7 Ways to Get Dry Cleaning Route Customers Without Knocking on a Single Door

The main way successful route dry cleaners have built their routes is knocking on doors.

I know. I did it.

I got my first 300 route customers knocking on doors.

It was 1996. I had just started my pickup and delivery route. I went out knocking for a whole week.

Not one new customer.

Not one.

Then I remembered something I'd done in every other business I've started. And I've started a bunch.

Tell the truth.

So at the very first house I went to that day, I said:

"Hi, my name is Greg Colosi. I just started a dry cleaning pickup and delivery route. I have no customers. If you join today, you'll be my first customer."

I signed that first person up.

Eight customers that day. 35 that first week.

OK, here's the catch.

Door knocking works. But finding people to knock on doors for you is tough. Really tough.

And if you don't do it yourself, how are you gonna teach somebody else to do it?

You can't.

That's why my members build their routes without knocking. And it's worth the effort. A route customer stays with you about 7 years and spends $101 a month. That's $8,484. A counter customer stays 2 years and spends $20 a month. That's $480.

One route customer is worth nearly 18 counter customers. Period.

Here are seven ways my members get them right now.

1. The Bag Drop (With a Sales Letter, Not a Brochure)

This is the big one.

Attach a sales letter and an order form to one of your garment bags. Hang it on doors in the neighborhoods you want on your route. Say you drop 100 bags on Friday.

Monday, you go back.

Some bags are full of dirty dry cleaning. Those are new customers.

Some bags are empty. Pick them up.

Some houses have no bag out. Leave a sticky note saying you'll be back Thursday. Give us your dry cleaning or give us our bag back.

No knocking. Ever.

What can you expect? Sara Peltier, in very competitive California, gets 3 or 4 new customers for every 100 bags. In the middle of the country, it's more like 4 to 8.

Darryl Starr of Starr Cleaners in San Antonio added over $40,000 a month in revenue. Bag drops only.

And don't use a brochure. David Whitehurst was paying over $300 to get one customer with his brochure. He switched to my sales letter. His cost dropped to about $30.

Same bags. Same neighborhoods. Different piece of paper.

2. Reminder Calls: The 5-Minute Weekly Task

Every customer gets a recorded call the night before their pickup. In your voice. At 7pm, so they remember to put their clothes out in the morning.

Once you get the hang of it, setting up the whole week takes about 5 minutes.

My members tell me it bumps route revenue anywhere from 10% to 50%. A route doing $20,000 a month does $24,000 the first month.

End every call with a motivational quote. I tried it once without the quote. I got hell from a bunch of customers.

3. Referral Champions

Some of your customers will do most of your referring. I call them champions.

Pay them in cash. Not a discount. Not a coupon. Cash.

Who doesn't like cash? Nobody.

I give $10 per referral. After the third or fourth, I bump it up. It gives them a goal to shoot for.

Your driver is already at their door every week. Ask.

4. New Movers

New movers are the best route prospects there are.

They don't have a dry cleaner yet. They're building new habits. And they want convenience.

Get to them first with a welcome offer. Put a call tracking number on it so you know exactly who responded. Stop guessing what works.

5. Your Google Business Profile

When somebody searches "dry cleaning delivery near me," you want to be there.

Here's what most dry cleaners don't know. They Google themselves from their plant or drop store, see their name near the top, and figure they're fine.

They're not.

Google shows different results a mile away. Two miles away. Across town. And that's where your route customers live.

Fill out your profile completely. Add photos. List your service areas. And make it crystal clear you pick up and deliver. That's what separates you from every counter-only cleaner in town.

Then ask for reviews. Every week. Your driver can ask at the door.

6. Follow Up by Email and Text

Most people won't sign up the first time they hear about you. Doesn't mean no. Means not yet.

Stay in front of them with short, useful messages for a few weeks. Get permission first, especially for texts.

The cleaner who follows up gets the customer. The cleaner who doesn't, doesn't.

7. Local Partnerships

Apartment complexes. Gyms. Office buildings.

They're full of busy people who'll pay for convenience. A flyer in the leasing office. A drop spot at the gym. A pickup day at an office building.

One good partnership can get you lots of route customers.

One Rule Before You Start

Test small.

Whatever you try, test it on 100 first. 100 bags. 100 postcards. 100 letters. If it flops, you lost a few bucks.

Remember David and his brochures? He had 10,000 of them sitting around. That cost him about $10,000. They were useless.

Don't do what David did.

Want the Other 107?

These seven are just the start. My book lays out 114 ways to get route customers without knocking on doors.

It's free. Grab it below.