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Cant get any work

Martin cleanforce

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Been trying for 3months must have put out 10k leaflets knocked on thousands of doors. Phoned and emailed companies and housing associations. But on top of what i already have which is not enough i have had one upvc clean including conny and about 200 quid amonth on window cleaning. I am in west Yorkshire so any ideas would be greatful 

 
what's your pitch? What are the response's? Are you quoting and not getting or not getting that far? How are you dressed?

either

your pitch needs work

pricing too high

too many windys

 
Im in west yorkshire and yes ive found it bloody hard, but not that hard!

I averaged about 1 an hour when canvassing round here in the day time.

Only thing you can do is keep knocking or pay a company to do it. thats what i do.

where abouts in west yorks are you? i might have a few odd jobs that are a bit out of my way that i want to get rid of at some point

 
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what's your pitch? What are the response's? Are you quoting and not getting or not getting that far? How are you dressed?

either

your pitch needs work

pricing too high

too many windys
Just in my work gear. I say who i am and what we r offering and ask if this is something they may be interested in. As for prices i am using the same system as my dad was using since 2004. 

Im in west yorkshire and yes ive found it bloody hard, but not that hard!

I averaged about 1 an hour when canvassing round here in the day time.

Only thing you can do is keep knocking or pay a company to do it. thats what i do.

where abouts in west yorks are you? i might have a few odd jobs that are a bit out of my way that i want to get rid of at some point
I not even getting that i am in east leeds. Unfortunately i just not financially in the position to pay for work. I went to a house the other day and the woman say make a reasonable price and i will think about it. So we have a few on this estate house are 500k up to 1.5mil the one i do i get 20 to 25. I looked round priced it up it had a conny the size of a 3 bed bungalow. It was 35 easy i went in at 25. The guy she has not seen for months was 15. She said my price was ridiculous.

 
Just in my work gear. I say who i am and what we r offering and ask if this is something they may be interested in. As for prices i am using the same system as my dad was using since 2004. 

I not even getting that i am in east leeds. Unfortunately i just not financially in the position to pay for work. I went to a house the other day and the woman say make a reasonable price and i will think about it. So we have a few on this estate house are 500k up to 1.5mil the one i do i get 20 to 25. I looked round priced it up it had a conny the size of a 3 bed bungalow. It was 35 easy i went in at 25. The guy she has not seen for months was 15. She said my price was ridiculous.


Its hard going with prices, the areas i work in are not as upmarket as the ones you are in, i cover most of wakefield and then go as far as rothwell, woodlesford, garforth, kippax in south/east leeds.

Most of my houses are run of the mill 3 bed semis,  averaging about 12 quid.

I know theres plenty of window cleaners about doing these same houses for about half what i charge. Its taken me about 2  years to build upa somewhat decent amount of customers. Its been far from easy. All i can say is keep going you will get there...eventually.

I reckon ill still be building my round until the end of the year.

 
I offer window cleaning, Gutter cleaning, fascia cleaning, pressure wash anything and carpet cleaning. The way I look at is the more on offer the more odds someone wants a service. 

 
Are you trad or wfp, if I was still building my round I would go back to the house were you wanted£25 to clean and say you can do it for£20 just to get a foot in the area, half a cake is better than no cake

 
Just in my work gear. I say who i am and what we r offering and ask if this is something they may be interested in. As for prices i am using the same system as my dad was using since 2004. 
try keeping it short ie "hi my name xxxx, I'm working on your street next week and was wondering if you would like your windows cleaned".

then when asked for quote say its £xx, including frames sill and doors.

if they say there last windy charged £xx odds are its gonna be a no, so i get a little cheeky, and ask "where are they now" if they say don't know then I go in with "it probably wasn't worth them doing it for £xx" sometimes that sways them. If they still say no then give them a card and say "your quotes valid for 7 days, if you change you mind give us a call." Gives them time to digest it and make there mind up, maybe you'll get a few call back. I never mention add ons when canvassing, I do that after the 1st clean, if they're happy with the job then they're more likely to say yes.

 
Put 100% into getting out there and meet your potential customers have a chat with the older people who live in the streets thay normally know what is what and who cleans what ( I spoke to a lovely lady and picked up 5 houses through her she asked neighbors)


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I offer window cleaning, Gutter cleaning, fascia cleaning, pressure wash anything and carpet cleaning. The way I look at is the more on offer the more odds someone wants a service. 
Hi thanks we offer all that apart from the carpet cleaning. My dad says its never been this bad he as been at it 12 years. And said even in the bad days of the recession it was not this bad 

 
Sometimes setting your prices too low can be an issue. People wonder why you are cheaper. Do a bit of market research into prices people are charging for jobs.

Also with the leaflets if you ordered a batch of 10k and your not getting much joy have a think about changing the leaflet if its not working.

I heard dropping leaflets at teatime is better and push them in the letter box so they are hanging on the inside so that people read them is a good idea.

Myself i have found before and after pics of jobs done works ok on the leaflet. 

 
Hi thanks we offer all that apart from the carpet cleaning. My dad says its never been this bad he as been at it 12 years. And said even in the bad days of the recession it was not this bad 


It's definitely not as easy as I thought it would be. Leeds is saturated with window cleaners though, Ive seen dozens of  different guys round here.  Its certainly not easy to build a compact round, I've hardly anything on the same street and I've canvassed and leafletted most towns in wakefield. 

Depends what you want to achieve. I had thought of building a big business with employees etc in the future, it could happen but not round here, would need to go further affield to get the volume of work required. 

Have you thought about trying a different area?  

 
The prolific use and knowledge of wfp has meant their is loads more lads coming into window cleaning, 10 years ago you might have 2-3 windys on a estate now its easily 5-6, No doubt most areas are saturated across the UK .

 
have you tried putting an add in local parish magazines they are usually pretty cheap and ive got most of my best work through them 

 
Just a thought but what about adding handyman services to the list.. 

Not sure if it would work if you got busy with the windows... 

 
I know it's hard but just keep on knocking 9 to 5 every day for 1 week, when you pick one up do the job straight away, were work clothes polo shirt black work pants. Clean boots and clean vehicle first impressions count ,explain clearly what you are doing in the area, and were your from & if they have somebody ask can you leave a card just incase there windy dissatisfied them in the future be polite good morning etc , have a nice day I use to love knocking doors 25 years ago

 good luck mate

 
what are your prices for say a house, 6 windows 2 doors

what is your speech at the door,

 
what are your prices for say a house, 6 windows 2 doors

what is your speech at the door,
Depends on size of windows but would say 8 to 10 pound. Hi I'm martin i am with cleanforce we r in the area offering window conservatory and gutter cleaning. I was wondering if you are interested in any of these services. Usually with a leaflet in my hand 

have you tried putting an add in local parish magazines they are usually pretty cheap and ive got most of my best work through them 
Yeah simon we have before and looking at it again. We did use a mag called on your doorstep but it is quite expensive and only just paid for the ad 

 
Good morning/afternoon sorry to bother you, I'm just knocking on your door because I'm a new small business in this your local area and I just wanted to introduce myself and give you this leaflet. (Detail what you do)  I'm just trying to develop/grow my customer base and the best way for me to do this is to speak with local people. 

The services I can may something you don't need immediately but in the future if you need a window cleaner or your gutters fascia cleaned or driveway washing and sealing it would be great if you gave me an opportunity to provide you with the best quote I can. 

(If you start with an apology it's knocks people of their guard a bit)

 
That would be at least a tenner for me

I have said it many times and swear it is true

I believe it is down to how you come across to the potential customer 

I never have a leaflet on me or any spiel

I knock the door (usually in work gear as i am working) and just say hiya/afternoon/morning/alright sweetheart do you need a window cleaner

Anyone who knows me will say i am not short of confidence and that seems to make a difference 

Amazing how well you can do just getting straight to the point

However if i get a yes how much i can be there ages jawing as i love a natter

 
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Hi thanks we offer all that apart from the carpet cleaning. My dad says its never been this bad he as been at it 12 years. And said even in the bad days of the recession it was not this bad 
Don't understand this. I'm booking work 8-9 weeks for pressure washing and other add on's. 

Every windie I speak too is rammo at the moment as it's silly season 

 
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