[Carl Hicks]

Hi, i need to canvass more cust's but never done it before  :-[as i bought my business, has any ony got any hint's-tips or documents etc that will help me out??

thanks in advance 

[geefree]

Dress smart but casual, arm yourself with some leaflets, and a clipboard for names and addresses.

Knock on the door and say

" Hi , sorry to trouble you, we are expanding our services to this area, do you have a window cleaner?"

If they say yes i do .. say    " Ok thanks for your time, bye.

If they say no i dont, ask them if they would like a quote now..


Thats it. 

[windolene]

Hi,

I don't agree with The " Do you have a window cleaner" Better to say "would you like a quote for window cleaning beit a one off clean or regular"

And no need to say "sorry to bother you" Just say Hi followed by the previous.

Kevin WINDOLENE.

[geefree]

well it works for us, we average 10 new customers from 6pm until 7.30pm each time we go out,

15 the other night, 2 of us.

i think its imprtant to say " sorry to trouble you " when people have just finished work and are settling down to cook or eat,

and its always polite to say , thanks for your time. when leaving.

Depends how you are as a person as to how polite or not ,  you are.

[Mike55]

You're right - it's all about how you deliver your pitch.  Personally I have never used the word sorry as I think it suggests you have done something wrong by knocking the door....

Those are great results Gazza you obviously have your pitch sorted 

[geefree]

Thanks,

we also use lots of smiles and pleasantries  too ,and we get it the same back from customers,

some even feel awful for having a window cleaner, apologising and looking sorrowful,

Bless em 

[Smudger]

Personally i don't say 'sorry' - puts you on the back foot - are you not proud of your service 

I tend to pitch along these line - good evening (or whatever) sir/madam,  local professional window
cleaner, would you like to benefit from a regular cleaning service..

YES -   ask what service the are looking for   4/8/12 wky to price accordingly....

quote 1st price clean then regular clean price give custy price and leaflet and any other info..

NO - well heres a leaflet as we also offer   conny/gutters  etc   - thanyou for your time.

No got a w/c -  thats great, thankyou for your time.


Darran

[geefree]

Personally i don't say 'sorry' - puts you on the back foot - are you not proud of your service

I

of course i am  proud, but why does saying " sorry to trouble you " put me on the back foot?

it doesnt,  it helps me,... As i am sorry to disturb them , they could be eating, having a shower, or sleeping, or anything else that springs to mind 

Once they have heard that, they say its ok , no problem...

and we are off on the right footing , i then smile and cheerfully carry on explaining why i am here.

[Smudger]

Personally i think it sounds too subserviant ( and poss. creepy, as if asking for a favor ) - why are you sorry for bringing them your wonderful services 

be smart and polite.

yes if they answer the door dripping wet in a towel, or on the telephone then yes a 'so sorry to interupt you' is only polite and proper,  but in general a cheery good morning/evening is the best and most positive start.

Darran

[prestigeclean]

i also say sorry to trouble you , some people really do nit pick on here regards alan

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

Sorry to trouble you is spot on. It's going to make them feel guilty if they have a go. With that sort of canvassing pick up rate then it obviously works anyway

PS what's wrong with being subservient if it gets you the biz!!

[bobby p]

subservient, servant-well thats exactly what we are  isnt it.  i usually touch my cap but dont go as far as to bring it off my head , this is showing a respect

[Jack Wallace]

I too always say " Hello sorry to trouble you". Its a greeting not an apology!

[Smudger]

Nit picking - was that directed at me  

Only offering advice to a question asked thats based on what has worked for me.

simples.

If your pitch works thats great, i'm comfortable with the way i door knock, and it works well.

Darran

[newquay2010]

i went out first time other day and in 4 hours picked up 1 customer. 
Knocked 231 houses and only 111 answered the door......must be using the wrong speech as 1 out of 111 is rubbish....lol

[geefree]

Hi, sorry to trouble you, i can see you are busy with the children etc, i wont keep you a moment,.......

is one line


Just politeness, its not begging nor is it taking a backward step.

[Davo]

,.............................. i'm comfortable with the way i door knock, and it works well.

Darran

Thats the key be comfortable if sorry is a comfortable way for you to knock then use it, whatever puts the customer at ease as quickly as possible.
And the door knocker looking uncomfortable at the door is the fastest way to get the door closed.



Mark

[P @ F]

The way i work it is drop the leaflets , if you get a call , go back and quote , if they say yes then i knock the other doors , give it the sorry to bother you line and go from there , it works for me , i had a cul de sac the other day , one call back and i went and quoted , got a yes so did it , by the time i left i had 11 of the 24 houses in the bag , ok , this is quite rare but it does happen , i just wish i could have been a bit more like this earlier on in my time , but as i was pushed to build the round fast i took all on , not that great a price i must add , but its all work , i am getting to where i want to be now , i can be a bit more choosey about who to keep and not keep , but i am still faced with the price rise wall even now i am well established , im gonna find my nuts soon and up it one street at a time thus not losing too many too soon , hope this helps , if i had any advice for anybody its get the price right from the start and it will be less of a headache in the future .

 Rich 

[Smudger]

newquay,  no thats not rubbish you got a result.

firstly you got out there and did it,  people are going to see you about and it builds up from there.

some days you get very little reward others lots,  but if you can give the no's a leaflet their is a chance at
sometime in the future they will call.

lots of people have experienced bad w/c's who clean a couple of times then never return,  if you can get 1 house in a road like that and service it well after 3/4 months you suddenly find the neighbours either waiting for you or your custy says ohh,  could youy see number 21 she would like her windows done.

i have several roads that i started with 1  and nw grown to 6 or more over a few months.

Darran

[darren clarke]

what area of st austell where u knocking newquay?