Hey guys! So I have been pondering what might be the best way to gain new customers for a commercial and store front route. I really haven’t found a way that I know for sure really works so I’m curious what works best for you guys. Thanks for the information!!
Commercial is harder to “advertise” than residential IMHO. Have a website, network, beat the streets, and network some more have proven our best bets.
Sometimes it’s good to just “know somebody” or be at the right place at the right time.
I sold $98,000 in pressure washing with a letter and follow up call. I talk
about how I did it here- Clean up with direct mail
You are correct. It is much harder to advertise commercial. I also would say you are correct that it is good to know somebody. I’m trying to come up with something I can offer the businesses of my area something that the other guys don’t. The sucky part is around here they don’t care about the quality of the job completed. The business management just care about how small they can get the cost on the invoice. Gotta love people like that. One of the biggest competitors in my area charges around .50 to .75 cents a window. That also really sucks.
Thats brutal pricing!
Price is a major concern for store front and small commercial work but your presentation will have a huge impact.
For the reasons you are stating is the reason why residential is the future of my business.
I will always have a broad portfolio but after 17 years I just get tired of competing with bucket bobs and clients that allows price to dictate over sound logic.
One of the biggest storefront window cleaning companies here charges $1 per pane,
more for bigger windows, but not much more. They been in operation almost 30 years
and have more than 15 ft employees.
That’s why I stay away from storefront, I am not a volume over margin guy…
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
What do you think about using email instead of snail mail?
I say use it with snail mail
i bet the owner barely gets 80-100k as a wage from that biz too and it prob only grosses 500k a year or something ridiculous low instead of 1.5 mil+
lemme guess, lots of old scrappy trucks with old vinyl lettering peeling off type look? barely a bucket and a pole in the bed for equip and even that looks all tattered and worn too much and employees that have that “homeless look” or similar and their own casual clothes (all tattered and worn too)?
we have an outfit out here like that, guy pays everyone under the table, they skip half the windows, dont do the high ones and the tenants dont like the guys they send out because they “scare” the customers and tenants, ha ha, actually heard that first hand one time from a property manager!
yeah, but look at that low price!! woo hoo!! it’s all the same isn’t it? a window cleaner is a window cleaner is a window cleaner right mr customer? ha, el wrong-o!
I know they used to be over $1 million, but they also do highrise and that
is where most of the money comes from (I’d assume).
They do have company shirts, ‘route guys’ use their own vehicles.
They pay via paycheck and are on the up and up with that. I have
a friend that has worked for them for over 10 years.
I would never be a volume over margin business, but that’s me.
oddly, they do not do residential, at all. Weird
I have been at this for almost 30 years. Said to say that storefront prices have not changed much in that 30 years. The best way to deal with this is to increase your production. If you want to compete you have to get fast. This can be done with the right setup in your vehicle and using pure water. I do agree with Clearview of Canada that a website, good SEO and door to door sales and being at the right place at the right time are the way to go. If I was starting over I would put all my effort into residential
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That is what I did, Haave more Residential than commercial, However the commercial has grown too.
Right on the $$$$$$ w/ the resident statement.
