Door to Door

[Prestige_Pressure]

When doing a job in a neighborhood, I usually go hang door hangers at the neighbors and the rest of the neighbor hood if it's pretty dirty(I think that"s an oxymoron) Lately I've been in some upscale neighborhoods, million and up. Usually all the neighbors have dirty roofs, concrete, stone, or whatever. Just wondering if anybody goes door to door saying you just did the neighbors house and wondering if they'd like a free estimate since you were in the neighborhood, or whatever. or do people not like to be bothered at their home about things like. Been thinking about going back to a few of the neighborhoods and doing door to door, just not sure how'd people take it. I guess the worst they can do is say no or shut the door in my face. Does anybody do this?

 

[fromgreentoclean]

I always go door to door after I finish a job. The only problem I face though is most neighborhoods where I do most of my work have "no soliciting" signs and they don't like us going door to door. I do go to the closest 10 or so houses and tell them that I Just finished a house and give them the address so they can see my work for themselves. I usually end up with around 4 or 5 of the jobs. Some times even more.

 

[Mark 8262]

In some cities you need a solicitors license to actually go door to door. It's probably not a problem, but in upscale neighborhoods there may be security.

 

[dave mac]

I always go door to door after I finish a job. The only problem I face though is most neighborhoods where I do most of my work have "no soliciting" signs and they don't like us going door to door. I do go to the closest 10 or so houses and tell them that I Just finished a house and give them the address so they can see my work for themselves. I usually end up with around 4 or 5 of the jobs. Some times even more.

that great, are they usually home in the middle of the afternoon on during the week, or is this on weekends,

thanks
dave

 

[Kory]

Sometimes I will tell them I can only perform the work on a weekend. I get there early in the a.m and let as many people see me as possible then we do 5 flyers to the left and right and 5 across the street.

 

[Larry Millette]

If your in some of the more up scale neighborhoods and hoa communities that wont allow solicitation just take down the address' and send out a flyer or notice that you were just in there and cleaned Mr and Mrs so and sos whatever and that you would like to earn their business as well. This way you don't get gasped. They can't stop you from mailing.
wow! I should take my own advise. I don't even do that. Haha!

 

[fromgreentoclean]

I always ride around and look for the really dirty houses and send them a flyer in the mail. I use 411.com to get the persons name and spend the 44 cents on them. Usually gets me the work.

 

[Premier Power Wash]

I go door to door with my ipad and it's how i got the roof cleaning portion of my business started, "Do not enter" and "private property" signs are perfect because most people don't have the courage to knock on those doors. I go to the biggest houses in my area and often come across people that made their money from scratch and they appreciate seeing somebody hustle to make a living. It's the most effective way to market in my opinion, Saturday nights are the best night, and I typically say something like "I'm sorry to bother you sir, but i noticed that you have some mold on your siding and wanted to see if you'd be interested in getting it removed. Here are a few before and after pictures of some homes I did in the area." I hit about 100 homes a week and get 3-5 sales typically.

 

[Premier Power Wash]

Originally Posted by fromgreentoclean
I always go door to door after I finish a job. The only problem I face though is most neighborhoods where I do most of my work have "no soliciting" signs and they don't like us going door to door. I do go to the closest 10 or so houses and tell them that I Just finished a house and give them the address so they can see my work for themselves. I usually end up with around 4 or 5 of the jobs. Some times even more.

50% closing rate? a 4-6% closing ratio when cold walking is exceptional ... if you're closing 50% of your door to door sales why are you only knocking on 10 doors?

 

[fromgreentoclean]

Originally Posted by fromgreentoclean
I always go door to door after I finish a job. The only problem I face though is most neighborhoods where I do most of my work have "no soliciting" signs and they don't like us going door to door. I do go to the closest 10 or so houses and tell them that I Just finished a house and give them the address so they can see my work for themselves. I usually end up with around 4 or 5 of the jobs. Some times even more.

50% closing rate? a 4-6% closing ratio when cold walking is exceptional ... if you're closing 50% of your door to door sales why are you only knocking on 10 doors?

I always write down what address I went up to and knocked on. I keep a list on my computer and I will send the people a letter in the mail around every 3 to 6 months. I didn't mean to sound like I get 4 or 5 of those jobs that week. I do however do pretty good though. Where I live at it's hard to go door to door unless you do a job in the neighborhood. I usually let my customers do the work for me. I have a referral program in place where I give my clients a list and if they can give me 7 names of their friends who need their house washed they will get 10% off of their next pressure washing if the job sells. I have had people get 70% off of their pressure washing before.

Sorry if I sounded like I am the king of sales lol. We all know that is Ron.

 

[Premier Power Wash]

I always write down what address I went up to and knocked on. I keep a list on my computer and I will send the people a letter in the mail around every 3 to 6 months. I didn't mean to sound like I get 4 or 5 of those jobs that week. I do however do pretty good though. Where I live at it's hard to go door to door unless you do a job in the neighborhood. I usually let my customers do the work for me. I have a referral program in place where I give my clients a list and if they can give me 7 names of their friends who need their house washed they will get 10% off of their next pressure washing if the job sells. I have had people get 70% off of their pressure washing before.

Sorry if I sounded like I am the king of sales lol. We all know that is Ron.

That's a great idea ... I'm with you on door to door and setting up referral programs, it's definitely a great way to promote your business. It's amazing what you can come across while knocking... The only part I hate is when it's early evening and there's kids playing outside and just mom is home, they understandably tend to be a bit apprehensive and it's kind of an uncomfortable position to be in. Keep up the good work!!!

 

[fromgreentoclean]

That's a great idea ... I'm with you on door to door and setting up referral programs, it's definitely a great way to promote your business. It's amazing what you can come across while knocking... The only part I hate is when it's early evening and there's kids playing outside and just mom is home, they understandably tend to be a bit apprehensive and it's kind of an uncomfortable position to be in. Keep up the good work!!!

That's funny you say that. I just did a job for a client of mine who lives in New York. He rents out a house in Summerville, SC near where I live and I p.w every year. The same woman lives there and every year we speak through a closed door and curtain lol. It is funny the looks you get from these people. My favorite pitch to them is to ask if they have time for me to give them a free sample wash. Then I can show them my work. Even if I don't get the job at that time. I just created another person to add to my mailing list.

 

[Premier Power Wash]

Yeah it's definitely much easier to sell a demo than a job and once you do that your closing rate increases significantly. I never tried mailing my "interested, just not now" list and usually just follow up with a phone call/email if I can get it or drop off a flyer next time I'm in the neighborhood.

A letter would be a bit more personalized and is a nice way to save some time and energy. I also keep a call list on excel and will take your advice and give it a try. Good stuff.

 

[fromgreentoclean]

The good thing about mailing potential clients is I always add $5.00 to $10.00 per job to allow for stamps and such. For instance if I was going to give a bid to someone for $150.00 I would add $10.00 to that and just make it $160.00. That $10.00 allows me to send, Christmas, Thanks Giving and Thank you cards as well as buy me a book of stamps. It also pays for the reminder letters letting my clients know that their house is almost ready to be pressure washed again. I like sending my clients at least something every 3 months. That way they will remember me not only for their pressure washing but it helps make them think of me when a friend needs theirs done as well. I also do monthly drawings for a $10.00 gift card to Applebees or Outback Steakhouse. It's not much but that does two things for me. One it gets the customers a free appetizer and gets them to come in and two it helps me get my foot in the door to the restaurants for possible work. Just something to think about. Also the clients pay for that as well.

 

[Premier Power Wash]

I can see you're an insomniac like me ... i have a big job today and can't sleep for more than an hour at a time ... The monthly drawing is another great idea, especially on the commercial end. I'm gonna take that idea and run with it.

In March I handed out NCAA basketball tournament brackets with a return envelop stamped, filled out to my address and the customer with the highest score received a free house wash. All participants received 20% off a house or roof wash and it was good until May 31st. I had people calling me to ask if they could play just from word of mouth. I handed out about 1000 of them, maybe 10% responded and did about 30 of them (I ended up honoring the discount even after the deadline). That's 100 solid leads, obviously they all need a pw and that certainly jump started my season. Can't wait to fine tune it and do it again next year.

 

[victoria stiles]

Door hangers are an important marketing tool because of their uniqueness and ability to reach people on a personal scale. Because they are meant to be placed on door handles, This can be safeguarded against when you ask your printer about what kind of options they have for you. Generally you'll be able to tackle just about anything that's thrown your way.