Hello,I been in the industry for about 5 years and on my own for about 2,I use to be focused a lot on equipment and still am a little I guess but my problem that I see and I guess what has become my focus is marketing and advertising. I’m not a very good people person as in a sales or marketing type of guy and it shows in the amount of work I get.My market is extremely saturated with “bucket bobs” as well as big companies so it doesn’t help business either
I hear that all the time. Bucket bobs and large companies. Get out there and start talking to people. How many stores or businesses do you stop in and talk to per week? Try to set a goal. For example during our slower months we have a goal of talking to at least 50 new businesses per week . That’s just 10 a day 5 days a week. Something will come of it. May not be instant, we get jobs all the time from a card I left months ago. Good luck .
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This is important. Even when they say no, leave them professionally as if they will say yes. You never know what is going on in peoples lives when they don’t hire you right away. Could be any number of things going on at the time like the roof/A-C/plumbing/electrical/replacement of equipment, etc. When they recoup they may just remember who made an impression on them. 
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And for storefronts always ask if it’s ok yo follow up. This is also key. I’d say at least 50% of all our storefront clients are from following up. Just because they don’t say yes on the spot or they don’t call you back in a week doesn’t mean you won’t get the job. Follow up with them. Ask what is the best way and time to follow up. Then make sure you do and even if they say no but you feel like there is still a slight chance of a sale, I’d follow up maybe 4 months 6 months down the road.
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Go to meetup.com or toastmasters internationals website and join a group. Being able to public speak will help you transform into a “people person” or at least enough to build repore.
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My focus in order of priority and my personal reasons why:
- Jobs - without em i can’t use my technique or equipment
- Bidding - do it wrong and i might not get the job
- Technique - can still clean a window with bad technique but it might be slow and frustrating, but very eager to learn nonetheless
- Equipment - with proper technique i realize you can make any equipment work, but of course it’s still a major point of interest
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Jobs and Techniques in my opinion really go hand in hand . In my opinion all that was listed comes down to technique. You will be able to bid jobs more correctly based on how efficient you can clean the windows. The customer will be more pleased with your work , which turns into a repeat customer and referrals. Your confidence will be higher so it will show when trying to land more jobs. Sure there is always better equipment but in my opinion a mastered window cleaner is what makes the tool not the other way around. Great response @WVWindowWashing
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What I noticed here in Vegas atleast is I get customers who are price shoppers as in oh jose does it for 20 dollars and they have like 40 windows and dude comes with his windex and newspaper and the customer is happy because they think they are getting a good job and deal or I get larger companies who people hire because they have 1000 online reviews and established here already so like with anything its a challenge but no one said it was going to be easy.competing against the large company with great reviews is part of the job but the guy that’s bucket bobbing the market is so bad for business.
Do you recommend leaving just the card and asking to follow up?I only ask because I’ve been looking into a system that I can do a quick estimate on the job and have that left with the person as well that way they kinda know what the job will cost upfront?
This is more pointed towards storefronts. Yes we of course ask to speak with owner/dm/gm go through the motions and if we don’t get a sale then we right the price on our card (we have a spot for it on the back also listing interior exterior etc) then ask if we can follow up with them at a set date.
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I second this Luke.
Bidding is not that difficult, know your market, know your limitations and know what price that makes you profitable at the end of the job.
Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, let them worry about what your doing. Build value in yourself and your business.
Study this thread:
http://windowcleaner.com/t/prospecting-storefront-managers/32088
And this one:
http://windowcleaner.com/t/i-need-help-with-store-fronts/28804
They are gold.
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Came up with “no result found” for both
That’s strange… Try these:
(@Chris is there anything that can be done about broken internal links? I’m guessing it has to do with the updated site?)
Growth, sales, follow-up, WFP…
I’ve found that problem too for a lot of older posts. Try typing the wording of the thread address into the search bar and see what you get.
https://windowcleaner.com/t/i-need-help-with-store-fronts/28804
Type “I need help with store fronts” in the search bar.
I think the problem is with the numbers at the end, probably don’t match the new system.
Website, better quality marketing materials instead of home printed flyers, technique, overall education, learning to balance work/home life…
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Yea it is related to the move for sure. We were able to manually correct about 90% of the stuff. But other stuff slipped through the cracks.
Best thing you can do is put the url you think it is into the search box. That will typically find it.
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