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How Long Does It Take To Build A Round Of 200 Domestic Customers

like paul said, just depends on how well you pick them up, if you are out every night and only picking 3-4 up each time it will take a while. but saying that you can get lucky and pick 10-15 up in one night!

 
I started up (for the second time) from scratch last August. It took me until February to pick up my 200th customer. That figure is perhaps slightly distorted by the fact that about a third of these were either one-offs or as-and-when they phone me.

I now have 304, of which, again around a third are as per previous paragraph, so actually it has taken 13 months to get 200 regular customers.

I still keep the one-offs and as-and-whens because I am in Ireland, and the culture towards window cleaning is very different to Britain!

John

 
I started up (for the second time) from scratch last August. It took me until February to pick up my 200th customer. That figure is perhaps slightly distorted by the fact that about a third of these were either one-offs or as-and-when they phone me.

I now have 304, of which, again around a third are as per previous paragraph, so actually it has taken 13 months to get 200 regular customers.

I still keep the one-offs and as-and-whens because I am in Ireland, and the culture towards window cleaning is very different to Britain!

John
hi john what do you mean the culture is different to britain fella?
 
hi john what do you mean the culture is different to britain fella?
Many people here aren't used to having their windows cleaned regularly as they are in Britain. I do have a good core of regular customers (the 200 or so mentioned previously), who are regular and reliable. The others are, as said, either one offs who I may or may not not see again, or I might get a phone call in a year or two's time, and the others who only want them done for special occasions (ie confirmations, birthdays, etc).

The other thing is that I only have a small number whom I can just turn up and clean. The rest want to know in advance, either by text, phone call, or whatever.

I believe the main reason for this is that before the recession took hold here, people here were paying a lot more for their windows to be cleaned (for example, a 3 bedroom semi was typically priced at around 20-25 euro (£15-18), and that was 20 odd years ago! Now the prices are closer to 12-15 euro, which is OK as I can make a living charging that, but as people were used to paying more for a less frequent service, it has been a challenge to educate them to have a more regular clean for a lower price.

The key here is being flexible. I have fortnightly, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 weekly, as well as annual or as-and-when customers. It's not actually that difficult to manage. Because people are so laid back with regard to window cleaning, most wouldn't notice if I were a week or two late, so I can schedule them in at my convenience.

Kind regards.

John

 
well explained john im in cork southern ireland and its excactly the same here . the ones who ring every 3 to 6 months and longer i double up as its the same as a first deep clean. i have a wheeliebin cleaning trailer as i wouldnt make a living on windows alone so the bins help a lot also i do a lot of gutter clearance facia and soffit cleans and powerwashing etc .

 
well i got 148 customers in 4 months /emoticons/smile.png on my 4th month and 3rd day today /emoticons/smile.png

ive chucked like 30 customers of my round... moaners... bad payers etc /emoticons/tongue.png

hmmm thats it really mate

it can be achieved in 6 months i believe /emoticons/tongue.png

hopefully i reach 200 within the next 2 months !

 
Don't rush it, it will hapen when it happens, I've been going now for about 6/7 months and I have about 70/80 customers, I've been targeting specific houses as I'd rather have 80 good houses than 200 cheap ones. Don't be afraid to walk away from a job if they want it cheap, I've turned down a few £30 jobs because I know I'd be kicking myself when cleaning them. Good luck.

 
Don't rush it, it will hapen when it happens, I've been going now for about 6/7 months and I have about 70/80 customers, I've been targeting specific houses as I'd rather have 80 good houses than 200 cheap ones. Don't be afraid to walk away from a job if they want it cheap, I've turned down a few £30 jobs because I know I'd be kicking myself when cleaning them. Good luck.
good strategy mate /emoticons/tongue.png

 
Don't rush it, it will hapen when it happens, I've been going now for about 6/7 months and I have about 70/80 customers, I've been targeting specific houses as I'd rather have 80 good houses than 200 cheap ones. Don't be afraid to walk away from a job if they want it cheap, I've turned down a few £30 jobs because I know I'd be kicking myself when cleaning them. Good luck.
Ive done the complete opistite, I took on everything and anything lol. Worked out okay for shorterm, Im now in the process of dumping all the bad payers or houses that are to far away. As for the under prices jobs, im waiting untill the gov put fuel prices up and use this to put my prices up. If I lose them, I lose them.

 
Ive done the complete opistite, I took on everything and anything lol. Worked out okay for shorterm, Im now in the process of dumping all the bad payers or houses that are to far away. As for the under prices jobs, im waiting untill the gov put fuel prices up and use this to put my prices up. If I lose them, I lose them.
Marc mate same here /emoticons/smile.png a customer is a customer to me mate but im waiting for prices to go up aswell

ive even told 1 customer i might put his price up from £8.50 to £10.00 in a few months when petrol price goes up..... he was fine with it lol

 
Marc mate same here /emoticons/smile.png a customer is a customer to me mate but im waiting for prices to go up aswell

ive even told 1 customer i might put his price up from £8.50 to £10.00 in a few months when petrol price goes up..... he was fine with it lol
I have a few that need to go up 1:50, The others are between 50-1:00. I know at least half of them are going to ***** about it lol.

 
well let them moan about it /emoticons/smile.png u got to improive your round /emoticons/tongue.png just think yeah mate... ull be earning more money in less time /emoticons/tongue.png

 
im the same mate, got quite a few that need to be upped by £1.

as for on topic, iv been hardcore canvassing the last 3 days and have picked up 34 decently priced, close together regular custies, so by that reckoning 200 custies could be achieved in 20 days! obviously you will have bad days but it could be done with the right attitude and a good pitch, but you have to do it every day

 
well explained john im in cork southern ireland and its excactly the same here . the ones who ring every 3 to 6 months and longer i double up as its the same as a first deep clean. i have a wheeliebin cleaning trailer as i wouldnt make a living on windows alone so the bins help a lot also i do a lot of gutter clearance facia and soffit cleans and powerwashing etc .
Yes, like yourself, I do gutters and fascia cleans, and, although I don't do power washing, I have had quite a lot of enquiries with regard to this, so I may consider adding this service to my repertoire.

I am looking to have a customer base of 500 accounts, which will be enough for me to make a decent living on window cleaning alone. I am doing OK on 300, so I know what I need to aim for to. I have reached the stage where the work is coming to me steadily enough for me to be doing less and less canvassing. Even so, it may take me another year to reach this milestone!

I am in Tralee, by the way.

Best wishes,

John

 
well explained john im in cork southern ireland and its excactly the same here . the ones who ring every 3 to 6 months and longer i double up as its the same as a first deep clean. i have a wheeliebin cleaning trailer as i wouldnt make a living on windows alone so the bins help a lot also i do a lot of gutter clearance facia and soffit cleans and powerwashing etc .
Yes, like yourself, I do gutters and fascia cleans, and, although I don't do power washing, I have had quite a lot of enquiries with regard to this, so I may consider adding this service to my repertoire.

I am looking to have a customer base of 500 accounts, which will be enough for me to make a decent living on window cleaning alone. I am doing OK on 300, so I know what I need to aim for to. I have reached the stage where the work is coming to me steadily enough for me to be doing less and less canvassing. Even so, it may take me another year to reach this milestone!

I am in Tralee, by the way.

Best wishes,

John

 
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