[Slacky]

Canvass all year round - my best customers have originated from this time of year as they aren’t summer brigade

My concern for you is the intention to canvass but “something” always crops up - I’m not sure you have the desire to make it work if at this early stage you are happy to canvassing on the back burner

Darran

That's a great point. I think a lot of us have good intentions but something always "crops up".

In the early day I did a bit of canvassing and leafletting but i spent a lot of time thinking about doing it and not much action.

In the end I was honest with myself and realised I just don't want to do it.

So now I just pay others to do what I don't want to do Instead of beating myself up over not following through.

over the years we have had several people go on canvass campaigns only to see them after a week make excuses why they didn't get out to actually do it then they seem to wither and die -

Today I withered, but I didn't die.  I have a streaming cold so didn't get out today.  It's irritating because I was on a roll.  It would be daft damaging my health though.  Apart from that, it would leave a bad impression sneezing all over potential customers.
Wrap up well and work tomorrow.  Canvass again in a few days.  The cold is past its peak.

I don't understand Paul that you need to canvass for new work?.....you 've been going longer than me I think mate(1991 to my 1993).....id thought youd be well established by now....

I've never canvassed for many years now(apart from the odd few houses here and there usually ones I used to clean for the previous owners)....

It's a combination of circumstances that go back some way.
I had a full round (from a ladder) when I switched to WFP in 2005.  As you know, WFP goes through the work much faster so I had a round with big gaps in once I got used to it.  Instead of canvassing I took on a load of subcontract commercial work for some years.  It didn't end well as three of the four (large) sources stopped in quick succession - one of them even done me out of a chunk of money.

At that time, residential work was trickling in much faster than I was losing it so I figured all would be well.  In the past couple of years though, a number of long-standing customers have died or moved away and it's left gaps again.

It's also fair to say that I wasn't well for a while; things went wrong in my life (people dying etc.) and it hit me hard.  Motivation took a nosedive.  A couple of years ago or so I was even offered a bed in a psych place but soldiered on and went for outpatient counselling instead.  It helped a lot.

Unfortunately my weight ballooned and I wasn't confident that I could handle a higher workload anyway.
But hey, it could have been worse.  At least I didn't pick up a drink or get stoned - it was 32 years recently (I actually forgot my sobriety birthday earlier this month)  .

I've emerged from the other side a far stronger person than I went in.  Recently I was told that I'm pre-diabetic.  My response has been to lose three and a half stone since the start of June.  A couple of years back they also told me that I had a "very minor" issue with a heart valve.

Now that I've shed weight (and there's more to follow), I find that I'm getting through my work far more quickly without suffering unduly.  The aches and pains I put down to getting older were there because I was so badly overweight.  I feel better than I've felt in years (apart from this streaming cold ) , and feel motivated to earn more money and pay some things off.

It feels as though my life starts here.  Now.
I've set myself a stiff earnings target up to August 2020.  I may reach it, I may not.  But if I come close that will still be some achievement.
A couple of years back I was on the floor.  I guess I should be able to handle bereavement better, but I didn't.  I accept that now.  Time to move on.
The reality of it is that I've never had a completely full round in my own right since a few months after switching to WFP.  I've had a full workload when topping it up with subcontracted commercials, but never in my own right.
That is now going to change.

Thanks for that. An excellent post. Length of sobriety doesn't always equate to peace of mind. I appreciate your honesty Paul.

Matt

[Walter Mitty]

thanks for the in depth reply paul........i think you re a bit older than me(im 47 now)...none of us know whats round the corner in life.i wish you all the best mate.

also this should be a warning to sole trader window cleaners taking on commercial sub contract work...ive never seen the appeal myself....my grandad always told me "dont keep all your eggs in one basket".....i much prefer getting more work for myself and keeping lots of individual accounts that dont hurt too much if i lose the odd one or two for whatever reason.....

Yes, I'm 61.
The subcontract work did seem like a good idea at the time because it was coming from four separate sources and it saved me the hassle of canvassing.  I have a good reputation for not going behind the contractor's back and cosying up to the customer.  I figured that I might lose one at a time, or even two, but losing three of the four sources in a matter of weeks did hurt.  None of this was due to anything I did or didn't do either.  I'm looking forward to having a full round in my own right.
Not canvassing yesterday was the right decision as I spent much of the day in bed or flaked out on the sofa in front of the telly with a cup of lemsip every few hours.  This morning I feel that I will be able to work today, but I'll break myself in gently.  I have a fairly full week coming up so will probably defer more canvassing until next Sunday.

[Walter Mitty]

Canvass all year round - my best customers have originated from this time of year as they aren’t summer brigade

My concern for you is the intention to canvass but “something” always crops up - I’m not sure you have the desire to make it work if at this early stage you are happy to canvassing on the back burner

Darran

That's a great point. I think a lot of us have good intentions but something always "crops up".

In the early day I did a bit of canvassing and leafletting but i spent a lot of time thinking about doing it and not much action.

In the end I was honest with myself and realised I just don't want to do it.

So now I just pay others to do what I don't want to do Instead of beating myself up over not following through.

over the years we have had several people go on canvass campaigns only to see them after a week make excuses why they didn't get out to actually do it then they seem to wither and die -

Today I withered, but I didn't die.  I have a streaming cold so didn't get out today.  It's irritating because I was on a roll.  It would be daft damaging my health though.  Apart from that, it would leave a bad impression sneezing all over potential customers.
Wrap up well and work tomorrow.  Canvass again in a few days.  The cold is past its peak.

I don't understand Paul that you need to canvass for new work?.....you 've been going longer than me I think mate(1991 to my 1993).....id thought youd be well established by now....

I've never canvassed for many years now(apart from the odd few houses here and there usually ones I used to clean for the previous owners)....

It's a combination of circumstances that go back some way.
I had a full round (from a ladder) when I switched to WFP in 2005.  As you know, WFP goes through the work much faster so I had a round with big gaps in once I got used to it.  Instead of canvassing I took on a load of subcontract commercial work for some years.  It didn't end well as three of the four (large) sources stopped in quick succession - one of them even done me out of a chunk of money.

At that time, residential work was trickling in much faster than I was losing it so I figured all would be well.  In the past couple of years though, a number of long-standing customers have died or moved away and it's left gaps again.

It's also fair to say that I wasn't well for a while; things went wrong in my life (people dying etc.) and it hit me hard.  Motivation took a nosedive.  A couple of years ago or so I was even offered a bed in a psych place but soldiered on and went for outpatient counselling instead.  It helped a lot.

Unfortunately my weight ballooned and I wasn't confident that I could handle a higher workload anyway.
But hey, it could have been worse.  At least I didn't pick up a drink or get stoned - it was 32 years recently (I actually forgot my sobriety birthday earlier this month)  .

I've emerged from the other side a far stronger person than I went in.  Recently I was told that I'm pre-diabetic.  My response has been to lose three and a half stone since the start of June.  A couple of years back they also told me that I had a "very minor" issue with a heart valve.

Now that I've shed weight (and there's more to follow), I find that I'm getting through my work far more quickly without suffering unduly.  The aches and pains I put down to getting older were there because I was so badly overweight.  I feel better than I've felt in years (apart from this streaming cold ) , and feel motivated to earn more money and pay some things off.

It feels as though my life starts here.  Now.
I've set myself a stiff earnings target up to August 2020.  I may reach it, I may not.  But if I come close that will still be some achievement.
A couple of years back I was on the floor.  I guess I should be able to handle bereavement better, but I didn't.  I accept that now.  Time to move on.
The reality of it is that I've never had a completely full round in my own right since a few months after switching to WFP.  I've had a full workload when topping it up with subcontracted commercials, but never in my own right.
That is now going to change.

Thanks for that. An excellent post. Length of sobriety doesn't always equate to peace of mind. I appreciate your honesty Paul.

Matt

Indeed, I'm well aware of that.  I made a few mistakes along the way and am now putting things right.  If I were to encounter similar circumstances again, I believe I would handle them much better.

[Oliver James]

Last January I did daytime canvassing, during the week. I was getting one new job every 2-3 hours.

Here are my figures over the summer for evening canvassing:

In August our canvasser was out canvassing for 7 4.5 hour sessions. This was his first months canvassing He worked for 31.5 hours and he made 12 sales, and 4 signed up to direct debit.

In Oct, our canvasser was out canvassing for 5 x 4.5 hour sessions. He worked for 22.5 hours and He made 9 sales, 5 signed up to direct debit.

In August, I was out canvassing for 8 sessions. I don’t have data on the exact hours that I worked, but I recall usually being out in the field by between 5 and 6, and finishing at 840pm. So lets say that each session was an average of 3 hours. 8 x 3 = 24 hours. I made 20 sales, and 11 signed up to direct debit.