I have been window cleaning for about 9 months now and started with not a lot. So how do I market myself with no money? I decided to do storefronts for $1 just so the store owner can see what properly clean windoes can do for the shop front presence. Picked up accounuts that way but I thought there has to be a better way. I local school was having a reunion and had posted a notice about a working bee to tidy the school. One of the jobs was to clean the windows in the hall. So I went and did it for them I took me an hour or so. Since then I have had about 4 houses to do windows for âŚand just today I have been aproached by the scool to do a quote for the school windows! About 300-400 windows. My marketing strategy is to be generous especially to those doing good in the community.
Do you want a hobby or a business?
Garry you mother must be so so proud of youâŚ
where are you located?
I understand where both of you are coming from. To each his own, I guess. Garry probably canât imagine the thought of doing work for free and you are still learning to clean windows.
There is a school in town that puts up âThank youâsâ on their bulletin for businesses who serve them. Gets a ton of traffic. Whether or not they are doing the work for free is another question. If youâre just starting out and you view it as honing your skills in your free time, thatâs fine-- I think itâs a good idea and you are out meeting people. You have only been at it for 9 months. You need to practice somehow and it wonât do you a ton of good to keep cleaning the same window. Obviously you donât have a problem with it and thatâs literally all that matters, is what you think and what your situation is.
Side note. The work that you got from being generous⌠are you getting paid for that?
youâre going to have a good business! it will pay off
Many roads lead to Rome. We all find marketing niches that get results.
The 4 houses I did as a direct result was $1500 approx. The truth is I can spend money on advertising or do marketing by supporting the community. ⌠become noticed as the person to be recommended if window cleaning is needed. ⌠1 hours work that reached a tight knit school ⌠makes total sense right?
You know, I just thought of something.
We are forgetting the part about him not having the budget for marketing.
This shouldât be an absurd idea. He has no money to spend on marketing. He spends his TIME marketing by cleaning windows for free in public places where he could create relationships.
If he DID have money and spent $1000 on EDDM (about 6000 houses) and got 10 houses at say $200 a piece, thatâs a $1000 return on investment. So, instead of spending $1000 for an EDDM, he did $1000 in âfreeâ work, spending his time as a way to market in order to make $1500.
What is the difference between your time and money? At this mans stage in his career, time doesnât cost any money, especially when you have an abundance. Assuming of course, you donât have another job to supplement and pay for marketing.
VisionJarrod thanks for taking the tice to think it though⌠I often see guys saying they are starting with no moneyâs. ⌠I spent one hour on the âvoluntaryâ job. I believe if customers can see me and or my work they will buy⌠Show the community some love and they have loved me back ⌠I know roll your eyesđ
Just today in had one of the parents from the school working bee asking me to get in touch with the principal of the school to do a quote the windows for the whole school. ⌠about 20 buildings.
New, too and broke also. One aspect of organizing was joining the Chamber of Commerce. Small town allowed me to finance dues at $30.00 per month. They were my first customer and what a deal! I also should worry (maybe) about getting my tires cut, because I also have low overhead and can offer pretty good New Customer discounts. Iâve been reading this forum for years-thank you all for the knowledge and encouragement to finally get started.
I should add that my goal is to be the best at what I do and as professional as you fellows-and to charge accordingly. Iâm finding that bidding is as much an art as a science. Thanks again.
Compelling demonstrations are what sell. Analyze each word of that.
So, that is what you are providing and is also the beauty of storefront work.
Perhaps as you get rolling, youâll feel like youâd like to stop doing free demos of whole projects. Maybe demonstrate on one window and sell the rest.
The exposure you get will be your marketing. So many dismiss the value of this. For example, as you step up to a nail salon and have 20 sets of eyes watching you work, youâll get resi from that, ppl asking for estimates, for your card, the business owners house, the business across the street, etcâŚ
As far as generosity in general, keep that quality in yourself because it is a virtuous one that will make you a happier person, esp. doing extra - a mirror, a counter top, an office window - without being asked and with no expectation of return. Those little things mean so much to others. Additionally, if you freely water others, you will be freely watered in return.
This so practical.
Commodities.
Spend what you have.
Time IS money.
You spend with something - time, money, energy, stress. As you get busier and busier, you will have less time, energy but you will have moreâŚmoney. Perhaps thatâs when you may spend for marketing. But probably at that point, you wonât need to, unless you want to scale larger. The marketing mythâŚ
Thank you for those insightful words⌠I do the âmarketingâ as and when I feel lead ⌠the $1 DEAL was pitching to one owner or manager⌠By doing the windows for the school i multiplied my reach to hundreds of parents and people connected with the schoolâŚ
Thanks Bubble Guy
I am sure that my response came across to you as harsh, hence your response - it wasnât meant to be, just thought provoking?
Actually, if you must know, my Mother has always been proud of me; rest her soul.
There is nothing wrong with doing charity work, nothing at all. But to be a marketing strategy? I believe it goes against conventional wisdom of a successful business strategy. That was my only point, which it appeared by your OP to be your strategy.
Now please donât take this the wrong wayâŚDoing a job for $1 âjust so the store owner can see what properly cleaned windows look likeâ translates into little confidence in your ability to be a thriving successful business. Certainly if you believe that is your best foot forward and no other option to be entertained, then that is fine; knock it out. But perhaps cleaning the most visual (1) window that is next to the rest unclean windows would prove your worth? That way even if he doesnât accept your service (right away) he would have a reminder all day of what could be. (Clean/dirty).
So that is where me response stemmed from. Show up as a confident, viable, professional, service that has value to the customer. If you find that to be something your Mother would not be proud of - well, so be it.
Thatâs what I do sometimes to overcome an initial rejection. That way it only takes me a minute but I can usually land the job at whole pay if I get that far.
If I keep getting rejected, but I really want the job then I offer to do it for free and tell the shop owner itâs cause I feel sorry for them with such filthy windows. Shame works as well as charity sometimes haha.
a moment of clarity faded like charity does! roger waters
There is a Senior Citizen center half a mile from my girlfriendâs house. I stop by there at least once a month and hit their outside windows (6 large plates and a door). Takes me less than 10 minutes from the time I park, and it just feels good to do it. All I did was ask once to make sure I was not stepping on anyoneâs paid gig. Occasionally get a thanks, never gotten any referrals, and to be honest, these are not well to do old folks who could afford such luxuries. Giving (even a small amount such as this) for the sake of giving has its own rewards
