business speaks for itself…that’s why I’m always busy and he has to keep spending money on advertising…
Star Brite, I don’t think I am in the mood for you today. Maybe later… maybe never
we need a virtual octagon.
“Hold your face against your monitor and tell me if you feel it when I smack mine.”
How do you go about getting commercial buildings.ho do i talk to GIL GP ENTERPRISES
One of the things that I have been working on overcoming is my fear of irritating people by calling them (i.e.: old customers who are overdue) or knocking on their doors (i.e.: canvassing).
In the beginning of the year, I sat down to call all of my customers to: update my database, remind them of our services, and wish them a happy new year. I was shocked at the positive response rates that I got from people. But before I started, I was really nervous that I would be “bugging” a lot of people. That’s when I had an epiphany…
If I bug somebody by being respectful and courteous, and offering a service that has good value, then they are either one of two things. 1- They are either unrational human beings (whom I’d rather not do business with in the first place) or 2- They don’t want my services anymore and have a bad remembrance of me for some reason (in which case they are a lost customer anyway- so who cares if I bug them by calling them too much because they hold no value to me anyway.)
That’s when I reorganized my customer database according to what I call my mvc’s, mgc’s, and lvc’s! These stand for my most valuable customers, most growable customers, and least valuable customers. I once had a business professor say that all great companies need to differentiate the perceived value of their customers in their customer database.
The same principle applies when going d2d! All we can control is who we are and how we act, not what others say, think, or do. Therefore, if you believe that what you are doing is right, let nobody else’s discouraging comments bring you down or stop you in your tracks. Knock on those doors and if somebody is irritated by your, dust off your feet and continue on your way. That is what Jesus told his disciples in Luke 10:8-12. Also, when the Christian Church was growing exponentially almost 2000 years ago, going door-to-door is what the apostles were doing. Check out Acts 5:40-42. It has some similarities that we small business owners encounter everyday.
Thanks for reading and no apologies for my religious bias (A little Scripture never hurt anybody)
Specifically I searched for the canvasing threads because I have debated on whether or not I should. My thoughts are, yes I should, the debating part simply comes from the fear. I have read every single post, and despite concerns of which days, which times are best, it all boils down to facing those fears.
After viewing many of the photos posted in these forums and hearing some of the many stories shared, many of you have found yourselves in some pretty hairy dangerous situations, just trying to get that window cleaned. It is ironic that ones greatest fear is approaching someone, fear of that “No” word. The word “No” does no bodily harm. So I am going to approach this with the attitude that the “No’s” wont hurt, nothing to fear, the “Yes” words will feel terrific!
Joie - N. CA
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I hope this was not said earlier in the thread. When I clean a house I do the FIVE AROUND. I knock on the doors of 3 people across the street and the 2 neighbors on either side. My existing customer is happy, so I have a warm lead with the neighbors. If no one is home I leave a Post Card, and mention the happy neighbor on the back. Takes about 5 to 10 minutes. Some companies ask their forman to do this and give them a commission check on any jobs that come in.[/FONT][/COLOR]
