[scott.]

Is it just me, or is it very Quiet?...I anticipated January being dead...but Feb and March too ! whats happening..

[mark_roberts]

Year on year March for me is always the quietest month of the year apart from July when I take two weeks holiday.

Dont know why.

Mark

[Andy Hogarth]

Just to hijack this thread..... sorry........ What are usually your busiest/quitest months, I'd guess Jan would have been busy after all them parties/spills over christmas

Damn I've got a lot to learn

Cheers

Andy

[John Rimmer Marshall & Rimmer Ltd]

Yes Andy you have, logic would say that people would have there carpets and
upholstery cleaned after the parties, but hold on we are talking about the great british public here so forget the logic. Leading up to Christmas it is hectic, becouse everyone wants the house looking nice for when Mum & Dad come
or the other hundreds of friends and relatives. Come January and they are
payeing off the credit card bills ect that were for Chrismas Presents, that is wye
Jan & Feb can be slower months. And thats wye for the last seven years we
 have gone on holiday In January, best time of the year ( Role On Next Jan )

                                           Take Care John

[Andy Hogarth]

but hold on we are talking about the great british public here so forget the logic.

 

January is a great time for a holiday, Whens the peak season then, At a guess I'd say autumn when it starts getting rainy and cold again and people notice the carpets getting a bit grubby , But hey as I said ..... A lot to learn, A hell of a lot to learn

Andy

[Dennis]

Over my 16 years in carpet cleaning August has been the busiest month a lot of years but usually October/November.

[Terry_Burrows]

we have also found it to be quiet since end of November,is this how most carpet cleaners find the work front

[cleaning co]

yes terry, i hav also noticed a big lull since nov , its prob the quietist i hav know it in over 10 years of cleaning carpets leaflets are waste of time at the min,
p.s summer months are allways my best from may to sept

[Adrian Makel]

been very slow since christmas.people keen saying they are waiting for the end of the wet weather,for gods sake this is the u.k there is no end to the wet weather,lol.should start to pick up next month

[therapist]

Have to agree, that it was a very quiet December and January for me.........but then I was in Spain for most of that period.

Strangely, however, we have been very steady since mid January, which is unusual and almost all of the work coming from established clients.

We don't advertise and get a surprising amount of work throughout the year from the FREE alphabetical listing in Y/P.

Weather can be a factor and although we are in the West of Scotland it's been an excellent winter with mostly clear skies and no snow.  Honest !!!!!!!!!!!

What's worth remembering, from a marketing point of view, is that most people get cleaning / decorating / new furniture, because of a special occasion in there family, so talk to your clients about their family and take note of birthdays, visiting relatives from Canada , anniversaries, etc.

A prompt about 6 weeks before the event could prove very productive..........

rob m

[nick p]

hi

had a very busy jan and feb this year so far march is looking good ive just kept on leafleting when i can couple of ads in local paper now and again works for me

cheers nick p

[Terry_Burrows]

we do the local paper,BT book,Now yellow pages just come out and 3 small books that  cover post cde areas,and saying all that and the coverage we do,let alone the cost and we have sent out 350 letters to hospice etc,its a bit worrying as to the small response in return for all of this for us it droped off November,we get bits and bobs,but nothing meaty

are you all finding this to,does it break soon,this is the first time we have pushed big time the carpet cleaning,as we want this to be our main work load now,we have been carpet cleaning for as long as window cleaning,but wc was the main,now we want it to be carpet cleaning and spent quite a bit in marketing it

[John Kelly]

Terry

I think the important thing to take onboard about carpet cleaning is you must work at building up a good customer base. Once you have a customer it is important to build up a relationship with them and it is very important to keep in touch on a regular basis, at least every few months. As far as they are concerned every carpet cleaner is the same. Obviously some people find out the hard way that they are not, but if someone has had there carpets cleaned a few times by different cleaners and have been happy they have no reason to use you next time. It is up to you to make sure they do. By regular contact, newsletter, postcard etc, it keeps you in their minds and it will probably be you they call when they next need cleaning. If you don't do this they'll probably not remember you and just pick up Yellow Pages.
By doing this you build your customer base up, you can then use these people for refferals etc. This all enables you to reduce your marketing costs in the future. It takes time but is worth it. I know people who do very little advertising but make shed loads of money.

[pcloy]

as you think so it will be (i allways am busy)what you look for is what you will get

[Vernon Purcell]

cleaning co
I agree with you are call have dropped off since November
and it our tele sales that keeps us up there

[Terry_Burrows]

its the hotels and hospice we are trying to target etc sent loads of letters with nice cards,we had plastic cards they are very pro like

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys,

Last week was the worst I've had for new work for a long time although this week is looking good so far.3 weeks ago I had my best winter week on record :

There are lots of price pressures at the moment , gas bills etc but CC is a tough business to get established in  anyway ,  because it is so easy to start up.

The old cliche about when the going gets tough etc is so true of CC , get out and sell , market and be strong.

Cheers

Doug

[HQCS (John Kastrian)]

Yes it is a bit quiet at the moment,and this is for all trades not just cc.

[tomh]

i think you will find were technically in a recession !
of course your going to have good weeks bad weeks days where there are not enough hours in others may as well stay in bed.
there is so much personal debt that the guy i brought my advantage host loads of other stuff packed in cc to earn fantastic money sorting out peoples finances ave 25k-60k personal debt not inc morgages
when was the last time taxman run tv & radio adds to bubble up un-registered business's

[Terry_Burrows]

yes Tom I agree with you I think so to,at last this thingy works