All Round Cleaning
Well-known member
- Messages
- 3,075
How to Operate a Successful Canvassing Operation for Window Cleaning
It is always better to work smart than unnecessarily hard. Canvassing can be a very lucrative job if it is done correctly. Following these guidelines will ensure you maximise your income potential:
The best times to canvass for prospective window cleaning customers are when people are at home. These times vary for different people. For example, if you are canvassing a bungalow estate during the day, you will get better results than if you target a typical starter home estate because retired people are more likely to be at home during the day whereas the younger people are more likely to be at work up until 4-5pm.There are no hard and fast rules but common sense should always prevail. If you are limited to the amount of hours you can work you should always work from 4-8pm, historically this is the best time slot to catch people in. Saturday afternoons and Sundays can also be good.
Always wear your ID badge and have sufficient company literature on you. Looking official helps to break the initial mistrust of bogus callers etc. If you look professional and convey this message to the customer you will undoubtedly get more business. Residential window cleaning is full of unreliable, unprofessional people. It is important you show the customer quickly that we are very different to your average window cleaner (first impressions count).
Be polite and courteous at all times even if someone rejects your offer. Many times customers have said no to me and then have approached me later, or called me back. Being polite, friendly and respectful will win you business. I heard of one story where a customer switched over from her existing window cleaner simply because the canvasser was so much more polite and friendly than her existing window cleaner was. When you sell yourself the hardest part of the sale is made. Never forget this golden rule. Personality sells. People buy people.
Always leave a leaflet with people not at home. You have done the hard part walking the street and knocking the door. It takes seconds to pop the leaflet through the door and will work for you long after you have gone. On average you will get 1 enquiry for every 100 leaflets you put out; you haven’t had to do any more work for it. It’s a no brainer. If you are really diligent you can make a note of the door numbers where no-one was in and call back at a later time. This works very effectively and is highly recommended if you have the time.
Use every tool you have to establish credibility and help make the sale. Our company leaflet conveys a professional image and helps sell the value behind the premier cleaning service. Many customers have commented to me that they thought our prices would be more after my sales pitch (I always use company literature to show customers the pole system etc we use )…this is proof that using these tools will help you sell jobs at top prices.
Do not over-complicate the sales pitch, keep it nice and simple and sell the benefits. It is not necessary to get too technical, its only window cleaning - the customer doesn’t really care what system we use, they only care about benefits. Never mention features unless you attach a benefit to it. Example:
Feature Benefits
Ladderless pole fed system. No risk of damage to property.
Can reach previously inaccessible windows.
Use of purified, de-ionised water. Leaves windows smear free and windows stay cleaner for longer.
Never leave customers saying they will call you back, they very rarely do. If you have delivered a price to the customer and they don’t immediately accept but instead say they want to think about it or talk it over with their partner, use this line: “That’s fine, now I understand how busy people are and sometimes we don’t always get a chance to do the things we planned so I would like to give you a quick courtesy call in a weeks time to see what you’d like to do. OK?” At this point ask for their name, tel number and be sure to call them back. If you do this you will close 50% of all your callbacks and if you don’t you are just throwing commission away and leaving business out there for another window cleaner to pick up. Try it, it works.
Always go out with a positive attitude and a target. A target keeps you focused if you are having a tough hour or so and it keeps you working. A positive expectant attitude will attract the business. Self believe and an optimistic approach will always win more business than the person who gives reason to themselves why this won’t work. This does work and will work well if you approach it with the right attitude. Smile and try to think depressing thoughts, it doesn’t work does it? So just keep smiling and keep happy and at the end of your shift you will have even more to be happy about because you will have made a nice pile of cash.
It is always better to work smart than unnecessarily hard. Canvassing can be a very lucrative job if it is done correctly. Following these guidelines will ensure you maximise your income potential:
The best times to canvass for prospective window cleaning customers are when people are at home. These times vary for different people. For example, if you are canvassing a bungalow estate during the day, you will get better results than if you target a typical starter home estate because retired people are more likely to be at home during the day whereas the younger people are more likely to be at work up until 4-5pm.There are no hard and fast rules but common sense should always prevail. If you are limited to the amount of hours you can work you should always work from 4-8pm, historically this is the best time slot to catch people in. Saturday afternoons and Sundays can also be good.
Always wear your ID badge and have sufficient company literature on you. Looking official helps to break the initial mistrust of bogus callers etc. If you look professional and convey this message to the customer you will undoubtedly get more business. Residential window cleaning is full of unreliable, unprofessional people. It is important you show the customer quickly that we are very different to your average window cleaner (first impressions count).
Be polite and courteous at all times even if someone rejects your offer. Many times customers have said no to me and then have approached me later, or called me back. Being polite, friendly and respectful will win you business. I heard of one story where a customer switched over from her existing window cleaner simply because the canvasser was so much more polite and friendly than her existing window cleaner was. When you sell yourself the hardest part of the sale is made. Never forget this golden rule. Personality sells. People buy people.
Always leave a leaflet with people not at home. You have done the hard part walking the street and knocking the door. It takes seconds to pop the leaflet through the door and will work for you long after you have gone. On average you will get 1 enquiry for every 100 leaflets you put out; you haven’t had to do any more work for it. It’s a no brainer. If you are really diligent you can make a note of the door numbers where no-one was in and call back at a later time. This works very effectively and is highly recommended if you have the time.
Use every tool you have to establish credibility and help make the sale. Our company leaflet conveys a professional image and helps sell the value behind the premier cleaning service. Many customers have commented to me that they thought our prices would be more after my sales pitch (I always use company literature to show customers the pole system etc we use )…this is proof that using these tools will help you sell jobs at top prices.
Do not over-complicate the sales pitch, keep it nice and simple and sell the benefits. It is not necessary to get too technical, its only window cleaning - the customer doesn’t really care what system we use, they only care about benefits. Never mention features unless you attach a benefit to it. Example:
Feature Benefits
Ladderless pole fed system. No risk of damage to property.
Can reach previously inaccessible windows.
Use of purified, de-ionised water. Leaves windows smear free and windows stay cleaner for longer.
Never leave customers saying they will call you back, they very rarely do. If you have delivered a price to the customer and they don’t immediately accept but instead say they want to think about it or talk it over with their partner, use this line: “That’s fine, now I understand how busy people are and sometimes we don’t always get a chance to do the things we planned so I would like to give you a quick courtesy call in a weeks time to see what you’d like to do. OK?” At this point ask for their name, tel number and be sure to call them back. If you do this you will close 50% of all your callbacks and if you don’t you are just throwing commission away and leaving business out there for another window cleaner to pick up. Try it, it works.
Always go out with a positive attitude and a target. A target keeps you focused if you are having a tough hour or so and it keeps you working. A positive expectant attitude will attract the business. Self believe and an optimistic approach will always win more business than the person who gives reason to themselves why this won’t work. This does work and will work well if you approach it with the right attitude. Smile and try to think depressing thoughts, it doesn’t work does it? So just keep smiling and keep happy and at the end of your shift you will have even more to be happy about because you will have made a nice pile of cash.
