There’s only one way around that mate you have to raise the price of work which is less regular, there’s gotta be something in it for you dude, otherwise you will learn the hard way and so will the customers when you aren’t trading anymore and they’ve got to find “yet another” window cleaner. Build to last is the key. If ther’es no money in the area, or a lot of competition, diversify as soon as possible. We survive because of ad ons. A lot of our custys appreciate that they can call us for the lot, as a lot of windys aren't interested in ad ons and when their rounds are full they haven’t got the time to do it anyway.
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Canvassing - how do you guys find it
- Thread starter Hyzer373
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There is actually an easier way to work it out, 240 customers over 6 weeks = 40 washes per week x £10 per wash = £400 per week x 52 = £20800 per year. Would save calculating fractions anyway
you’re well within your rights to do it, but it may feel a bit odd. Either just target houses which he obviously doesn’t do (Stinking) or move over a street & come back at a later stage.
I dont like stepping on other peoples toes and no matter how much a potential custy moans about their existing window cleaner, i wont take them on until their relationship with the previous cleaner is thoroughly at an end. To me its just not the done thing to poach other peoples work.
Good example, a custy rang us about christmas time for a price (they wernt happy with the existing company as it was different people cleaning all the time, some doing a good job some doing a bad job)
they were on a rolling contract which meant they had to renew the contract every 3 months.
I said no problem, see the contract out and call us when youre ready. And thats how it went. 3 months down the line we have become the new window cleaners.
Its also not a good idea to take on a customer just because they say “your price is lower so i’ll go with you instead”
theres no loyalty in that and they wont last on your books long because someone could just come in and under cut you.
there are people out there who are loyal to their windy and will stick with them for years, and there are people out there looking for the lowest price they can possibly get.
Sometimes you have to have a 6th sense.
also, if they say theyve “got rid of” multiple previous window cleaners, dont take them on, its a bad sign. If 3 previous windys cant satisfy them the chances are you wont either.
The downside to this is, houses with exceptionally dirty windows are often dirty for a reason (dont value it and say no thanks) or for one reason or another theyve been avoided or dumped by the existing windy (obstructions or bad access, poor payers etc) so have this in mind
I dont like stepping on other peoples toes and no matter how much a potential custy moans about their existing window cleaner, i wont take them on until their relationship with the previous cleaner is thoroughly at an end. To me its just not the done thing to poach other peoples work.
Good example, a custy rang us about christmas time for a price (they wernt happy with the existing company as it was different people cleaning all the time, some doing a good job some doing a bad job)
they were on a rolling contract which meant they had to renew the contract every 3 months.
I said no problem, see the contract out and call us when youre ready. And thats how it went. 3 months down the line we have become the new window cleaners.
Its also not a good idea to take on a customer just because they say “your price is lower so i’ll go with you instead”
theres no loyalty in that and they wont last on your books long because someone could just come in and under cut you.
there are people out there who are loyal to their windy and will stick with them for years, and there are people out there looking for the lowest price they can possibly get.
Sometimes you have to have a 6th sense.
also, if they say theyve “got rid of” multiple previous window cleaners, dont take them on, its a bad sign. If 3 previous windys cant satisfy them the chances are you wont either.
The downside to this is, houses with exceptionally dirty windows are often dirty for a reason (dont value it and say no thanks) or for one reason or another theyve been avoided or dumped by the existing windy (obstructions or bad access, poor payers etc) so have this in mind
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Joshyouare
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Was doing a street the other day, was told by one of two people that there was a window cleaner opposite. I then approached one guy who was working on his car.
Hi mate, sorry to bother you, would you like a free quote for your windows cleaning. That was met with "I am a window cleaner". I thought he was gonna start telling me to get off his patch etc. He started asking me about the business and what method I used, turns out he might need someone to help him with his work because he's quite full up at the minute.
Got one on that road and a few interested. Got 3 on another road which I know there's a window cleaner on.
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Now that would be fun, you have to try and take the personal thing out of the equation, you're trying to build a business not make friends. No one would deliberately undercut another windy but as long as you quote what you think is a reasonable price and sell your service, if this then leads to the householder changing to you then that isn't your fault. I'm fairly sure that I have a few on my books that would leave if someone quoted a few quid cheaper but they're not the type of customer you're going to keep in the long run, as there will always be someone cheaper.
Tango
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Nope but i keep dropping flyers in roads where there is a resident windy and it's really winding me up. No wonder i'm getting so little custom - everywhere i go one of the neighbours is a windy. Same thing today...
Last customer i went to there were two or three windy vans there. I know one lives there, can't explain the other two (or how i got the job lol).
But the joy is you can get it for 10 hours relatively enjoyable work, rather than being like a slave in some nightmare miserable factory, being bossed about and worse than when you were at school.
Doddy111
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I must be the only one that enjoys canvassing. I could chap doors all day and as soon as I can afford to employ someone to do the windows that’s what I’ll be doing ?
Green Pro Clean Ltd
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All the time. Love it. That look equals 'S4!T, we shouldn't have been so lazy and should have knocked all these again last week!'
Damo
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I've just started canvassing for my own company and two or three other window cleaners. One chap is miles away so it wont cause me competition and the other two/three chaps are in a county I don't intend to work in. I'm actually finding it quite fun building work for myself and others. I think with my company i'm under no pressure so if i knock for a day and only achieve 10 jobs its not a massive blow out for me. At the moment it's just experience so i can hone my skills but i wouldn't want to do it if i was just starting out as I can imagine it gets very demoralising quickly.
Green Pro Clean Ltd
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Unless he's gonna stand or put a sign out front you don't know if they have a cleaner (could be struggling by doing it themselves)
Once he comes by my house and starts dropping off money to feed my family and pay my bills I will then start to consider his feelings when I am out knocking.
It is a simple as this.... we are all a bit matey on here and even a bit matey with some cleaners on our 'patches' BUT...... they aren't paying your bills! Till they do you take every customer you can get @Tango
Yeah i know what you’re saying. There’s so
many of us at it now.
I am on good terms with the windys i know round here, i dont think any of us canvass really, not the established guys who’ve been around a while anyway. There are people round my end with huuuge rounds, 1000 houses +, particularly the guys who have been at it since the 70’s or 80’s.
the newer businesses tend to specialize & focus on certain things, if one of us doesnt want to take a particular job on then we pass them between each other.
I find that working “with” the competition can be beneficial in many cases. If i hadn't been in regular contact with a direct competitor (who sold us our new gutter vac) we probably wouldn’t have it as he would have sold it online. He knew i was after one so he offered it to us.
a dog eat dog world that it is, still maintaining decent relationships is always a good thing. None of us are the “stay off my patch” types, not the ones who know, or at least “acknowledge” each other anyway.
mike007
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Thing is about human beings (yes even window cleaners), we hate someone saying NO to us. We see it as a form of rejection, It goes back to our childhoods, and probably in our dna makeup. And when you canvass more people are going to say NO to you then accept you with a YES. Just the way it is, so you have to get your head around that they are not giving you a rejection for who you are as a person, it is the service that they are giving a NO to.
My advice is treat it as a game, do NOT take it personally....and most importantly IT IS A NUMBERS GAME...the more houses you knock the percentage of NO,s will far outweigh the YES,s, for example you knock 20 doors and get 19 NO,s and one YES with a say Monthly £10...if you knock 100 doors and hear NO 95 times but get a YES 5 times you then have a monthly £50 x 12 £600...maybe worth hearing a few NO,s?????
Green Pro Clean Ltd
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