I’ve thought about cold calling and was thinking I would give it a try starting tomorrow. I was wondering which industries typical tip your clientele? I was thinking I would call the restaurants, beauty salons, insurance agencies and investment firms. Are these good ideas? I’m looking to capitalize on everyone’s experience.
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I know this doesn’t answer your question, but: (just my opinion)
Cold calling is a waste of your time. Don’t worry about industries or categories or types of business or whatever.
Get out of your house and personally look for dirty windows. If you see a business that has dirty windows, give them a prepared quote. You can’t know if a business needs window cleaning over the phone.
Get out there and “hit the pavement”. I sincerely doubt anyone built a commercial window cleaning route over the phone. I may be wrong, but in my experience the optimal way to build a route is this:
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Go out and look for dirty windows
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Quote those businesses
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Repeat until you have enough work that you no longer have time to canvass.
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Profit.
Hope that helps.
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I know what you’re saying, but I’m trying all sorts of things. Until now I’ve strictly walked, looked for dirty windows and then quoted them just like you said. I’ve done pretty good until lately and I’ve used a bunch of my money in gas. Most of it I would say. I’m just going to try different things to try and get quotes.
Did you get your new jobs to commit to a schedule? If you are going to build a route, this is a MUST. Then every time you return to do the jobs again you need to canvass in the area of your new job. And keep going back every time you do your jobs.
Spread like fire, then flow like water.
Just my opinion…drop cards at ALL STORES. Some of our best clients had clean windows and window cleaners already.
Just because the windows are clean doesn’t mean they dont do it themselves and are waiting for you to stop in.
And those clients that already had window cleaners. They weren’t coming on time or doing a bad job. I priced the work higher and still landed some very good accounts that way. We dont low ball, we actually go higher by promising and delivering a better service.
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The cold calling imo is not going to bring you a very good return. Getting out there and canvassing every single business will.
You have to be aggressive, especially in the beginning.
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@TheWindowCleanse, I would say about twelve of my customers are return customers including one $20 weekly and one $35 bi-weekly then the rest are monthly. Then I’ve got about six people who want me to call to check in with them from time to time.
When you say to canvas around my clients every time I go out, how do you measure that? I could spend an entire two hours and walk the city block, or take just about twenty minutes and hit the shopping center. How do you “measure it”?
@Luke, can you walk me through your canvasing - how you target where you’re going to stop to look, how you target the stores you’ll go into and not go into and how you pitch your service to businesses?
How about residential? How do you do that?
Use whatever time you have that day. Cast your seed generously.
Buddy if I were you, I’d map out areas of the city and go to every buisness. Especially having extra time to do so. Like I said be aggressive 
@Luke, that’s what I’m doing. I’ve found that a lot of storefronts don’t open until 9 am and a lot close at 4 pm, so from 9 to 4 I’m out there trying to round up the business. Yesterday I hit a small town with a jumpin’ strip through it. Got a couple of bites, but didn’t get any jobs. I had one there, but after getting there she didn’t want it this month.
Have any of you guys tried to call businesses?
Target new businesses who havent called anyone yet. Give them a competative quote. Tell them who your existing customers are and when you visit them and how often. Let them compare for themselves. When you show your interest and eagerness in thier faces they will remember you. And most likely call you if thirr has been a good repore built with every potential customer. 9 years at this but learned this early, my business background helped out a lot too.
A different approach is needed for established and existing business, as mentioned above by Luke. Yhey know the game already had 10 of you coming every year. They might want to take advantage of price savings on you time. They may have a bad relation with existing cleaner, But have no time to look for a new one. Feel them out. Ask alot of questions. Make a preposal you can agree to. As an idependant business person i can operate my business on 80 to 90 % of what the companies can offer and still make profit. Saves the business i work for money. I know that so what csn they do for me as thier supplier mentality.
I have a good service so why should i work for less? How is that fair to other customers of mine?
I have gone through a cold spell at times. But as for everyone saying go back and canvass the whole area is a must! I have learned to keep a tight schedule on what area of town I am in and always go make conversation with the local stores next to ones I am doing. At first it seems like a waste of time. But I build a relationship with them. Yes it may seem like a waste of fuel at 1st, but track those miles. Tax write off! 2ND always hand out cards to everyone. Even their customers because you never know when they will call and always Smile. Yes a store may already have a cleanee but like Luke said you can be the reliable one, the one that has put in the time and they will recognize that.
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