How much of a drive is it to give an onsite estimate?
Since you say the floor plans and homes are all similar, could you give a preliminary phone estimate of based on 30 windows it would be $XXX, screens, tracks, included. Any additional requirements would be discussed onsite.
That way you could still eliminate the tire kickers, not have to drive back to visit the tire kickers for an empty estimate, and not eliminate possible customers by giving an unsolicited price and them not fully understand what all is involved. That you do selling yourself and your quality of service in person.
Depends really… I have a 30 mile radius so it could be around the corner or all the way across town. I didn’t expect to see so much feedback about offending the customer with a quote. There are all types of people so I’m sure someone would be offended, but if they were offended by an “unsolicited price” then they’re already offended by the door hanger IMO. I wouldn’t be offended by it. What I can’t stand is a door to door salesman and most of the time I don’t even answer the door. This way they get a range of price and can make a decision about their needs or lack thereof. As much as I’ve heard about the success of 5 around advertising I’m surprised no one else is doing it here. Its cheap enough to try it and if it doesn’t work as well as people claim then I’m out $40 and I’ll try without price next time.
I’m not sure “offended” is really the word to use, but you want to put some personality into the sale by having a conversation with them in order to to sell you as much as sell your service. If it is close by, then by all means have a face-to-face with them. If it is across town pretend it is face-to-face in how you discuss their needs and explain all that you offer in a conversational way. Allow them time to absorb all that you are saying without dropping a list of bullet points. (You could, in summary, layout “bullet points” of what you just discussed.)
No magic pill, just have to get in there and sell.
Agree on putting the words Cleaned in the headline, I also agree with you on putting a price on it, however I would not say that it was a gaurenteed price and I would leave a blurb about it being a estimate from what you could see from the street. For exact price and to schedule call, text or email kind of thing.
The tract housing is a very different scenario from my area where no two houses are the same, even “builder” homes. Personally, I’ve decided to never estimate without walking through the inside.
While the houses may be fairly identical in layout, the people living in them probably aren’t. Do they smoke? Have they neglected their windows for a long time? Do their pets slobber all over the glass? Did their kids have a sticker collection on the windows? Are there a/c units in them? Do they have a mold problem? Has the house settled more than their neighbor’s and the screens are all jammed? I proly already listed too many questions, but you get the idea. Even “identical” houses could present you with surprises once you get in.
That said, you know your area better than we do. Just something to think about.
Following what @cmturner stated… a personalized quote is a nice touch but I’d do it as a “rough estimate” and base it on your minimum package.
And as always, whenever you’re doing marketing, try to A/B split test as much as possible. Get two versions printed up and alternate streets with each. Just keep track of which went where. Your local results override all of our assumptions, preferences and opinions.
Solid. Thanks! How about this in small print (*Estimates are based on what we can see from the front of the house. Additional charges may apply. Sun rooms not included in quoted price) for one and a Guaranteed price on the other? I’ll know pretty quick if the guarantee burns too much to keep going and I’ll see which hanger gets the best response.
Oh, and I type this as I wait for a tow truck! My damn truck won’t start. I had to reschedule my morning restaurant for 5:30am tomorrow.
???how can you get that it’s rude to add an estimate? if anything leaving the flyer/hanger is the rude part (which i do not believe). if you give them a price you are giving more specific info that may be useful to them. @Gotlift adding the price is awsome, i have done it in fact for whole streets. it’s also the original basis for street bidder which is now send jim.
@Gotlift don’t worry about sticking to 5, do as many as you have time for. this is also a good flyer to knock on doors with if you have the balls and time for it.
That, minus the mirrors, is what I did on facebook. I had 25 people accept, of which no one has called to schedule. I’d rather give them the $100 minimum for Basic… $100-200 for Premium… and $200-300 for Luxury Service (all depending on estimated window count and size). I don’t want to fill my schedule with $100 jobs if they may have booked at the higher price levels, given the options.
I have more time than balls when it comes to knocking on doors, just because I know how much it irritates me.
yeah, there will be neighborhoods that warrant a “10 around” strategy!
Hopefully I’m not too late here. I know it says your a window cleaning company on the bottom, but maybe the title should be a little more specific. Can it say we just finished cleaning your neighbors windows? What it says now could be a little confusing. If I got the tag on my door, I would automatically think it was for window installation, and I wouldn’t even finish reading it. Just my opinion.
Haha, whoops, just saw the suggestion from someone else. Good luck with the hangers! I just got 2500 door hangers for spring cleaning, hung almost 500 on my own so far. Takes forever, hopefully I’ll be able to get them all out before summer hits, hahaha.
Like you said it’s a low cost for a trail run so go for it. Me I’m more of a face to face person cause I like to gauge the person. But I’m thinking if you list the est price it might be a good fit. Reason I’m saying est cause without seeing the glass up close you don’t know what ifls involved.
Face 2 face pitch at least your not going in blind.
On mine I say “estimated price range for inside/outside cleaning” and then give a range. That gives me something to work with but it also gives the customer a good idea of what it would cost. My thought process is that I am targeting people that might have no idea what WC costs. With the price range listed they don’t have call to see if WC is something they want to spend their money on. By leaving the price range it cuts down on the phone calls where they aren’t really interested.
That was my thought process as well. As a solo operator my time is better spent cleaning windows than driving around and giving estimates. As I grow I can refine my process, by for now I can see the benefit of doing it this way. Another added bonus is once you plant the idea in people’s minds and associate the price then they will start to notice their windows and maybe they will develop a sense of value in my offer.
I changed it. Lots of great feedback here!
