
Hi again chaps.Must be something in the water,all of a sudden the phone is like a hotline.Just picked up another 7 domestics in one area and they all say I should get more work in that area.I have been out for a day cleaning with the guy Im buying off and it is good work.All 2 storey flats,parked car up at 9am and didnt go back to car till 4pm.Also I would say about 80% paid him on the job.(Collecting should be a doddle).The average price was £3.50 (bear in mind most of them only have 3 windows) and I would say it took 2 of us an average of 6 minutes per flat.I'll keep ya posted on my progress.

gemmanjim

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #12 on: June 21, 2004, 11:25:44 am »
just keep putting fliers out and try to advertise in a local paper when summer hits every one wants them cleaned you will soon pick up a good name if your regular and do a good job.

Also i wouldnt buy a round just go and put fliers through the area bloke is retiring in and speak to people lower the price a fraction and soon youll have all his old work for free.

Good luck mate!!!!

pjulk

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #13 on: June 21, 2004, 11:35:44 pm »
Dont Know about you but i live in a village and we have a parish book that goes out every month to all the local villages covering 17,000 homes.
I had a go at advertising in this book last month and had great success with it picking up customers nearly every day.
Cost me £32 but one job i got was £70 and is every 4 weeks.
I will now be doing this ad every month.
I did try the paper but did not do very well at all with that.

Paul

AMG

Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #14 on: July 03, 2004, 08:57:15 pm »

I founed that when I posted out a load of flyers I didn't get much luck but after a few weeks more and more started to call and ask for a quote, it takes some people time to get round to calling, and some may want a cleaner but never get round to calling. If you REALLY want to be sure you could call back a week later and ask if they got your flyer, that would prompt them a bit and then they say ah yes I do need someone actually! Pick a time when you know people would be home, I know its boubling your work but I'm sure it will pay off in the long run..

The advise to speak to local cleaners is a really good one, if they are nice they may take your number and pass on your details when they get asked to clean (allot of them are full and not taking on any more work) and some may even GIVE you a small area if they have too much, this sounds daft but I have been given in total about a week and a halfs work simply from getting to know cleaners locally, if they like you they may want to give you a break.

Andy





gibbouk

  • Posts: 171
Re: Well now its make or break
« Reply #15 on: July 03, 2004, 10:14:56 pm »
posting flyers seems like it dont work anymore. once you could get a good return  with them, i posted 40 in a new estate . i know no one has a window cleaner there.  not one call i would have expected a couple at least. then i went to another area in the evening, knocked and presented the leaflet. the result 80% of the houses even though they had a window cleaner and i charged more.  going to follow up on the first lot.
i just think we are all so used to junk mail that most get binned without being looked at