New WC jobs this year?

[Damo]

Out of interest do you pick up anything worth while on checaktrade? 

I've had a couple of quotes from them but I'm sure its like £600 for six months or something like that and it would be good for plumbers or electricians who get £10,000 jobs ect but is it worth it for a few £20.00 window cleaning jobs? 

Also does it actually pull in much? or do you get most from your website?

Ive started to monitor where all my jobs come from and so far I’ve had one from me WWW this year. But that because it’s this time of the year. My WWW does very well in the year. 

It it does pull in work and for me it’s worth the cost. There’s several ways of winning a job. 

1 We choose you because of your CAT score. 

2 We found you on CAT

3 We want a quote because your on CAT. 

It’s about 860£ for the year. For me it’s worth it but i would say research who’s on it first in your area  

 

[adamangler]

I was just asking how many customers you've lost or culled to get to the original position of 320 customers 

Sorry, you mean how many customers have I had since I started?

About 600 or so.

So about 50% retention rate.

A lot of my work has been canvassed work which is by far the worst retention rate of all method which has probably skewed the figures.

 

[Dave B]

How come you have binned so many jobs?

I drop the odd 1 occasionally but to bin off that many would freak me out

 

[Damo]

Sorry, you mean how many customers have I had since I started?

About 600 or so.

So about 50% retention rate.

A lot of my work has been canvassed work which is by far the worst retention rate of all method which has probably skewed the figures.

Canvassed customers require a lot more work to train them to be regular. 

Me and Adam have used the same canvasser I believe. I found the 10% he gave to cover messers needed to be about 20% but he got me into new areas and the rounds have just bloomed. 

 

[adamangler]

Canvassed customers require a lot more work to train them to be regular. 

Me and Adam have used the same canvasser I believe. I found the 10% he gave to cover messers needed to be about 20% but he got me into new areas and the rounds have just bloomed. 

ive used 4 canvassers, 3 well know ones.  

I have a love hate relationship with canvassing, ive spent about 10k on it.

On average half of the work drops off over the first 3-4 cleans. This makes me feel a bit sick and like its not a good R.O.I

however after say 6 months you have your investment back and in a sense you have usually paid 5-6 times for the work in reality.  However thats the same as a good round would cost and youve got it in the area you want and youve trained them to how you want to work. Also it usually ends up being my most profitable work given that its the most compact.

Its a long term investment is canvassing and you need a thick skin to deal with the inevitable cancels, messers and non payer.

That said, im looking to find my own canvasser on the books to train up and get on the books as i do feel canvassing is overpriced but it is what it is...if you want work fast and youve no inclination to do it yourself it does pay off but not straight away.

Dont forget its tax deductable also.

It depends on your business plan and goals but ive been investing in canvassers since i started and i plan to keep investing, once the work builds and the profits increase so will the amount i can spend on canvassing and the quicker it will grow. 

Its not my only tool though, canvass an area and then once you have a foothold add the area to your website/online marketting plan.

But canvassed work is great to get started in a new area for you then to build on.

 

[xltim]

I've picked up 4 customers since new year, I don't advertise or canvass, I just make a point of being friendly and saying good morning to passersby and doing the best job can to get recommendations, I find these the best customers