Looking for storefronts?

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Great video! People tend to sh*t all over storefront work but it is steady income all year long. We all know there is no shortage of competition in the storefront market, but there is also no shortage of windows out there, so “too much competition” is a poor excuse. It doesn’t pay as well as residential or commercial, but if you have employees doing all the work, it’s a simple numbers game. Go out there and get more storefront work to make up the difference. If you’re a one man show, 5 steady days of storefront work each week is better than sitting on the couch all winter long dreaming of spring.

It’s all about pounding the pavement. The more often you hit the streets, walk into a store/restaurant, and give your opening pitch, the more successful you will be at it. If you’re shy, you just have to power through it. If you can force yourself to give 15-20 estimates a day, you’re going to do just fine in the long run. I’m not the most outgoing person so I’m always a little nervous as I sit in my truck staring at the front door of the first place I plan on walking into. After that first one each morning, all my fears go away and I just go down the line no matter how many people say no. Eventually someone will say yes.

I use a somewhat formal carbon copy estimate form. I keep a copy and the potential customer gets a copy. 90-95% of the time, you’re not going to get a straight “yes” or “no” answer right then and there. “The owner just stepped out a little while ago”. “The General Manager would make that decision but she is off today”. “Our office manager handles that but she is at lunch right now”. “The District Manager is in charge of stuff like that, but he is away at a conference all week”. You will get all kinds of half-truths, misleading information, and outright lies from whoever you talk to right there on the spot. Don’t take any of it too personally.

You have to remember they have a job to do and a business to run. They didn’t invite you over to give a window cleaning estimate. You just walked in unannounced and ambushed them. Be polite, play along with the game they’re trying to play, and get as much pertinent info out of them as possible. “Do you currently have a window cleaning company? About how often do they come? Do they just do the outsides or do they also do the insides? Do you happen to know the name of the company? Is their quality usually pretty good or have you noticed them cutting corners?” Some gatekeepers will talk your ear off and give you all the info you need while others will be rather cold and just want you to get lost. The key is to gather as much important info as possible, give them a copy of the estimate, and follow up with the person you’re really looking for (owner, manager, GM, DM, whoever) within a few days. Chances are, he/she will have conveniently “just stepped out” or “Is currently busy with a client” when you do your follow up phone calls. Be polite, say thank you, and try again in a few days. Repeat that process until you get a definitive “yes” or “no” from the decision maker. Don’t let the receptionist, cashier, or waitress tell you “no we don’t need your service”. It’s not their decision to make.

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Very nice summation of the process, Eric. I love cleaning windows but i sure hate going through all this. I think the first position i hire will be to do all my storefront canvasing.

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You can even continue to repeat even after a definitive “no”. If you just stay friendly and stop by to chit-chat every once in a while I doubt anyone is going to mind. Sometimes things change at the establishment and you can get hired a little while down the road. It’s not like you’re dating so you don’t have to worry about being a chump in the “friend zone”.

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did that! stop buy and it took 10 years for some people! could have done one home for all the money I made trying to get one client in store front .

It’s definitely a lot of legwork and it can be a grind on a daily basis. There have been endless conversations on here about hiring a salesman to do this very work, but what it all comes down to is the fact that nobody is going to be as passionate about growing your business as you are. If you hire a great salesman and he is wildly successful at it, he’s probably going to get smart and just open his own window cleaning business once he realizes how simple the sales system is.

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Completely true. Give them a call every few months to check in, remind them of who you are, and see if there is anything you can do to help them. They might be perfectly happy with their window cleaning company as of today, but eventually they will either screw something up royally or just stop showing up altogether. It happens all the time.

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When canvassing storefront work and giving out bids, the key is your follow up that’s when you’ll close most of your deals.

Like @BlackTieAustin Eric said get all the important information as you can.

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It’s hit and miss. You just have to consistently get out there and write storefront estimates and good things will happen. Some (but not many) will say “yes” right there on the spot. Others will eventually say “yes” after weeks, months, or even years of chasing down the “decision maker” through follow up phone calls.

Most will never say “yes” for one reason or another and that’s perfectly fine. You don’t need to get all the accounts in town, you just need a small percentage of them in order to be successful. Much like residential window cleaning, storefront neighbors talk to each other and you will get a lot of referrals over time.

I’m not trying to convince anyone that storefront is the only way to be successful in window cleaning. I’m just saying it’s ONE way to be successful in window cleaning as it lays the groundwork for steady income all year long, it gives your company a ton of visibility if lettered vehicles and uniformed employees are seen all over town every day. It also provides a solid base of customers who will eventually use your company for residential window cleaning someday. If you clean a doctor’s office for $25/month and he/she thinks you do a great job, who do you think is going to clean their $750k house when the time comes? Probably the company who cleans their office and always does a great job.

I understand why guys don’t like storefront work. It takes a great deal of door to door sales to build a successful route. It’s a lot of stop and go, stop and go all day long. It can be pretty cut throat if you target the cheap customers who only value price instead of quality and reliability (so obviously just don’t target those types). Some homeless guy will literally come along one day and offer to do it for $3.00 and a free drink while you’re currently charging $25. It’s just a numbers game. You’re not going to win every little battle.

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One thing @luke3636 put your seat belt on… Lol.

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