[Mobile Foam]

 Was just wondering if any of you guys or gals use buisness cards as opposed to canvassing. I struck a deal with a local printer and i clean his windows and he prints my cards. The good old barter system.
  It was raining here today and I put nearly 300 through various letterboxes. How long would it take to canvass that amount.
  I understand that a lot of them will be thrown out without being read but a certain percentage must keep them and maybe will ring me at a later date.  I think it may help in that you are not knocking on a door where someone is in bed on shift work and are irrate at being woken up , gaurenteeing them never using you.
  Also I offer other services such as gutter cleaning etc or something that i can do in the rain.
 If I get  20-30 from the 300  I will be happy enough as it took about an hour to distribute them.
        What do you think.
                   
                    Tom.
                       

[replacement]

Your get 1 or 2 calls unless you have hit a good area with no window cleaner.

Justin

[Mobile Foam]

well thats another "get rich quick scheme "  gone then

[pjulk]

Christ you must have run to do 300 in a hour.
Or there very small house's close together.
I can only manage about 100 an hour.

I did try magnetic business cards through letter box's but i got hardly any responce.
I thought as they are magnetic people might stick them on there fridge and maybe call at a later date.
How wrong i was.
I found leaflets work better than business cards.

Paul

[matt]

i put 250 cards on a new estate, got about 20 calls, which resulted in 15 cleans (i price fairly high now my books are full ), which isnt too bad,

[Paul Coleman]

Was just wondering if any of you guys or gals use buisness cards as opposed to canvassing. I struck a deal with a local printer and i clean his windows and he prints my cards. The good old barter system.
  It was raining here today and I put nearly 300 through various letterboxes. How long would it take to canvass that amount.
  I understand that a lot of them will be thrown out without being read but a certain percentage must keep them and maybe will ring me at a later date.  I think it may help in that you are not knocking on a door where someone is in bed on shift work and are irrate at being woken up , gaurenteeing them never using you.
  Also I offer other services such as gutter cleaning etc or something that i can do in the rain.
 If I get  20-30 from the 300  I will be happy enough as it took about an hour to distribute them.
        What do you think.
                   
                    Tom.
                       

I use leaflets.  Door knocking works better but it does p some people off.  I make sure that my leaflets are about A5 size so they are less likely to be missed (I print 2-up on A4 and guillotine them).  The response rate has been about 1 in 30 to 1 in 40.  However, I target work only in certain areas with reasonable size houses.  I make sure I work Saturdays in such areas once I get a toehold.  That way, people actually see me working and that generates as much, if not more, work than the initial leafletting.  Sometimes I get a response to a leaflet two or three months after I've covered an area.  If they tell you that their last window cleaner disappeared (a lot of window cleaners seem to get abducted by aliens), ask if any of their neighbours were using the same window cleaner.

[Mobile Foam]

 I agree that the best way to get work is to be seen. If i am short of work, I sometimes offer to do some of my mates house's for free and always get an neighbour who would like theirs done wile you are there. Leadng to a call back and once you are a regular feature there it builds.
 I washed the front windows of a friends industrial unit for free about 3 weeks ago , and while i was there a guy in a car pulled up and asked for a quote on his new building in a new industial estate. Gave a quote , got the job and expierence gained.
 Have also gained 14 new customers from my cards so far
       Thanks Tom

[Londoner]

It doesn't matter if the cards don't get a big response. Any response is a result.
Like one of the previous posts said, once you get one job in a street more will follow.

[Duke]

When I first started, a few years ago now, I put a free ad in the local Parish Magazine......that netted me 60 odd customers in the first couple of months....I still get the odd call ...despite not being in it for over a year now....good result for nothing eh !
Maybe, being in a local christian based rag...it lends an air of respectability to it  (if if it's good enough for the Vicar....etc ) I don't know, but it worked !

[Mobile Foam]

Maybe you will get the windows beyond the pearly gates

[Mobile Foam]

Christ you must have run to do 300 in a hour.
Or there very small house's close together.
I can only manage about 100 an hour.

I did try magnetic business cards through letter box's but i got hardly any responce.
I thought as they are magnetic people might stick them on there fridge and maybe call at a later date.
How wrong i was.
I found leaflets work better than business cards.

Paul

I was just thinking that maybe your magnetic cards are still stuck to the inside of the letterboxes.

[Duke]

Maybe you will get the windows beyond the pearly gates

Nice thought...but I reckon I'll be doing 'Im' downstairs.....

[Paul Coleman]

Maybe you will get the windows beyond the pearly gates

Nice thought...but I reckon I'll be doing 'Im' downstairs.....

Won't they dry out too fast in the heat?  :-)