Finding Your Ideal Client Archives

How to Get New Cleaning Clients – STOP Trying to Figure it Out

January 4, 2017 by Lisa Macqueen Leave a Comment

Okay, so maybe 2016 was a year you’d rather forget in your cleaning business.

When you look back and reflect on the year that was, you feel like your cleaning business just ‘stood still’, sure you managed to grow a little here and there, but it was tough, and you’ve made a promise to yourself that….

….2017 is going to be different.

Why?

Because you can’t do another year like last year (or the year before…)..

Listen to me.

You’re a cleaning business entrepreneur in a relentless search for business success, profit and time freedom.

DO NOT GIVE IN.

You are a producer. You create.

You, the cleaning business owner, take the risks, you lose the sleep, you give up family time in pursuit of growing your enterprise, you suffer disappointment and loss when things inevitably go wrong, you endure the scorn and ridicule of others who are too afraid to take the chances you’re willing to take.

Too afraid to create what you create. Too afraid to build what you build.

You accept 100% of risk, pain, worry, toil and WORK.

Yet, you SHARE in the rewards.

You create jobs. You pay the most taxes. You provide services that HELP people.

Without you, the machine stops.

YOU. ARE. ATLAS

Like Cleaning Business Owners, Atlas Has The World On His Shoulders

WE NEED YOU. DO NOT GIVE IN.

Lisa xx

Here’s How to Get New Cleaning Clients

Tip # 1 – Know your ideal client.

It sounds simple, but identifying the types of clients you prefer to work with is the first step. Because the best client is a recurring one, your target audience should consist of the people who continually rely on your services. Try to be as specific as possible when identifying your ideal client profile. What careers do they have? What neighbourhoods do they live in? What social media sites are they on and where do they hang out so you can find them?

PRO TIP: If you’re reading this thinking “I can clean for anyone” – you’ll miss the mark. Get laser-like focus on who your best client is – and then get your messaging to be addressing their problems, frustrations and concerns – when you do that, they’ll feel like you’re talking to them, you understand them. And that, immediately makes you much more attractive to them…

Tip # 2 – Develop a marketing plan.

Speaking of social media, having an online presence these days is more crucial than ever. Keep your website and social channels up to date. Clearly state what services you cover on all promotional materials to reduce any confusion in advance, and remember that every time you’re putting something up on social media – have your ideal client in mind.

Would they be interested in that photo of a dirty bathroom (my guess is probably not…), but if they were a business, maybe they’d be interested in something related to their business, or a problem an Office Manager might come across during their day – see how that’s different?

BE DIFFERENT.

It’s also helpful to list your company in relevant directories and sites like Google, Bing, Yelp, Yellow Pages, Angie’s List, etc.

PRO-TIP Get a blog happening on your website, start posting regularly, get out there and target your audience!!

Tip # 3 – Remember your current relationships are a jumping off point.

Ask for referrals from current clients that you like doing business with. Chances are, they have similar friends, colleagues, family or other business owners in need of what you provide.

PRO TIP: Make sure you have a system for referral-getting, don’t just use the “hope” marketing strategy for this…. Referrals are an AWESOME way for you to build great relationships with your existing customers (remember to always recognize and thank people for referring you), AND, build your business with more of your Ideal Clients

Tip # 4 – Build credibility and your network.

What’s your strategy for getting regular testimonials (is that crickets I can hear…?)

In the cleaning business, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

ASK!

And make it easy for them to give you a testimonial. If you send them an email, put in a link to your Facebook page or Linked In, so they don’t have to find it themselves – remember that in the 21st century we now have an attention span of 8.2 seconds.

<<<— Same as this goldfish

So, you have to do all the ‘leg-work’ – make it easy, ask for just 1 or 2 lines, and then, are you ready for this huge piece of advice????

SHARE THAT TESTIMONIAL EVERYWHERE – AND OFTEN

PRO TIP: Are you being a good referrer? If you have business clients, try and make a conscious effort to understand their business, and look for opportunities you can help and promote them to your friends, family and network. You will be AMAZED at how this one strategy will help you build enormous goodwill with your customers.

The final piece of advice may be the most revolutionary. Stay with me. Are you ready?

Tip # 5 – Raise your prices.

It may sound crazy, but sometimes reaching those top tier clients means knowing when to charge more. Obviously make sure that your prices are consistent with the results they can expect first.

Tip # 6 – Articulate your VALUE PROPOSITION

What are you bringing to them that is of value? What are your benefits? HINT: It isn’t that you’ve been in business since the dark ages, it isn’t because you’re a husband and wife team, it isn’t because you have great training, it isn’t about you at all.

IT IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS ABOUT THEM

Both features and benefits sell. But consider this… no-one cares about how you’re going to do the cleaning, they just want a clean home or business.

So focus the emphasis on the benefits. The benefits close the sale. Why? Because most people buy on emotions. Benefits help bring out emotions in your prospects and then they justify their buying decision using logic.

Bottom line: Clients willing to pay more are the ones who appreciate value & quality – and it’s your job as a cleaning business owner to demonstrate that to them.

Remember, if you charge more, and can clearly outline the VALUE and BENEFITS that your business will bring to their lives, people will perceive you as more valuable, and will be prepared and willing to pay more for your services..

So, What’s your 2017 going to be like? If you’re tired of struggling and going-it-alone, ask yourself this one question:

Are You Ready to Systemize & Streamline Your Cleaning Business in Just 8–Weeks? Learn how to streamline and simplify your cleaning business as well as how to sell and market your business so you can get your LIFE BACK. … If you‘re committed and ready to make a serious change in your life and your business, then Cleaning Business School is exactly where you need to be.

8 x Weekly Video modules, blueprints, checklists, cheat sheets and scripts delivered in an easy-to-understand step-by-step system, PLUS a weekly LIVE GROUP VIDEO CALL with me, where we get to work on your business, so that 2017 can be your best year yet.

Go check out Cleaning Business School here.

Inspirational Quote

“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention….” Rachel Naomi Remen

Lisa x

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First time to our blog…? Welcome, it’s great to have you here 🙂 Want to know more about us – check us out here.

Cleaning Marketer works exclusively with cleaning businesses to help them attract more prospects, make more sales, and keep their clients longer.

Want fast business growth? Register for the next Cleaning Business School (Starting Jan 2017) – 8 Weeks of Fast Growth Ideas for Cleaning Businesses who want to attract more prospects, make more sales and keep their clients longer.

PS A FREE REPORT FOR YOU: “How To Get Cleaning Clients Even If You’re Brand New To The Cleaning Industry”

Go Grab Your Free Copy By Clicking On This Link: Here

The Secret Behind All Great Cleaning Businesses

August 2, 2016 by Lisa Macqueen Leave a Comment

How Do You Target Customers?

What’s the secret behind all great cleaning businesses?

The great cleaning businesses have multiple attributes that create their success – they work with a cleaning business coach, they have great people in their Organization, they’re passionate about serving their clients, and they’re dedicated to having outstanding systems and processes. All of these are very high on the list, but another thing this group of cleaning businesses do very well, is that they know how to look for, (and find), their ideal clients.

You see, in today’s economy, success in business is all about search. Get good at search and it changes everything.

Think about it: to build a great database you need a number of contacts, and then need to be able to filter those contacts to the ones that count, based on recent events i.e. when their current contract is up, or when they are moving etc…

Here’s some searches to think about:

Bring up a list of every prospect that you’ve ever provided with a quote for your cleaning services. How many of them have changed their cleaning service since you last spoke? Maybe they’re ready to change right now and just need a call to get the wheels in motion…
Geographic search – Got a great staff member or subcontractor in a certain location? Look at your prospect list –who do you know in that area who might be looking for a great new cleaner?
Find your top 100 clients, based on those that have done multiple transactions with you, or those that refer you the most.
Create your ‘dream list’ of clients you’d like to work with and start building up a relationship with them on social media – start following them, liking, sharing or commenting on their posts…
Of course, search can also include using Google Adwords and/or Facebook and buying ads to advertise your business. These are very effective also, but remember, there are costs involved in setting up and then having your ads displayed… and, if you’re targeting isn’t done right, it could end up costing you a lot of money for very little return on your investment..

The secret is finding the right list to call at the right time, because being relevant wins.

So how can you do that easily?

If you have a cleaning business coach, have the conversation with them – what do they recommend? Here at Cleaning Marketer, we’re totally focussed on having cleaning business automation to handle all of the ‘heavy lifting’ with prospecting that will handle this process for you and keep you ‘in front’ of your ideal prospects on a regular basis, and save you a lot of time without the headache of having to ‘figure it all out’ by yourself..

Are you a great cleaning business? What’s been the number # 1 secret to your success..? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below..

Today’s quote:

Even great people need constant opportunities for improvement. Thomas Crosby

Lisa x

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First time to our blog…? Welcome, it’s great to have you here 🙂 Want to know more about us – check us out here.

Cleaning Marketer works exclusively with cleaning businesses to help them attract more prospects, make more sales, and keep their clients longer.

Want fast business growth? Register for Cleaning Business School – 4 Weeks of Fast Growth Ideas for Cleaning Businesses who want to attract more prospects, make more sales and keep their clients longer.

Prefer a live event in either San Diego or New York City? Get inspired, empowered and take your market by storm. Book now.

3 Costly Mistakes Cleaning Business Owners Make in Sales Conversations

June 6, 2016 by Lisa Macqueen Leave a Comment

3 Costly Mistakes Cleaning Business Owners Make in Sales Conversations

If you’re a cleaning business owner, or you’re involved in the sales process for a cleaning business, the whole point of your sales and marketing is twofold; to fill your calendar with loads of appointments with your prospective clients and win more clients. BUT, here’s the thing. If you can have a conversation with your prospective client but then can’t navigate your way effectively through the sales conversation

you’ll be wasting a lot of your sales and marketing efforts (not to mention $$)….

Which is why in today’s post, I wanted to shine the light on why it’s so important to focus on the needs discovery conversations – in other words, why does your prospect feel like they need your service?

So let’s look specifically, let’s look at three costly mistakes you want to avoid…

Costly Mistake #1: Not vetting the prospect

Every cleaning business owner has one guaranteed want: a hot prospect interested in working with them on the other end of the phone…

And look, we all get excited if a great new potential opportunity comes to our cleaning business. But here’s a question we as cleaning business owners need to ask ourselves

… Do YOU want to work with THEM?

And the only way to really answer that question is to have a vetting process.

What I mean is having a method to assessing whether you actually want to work with this particular client or not.

Are they invested in making a change in the cleaning at the home or business? Are they communicative and accessible to deal with? Will they pay you on time? Do they value the expertise your cleaning business has, or do they simply want their existing cleaning problems to go away?

PRO TIP: One of my favourite questions to ask when I’m just getting to know a prospect is… “Can you tell me what is driving you to make this change in your cleaning service provider” How your prospect answers this question will tell you a lot about them.

Costly Mistake #2: Trying to answer every question as it is asked

More often than not, when we’re sitting in front of a prospect, they will be firing questions at us in an effort to make a decision on whether you’re ‘what they need’ and they want to find that out as fast as possible.

And good manners dictates that we should answer every one of their questions right? It might be impolite to do otherwise right? We might make the wrong impression if we don’t – right?

Wrong.

PRO TIP: Conversations with your prospects are NOT interrogations people! Just because they ask a question, doesn’t mean you have to answer it. A fantastic method to avoid answering a question is to go to the bridge… When you use a ‘bridging’ statement, this will help slow things down, i.e: “I’m glad you asked that question Bob, but I think the real question we should be looking at here is…”

In fact, often times that polite knee-jerk reflex means you will find yourself responding to a question that you shouldn’t be answering in the first place.

For example, you may be asked a question by a prospect that, once you step back to think about it, you realize you probably should have answered it in a different way, but because the questions were coming at you so fast, and you really wanted to win this cleaning contract, that sometimes, you’ll almost tell them what you think they want to hear, or what you think it will take for you to win the business.

PRO TIP: Set a pace from the start of the conversation that when your prospect asks you a question you take a calm breath before responding. If you do this from the get-go, not only will you set an expectation with your potential client that you’re someone who is thoughtful in your responses — but this will also help you to condition yourself to slow down in your responses.

Costly Mistake #3: Not understanding that your biggest competitor is actually your prospect’s inability to move forward

A lot of cleaning business owners drive themselves absolutely nuts worrying about what their competitors are doing, and the possibility of missing out on opportunities. But the truth is, you’re losing more deals to clients who are doing NOTHING to fix their cleaning problems, than you are to people who offer similar services to you (hard to believe, but trust me, this is true..)

And this is something really important for you to remember when you’re having a conversation with your prospective client.

Why?

If you’ve been reading my blogs or following me on Facebook or YouTube, you will have heard me say many times, that only 3% of prospective clients are what we’d call “hot” prospects, or in other words, ready to make a change – ready to hire a cleaning service right now. The other 97% are not. Essentially, the chances of your prospect deciding not to move forward at all is usually a lot greater than the chances of them moving forward with someone else.

PROTIP: Make sure that you spend time in your initial sales conversations talking with your prospects about why they feel they need to fix their cleaning problem right now — and why they feel they need your help to do it.

It’s absolutely critical that they hear the words coming out of their own mouths first. The next step is that you then reframe what they just said to you, back to them and get their agreement that you’ve understood those points accurately. This strategy will deepen their commitment to their decision to fix their cleaning problems, and get the help they need – from your cleaning business.

Are you having great conversations with your prospects..? What’s getting you great results and filling your sales funnel?

C’mon over and let me know in the comments below.

That’s the great thing about the Cleaning Industry, you meet so many people who’ll join you for sections of the journey. It’s a relationship business, where happiness and business success comes from within. If you think well, you’ll do well..

Today’s quote:

We pay respect to one of the greats today. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”. Muhammad Ali

Lisa x

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First time to our blog…? Welcome, it’s great to have you here 🙂 Want to know more about us – check us out here.

Cleaning Marketer works exclusively with select cleaning businesses to help them attract more prospects, make more sales, and keep their clients longer. To learn more about our industry-leading Client Attraction System, click here.

Ready for business growth? Register now for Fast Growth Cleaning Business MasterClass New York, or San Diego in 2016. Get inspired, empowered and take your market by storm. Book now.

Stop Wasting Money on Marketing for new Cleaning Contracts

September 8, 2015 by Lisa Macqueen Leave a Comment

What’s the one key factor that will have a huge impact on your cleaning business success and stop you from wasting marketing $$ (oh, and here’s a clue, it’s not your location, having a great team, or working like a fool. (Or even just being lucky).

It’s… can I get a drumroll please?

Knowing exactly who your ideal client is.

If you don’t, there’s no way your marketing is going to be compelling or captivating to your audience, the people you want to serve, because you’re not talking to any customer in particular, you’re talking to everyone, and everyone doesn’t need your services.

(I can hear you thinking…. “yes, everyone needs cleaning” …. Sorry to burst your bubble there, but no they don’t). As soon as you get laser-focussed on who you want to attract into your cleaning business, you can make your marketing and sales messages with them in mind. In other words, you’re talking to the exact people who you want to be working with – you just became compelling because you’re talking to them, whereas every other cleaning business, is talking to everyone…(which is not compelling).. See the difference?

That’s powerful stuff for a cleaning business.

Think about it – when you know more about your clients, average age, residential or commercial, where they live, what their concerns and needs and wants are, when you really know what makes them tick, then, you can push the hot buttons that compel them to buy – oh, and you can avoid the high-maintenance clients who actually cost you time and money. It’s almost an unfair advantage – and your competitors aren’t doing this!

Here’s the crazy thing – all it takes is a little homework. Starting with taking a good look at the clients you already have, and building a detailed demographic and psychographic profile.

To develop your client profile, there are four simple steps:

1. Identify your clients’ needs and wants. 2. Identify what you need and want in an ideal client. 3. Compare them to see if they match. 4. Decide if current clients are ideal clients.

The only reason clients do business with you is to fulfil some want or need that they have. They want you to solve some problem in their lives. Find out what those needs are and fill them better than anyone else, and you’ll dominate your entire market. Your competitors won’t know what hit them.

And once you do that, it all gets easier. You’ll be well positioned to make more money from clients who love your service, and are eager to refer you to their friends and colleagues – so you add more clients and build your business faster!

Want some help with this?

Richer. Smarter. Happier. What can Cleaning Marketer help you with to grow your cleaning business today?