Struggling to get my first customer

I think the problem is that they are selling you. You said you got a bunch if managers cards? They gave you their get rid of the salesman for free card. Thank them and hand them your card with the pricing already written on it. And keep selling them. You’ll hear similar objections from place to place, write them down and write down answers that mitigate the objection. Practice them so you dont get thrown for a loop in the real situations.

It doesn’t take a month to get new accounts. It does if you go once a month… I started 18 months ago with a hundred bucks worth of garbage tools and a quarter tank of gas. I got three the first day because of “have to”. I’d go out every day and score at least one. End the day positively. If its only two o’clock and you just scored one and performed service, go home sweaty with a smile on your face and keep the momentum for tomorrow.

Everyone saying go early, go late, whatever. Just don’t go when they are busy. If you stand in line to give a quote that counter girl/guy is gonna throw your card in the trash and roll their eyes to the next customer.

You being on the forums is good for your business eventually but not when you don’t have ANY work. You’ll never get work sitting at home in front of the computer. Once you have some work, consider joining a/some referral networking groups. They meet regularly and give each other business first and refer each other to outsiders.

Get out there, sell yourself and good luck.

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It might be in your presentation. Hit me with it.

Only in Detroit or Chicago. NOT Texas.

The phrase is “And a glazed donut… to GO!”

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I havent read through everyone’s answer… so this might be redundant…

You’re doing sonething wrong. You should be able to go out every day and pick up storefronts. When i first started i picked up 5 stores in 30 minutes.

Im guessing it is your pitch.
Also, u said u call them back- thats a mistake. Unless your dealing with a DM or RM of a chain, you shoukd always follow up in person.

What is your pitch?

@Garry Said it!..Try to mix in Residential and Offices. Here’s the thing…I started out in Early April…I have a 24’ basic ladder and I can do most Residential with that. I put that ladder on a 2008 Ford Fusion! Residential will change your game! I started with Storefront and it wasn’t until I mixed in Residential that things took off.

One thing I did which catapulted my business…Google AdWords!..Don’t fall for the Yellow Pages,Yelp or Home Adviser sales people. Google AdWords will get you business…IF…you build it right. use pictures and something to pull people in. If you have questions about it, inbox me!

As I said…I started in April and just last week left my full time job to put 100% into my business. It;s scary and hard…but if you stay focused, take the advice of the awesome people here and be willing to step out of your comfort zone…you WILL succeed.

@RSH is right on as well… constantly evaluate your sales pitch…use the search function here for “effective sales techniques”…apply them and you will get better every day.

Best of luck to you!

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I’m part time also right now so my time is limited as 8-9 hours a day I’m working for someone else right. Now I’m out canvassing after work and weekends … my pitch sounds something like this(I’m sure It could use some work)
I usually walk in and say hello my name is Brian and I ask if a owner or manager is available. When the manager/ owner shows up I reintroduce myself shake there hand and tell them hi I’m the owner of A.C.K. Property Services and I’m expanding in this area and I’m offering window cleaning services and if they had a few minutes ide love to give them a quote to have there windows cleaned.
Now usually at this point most of them say they already have a window cleaner ( usually has been fish)
I than proceed to ask if they are happy with there current company/ service. I explained to them we how we are fully insured and pride ourself on customer services, and can offer very competitive pricing.
They usually say yes I’m happy, I than say thank you for your time here is my card and if anything ever changed or if your current company stops meeting your expectations please feel free to give
Me a call ide love to come back and provide you with a quote.

One lady had a guy but asked for a quote I gave her one she said it was $10 cheaper we talked for a while and she said she would review with the owner. She said she liked my quote but felt bad getting rid of there current guy.

Two stores flat out said we aren’t interested we do them in house. I proceded to tell them how I can appreciate that but mentioned to them the benefits of having them done professionally and they still said thanks but we’re not interested. I left them my card thanked them and left

you might just have a tougher market, a window cleaner here moved from florida and 6 months after he came he told me “it’s tough here to get stores” i asked why he said “there are so many window cleaners” i guess i hadn’t noticed since this is where i started.

that said, after 3 months we had 20 or so stores and 2 years later we have about 50 and that with most of the time not trying.

You keep notes on were you have been stopping? Evernote is a good app if you have a good smart phone. Just write it down when you stopped, but in for a follow up of say a month or two out, and just keep working them. Sometimes just stopping by after a month or two and letting people see you around lets them know you are serious. And leave it short and sweet; hows business, still liking your windows, thanks for your time

Sounds like a frustrating waste of time going to stores that are already paying for WC. Probably will get more success and a better margin targeting stores that don’t already have a steady WC provider.

Exactly, but without talking to them how do you know? Except the obvious very dirty windows but if they are extremely dirty they apparently don’t care if there clean or not lol. I went into about 10 stores today all but one said they have a WC ( Again Fish) the one who didn’t said they had one but about a month or two ago he disappeared, they did seem interested but the rest said they had someone I gave them a quote and they said they would give it to the owner.

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Too long of a pitch. I think this is a big mistake that most seasoned and beginners make. Not the right approach. I posted somewhere in the forums an example of my pitch and why i believe it’s effective. You may want to look that up. One day I’ll make a video…

in a nut shell, you need to get in and get out asap.

All that: asking for manager, waiting on manager, shaking hands, asking IF you can give them a quote, then rebutting them and putting them on the spot, THEN asking THEM to call you… that’s a waste of time- yours and theirs and wont get u many sales.

Get in, and get out- because it’s a numbers game.

Here’s my approach (for the most part) summed up:

I Walk in with my business card in hand.
I Walk up to anyone working there. (Doesn’t matter who)
“Hi my name is Rob and I’m with Team Squeegee…” [i hand them mybusiness card and point to my logo on my shirt. they start to look at my business card, i interrupt their thoughts with… ] “…i just stopped by to see if you had anyone taking care of your windows?” [Sometimes I’ll say, “cleaning”, if they looked puzzeled]

At this point they may say “oh well my manager isn’t here/is busy, I can leave him your card” OR they may say, “yeah we have someone” … pretty much all responses come down to these two.

My response to the first one, “thanks John!..” [call them by name if they are wearing a name tag], “…let me write a quote on the back [of the card] for you because I’m sure your manager will want to know that.” [Extend your hand and the worker will give you your card back. Write the quote on back then hand card back to worker saying:] “just $20 for inside and out!” [Pause for effect, they might say something like that’s a good price, and i say, ‘i know right!’] Then as i start to walk away, i say, “ill check back in a couple days” this whole process takes me 2-3 minutes- if that. The pitch is the same whether talking to worker or manager.

If they say, “we have someone”… i respond, “i thought you might, they actually look pretty good. Let me leave you a quote just in case something happens.” Then i put my quote on the card and give it back to them.

—Always follow up 1-2 days later in person and keep going back until u catch the manager.
—Always leave another card at every visit.
—Take notes as to what u bid each stop so when they call you in a month, you know what to charge.

Try this and i bet you will have better luck.

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My first day out i went into about 50 stores and i landed 2. Honestly a lot of my work came from phone calls 2 months after i left a card with them. Go to your downtown area where there’s a lot of mom and pop shops this will increase your chance of landing some. Tell the manager or owner that you are doing a 20% discount for all new accounts that day. When you land that 1st job don’t quit canvassing keep going because you will be more confident in your pitch whether you realize it or not. People respond well to you calling them by name and the confidence in your voice and handshake. These are just a few things that I’ve picked up on. Regardless with window cleaning you’ll get back what you put into it so just keep going, keep your head high, and flood areas with your business card. Good luck!