Work drying up over winter?

This is my first winter coming up. (Well it's my 2nd but last year I was part time so didn't really notice)

Last couple of weeks have been noticeably colder on a morning. It's been windy and rainy, this week's forecast is shite...

Anyhow looking at my goggle calendar where I enter all my extra jobs booked in. (Valets,gutters and conny mainly) it's been pretty much blank this last month. Which is the first time since around Feb-March I've not been busy everyday, I'm ticking over but not really making much profit lately It's obvious I either need more windows or more add ons...

Anyways just wondered what the general trend is amongst everyone for add on work thru the winter? Do you notice a large drop off? I'm just wondering whether it's a marketting thing so I can look at maybe adwords or leafletting or is it just to be expected?

Cheers

I don't do add on so my advise is to build a quality window cleaning round.

The last couple of winters have been noticeably more milder.

Once you have a good round you will continue to service it all year in pretty much all weather.

Picking up new work is getting harder I am lucky I don't need any more work but where I live every man seems to want to get in to window cleaning I would say at least 10 -15 new starters in the last year or so alone all competing for the same jobs.

I do gutter and pvc cleaning, however as CGH has said, my main focus is on window cleaning, my primary business. I dont rely on add ons. If I was light on work, I would be flyering for my window cleaning service. The monthly contract for one window cleaning job is far more valuable, so that is where my time goes.

Do you clean windows trad, wfp or both?

CGH - I find the same thing here. When I started in 2007, I was picking up customers constantly. Not sure if its me or the market, but its just not quite the same.

It's all about the windows Adam.

I like my add ons' and do many but they get fitted around the bread and butter of the windows. Come late Nov till early March I find the add ons' die off completely due to xmas expenses but I get by on the window money.

Plenty of new customers in the rush up to xmas, many are messers just after a one off so be sure to put that first clean premium on at that time of year.

Exploit the one offs! If you see dirty houses near your round, ask them, if they say no could say, well we could do a one off considering its gonna be Xmas soon and you'll want the house looking it's best when family comes round... It's only a one off £30 etc. We'll give it a really deep clean, will last you a while etc etc.

Surprisingly I've been getting quite a few new houses lately. Mostly through the website

Once your busy with a full round even the one offs won't interest you much.

I stopped taking on residential work over a year ago but still get a good few calls a week for this type of work and one thing I have noticed is the quality of work is poor they all want one offs,end of tenency or won't wait and want it doing that day for next to nothing.

I had a call late last Thursday for residential and told them I don't do residential but would pass the number on and some one would call tomorrow on the Friday.

By 10am she text and said not to bother some one had been out and done them.

There must be window cleaners literally sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring.

It takes a good couple of years to build a good round there is work but you have to go through a bit of rubish first to get the good stuff.

There must be window cleaners literally sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring.

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I just finished sorting all voicemails after a 3 week holiday, called a potential new customer, said 'I can pop by tonight and quote that for you' she said 'Oh if you can do them tonight that would be great'

I thought, yeah right, good luck, dont even have water in my tank yet, gotta see if I can remember how to fill it /emoticons/tongue.png

I never do an 'on the spot clean' when quoting, only if I am on a job and a neighbor comes over wanting on the round.

Ok cheers. I have been relying the extras this year, mainly because I've had a steady stream and not needed to think about the windows too much as I've been fairly busy. It's only now that Its slowed realise I've not enough work. I mean I have enough window to pay the bills but it's the one offs that's been making me the profits.

Looks like the best thing to do will be use this quieter time to push on with the windows rather than flogging a dead horse trying to pick up add on jobs that just aren't there.

Looks like leafletting in the rain it is lol

I find I get more gutter cleaning jobs this time of year my Conny roofs have died right off, I've my regulars to keep me ticking over but after 3 years I still need more regular customers

Up until a few weeks ago I was starting to get a little bit worried about the winter. I took almost four weeks off work when my dad had a brain haemorrhage back in June. I then spent the summer doing the bare minimum work-wise so I could support my mum and help care for my dad. I had enough work to keep things ticking over but I stopped advertising and didn't go out of my way to gain new customers.

My dad spent exactly 100 days in various hospitals and came home just over two weeks ago. That was the point where I knew I needed to crack on and the work has come pouring in just at the right time. I've never known so many walk-ups and phone calls from people saying they've seen my van. It's a nice mix of new regular window cleaning customers and one-off jobs. The nice thing about the one-off jobs is that I'm busy enough to not need to do them so I'm pricing them high and not worrying if the quote isn't accepted.

Today I earned £30 more than I set out to from customers neighbour's approaching me and gained two new customers. It's only £30 but it all adds up.

I always need more /emoticons/wink.png

Up until a few weeks ago I was starting to get a little bit worried about the winter. I took almost four weeks off work when my dad had a brain haemorrhage back in June. I then spent the summer doing the bare minimum work-wise so I could support my mum and help care for my dad. I had enough work to keep things ticking over but I stopped advertising and didn't go out of my way to gain new customers.
My dad spent exactly 100 days in various hospitals and came home just over two weeks ago. That was the point where I knew I needed to crack on and the work has come pouring in just at the right time. I've never known so many walk-ups and phone calls from people saying they've seen my van. It's a nice mix of new regular window cleaning customers and one-off jobs. The nice thing about the one-off jobs is that I'm busy enough to not need to do them so I'm pricing them high and not worrying if the quote isn't accepted.

Today I earned £30 more than I set out to from customers neighbour's approaching me and gained two new customers. It's only £30 but it all adds up.

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I was the same as you, my daughter has cancer and was in hospital for 2 years ,that was very hard juggling work and hospital, she sadly passed away when she was only 4 /emoticons/sad.png so business been at a little bit of a standstill , really need to get it built up my aim is to earn 6 to 7 hundred a week which is a easy target

Interesting thread @adamangler ive just posted my own similar dilemma. Perhaps contact your existing customer if you know you did a conny in December 2015 ring them up again and offer the annual re-clean ?

Up until a few weeks ago I was starting to get a little bit worried about the winter. I took almost four weeks off work when my dad had a brain haemorrhage back in June. I then spent the summer doing the bare minimum work-wise so I could support my mum and help care for my dad. I had enough work to keep things ticking over but I stopped advertising and didn't go out of my way to gain new customers.

My dad spent exactly 100 days in various hospitals and came home just over two weeks ago. That was the point where I knew I needed to crack on and the work has come pouring in just at the right time. I've never known so many walk-ups and phone calls from people saying they've seen my van. It's a nice mix of new regular window cleaning customers and one-off jobs. The nice thing about the one-off jobs is that I'm busy enough to not need to do them so I'm pricing them high and not worrying if the quote isn't accepted.

Today I earned £30 more than I set out to from customers neighbour's approaching me and gained two new customers. It's only £30 but it all adds up.

I was the same as you, my daughter has cancer and was in hospital for 2 years ,that was very hard juggling work and hospital, she sadly passed away when she was only 4 /emoticons/sad.png so business been at a little bit of a standstill , really need to get it built up my aim is to earn 6 to 7 hundred a week which is a easy target

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That's awful. Really sorry to hear that. Fair play for carrying on. I seriously don't think I'd have a business to go back to if I'd been through that.

Last week was the first quiet week in ages. Then today 6 new jobs land in.

Bread and butter first = window round.

Ok cheers. I have been relying the extras this year, mainly because I've had a steady stream and not needed to think about the windows too much as I've been fairly busy. It's only now that Its slowed realise I've not enough work. I mean I have enough window to pay the bills but it's the one offs that's been making me the profits.
Looks like the best thing to do will be use this quieter time to push on with the windows rather than flogging a dead horse trying to pick up add on jobs that just aren't there.

Looks like leafletting in the rain it is lol

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My advise is to knock doors. I leafleted an estate Friday afternoon, not a single call from it. I knocked all the doors on the same estate on Sunday and picked up 10 new customers.

Does anyone think there is logic in lowering prices to get more customers on board then next april, hike the prices back up to what they should be?

this last week or two ive been caning FB, and in total ive had 11 enquires for a quote but only converted 2 of them, now ive always had this problem and stubbornly stuck to my guns but that was easier when i was busy with add ons.

Any yes @Tuffers canvassing is king.

Does anyone think there is logic in lowering prices to get more customers on board then next april, hike the prices back up to what they should be?
this last week or two ive been caning FB, and in total ive had 11 enquires for a quote but only converted 2 of them, now ive always had this problem and stubbornly stuck to my guns but that was easier when i was busy with add ons.

Any yes @Tuffers canvassing is king.

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That's not an idea I'd be keen on. I think you've just got to weather the storm and stick to your guns on your pricing. Do you offer add ins to all your customers? Are you sure you're definitely not overpricing?

It's strange how it's so different for people in different areas. Like I said the other day, the work has been coming in non stop for me lately and I'm quoting silly prices and getting most of them. Apart from one old boy when @daveyboy was with me the other day. I thought I gave him a fair price but he almost choked.

I would say about 3 jobs have turned out to be good from Facebook out of say 50!!

Facebook works for me and @Adams0211..well until recently when it started getting saturated with new windies touting for work

Work is still coming in steadily

I was talking to Neil earlier and the phone rang..20 minutes later i quoted it as it was round the corner and now have another new customer and a 1 off job today

Same with Neil the other day when i saw him and he was getting phone calls while working.. (yes we do work and not just doss but we work in the exact same roads daily so always bump in to each other and have a natter or help each other while talking)