Hello All.
This is my first time posting, and I thank you in advance for being gracious with this newcomer!
I am starting a window cleaning business from scratch. My dad had his own window cleaning/property image care business for many years, however, within the last year we have relocated and he sold the business. Now I’m starting in our new location.
My dad is coaching me with the actual business growth aspects, and I’ve learned a lot from him. But I’m wondering if you all would be willing to give some advice on what methods to use for “getting the ball rolling”. Basically going from 0 clients and no community presence, to operating normally.
Door Hangers?
EDDM?
Door Knocking?
Etc…
EDDM is like a marketing adrenaline shot, but costs a lot.
Door hangers are nice and cheap, but take a lot of time to distribute.
Knocking can you land you jobs right away, but is slow and you might hate doing it.
This year i EDDM’d routes that seemed most promising and am door hangering areas that are good but the rest of the route would have been bad.
Door knocking is free and gets you work right away. You can add business cards to help your image, then door hangers to leave at the “not at homes”.
Be systematic. Pick the nicest neighborhoods within 10 minutes of your house so you have no excuses not to go hunting.
See if there are any free marketing groups in your town and make friends with other local business people. Organizations like the BNI are expensive and a lot of work, not worth it, IMO.
Even if your goal is to do residential work, go solicit storefronts and standalone businesses for route work. The regular money is a blessing when you have an otherwise unprofitable week here and there. Also, some of my best residential clients hired me at their businesses first.
Basically all this can be summed up by saying get in front of as many people as you can, every day, every week, every month. Every new person you meet is a potential client or referral source.
It’s looking like commercial work will be a must to get started. Right now I’m brainstorming what I can do to put an extra cherry on top for em. Possibly giving a coaster or something like that when I leave…
BTW, how many of you guys use sendjim?
Copy and pasted from another thread I posted this on.
So, I took a voice memo of mine and my friends conversation about general ways to increase business online. A few things that stuck out were:
Use AdWords Express. Don’t use regular AdWords. Express is easier to maintain, simple and the ‘meat and potatoes’ of Adwords. I used to use it years ago and forgot how much more I LOVE Express over regular Adwords. He told me to increase my budget to it’s maximum (there is a ‘slider’ that tells you where you should land in comparison to your competition). I’ve seen $60 in a day but got 5 inquiries today from the ads and booked $1000 + today. And it’s currently raining. He recommends several ads. Even said he’s currently running 30, but he has a high business volume and big budget. Always try an offer. Also, word the ad so the headline catches their attention immediately. i.e.“Window Cleaning in Austin, Tx” or “Austin, TX Window Cleaning” instead of “Your Name Window Cleaning”. One thing I do that helps me a TON is say “Owner always on site”. He also recommends “24 Hour response time” because a huge issue is people not picking up or calling back.
Facebook ads. Keep the same ad up and generate interest. Always have an offer. Treat Facebook similar to Adwords. Post a before and after photo. Get to the point of what you are offering to the customer.
Website. Ad a call to action at the very top, middle and the bottom of your page. Be bold about it. Throw up an offer somewhere. Mobile phone, iPads, etc account for somewhere around 90% of customer shopping for a service business, so make sure your mobile is on point and you have that call to action in bold writing.
Web Search: Google+ reviews are HUGE. Get friends, family and customers to review you. This will put you on the map with Google Places which is usually the first thing you see when you search google.
I would network with other businesses. You don’t have clients but other established businesses do. Find other businesses that have a similar brand as yours in different trades that surround your trade and give them business cards to give to there clients. I’ve even given “gift cards” that have $ value to spend on my services which is a win for both the other trade and their customer. They get to give their customer a gift and the customer gets $ to spend towards your services. As an example I have a pool repair company that gives all their client one of my gift certificates after their jobs because the windows are generally really dirty when they get done.
Marketing to other businesses of similar brand can give you a steady flow if work and start the ball rolling on generating referees as well and get your name out there. Some good companies to market to for window cleaning jobs would be pool repair, window replacement, remodeling, realtors, landscaping, maid service, commercial janitorial service, property management companies etc.
Networking is the way to go. It will give you jobs right away and continue to give you business off of just one sale (selling the relationship with the other business to tap their customers)!
…Yes. Don’t ignore the etc. Be creative. Everything works, just not
for everyone, everywhere. Well, almost everything works, I haven’t
heard yet of anyone having success with ads in those brochures
for golf courses.
Also, moving forward, building relationships with other local trades of similar brand gives you of network of services that adds value to your customers. When customers need something done on their home and they know there is a good chance you know someone then customers see you as not just a “window cleaner” but a respected member of their local community. Customers love community and the idea that they are connected to their local community. It boosts your brand.
It’s important to pick companies of similar brand. When you refer someone and they refer you it reinforces that brand in the mind of the consumer. Get to know the companies in your market and choose carefully the ones you want to associate with. Go to lunch with the owners and express the desire to network with them and sell and communicate your brand to them.
I also joined a BNI group (business networking international) and have had great success with it. I was able to reach homeowners I never would have other wise. It is pricey but not when you look at it as 52 weeks of getting in front of potential customers and people who will refer you to others. It has worked for me partly because I have the time to attend regular meetings.
I’m really glad the BNI worked for you. For me though it was bogus. I didn’t see the point of paying $500+ for annual membership dues, plus $15 each meeting, just to chat with the same 20 people every week and get hounded as if I were an employee for being absent.
My city has a handful of alternate marketing groups where I pay $15 for the lunch meal and no annual dues. These groups have a larger member base and non-mandatory attendance. So there is more opportunity to make new connections at each meeting. And it doesn’t feel like I’ve got another job on the side stressing me out.
Another rec is to attend open houses hosted by realtors. Give the realtors cards and ask for their cards, they appreciate referrals too. The realtors are always looking for service providers that can make their listings more saleable (and you might get some free snacks too!).
I ran with BNI the second year in. I did the whole year and met a lot of other business professionals. It was good to have the structure of early morning meetings and it got me in “business mode” when I was fresh out of the general public lifestyle. It taught me I need to treat my business as a business.
That said, one year is about all I needed. I still do work for some of the people there and it has definately paid itself off. It was a challenge to give testimonials and referals consistently but I think the whole point in it is to drive you to become business and success focused.
All in all, I’d recommend it to a new business person if they really have the desire to become 100% all-in and gain the business mode mindset.
