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Canvassing the high street.

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Green Pro Clean Ltd

Well-known member
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Location
Nottingham & Derbyshire
I have been asked a few times of late here for tips and advice on how to get business on commercial high street property so I have decided to write this guide as a how to, Do remember, this is not the only way, it is simply my way.

Now, a couple of key facts to bear in mind is that not all high street shops can give you permission to work on their windows, for example some shops that stand in say a square of shops might have a management company for the communal areas whose permission you would need as well as any H&S guidelines they want to impose so bear this in mind when selecting stores.

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Step 1 - RECON - This is the most critical step in the process!

Take a walk around all your local shopping precinct and high streets with a not pad and pen, make a list of all the stores you want to target. Take a photograph of each store front including signage and any windows above (Sometimes these are the stores offices)

When you get home, get on your telephone and call up each store on your list. The conversation goes a little like this:

Hello 3D Shoe Repairs, Can I help you?

Oh hello there, this is Darren from Green Window Cleaning, I have some information I wish to send to the store manager, could I get their name?

Sure, it's Mary Jones (Fictional name for purpose of this demonstration)

That's great, have a good day. (Click, end of conversation)

Stage 2: We hit the Microsoft Word

(Imagine the following as a single A4 sheet of paper.)

Green Window Cleaner

123 Happy Street

Cherie Town,

England

AB12CD

Dear Mary,

I just wanted to drop you a quick note and Introduce myself to you. I am Darren of Green Window Cleaning your local professional window cleaning service.

As you may already be aware we currently service several of the retail businesses along the high street.

To give you an idea of the typical service we can offer I have attached the following quotation for you based on the image of your store front below.



All external showroom windows once per week

Internal showroom doors once per week

Internal showroom windows once per month

Shop front signage (using pure water technology) once per month.

We can offer this service to you business for just £14 per week. However should you need something more tailored to your specific requirements then please do not hesitate to contact me on 07581 123 456 to discuss your requirements.

Kind regards,

Darren. Green Window Cleaner.

END LETTER

STEP 3: Put it in an envelope and take it to the post office, post it to the person, do not drop it in by hand.

Step 4,: Armed with your clip board, business card and nice clean and ironed t-shirt with company logo on walk into the shop a wee -ten days later. (if the shop is bustling with customers walk away and comeback later)

Ask to see Mary Jones,

Hi, I'm Mary.

Hello Mary, Darren From Green Window Cleaner, I wrote to you a couple of weeks back regarding your window cleaning.

Ahhh, yes I remember, you said £15 per week was it?

Yes that's right.

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Now it goes one of four ways.

1) We already have a window cleaner we are happy with.

That's great, well keep my card if you would and should for some reason he ever lets you down just give me a call as we'd love to have you as a client.

Will do.

2) Ahh I passed your details along, all that sort of thing is dealt with by head office.

3) We have a window cleaner at the moment, he only charges £12, if you can match that you can have the job.

(Be cautious) will he do all of what you are offering for the same price? or are they just trying to haggle you down, only you can read the customer on the spot so it's up to you)

4) Yes, sorry I didn't get back to you, been manic here, when can you start? BINGO

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This is not the golden goose, this is just s method I use and have had great success with in the past. As you go you will tailor you method to suit you but remember the more professionally you present yourself they more professionally they will regard you.

Even when rejected, always keep it friendly, ask if they mind you dropping in in a couple of months to see if there's any changes, they always say that's fine.

Become a face on the high street, become the one they all know so they wave you down.

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I have 4 small shops I do on my local high street for free (well they think it is)

A cafe, the hairdresser that does all the grannies, the hair dresser that does all the trendies and the paper shop.

All four jobs combined take me 20 minutes once a week. What do they all have in common?

They all have an A4 poster with my contact details and services displayed on their front door.

That system has gotten me so much business I've lost track.

Well good luck, now get touting!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
No Pete, that's just for the store front, those tops would be a pain in the **** by ladder cause of the railing but if they wanted you wanted to add in the upstairs windows to the quote I would offer them by WFP once a fortnight and up the whole quote to £18 per week.

 
im going to start my high street work next week some upper end clothes shops will offfer inside and out every week as well. they high end

bt like the style the way u send letter etc gd work

 
When you say it not the area you concentrating on how do you mean?

I've never been bothered with shop fronts myself as seem too much a pain in the ****. Also seems very little money in it with everyone trying to undercut everyone else not to mention high street shops closing down at an alarming rate since the last recession.

 
There's plenty of cash to be had at it Smurf, they want a regular reliable well presented windie just as do home owners.

When I say it's not the are I am targeting that is simply because at present we are targeting 'exclusive' neighborhoods the £50 + Homes where 5-6 per day is all you can manage and move up from there.

I would happily target more high street work if say I had someone that couldn't to ladders. Then I would find them 3-4 hours per day doing stores.

 
Here are a couple of our latest acquisitions.



£30 - Takes about 25min with a small conservatory at the back.



This one has no conny but back wall it practically all glass floor to ceiling, £40 per month (cause he has a sweet vintage lotus and a morgan in the garage but only drives a new XF to work /emoticons/tongue.png



Takes about 2 hours as has some tricky access 2nd story windows, £80 bi monthly.

What I am really looking for Smurf is to stop running around 30 houses per day and pick up the large jobs that you spend more time on but get the bigger bucks for.

 
Here are a couple of our latest acquisitions.

£30 - Takes about 25min with a small conservatory at the back.



This one has no conny but back wall it practically all glass floor to ceiling, £40 per month (cause he has a sweet vintage lotus and a morgan in the garage but only drives a new XF to work /emoticons/tongue.png



Takes about 2 hours as has some tricky access 2nd story windows, £80 bi monthly.

What I am really looking for Smurf is to stop running around 30 houses per day and pick up the large jobs that you spend more time on but get the bigger bucks for.
That is some classy work there Darren

 
Funny you should say that as that what I have been doing for ages. I have metioned more than once I have a very selective small round that gives me plenty of time to also do higher paid external property cleaning jobs too. /emoticons/wink.png

Here are a couple of our latest acquisitions.

£30 - Takes about 25min with a small conservatory at the back.



This one has no conny but back wall it practically all glass floor to ceiling, £40 per month (cause he has a sweet vintage lotus and a morgan in the garage but only drives a new XF to work /emoticons/tongue.png



Takes about 2 hours as has some tricky access 2nd story windows, £80 bi monthly.

What I am really looking for Smurf is to stop running around 30 houses per day and pick up the large jobs that you spend more time on but get the bigger bucks for.
 
Just my normal hourly rate. Probably should've gone higher. Still learning. Nice pad though!

 
@Green very helpful letter mate, and great idea about the bigger houses.

Do you do the Canvassing yourself for these? And if so, does your approach change from a normal three bed semi to an £80 bi-monthly? Since its a bigger chunk of money, do you have to spend more time selling it to the customer?

Or do you just knock on the door and say we're local window cleaners etc....

Thanks again Green

 
Hey Meridon, sorry for a delayed reply, I hadn't checked in on this thread for a while.

This is my top secret, take it to my grave, never tell another living soul pitch for residential customers.......

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Customer 'Yes hello'

Me 'Hi there, sorry to disturb, I was just across the street doing a quote for your neighbor (point to random house across road) and I notice you don't appear to have a regular window cleaner and I was wondering if I could give you a quote for cleaning your windows?'

Customer 'Sod off!'

Me 'Cheers'

But seriously the first part of my blurb usually gets them talking.

 
Hey Meridon, sorry for a delayed reply, I hadn't checked in on this thread for a while.
This is my top secret, take it to my grave, never tell another living soul pitch for residential customers.......

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Customer 'Yes hello'

Me 'Hi there, sorry to disturb, I was just across the street doing a quote for your neighbor (point to random house across road) and I notice you don't appear to have a regular window cleaner and I was wondering if I could give you a quote for cleaning your windows?'

Customer 'Sod off!'

Me 'Cheers'

But seriously the first part of my blurb usually gets them talking.
Thanks Green, that makes good sense! Need more people like you on here.

 
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