[Timmy Boy]

Hi all
I have just made the leap into residential window cleaning after starting up on the commercial side. I printed off some flyers and began to canvas. To my dissappointment i delivered about 200 leaflets with very little success. The leaflet looks pretty good (its actually an adaption of paul griffins one posted) - thanks Paul
Am I targeting the wrong areas (new housing estates) or should I be going to the older areas of town, or should I go out in the stix?
I have tried knocking on doors but the reception is decidly frosty even though I have made myself presentable & polite.
Is it the wrong time of year to canvas?
Sorry for all the questions but I am at a bit of a dead end.
Thanks in advance
Tim

[Jon T.C.]

Saturday, is a good day to go canvassing - obviously more people in.

Just keep plugging away at it. It is all a numbers game. I have been out all day and got nothing . Then next day had an absolute blinder. 

Don't forget, you probably aren't the only WC in that area. If people are happy with the one their using, ask who it is. You should then get a better idea of the competition

[Ian_Giles]

Just keep radiating outwards from your home, keep knocking doors, keep delivering leaflets, and keep smiling
Make sure you leave a leaflet with everyone you canvas, they may not want you now, but they might in the future.
The more 'in the sticks' the fewer window cleaners will be around, but you will be viewed with suspicion
There are always plenty of gaps in the market, you may only pick up 1 account in an entire estate, but  by the time you have cleaned it a few times you may have picked up a dozen more, half the time, all it takes is a toehold, people will see you turn up every month and then come to you.
I hate and detest knocking on doors, people hate salesmen calling, a tip I was told by a door to door salesman was to knock on the door and be starting to walk away as they answer the door.
As you walk the couple of paces back to them, you can at least have the chance to explain who and what you are, if they don't want your services, you can at least leave them your flyer and card and tell them you will be there should they change their minds.
And have you noticed how: If the husband answers the door and shouts back in to the house to ask the wife if she wants a window cleaner, the answer that comes back is invariably no
Try and talk to the woman of the house, the men are toss pots

I agree with all that Jon said too.

Ian

[rosskesava]

I agree totally with everything above. Especially about it being a numbers game.

Our ratio of customers gained to leaflets delivered is 1 to 80 approx.

Then as Ian says, once you've been going back each month, bit by bit you will pick up more customers around the same area.

[Jeff Brimble]

Ist rule of flyers, leaflet then call back 2 nights later "did you get my Leaflet etc " will produce a 8% response. People on brand new estates may not have spare cash even after 5 years if they are up tp the hilt.

[Duke]

The largest part of my round is a 'brand new' estate. It really snowballs once you have got a toe hold...after the first couple...it seems they all want a cleaner. nice new plastic windows as well...a dream to clean. On the downside...alot of them are starter homes really...even the 4 bed ones and 3 storey ones. Most of the customers are 'yuppies', new family's and proffessional people. This means I have to keep an eye on the 'Sold' signs...otherwise, I could end up cleaning a customer, who isn't, if you know what I mean. All in all, it's a good number, and I prefer new estates to decrepit old houses with wooden frames and georgian windows. Swings and roundabouts really, but persevere. A 'no' doesn't mean stop...it just means 'next !' We havn't had much success with leaflet drops....the vast majority of our work comes from good old canvassing. It definately is a numbers game.

[pjulk]

I think a lot of it is to do with people still paying back there credit cards from xmas i might be wrong but my dad owns his own taxi business and every year at this time he gets a bit of a drop.

The days are getting longer and won't be long before its warmer then you should pick up quite a bit of work.

Leaflet the same area again in a month or so the more people see your name the more chance you have of getting the work.

We leaflet the same area's over and over and each time the responce is better.

Just started leafleting a new area this week. myself and my brother put out about 1000 leaflets monday and will be knocking saturday. Out of this 1000 leaflets we only got 1 call the worst responce i have ever had. But i know they will come....
If you believe you will get the work i think you will....

Also you don't always get an instant reponce from leaflets. but people may call in a week or so from your leaflets.
I have had them ring up 4 months later

Paul

[Timmy Boy]

Thanks guys, your comments are really helpful,
I have actually had a call this evening and have got the clean  ;Dso I will print some more leaflets off & go out & give it another crack. I still think I will just leaflet drop for now until i am a bit more confident with the door knocking, but I suppose a thick skin comes from getting stuck in.
I will let you know how I get on
Regards
Tim

[Jon T.C.]

DON'T JUST LEAFLET DROP !!you're wasting you're time otherwise. KNOCK THE DOOR!! The proposition is always strongest first time round.


JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TRUST US !!!!!!!

[rosskesava]

Hi Tim

Jon T C is right. Just do it. Don't think about it - just do it.

It isn't a question of having a thick skin. A lot of people want their windows cleaned who don't have a window cleaner. Some people don't want a window cleaner. Some people are just nasty at the door.

Lately, we don't do much door knocking as more and more, business is coming to us as we become more and more established.

To start with all I ever said at the door is 'sorry to trouble you but do you need a window cleaner'?

If they said 'no' then I said (and still do) 'thank you for your time and trouble' and then I was gone.

My intention was always to get to the person who says 'yes' and to get that, I had to get a large number of 'no's'. The more 'no's' I get, the more likely I was to get a 'yes'. Often, after someone wanted a quote and was happy, after a few months we ended up doing houses nearby even to those who said 'no'.

Sometimes when calling, people can be rude. In their mind they are justified. That is how they are and you will not change them. Walk away and forget them. Most people are simply normal people who are polite.

Something someone wrote somewhere on this forum that really helps (I only discovered this a few days back) but I don't know why, is when the person answers the door, be walking away from the door and then walk back to them and say etc etc. It works.

It also helps to have something in your hands like a clip board and leaflets and if they show interest, don't have a blank piece of paper, make up names and address's and have them written on it.

Try it. Give it a go. What have you got to loose? If someone says 'no' it doesn't mean your life will end. The worst that can happen is you get no where. The best is that you will get more business. Seems good odds to me.

As an after though - don't call on houses with leaded windows. Those are a pain. And.... the obvious 'dumps' - I never call on them. My experience with houses that are dumps is that sometimes, but not always, they are a 'one off' and not worth the hassle of the horrendious first clean.

[Crystal Cleaning Services]

HI, We are new to the site, but would like to have a say on the leaflet item.

We started in MArch 2004. We pick an area, and leaflet drop. We don't do door knocking, as personally I hate door to door canvassers. We have a good flyer that describes everything we do. We leave it to the customers to ring us, but we find it works well. We have even had a call 9 months after canvassing. The customer had a good window cleaner at the time so didnt want to change, but they stopped coming. so she called us. We quoted a higher price than her last WC and still got the job, she then recommended us to her parents and frinds and we ended getting £80 worth of work from just the one customer !

We still canvass to this day, but due to the high amount of WC's in this area, we have had to spread out abit and cover a 25 mile radius now, but having said that, all our work is well priced and 3 of us make a good living at it.

An area that we canvassed before xmas gave us some good work, but every month we have been back so far, we have picked up 5-10 new customers each time. Reccomendations work really well too. Its just a case of the more leaflets you put out, the more calls you will get.

Everyone likes to work differently, but
Scott

[matt]

And.... the obvious 'dumps' - I never call on them. My experience with houses that are dumps is that sometimes, but not always, they are a 'one off' and not worth the hassle of the horrendious first clean.

I disagree, i allways charge more first clean if its a REAL BAD UN

then its easy street, these dumps that have filthy windows inside are like Bonus jobs, you can whip around quick on the outside, as they cannot tell

[texas girl]

Tim,

Just as everyone else is telling you, it is a numbers game. Sooner or later you will get a call based on the law of averages.

To catch a fish you must put out lots of bait.

Myself, I have done the flyer thing and it does work; sometimes I advertise 10% off with this ad, etc. I have also hired a person to distribute flyers paying so much per address(documented), and so much for a commission if I got a call. 

Just keep putting out that bait and you will succeed! I also have a yard sign that I post at each house that we are doing while we are there, and it has paid off also.

The Best of Luck;

Texas Girl

[Duke]

I used to do one that was filthy inside...I mean REALLY filthy...mouldy coffee mugs on the window sill and all sorts....how can someone live in a sithole like that ? And why bother with a window cleaner ? I'm glad I don't go there anymore...used to make me feel sick.

[rosskesava]

Hi Matt - Charging more for a first clean if it's filthy...... We don't do that but we will be from now on. Why hadn't we thought of that?

What I meant about not leafletting houses that are dumps, are houses that have gardens full of junk, car bits, filth, rubbish and so on. Basically - slob homes. I may be fussy but I go for tidy'ish type places.

Hi Texas Girl again. We've just got a 4 ft high  A board done that (quickly) clips on the roof of the van when we're parked up. Should be interesting to see how much response we get.

Nice T shirt   

[AuRavelling79]

I always charge +50% to +100% extra for a first clean whether it's manky or not. It's a protection if you're dropped after the first or second clean - that is a rarity though in my experience.

[rosskesava]

Hi Malc G

How do you present the extra start off cost to the customer?

We now charge a very good price for all new work. Do you think in terms of that price that it would be a bit 'rip off' to ask an even higher price for the first clean.

For example, Monday we charged £25 plus £15 for the conservatory roof for a job that took about 60 minutes for a first clean. Next time I reckon it will take us about 20/30 minutes for the same work. The owner hadn't had the windows done for about 2 or 3 years.

The frames were a real mess but now, all gleaming. Next time it's just a wipe over.

And Duke, yup, done the disgusting insides job too. It took ages to remove all the bits and nick nacks from each window sill so as I could get to the actual window. The whole place was a junk ladden filthy stinking sh*t hole that made my skin crawl.

We spent over an hour doing a few inside windows and the smell from the dogs, all 5 of them, was appaulling.

The owner phoned us about 8 weeks later to ask us to do the windows again. I lied and said we'd gone bust. It was when we first got started and £10 for all that work, plus the stink and the time................The place was a cesspit dedicated to animals.

Cheers.

[Malcal]

Hi Debbie
Does the yard sign bring in much work ?. My work is mostly compact, but some drive bys.
Hi Ross
Let us know if the A frame brings anything in.
Cheers Mal

[AuRavelling79]

Reply to Ross:-

I explain that it takes much longer to clean first time and to get the windows up to scratch.

However if your making the sort of money you mentioned in your post you've got a method that works well! Stick with it !

[texas girl]

Mal,
The yard sign has brought in about $1000.00 or so in revenue. It is a good thing. I would recommend it as another source of advertising.

Love ya's,

Texas Girl