I’m New to the site so hello all! I’m from the Midwest (Moline, ILL) and I’ve been pretty confused on the best route to take as far as getting new customers… I know this has probably been posted a hundred times but I can’t find one that is a direct answer… Anyways, ive had pro uniforms made with my logo and really nice fliers made and business cards also… Approx. 2500 fliers link to flyers: http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/918/doorhanger.jpg … Now… For you guys who know what works and what has worked for you… do you just flier all over the place or in the same area over and over? Or do you do knocking doors which takes more time than just drop and go? Ive seen a few different posts where people say the just drop and go but also knock doors which seems a big waste of time in the long run… Also, does this work the same for commercial accounts? Its about to be winter soon so i wanted to try to get something started for the next few months leading into next year… And I’m just confused on what to do and what approach to take first!
Ps… This is for normal window cleaning with squeege and scrubber not WFP system…
And what did or do you say to people if you knock doors instead of flyering?
I wish I knew the answer(s) - try everything. I have done fliers in mail boxes (newspaper), on doors, tucked under doormats. Cold calling businesses via phone, and in person, and while I’m eating dinner somewhere. Get in touch with anyone you know, and let them know what you are doing nowadays. Going to do some door to door when the weather clears up. Hang up ads at gas stations. Do anything and everything you can think of, try craigslist. I have done hand typed and signed letters directly to customers. Yet everything I do yields the same results. There is no magic truick in this business. Good luck!
If your just starting out, I would say focus on residential or commercial and commit 100% to your choice. Honestly though, residential is where the $$ is and where your referrals will come from. We get a ton of new residential cutomers by advertising in the small local town papers where we work.
Your door hangers look nice. Go deliver them, you wont see a return unless you distribute all of them. I used door hangers when I first started and still do from time to time. From my experience there is no one method that will get you all the work you need. Try different things, a combination of all you efforts will pay off sooner or later if you are persistent.
The best thing you can do is get out there and do something and try not to get discouraged if things don’t happen right away.
Be a walking, talking advertisement and do it like your life depended on it!
I wish too there was a magic answer but there isn’t.
And always reinvest some money back that you make on jobs back into whatever marketing pieces are working for you. Keep at it Brandon. The first two years are always the toughest but it’s worth it:)
P.s. I would stick with residential in the beginning and then get into commercial work later on. When I was tight on cash I would go into the affluent neighborhoods and meet them face to face.
Welcome Brandon! Nice to see another guy from my neck of the woods. Have you considered direct mailing. Try several mailings to the same areas w/ offers that have an expiration date to build a sense of urgency. Target high end neighborhoods. When winter hits we should get together to talk shop and have a cup of coffee.
As it has been mentioned, do multiple methods. Fliers/doorhangers
are one of my favorites (as long as I don’t pass them out)
If you don’t have a website yet, get one. Some people do like to
find out more about your service. These days no website could
raise an eye brow.
Door knocking is not something I would ever do. It is not like those that
knock are getting a lot more sales than a flier. WAY too time consuming…
and unlike ads, you do feel rejected. Also, some need to knock because their
ads are not good enough.
Your door hanger is ok. The coloring is a little off. I find it hard to
read (response killer). You are also using the approach that I and
many others use/used- “have more free time…”
I have yet to have a customer say to me that they hired me so they
could go play golf instead of clean windows. Majority of my new customers
have never cleaned their own windows. So that would make the lead in
of “have more time” a dead end. A house cleaner could get away with
it but not a specialty service.
As for commercial, that is tough. It is a lot tougher in this economy. My
advice for that is to come at them in unique ways, don’t just door knock.
Use your creative side.
That is very true…
If you decide to go after commercial be prepared to hear “NO!” like 500 times and “MAYBE!” another 500 more times, and then a “yes” once…Oh and that’s just a $25 a month account you worked so hard for.
I liked it because of the rush and hustle. BUT I believe that RESI is where the real money is at. I would really like to keep all my big stuff like my hotels, large commercial buildings and build a huge residential route.
BUT what’s your personality? Are you a Shark? do you like hustling and networking and running around? if so then commercial may be for you…
Hi there! and thanks! Yes I had it designed by a friend of a friend who does it professionally… When do you guys recommend distributing flyers? I think I actually am just going to drop and go a lot and see how that goes before door knocking all day wasting time.
When I do residential, I will go to the houses across the street and the one directly to the left and right and knock on the door and introduce myself, give them a card and see if they would like an estimate while I am there. That has worked many times. It will take time to find out what works.
Just like you made a business plan, make a marketing plan and just like the business plan did, you marketing plan will change as you find out what works and what dont. You need to track the results too.
I think part of your advertising depends on where you live. I live in the Internet mecca of the USA. So using online advertising has worked well for me. One thing I do recommend, Business card, business cards, business cards. Pass those things out every time you pass a store or neighbor. Often certain stores like grocery stores will have a bulletin board for businesses to post cards or fliers. Check online for neighborhood associations in your area. They may a referral list of some sort. I strongly urge you to start out residential if you want to make money. Hope this helps.
