Just starting my own round, but another window cleaner is in the area already any advice?

[Pearl Shine]

Hi all hope your well and enjoying your Saturday as much as I'm not haha after another defeated day out on the doors since I have recently purchased equipment and a ladder to start my own window cleaning round (this is my second job currently) however since starting to canvass my local area I have found there is already a regular window cleaner and I'm looking for advice on what to do or what you guys would do as I don't currently have a my own transport so having to do everything on foot until I have saved for a cheap car changing the area completely is kind of out of the question for me.

Starting canvassing I'm getting a lot of "potential customers/tyre kickers" I either get we already have such and such doing ours he's been doing them for years etc and I'm wondering if I need to upgrade my canvassing techniques or try an area 15-20min walk away and see if I get any better potential over there instead?

My go to usually goes along the lines of Hi "love/mate/pal/sir" Do you currently have a window cleaner? "Yes/No" Would you like a window cleaner "Yes/No" Id be happy to give you a quote for you windows "f*** o**/Yes" Gives quote and my contact info.

However I've found I'm not yet receiving calls about the quote and I'm wondering is it something I'm doing wrong or maybe its the fact there is already a regular guy? should I also be going round the same houses I already knocked and follow up as I'm on the fence with this as don't want to come of as cheeky or p*** the other window cleaner off haha the thing that gets to me is some of the lads I used to work with could pull new customers like second nature even though they were extremely unpleasant people and its got me questioning why I'm struggling with this so much?

Any advice from you chaps will be greatly appreciated and hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend <3

*Just for reference I have done window cleaning for years but under a gaffer so never had to do canvassing for my own work etc I'm highly experienced on the cleaning side its more the customer generation I'm struggling with*

Hi how are you. I’m Jack from ( company name ) we do the window cleaning on the estate / road / area

You’ve not got a cleaner at the moment have you. ( shake head and point to windows )

We’re really good. We clean frames sills and ledges. Get the upvc back to white. And even do the doors

We come around every 4 weeks. And it’s super easy to pay online

The whole house up down and sides is only £___ and we will make your house look awesome

Now we are in the area Monday cleaning. I can pop you on the round Mrs …?

What other marketing do you use? Have you got a website geared up to bring in local enquires mate ?

 

[steve garwood]

Hi how are you. I’m Jack from ( company name ) we do the window cleaning on the estate / road / area

You’ve not got a cleaner at the moment have you. ( shake head and point to windows )

We’re really good. We clean frames sills and ledges. Get the upvc back to white. And even do the doors

We come around every 4 weeks. And it’s super easy to pay online

The whole house up down and sides is only £___ and we will make your house look awesome

Now we are in the area Monday cleaning. I can pop you on the round Mrs …?

What other marketing do you use? Have you got a website geared up to bring in local enquires mate ?

Not a bad bit of chat that, apart from the bit where you suggest he shakes his head and points at the windows.
2 things wrong with this in my opinion.
1. Knocking the opposition always looks unprofessional.
2. There’s a chance that you could offend the customer as it looks like you are pointing out something that they didn’t have the common sense to notice.

Mentioning that the sills and frames are cleaned every time can be done without knocking the existing window cleaner ?

 

[Iron Giant]

1. Knocking the opposition always looks unprofessional.

I have no issue knocking the opposition, had people asking for quotes this week saying someone else will do one house for £15 it's a double fronted 3 storey house that would be £25 for me they are comparing prices and not service I pointed out briefly what I had witnessed in the past and what his former customers had told me.

 

[steve garwood]

I have no issue knocking the opposition, had people asking for quotes this week saying someone else will do one house for £15 it's a double fronted 3 storey house that would be £25 for me they are comparing prices and not service I pointed out briefly what I had witnessed in the past and what his former customers had told me.

Good for you

 

[Poles Apart]

Hi all hope your well and enjoying your Saturday as much as I'm not haha after another defeated day out on the doors since I have recently purchased equipment and a ladder to start my own window cleaning round (this is my second job currently) however since starting to canvass my local area I have found there is already a regular window cleaner and I'm looking for advice on what to do or what you guys would do as I don't currently have a my own transport so having to do everything on foot until I have saved for a cheap car changing the area completely is kind of out of the question for me.

Starting canvassing I'm getting a lot of "potential customers/tyre kickers" I either get we already have such and such doing ours he's been doing them for years etc and I'm wondering if I need to upgrade my canvassing techniques or try an area 15-20min walk away and see if I get any better potential over there instead?

My go to usually goes along the lines of Hi "love/mate/pal/sir" Do you currently have a window cleaner? "Yes/No" Would you like a window cleaner "Yes/No" Id be happy to give you a quote for you windows "f*** o**/Yes" Gives quote and my contact info.

However I've found I'm not yet receiving calls about the quote and I'm wondering is it something I'm doing wrong or maybe its the fact there is already a regular guy? should I also be going round the same houses I already knocked and follow up as I'm on the fence with this as don't want to come of as cheeky or p*** the other window cleaner off haha the thing that gets to me is some of the lads I used to work with could pull new customers like second nature even though they were extremely unpleasant people and its got me questioning why I'm struggling with this so much?

Any advice from you chaps will be greatly appreciated and hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend <3

*Just for reference I have done window cleaning for years but under a gaffer so never had to do canvassing for my own work etc I'm highly experienced on the cleaning side its more the customer generation I'm struggling with*

Have you given thought to people having no money?

 

[Yogi1872]

Not a bad bit of chat that, apart from the bit where you suggest he shakes his head and points at the windows.
2 things wrong with this in my opinion.
1. Knocking the opposition always looks unprofessional.
2. There’s a chance that you could offend the customer as it looks like you are pointing out something that they didn’t have the common sense to notice.

Mentioning that the sills and frames are cleaned every time can be done without knocking the existing window cleaner ?

I tend to not badmouth the others either, what others do is none of my buisness, going around badmouthing people will eventually lead to you getting a broken nose, or your van damaged etc making you miss work. This isn't something I'd do, but there's a few I know who would do something like that in this instance and think nothing off it as if it's normal.

 

[Bell Pallisey]

people buy people especially so with windies. Dont ever come over as desperate , you need to keep any conver going by talking about their dog/cat/plants and you can say you had one like that, . or you wanted one but your ex wouldnt let you get one [spider plant]. Hang around in the local community cafe theres Always a loudmouth in there get chatting,worth her WEIGHT in gold and chances are shes on FB get her singing about you is worthwhile .Make sure you tell all you are more than happy to do the insides now and then.Dig deep in the community once the cogs start turning with the local curtain twitchers youll be ok

 

[Yogi1872]

Also unless it's a new housing development then chapping doors is a waste of time. Yes you will get the odd 1 or 2, but they are spread out all over the place as most aren't canceling the current window cleaner. I couldn't be arsed jumping in and out the van alm day going house to house.

 

[Bell Pallisey]

I tend to not badmouth the others either, what others do is none of my buisness, going around badmouthing people will eventually lead to you getting a broken nose, or your van damaged etc making you miss work. This isn't something I'd do, but there's a few I know who would do something like that in this instance and think nothing off it as if it's normal.

when i first started off i had a local big boy try n sell me a load of crappy work and then when i did not take him up he accused me of targetting his customers.Hadnt done that but from then on i made sure to ruthlessly flier his area ,over and over 3yrs running hes still going now but he has downsized and he Never will wave back when i see him

 

[oldtimer]

I mean this with no disrespect but if you don't even have a vehicle, you aren't ready to start in my opinion.

i started with a bike

 

[Daftoldgit]

O P I remember, when away on holiday, seeing a bloke pushing a cart with his ladder and bucket strapped on, we had a chat and he'd made it himself using bicycle wheels, been using it for years, maybe something like that would increase your area a bit ?

 

[Peter J]

Hi all hope your well and enjoying your Saturday as much as I'm not haha after another defeated day out on the doors since I have recently purchased equipment and a ladder to start my own window cleaning round (this is my second job currently) however since starting to canvass my local area I have found there is already a regular window cleaner and I'm looking for advice on what to do or what you guys would do as I don't currently have a my own transport so having to do everything on foot until I have saved for a cheap car changing the area completely is kind of out of the question for me.

Starting canvassing I'm getting a lot of "potential customers/tyre kickers" I either get we already have such and such doing ours he's been doing them for years etc and I'm wondering if I need to upgrade my canvassing techniques or try an area 15-20min walk away and see if I get any better potential over there instead?

My go to usually goes along the lines of Hi "love/mate/pal/sir" Do you currently have a window cleaner? "Yes/No" Would you like a window cleaner "Yes/No" Id be happy to give you a quote for you windows "f*** o**/Yes" Gives quote and my contact info.

However I've found I'm not yet receiving calls about the quote and I'm wondering is it something I'm doing wrong or maybe its the fact there is already a regular guy? should I also be going round the same houses I already knocked and follow up as I'm on the fence with this as don't want to come of as cheeky or p*** the other window cleaner off haha the thing that gets to me is some of the lads I used to work with could pull new customers like second nature even though they were extremely unpleasant people and its got me questioning why I'm struggling with this so much?

Any advice from you chaps will be greatly appreciated and hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend <3

*Just for reference I have done window cleaning for years but under a gaffer so never had to do canvassing for my own work etc I'm highly experienced on the cleaning side its more the customer generation I'm struggling with*

There’s no such thing as defeated day canvassing. You’re just discovering where your new round is going to be.

Don’t even think about the other window cleaners, I’ve been working streets with two or three other companies in them for ages; my customers prefer me and their customers prefer them.

Don’t assume anything, just make sure you’re knocking on every door.

If you are feeling a bit down trodden don’t let it show. People are drawn to positive upbeat people.

Try your hardest not to sell yourself short. When you’ve got yourself a good few customers you’ll really start to regret those cheap prices you gave out when you were feeling desperate and they will start to hold you back from earning what you need.

 

[Bell Pallisey]

Even folk who are not interested if you can keep them talking they may call up a relative there and then for you. i remember one time i came across a fellow sellotaping a bag of dog poo to someones door ,he was a community vigilante of sorts well i still see him and have never cleaned his windows but we salute if we see each other and hes referred work to me over the yrs .

 

[Peter J]

Even folk who are not interested if you can keep them talking they may call up a relative there and then for you. i remember one time i came across a fellow sellotaping a bag of dog poo to someones door ,he was a community vigilante of sorts well i still see him and have never cleaned his windows but we salute if we see each other and hes referred work to me over the yrs .

lol

 

[Gary090118]

Get used to rejection it's all part of the game, don't worry about other cleaners in the area just keep moving forward.

I keep it very simple with my canvassing.

"HI, sorry to bother you but I'm just in the area today to see if anyone needs a window cleaning service?"

This is all you need to either secure the job or not. If people say yes I tell them the price, 4 weekly clean, windows frames doors and sills, text all customers day prior to clean. Can pay online or with cash.

This alone is usually enough to secure the sale. I do have sign written uniform though that's always a bonus and leaves customers feeling confident about you and your service.

If no one answers the door I have quote slips that I print myself, I'll write my estimate on it and go to the next house. You would be surprised how much success you can have with a personal quote slip.

 

[leopard-skin-tights]

Online payments are great! I only have 2 cash customers who are on the brink of expire anyway, all others are on online payment. I already used time cleaning the windows, why waste time chasing the money afterwards.
To be fair, in Denmark cash is almost vanished from society, and most people pay via an app on the phone.

Don't agree with that. You need a mix. Most customers pay cash at the time up here. If you miss them then ticket and collect at time of next clean. If your cashflow makes this difficult and you need to waste time doing evening /weekend collections then something wrong with how you're managing your business. Those who are happy to see the death of cash - the joke is on them.

 

[Cleanco]

Don't agree with that. You need a mix. Most customers pay cash at the time up here. If you miss them then ticket and collect at time of next clean. If your cashflow makes this difficult and you need to waste time doing evening /weekend collections then something wrong with how you're managing your business. Those who are happy to see the death of cash - the joke is on them.

Cash is king they say although I do find bank payments a lot easier to manage as most things I spend my money on are either online or card payment anyway. I have around 80/20 split in favour of bank payments. A lot of places don’t even accept cash anymore. Still a good few chippys/food establishments around here that only take cash though The cashless society is dawning so might as well work with it to your advantage rather than tryin to work against it because when the powers that be want somethin they usually get it.

 

[Gadgetfox]

i started with a bike

Good for you! I started with a bucket, squeegee, scrim & point ladder. I could only clean bungalows. 5 years later I am fully equiped and sold my round for £34k. I'm now starting my new venture - canvassing for window cleaners. My advice; never undercut other cleaners, push price bounderies up as high as you can and reinvest as much of your earnings back into the business i.e. better equipment and a car when you have the funds. Good luck buddy!