Ok, so this is a well-to-do beach area on the north Oregon coast. There are about 5 towns along the coast within a 20 mile stretch that I will cover. But there are ALL these residential beach rentals. And they’re all compacted on the streets closest to the beach (duh!). And most are managed by local companies. When I looked online there were only 2 other places I found in this whole area that do window cleaning. I dunno about any independent guys. Anyway, any pointers about how to get hooked in with these companies. Cause I’m thinking it would be like route work on a residential scale…
And when they ask what I charge should I price each house individually (there would be a lot), or give them a flat price per window, like $15 first floor, $20 second. Or should you NEVER DO THAT? (Inviting trouble? So many variables…)
Find out who is in charge, be it a property manager, HOA, condo association, whatever. Put together an email flyer that gives you a brief introduction and an explanation of the services you offer. Offer to schedule a face-to-face meeting with one or more of the individuals in charge, or request information on attending the next HOA meeting to deliver a presentation.
Make sure to have a packet providing your license and insurance information, also get some photocopies of your driver’s license that you can distribute to the community’s overseer(s). Doors open much more readily for those who can be trusted and the information packet will assure them your operation is transparent and trustworthy.
A large part of how you approach the bidding and price schedule will be determined by the organization, frequency, and scope of cleaning projects. Don’t be afraid to charge good money for your work in these cases. Remember that you are being considered because you are someone the community can TRUST, not because you are someone the community can barely afford. You may offer a price grid based on cleaning units in rotation, semiannual complete cleanings, quarterly or even monthly services for beachfront properties. Salt air really kills windows so proper cleaning and maintenance will save money and hassle in the long run over replacing windows every few years when they get blasted out from corrosion.
Once your bid(s) have been submitted, talk and act like you know you will get hired. Not cocky, but confident. Then move on to the next one and do the same thing all over again. Keep in mind that at this point you are not in the window cleaning business, you are in the marketing business. Sales is just a numbers game and it’s only a matter of time before you land something for all your hard work. The key is to keep pushing. Don’t get hurt feelings when you fail, learn from every encounter, take accurate notes and call people by name when you follow up, and don’t write anyone off just because they rejected you the first time. Try bidding them every season if you’ve got the time. If you lose the bid, don’t be shy about asking why. Then you can gather information and weigh the options to see if the changes you would have to make are worth the payoff.
Hope this helps. Now go get 'em.
I strongly recommend not making initial contacts with the phone. Several decades ago when I was a low producing real estate agent was that phone negotiations were the worst form of communication. Phone conversations prohibit body language, friendly facial expressions and all of the other essential non verbal means of communication.
Phone communications can very quickly degenerate into binary yes-no decision making processes vs. “Hmm, that is interesting. I might bring this up at our weekly management meeting.” That response is not a YES, but it is much better than the N word.
I’m going to slightly disagree. Phones and email allow you to reach many directions in short order. I, myself, am something of a digital luddite and I prefer not to depend on electronic technology whenever possible. However, physical relocation takes up valuable time. A brief phone call or competently pointed email can at least get your introduction out of the way and sort warm leads from the cold.
Don’t ever try to sell over the phone or email. Just use them as tools to get yourself in front of the people who make decisions.
You bring up some good points. I will say that another positive for going onsite is the additional visibility of the company vehicle and uniforms. Today when I pulled into a parking lot to chat with a friend he said he saw me and my van at the seasonal tourist shops while I was pounding the pavement (well, actually most of it was beach gravel and boardwalks).
I know that I need a lot of improvement in my marketing strategies and sales techniques. I would love to get more input from other forumites on the use of phones & emails for initial contacts.
PM me any time. I dont hold a degree in any kind of business but I was a GM for LA Fitness (a marketing company thinly disguised as a health club) for a while and sales is now an automated part of my brain.
Also for anyone reading, The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer, The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy, and Get Anyone to Do Anything by David J. Lieberman are probably the 3 most pivotal books you will ever encounter when it comes to getting your way where others fail.
I’m reading Customers For Life by Carl Sewell right now. I will post a review when I finish it.
Thoroughly appreciate the offer to PM but I think that discussing marketing/branding/sales techniques openly in the forum might be helpful to the people who are reluctant to publicly seek help.
Probably right. How about let’s find a sales topic that hasn’t been covered recently and start a new thread?
Yup, how about the strengths and weaknesses of the different types of approaches for first contacts/cold calling?
Another factor is the size and type of market. In small towns like Seaside, OR and Homer, AK I think the driving distance/time is less of a problem and there is probably a better payoff for getting face time than in the larger markets “Oh, you look familiar, didn’t you coach Little League/deliver quality halibut/go overseas, etc. several years ago?”
Alright topic starting
