Canvassing for expansion

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Yes, nice and honest, but you only give two options there Paul, yes and no.

By slightly expanding the opening to 'I clean your neighbors windows' (which is 99.9% of the time true as I canvass streets mostly where I have business anyhow) you are sowing that little seed in their subliminal minds that says 'OOhhhh, the neighbors have a window cleaner, I want one too!' Instead of a simple yes or no.

You see where I'm coming from? Little bit of consumer psychology.

 

[Pickingpaul]

Yeah i know what you are saying, but i find that persuasion methods work short term only, i find u end up with a customer who doesnt really want you and at some point along the line they will either wnnoy you or you just stop doing them

So i dont try and persuade anyone at all, i know this isnt universally acuarte by any means but i minimize the messers as best i can from the get go.

Even when some say 'yes' they might not have passed my test /emoticons/biggrin.png

I believe you cant 100% tell untill six months in (if they last that long)

I might add that i clean a lot locally once we are talking, or say i do whatever nearby house/road. I like to add where i live sometimes if i live nearby which i usually do.

 

[Pickingpaul]

Sometimes if i have a bit of a speech prepared in my head i get a bit to gue twisted when they open the door, which is another reason i stick to my simple line, "hello, would you like a window cleaner" and stood before them is indeed a window cleaner, dashingly good looking, fully clad with tools dangling from his hips, smile on face

The best answer is "yes! Ive been after a window cleaner for ages"

I dont want to hear this..... "Urm, maybe, etc" and then persuade them the right answers yes.

Obviously u have to discuss price frequency paying methods

 

[TolishAPurd]

Yeah i know what you are saying, but i find that persuasion methods work short term only, i find u end up with a customer who doesnt really want you and at some point along the line they will either wnnoy you or you just stop doing them
So i dont try and persuade anyone at all, i know this isnt universally acuarte by any means but i minimize the messers as best i can from the get go.

Even when some say 'yes' they might not have passed my test /emoticons/biggrin.png

I believe you cant 100% tell untill six months in (if they last that long)

I might add that i clean a lot locally once we are talking, or say i do whatever nearby house/road. I like to add where i live sometimes if i live nearby which i usually do.

Sometimes if i have a bit of a speech prepared in my head i get a bit to gue twisted when they open the door, which is another reason i stick to my simple line, "hello, would you like a window cleaner" and stood before them is indeed a window cleaner, dashingly good looking, fully clad with tools dangling from his hips, smile on face
The best answer is "yes! Ive been after a window cleaner for ages"

I dont want to hear this..... "Urm, maybe, etc" and then persuade them the right answers yes.

Obviously u have to discuss price frequency paying methods

I'm not into canvasing, would rather drop a leaflet or an advert or two in good places. But I apply the same thought logic as you. I simply want to know if they want a window cleaner or not. If I am trying to sell them a 1 time/infrequent service for example pressure washing, then I don't mind going for the big sell. But regular window cleaning needs a lot of cooperation from the custy, otherwise you can make a lot of work for yourself chasing debts, dealing with cancellations etc.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

I'm not into persuasion either Paul, if they are wishy washy on the fence types, 'Here's my leaflet luv, if you need me give me a call'

Onto the net house, if they aren't a positive type from the start then I am moving on pretty rapid, I have no intention of arm bending someone in to some service they aren't bothered about.

 

[Solarpanelcleanington]

I tend to ask if they'd like a quote. People are naturally curious. Just a matter of selling it then.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Well it was a wash today and none of us worked, but on the plus side I have another girl starting on Thursday so if she's anywhere near as good as Jade then it will be happy days /emoticons/smile.png

 

[Alan Taylor]

@Green Pro Clean Ltd nice post with some good info, one concern I'd have with taking on a canvasser is how would track their hours each day, and be sure they are out there knocking the door for the 5 hours or so they said they did that day?[/quoteYou wouldn't be able to track hours worked unless you was with them. Give set hours of 10-15 hours hours on minimum wage per hour on temporary contract. If the canvasser as anything about them they should be able to at least double that per hour

I paid a canvasser the first clean of every new fortnightly customer gained which earned them £300-£400 pw, this was for 25 hours according to them.

At the end of the day you need to pay them for the results they produce. So pay then commission not by the hour. And its better for you/me to get someone who could get you the work

 

[adamangler]

The lad i was going to use never turned up today :bangheadwall:

Lets see if usman turns up tomorrow eh :lipssealed:

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Good luck @adamangler I will pray for you.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

@Alan Taylor As you have just copied and pasted @Trev81 question I am not sure if you are just reiterating the question or still learning how to navigate the forum (I see you are new here so welcome)

How to track them is a lot simpler than you may think, there are loads of apps where you can track their mobile or even get a specialized GPS tracker and insist they carry that, some have commented on 'the staff may not want to be tracked' well what they want is tough s**t, if they dont want me to know they are doing their job then what are they trying to hide and they can walk on. Also as both the canvassers working for me are young women I want to be able to track in real time as we all know there are a fair few wierdos about these days, and I feel a sense of responsibility for those that work with me.

No different to taking on a lad to clean windows and giving him a van, I have a right to know where my employees are at all times when I am paying for it.

More importantly on almost any terrain a canvasser should be able to bring in at least one customer per hour, so if they do 4 hours I expect 4 customers, if they arent producing the numbers you wouldnt keep them on after two or three days so no real outlay.

Jade and I canvased side by side last thursday, For 4 hours she didnt get a single customer however I know she tried cause I was there, I only managed 3 myself and was quite annoyed as I consider myself a very good canvasser. Today she did 4 hours on her own as I was off doing the windows and she scored 9 customers to add to the books so that makes us for a dud Thursday.

 

[Andy]

Green just to plck your brains. Im assuming the young lady you have canvassing was not a full on wlndow cleaner when you employed her, what formular do you use for pricing.

 

[adamangler]

Well that guy didn't show up either text me this morn something came up.

So back to advertising.

I did have an enquiry of a 35 year old woman to possibly start on monday so maybe that will work out better.

Is it wrong to hope that she is above average looking ?

 

[Tuffers]

Well that guy didn't show up either text me this morn something came up.
So back to advertising.

I did have an enquiry of a 35 year old woman to possibly start on monday so maybe that will work out better.

Is it wrong to hope that she is above average looking ?

Sounds like MILF :thumbsup:

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Is it wrong to hope that she is above average looking

Not at all, she's hoping you are above average looking also.

In a world of equality it's nice to see you will both be equally disappointed! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

[boarcity]

So back to advertising.

I did have an enquiry of a 35 year old woman

Is it wrong to hope that she is above average looking ?

now uv said that ,fate dicrees her to be "a big old tub "

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Well a quick update, today I dropped her in a more upmarket area, she found it harder going and only scored 2 for three hours for an average of £16 per house, so I can live with that.

Hopefully new girl will start tomorrow, we will see if any good.

 

[boarcity]

you gonna have 2 fulltime canvassers green,good on yer!

iv always believed that IF you kept canvassing/leaflettin long term , no calling time to it, youd have a STONKER of a business

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

you gonna have 2 fulltime canvassers green,good on yer!
iv always believed that IF you kept canvassing/leaflettin long term , no calling time to it, youd have a STONKER of a business

@boarcity that's the plan. As you are aware some plonker of a Dr (QUACK A$$HOLE) miss-diagnosed me with arthritis earlier this year, sent me on a depressed spiral, and then told me a month later he was wrong. After recent lifestyle and diet changes I discovered that all the joint aches I suffered were weight related (since then dropped 3 stone) felling fitter than have done in 20 years, physically and mentally . Now down from a tight 38 to a loose 34.

So now I am fighting fit again I have decided to go big, I will not be turning away a single (decent) customer, and the key I have come to is the canvassers are key.

No point taking on a new windy only to be struggling to find him work, hurting your own pocket trying to keep him busy as that will just lead to sour feeling.

Hiring canvassers FIRST is the way forward. Lets say a canvasser brings in £40 of new business to day in a 4 hour period, I will clean them tomorrow, talk to the customer confirm all is good and get paid my £40, the canvasser will then get paid on Saturday the £32 for that days canvassing so they don't actually cost a penny as you are getting paid before you need to pay out.

A WORD OF CAUTION, I have a deal with my canvassers, £120 of new business in any one day and I will pay a £50 bonus, well Saturday Jade did just that, £120 of new business so I paid the £50 bonus, yesterday went to do the cleans and one was a dotty old bat that tried to convince me Jade had agreed a one off at £12, I know the woman's talking smack cause jade knows one off cleans are £30 minimum. So she hadn't quite hit the £120 of repeat business but I had paid her the bonus. (for the work she had bought in I was still in pocket so no biggie) However I have had words with Jade and we have agreed that only basic gets paid on Saturdays and bonuses will be paid at the end of the month once all jobs are 100% confirmed. She is happy with that.

 

[boarcity]

im glad uv got the bottle to see it thru

i pulled the plug on my own canvassing/leafletting effort when i got to 2 employees that rolled into 3 before the canvassing results tailed off . iv since trundled along with 3 employees ever since but a big part of me wishes id carried on leafletting,fuelling the fire of expansion forcing me to employ more who knows where id be by now?

what if ,

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Well @boarcity, the plan is to take on the first window cleaner around mid February, I will have him with me to train for a couple of weeks before giving him a fully kitted up van and sending him off on his own.

I plan to pay a fair £10 per hour and put him on 'job and knock' he will have no more than 18 jobs per day all typical 2 / 3 bed semis, they will also be very compact, and can easily be done between 8am and 2pm at a leisurely pace, which would put him on around £13.50 per hour, not bad at all as a window cleaning employee.

He will not need to do any collections other than those that naturally occur during his working day and all the cleans he will be doing will be maintenance cleans only.

The girls will continue the canvass and I will take care of all the first cleans and the over spill of customers until we have to take on the next van and so the process 'breeds' itself.

Will be fun to see how it pans out. Some rough calculations show that with two girls canvassing (and myself when not cleaning) we can field a new van every 90 days, however if we decide not to put out another van at that time and have loads of work I can still hire the girls out to you lot to canvass for you (at a massively marked up rate of course /emoticons/smile.png) )