I have had extremely disappointing storefront account success. I see dirty windows everywhere, drop off a card and even offer a free first exterior cleaning, but have had almost no luck landing accounts. With COVID I have really strayed away from door to door soliciting but I don’t know of any other way to land route work accounts. Any help would be appreciated, we are going into the cold winter season and I don’t expect any residential work until at least March and was hoping to stay busy with storefronts in the meantime.
Thank you in advance.
Joe -HD Window Cleaning GR
Going to take you 2-3 years minimum to build a steady base of storefront accounts and those type of business owners are in a different mindset this time of year, clean windows is not one of them. It’s kind of like landscapers trying to get people to sign up for yard work. I have never done much for storefronts in 25+ years, but I’m sure many veteran window cleaners on here will tell you those accounts don’t come easy as one would think. Lot’s of other variables like demographics, competition, etc.
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When I did store fronts I had a 4% close rate, but most guys report 2%. So, you have to visit 100 stores to get 2, and that’s with decent sales tactics, professional dress, quality work, etc. Also, as previously stated its harder to get accounts in the winter. I would try my best before Christmas to land as many as you can as they will be more open to having clean windows for Christmas. After that it’s harder in Jan/Feb. All this also depends on the local mindset on the virus and how its affected the local businesses. Start busting your tail now and following up, which is key, and hopefully you’ll have enough to keep you through winter. Best of luck!
Edit-straight talk, it will be hard to get a ton of work by Christmas as it does usually take a good amount of time to build up, but doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Idk if this is your first winter, but you could get a part time at night to float you till spring and work on building your accounts during the day.
Yeah, it was annoying, but at least I knew I could visit x number of stores and increase my revenue by x or more. Nice to start out on, but I’m not a storefront kind of guy. Dropped all mine this year and couldn’t be happier I did.
Thank you guys!
Hearing some reality in success rates really made me take a step back and reevaluate my process. I am drawing up a welcome letter, and will be attempting to appear more approachable when canvassing storefronts.
I have looked up some storefront bid forms and don’t like the look of any of them. I want the information to stand out and not include unnecessary details, any advice with that would be appreciated!
Also, what is your takes on malls? We have a few in town and dirty glass everywhere. I have been unable to talk to mall owners do I contact the stores individually? I also have heard that there are limitations to when you can work in malls is this true?
Thanks again,
Joe
Keep in mind that storefronts have more of a value in terms of visibility compared with the raw revenue they provide. People see your crew, your name (shirts, trucks), and phone number. This can help grow your business or at least stay relevant.
i don’t do store fronts but i used to have stores! i had 5 different locations the longest for 22 years. in that time only 1 window cleaner ever solicited our business and they only came to one of our locations.
they came every few weeks not even sure.
one guy would come in “want your windows washed?”
How much?
“$5”
ok
and few minutes later another guy would cleaning the window, we only had 1 door and one window.
they never wanted anything more and there was always several of them and they were always busy. that 1985-2005.
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