As someone who has had the opportunity to work with a variety of successful commercial cleaning companies, I’ve been fortunate to gain valuable insights and knowledge about what it takes to succeed in this industry. I’ve learned that there are certain key elements that can greatly increase your chances of success. My goal is to share some of the strategies that have helped me, and others, take our cleaning businesses to the next level.
Generate sales leads
One common challenge that many cleaning companies face is generating enough leads for their sales team. Do you ever feel like your sales team is great at closing deals but struggles to generate enough leads? You’re not alone.
While having strong closers is important, you need to focus on developing a lead generation and follow-up system. The most profitable companies and successful sales reps in the industry know how to sell to people who may not be actively looking for cleaning services or aren’t ready to buy yet. This is where having a consistent follow-up system comes in. As the saying goes, “what gets measured gets done,” so you should always track the number of follow-ups.
Although business to business (B2B) sales often require multiple follow-ups, the National Sales Association reported that 50% of reps give up after the first follow-up and 89% after the fourth. By implementing an effective lead nurturing strategy, such as email sequences or SMS text campaigns, you can increase the number of sales-ready leads and save money on marketing efforts that don’t bring the desired results.
Be sure to track your sales efforts. By understanding your performance metrics, such as the number of appointments set, proposals sent, and calls made, you can identify what’s working and what’s not. You’ll also be able to focus on the most successful lead generation methods. Remember, what gets measured gets done. By consistently tracking your progress, you’ll be able to improve and reach your goals for your cleaning business.
Set realistic goals
Setting clear, realistic goals is also critical for business success. Weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual goals will help you focus and measure progress. The most successful cleaning companies set goals for appointments set, sales made, customer retention, client satisfaction, calls made, marketing leads generated, Google reviews, and cost per appointment.
When considering whether a goal is realistic, keep in mind that you shouldn’t expect to grow 50% if you’ve never grown that much before. You also shouldn’t plan for substantial growth if you’re not able to invest more money in your company for this goal.
Reach your audience
Having a clear, consistent marketing plan is also crucial. A well-diversified marketing plan can help you reach a wider audience. Utilizing a CRM (customer relationship management) system allows you to organize and manage information on the customers and prospects that make up your audience, making it easier to follow-up and track interactions. A study by Nucleus Research revealed companies that implemented a CRM system saw a 41% increase in sales, while a study by Salesforce found that companies using CRM had 29% higher sales productivity compared to those that did not.
Investing in a CRM system can help you improve customer retention, streamline your sales process, and make your sales team more productive. If you are not familiar with CRM, you can track your sales in a spreadsheet until it becomes too complicated and then transition to a more sophisticated CRM tool.
Avoid growing pains
To grow your company, you will have to make tough decisions. What got you where you are today is not going to get you where you want to be tomorrow. You need to have the right team members in the right positions.
Hiring, training, and onboarding new employees takes time and money, so it’s important to have systems in place to ensure you have the right people onboard. Just as a good team will help you push your business forward, a bad one will put you out of business. If you’ve been in business for a long time and are struggling to grow, it may be time to reevaluate your team.
Remember, your business is a reflection of yourself, so if you want your business to succeed, it’s essential that you lead by example and hold yourself to high standards. Show up on time, set the bar high, and constantly strive to improve. Your team and clients will take notice and follow suit.
