[Bay View WCS]

Hey all- first post so take it easy!  Sorry but it’s a long one- stay awake you at the back!!

I was made redundant in July last year.  This was the second time in 2 years and there were no jobs in my sector coming up anywhere in the country.  I then spent 6 months claiming jobseekers and applying for any job that came up- got a couple of interviews but told I was too qualified for the job!!

Anyway, a friend of mine had bought a WFP van with a round in Sept 09 and I had helped him quite a bit while I was working and now and again when I was jobless.  It certainly helped him while his other self-employed business took a nose dive. So that put me in mind to consider window cleaning too.  So this Christmas I saw a WFP van on Ebay; spoke to my brother who agreed to lend me the cash to buy the van until I could sell my car to pay him back.   I won the auction and picked up the van just before New Year. 

I was also quite lucky as because I had been signing on for 6 months they do a Self-Employment Credit scheme where they will pay you £50.00 a week for 16 weeks.  I signed off on 7th January- now to get some work.  I had read a lot of the advice on this and other forums about getting work so I made up some leaflets and printed them out at home- nothing fancy.  I was not looking forward to door knocking so at first I just posted the leaflets and waited.  Got a call the next night to quote a house- turned up and got the job for a first clean the next day then every 4 weeks.  My friend had given me loads of advice on pricing- he even offered to come with me but I thought that it would be best if I went alone- can’t hold my hand forever can he! 

Went and did the first clean in the morning- no worries; knocked next door and asked if they wanted theirs doing while I had my stuff out- they agreed- another 4 weekly with the conny every 8 weeks; did that then asked the other side and they agreed too- another 4 weekly!  While doing that one another woman opposite called me on my mobile and asked me to do hers too- another 4 weekly- result.

Anyway- time to tackle door knocking as I wasn’t getting any more calls.  Took the plunge and found it wasn’t half as bad as I thought.  Most people are quite pleasant and will soon let u know if they are interested.  After speaking with my mate I always asked if they had a window cleaner first and if they did and were happy I explained I did not want to tread on their toes and would not quote.

I stayed local for the first few weeks and got 35 custys in the first 5 weeks which I thought was fairly decent.  As of today I have over 70 custys and I am still door knocking 3-4 nights a week- I have found that for me this is by far the best way of getting work.

Looking back I suppose I took a gamble but I couldn’t have done it without the loan from my bro- the advice from my friend and the Self-Employment Credit.

Had my hardest day today- (only) 15 houses and I will admit to being knackered.  There is the pressure of knowing that the buck stops with me but I am my own boss and I decide when to start and finish- never had that before and it’s very refreshing. 

I’m still on a long road but wanted to say thanks to everyone on here for the advice and opinions they have posted- they have been invaluable in helping me get on.

Cheers

[Tom White]

Welcome to the forum, Bay; 15 houses in one day is great for a n00b (it's a good day for me too  ), but it gets easier as time goes on and you know what you're doing and the properties and all the little 'funnies' that slow you down at the mo.

Regards,

Tosh

[Rayleigh Window Cleaning Services]

15 houses, Thats nearly a quarter of your round, why knacker yourself?

[Bay View WCS]

15 houses, Thats nearly a quarter of your round, why knacker yourself?

Very good point!

12 of em were both sides of one street of Terraced.  I was due to do 6 2nd cleans on this street today after canvassing last month.  So last night and the night before I went knocking again on the houses I hadn't caught in last month- I very rarely post a leaflet where they are not in as I have found that for me seeing them face to face is the best way of getting the work.  So the canvassing brought in another 5 4-weeklies and 1 one-off so I figured it would be best to do them all together.  Am I doing something wrong then?

Cheers

Tom

[Blue Frog Systems]

No, best way keeping them together if they are that close.

Good on you

p.s. im out knocking in a min. found an area where the window cleaner has retired and not sold on 

[R W C™]

Wow 15 jobs and 6 of them 1st cleans no wonder your knackered...

[Johnny B]

Well done Bay View. It's very refreshing to hear experiences such as yours. Hope it continues to go well with you. 

John.

[Jackal]

No, best way keeping them together if they are that close.

Good on you

p.s. im out knocking in a min. found an area where the window cleaner has retired and not sold on 

jammy git,wish i could find somewhere like that round my way,what a bonus,its suprising how many windys proberly do just dump the work when they had enough,

i found out that a 2 man team round my area dropped some work, 1 of them was 40 ish and other about 70 ish ,not sure if he dumped it all tho,as the 40 year old died and iv ended up picking a full street of work other windys have proberly picked there share up aswell

[Ian101]

Bay View ... u have had a good start ... think u have ur head screwed on ... this time next year u will hundreds of customers !!

[boshravie]

Hey all- first post so take it easy!  Sorry but it’s a long one- stay awake you at the back!!

I was made redundant in July last year.  This was the second time in 2 years and there were no jobs in my sector coming up anywhere in the country.  I then spent 6 months claiming jobseekers and applying for any job that came up- got a couple of interviews but told I was too qualified for the job!!

Anyway, a friend of mine had bought a WFP van with a round in Sept 09 and I had helped him quite a bit while I was working and now and again when I was jobless.  It certainly helped him while his other self-employed business took a nose dive. So that put me in mind to consider window cleaning too.  So this Christmas I saw a WFP van on Ebay; spoke to my brother who agreed to lend me the cash to buy the van until I could sell my car to pay him back.   I won the auction and picked up the van just before New Year. 

I was also quite lucky as because I had been signing on for 6 months they do a Self-Employment Credit scheme where they will pay you £50.00 a week for 16 weeks.  I signed off on 7th January- now to get some work.  I had read a lot of the advice on this and other forums about getting work so I made up some leaflets and printed them out at home- nothing fancy.  I was not looking forward to door knocking so at first I just posted the leaflets and waited.  Got a call the next night to quote a house- turned up and got the job for a first clean the next day then every 4 weeks.  My friend had given me loads of advice on pricing- he even offered to come with me but I thought that it would be best if I went alone- can’t hold my hand forever can he! 

Went and did the first clean in the morning- no worries; knocked next door and asked if they wanted theirs doing while I had my stuff out- they agreed- another 4 weekly with the conny every 8 weeks; did that then asked the other side and they agreed too- another 4 weekly!  While doing that one another woman opposite called me on my mobile and asked me to do hers too- another 4 weekly- result.

Anyway- time to tackle door knocking as I wasn’t getting any more calls.  Took the plunge and found it wasn’t half as bad as I thought.  Most people are quite pleasant and will soon let u know if they are interested.  After speaking with my mate I always asked if they had a window cleaner first and if they did and were happy I explained I did not want to tread on their toes and would not quote.

I stayed local for the first few weeks and got 35 custys in the first 5 weeks which I thought was fairly decent.  As of today I have over 70 custys and I am still door knocking 3-4 nights a week- I have found that for me this is by far the best way of getting work.

Looking back I suppose I took a gamble but I couldn’t have done it without the loan from my bro- the advice from my friend and the Self-Employment Credit.

Had my hardest day today- (only) 15 houses and I will admit to being knackered.  There is the pressure of knowing that the buck stops with me but I am my own boss and I decide when to start and finish- never had that before and it’s very refreshing. 

I’m still on a long road but wanted to say thanks to everyone on here for the advice and opinions they have posted- they have been invaluable in helping me get on.

Cheers

Well done bay. Persistent is the name of the game   

[Llaaww]

Good effort, there are lots of jobs out there for people who get up and go to find them.

[Bay View WCS]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and encouraging comments.

Had a bath after picking the daughter up from school (that's another bonus!)- got shaved and changed and went knocking again 5.30 til 7.  No-one interested and the feedback I got was that one windy has all the work tied up on that estate as he's local and cheap so I'll try another area tomorrow.

One thing I do struggle with when door knocking is charging more for the first clean so I generally do the first clean for the regular price.  I know that is not really right but I seem to think that they will not give me the regular work if I increase the price for the first clean- any tips or ideas on how I should tackle this or should I carry on as I have been doing until I am more established?

Thanks

Tom

[cozy]

Hi Tom. The first clean thing. It's all about attitude mate. When you have 300 custies, will you charge more for a first clean? Will they pay it? If the answer is yes, and it should be yes, then start to charge it now. The custy on the door doesn't know you're new to this game. Get your attitude right mate, the rest will fall into place.

I'd say "Good luck", but someone like you doesn't need it. Go get your custies.

[MJHolmes]

I started the same way bay that employers allowence being out of work for 3 years. helped me get started. and now have a good customer base. Well done...

[Llaaww]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and encouraging comments.

Had a bath after picking the daughter up from school (that's another bonus!)- got shaved and changed and went knocking again 5.30 til 7.  No-one interested and the feedback I got was that one windy has all the work tied up on that estate as he's local and cheap so I'll try another area tomorrow.

One thing I do struggle with when door knocking is charging more for the first clean so I generally do the first clean for the regular price.  I know that is not really right but I seem to think that they will not give me the regular work if I increase the price for the first clean- any tips or ideas on how I should tackle this or should I carry on as I have been doing until I am more established?

Thanks

Tom

You are doing it the right way. When you first start you will be on the back foot for a while. You need to get the revenue moving, so it is a good idea to graft a bit harder for a bit less. The people who get a good deal will be reliable for a second or third clean, if not permenantly.

It will be several months before you see the really reliable punters. Doing first cleans for the same as the regular price gives them the impression of good value for money. Once this idea has sunk in they will be happy to carry on.

As the round rolls over for a couple of months, and you find that you can live on the income from these regular jobs, you can then begin to experiment with charging more for first cleans. Be sure that they clearly understand why you are charging more, and that it will be cheaper from month to month.

[VSP Home Care]

Inspirational read mate    Just what I need to be reading at the moment.

Keep up the good work and it will repay your effort, you'll only get out what you put into things in life.

[Bay View WCS]

Thanks for the feedback

Got a call this morning from an old boy I spoke to last night when door knocking- that local windy can't have the whole area sewn up then.  I went and quoted him for a regular 4 weekly (£14.00) and while talking I asked when they were last done as the windows and frames looked very dirty; he said last June so I explained that it would take around twice as long to get them clean for the first time so I would have to charge a couple of pounds more to cover the extra time.  He took that in his stride and agreed to the regular clean.

I think I will continue to play it by ear depending on how the custy seems to be reacting to the prices I quote.  At the moment I do have the luxury of time to be able to absorb the additional time and effort of a standard price first clean- a loss leader kind of effect; but, as mentioned above that can be addressed gradually as I have built up the round a bit more and I can be a bit more picky.

I am doing the first clean on Tuesday so I can go knocking to the rest of the neighbours and see if I can get a few more by then- onwards and upwards as they say.

Cheers

Tom

[TomCrowther]

Hey Tom, well done on the good start you have made. Takes a while to get the hang of certain aspects.
The way I handle first clean pricing is as follows- If they are really bad, maybe not cleaned for 2 years etc, I always charge double and the customer has never said no after I explained why. If they aren't too bad I usually charge 1.5 times and explain that I normally charge double for the first clean but if they are right next door to an existing customer I will do it for the normal price {unless thay are v bad}

[awcs]

Hey Tom, try doing the first clean on a saturday morning, take your time and watch the neighbours curtains twitch.
Then they all come and ask you for a quote works for me

[bobby p]

its a bummer if you stumble onto fresh customers who are devious types. i recently flyered a different area of town and 2 of these types got in touch- they were SURE i was a newbie , but im not THANK CHRIST


 # one of them told me she had 5 windows only and i agreed on phone to do em about £5 but on arrival there was about 9 . i told her £9 inc frames but she then used the poverty card "i only get £62 a week,can you not touch the frames and do it all for a fiver ?"    sorry ,but NO WAY

# another told me 5 window only plus a SMALL lean to ,wanted a 1 off ,so i said £10 on phone . on arrival the lean to was a CAR PORT, +dormer window in roof. He was a pro-crafty bloke,had cunning eyes exactly like Michael Caine and in the end i agreed to do the car port roof only for £15 .but once scrubbing i realized it had lichen glued on looked like 5 pence pieces scattered everywhere so i gave up sharpish  . MICHAEL wasnt too happy at this as he knew thought  was going to get a real bargain at £15 .