Many cleaning contracts don’t fail because of poor service or weak proposals. Instead, they get stuck because customers have difficulty aligning internally and making confident decisions.
This challenge is at the heart of a conversation with Jeff Carmon, a coach and consultant with Elite BSC, who shared insights on how building service contractors can move stalled conversations forward without resorting to price-based selling.
Carmon pointed to The Challenger Customer, a follow-up to the well-known business-to-business sales book The Challenger Sale, as a useful framework for understanding why deals slow down. While many sales professionals assume price is the main obstacle, Carmon said that explanation often hides deeper issues.
“We’re all guilty of saying, ‘We didn’t get the deal because of the price,’” Carmon said. “But really what they’re saying is what we have is okay, there’s risk associated with changing, and we just can’t get on the same page internally to make a decision.”
Is good … good enough?
According to Carmon, janitorial and building service sales are especially vulnerable to this issue because “good enough” service often seems acceptable to customers. When service meets basic expectations, there is little urgency to switch providers, even if hidden costs come from distractions, complaints, or low morale.
The Challenger Customer framework identifies four buyer types involved in business purchasing decisions: talkers, blockers, skeptics, and mobilizers. Carmon emphasized that mobilizers—the people who can rally others internally and push decisions forward—are the most important to identify.
“That mobilizer is the person who can maximize your results when you find that person and you can sell to them,” Carmon said.
Focus on solving issues
Although the book was written with complex, multi-stakeholder sales in mind, Carmon pointed out that the principles still apply to smaller or more routine janitorial contracts. Even when only one decision-maker is involved, contractors can benefit from reframing the conversation.
“Rather than discussing inspections and our processes, focus on how our service will solve their problems,” Carmon said. Those issues often include distractions, productivity drops, and employee morale—factors that go well beyond line-item pricing.
Carmon emphasized that challenger selling isn’t about confrontation. Instead, it’s about educating and providing insight. By helping prospects view their environment differently, contractors can redirect the conversation from cost to impact.
In manufacturing facilities, for example, Carmon pointed to restrooms and break rooms as spaces that directly influence employee morale. Poor conditions can quietly erode productivity, while well-maintained spaces reinforce positive workplace culture.
Just one thing…
If cleaning company owners take just one step from the Challenger Customer approach, Carmon recommended preparation. “Spend time, put on paper these ideas of how you’re going to challenge or educate the customer,” he said. Practicing those conversations helps sales leaders ask thoughtful questions that reveal pain points customers may not articulate on their own.
Ultimately, Carmon described challenger selling as guidance, not pressure. “It’s not really selling,” he said. “It’s educating.”
By providing structure, insight, and confidence in the buying process, cleaning contractors can help customers overcome internal hesitation and make decisions that benefit both their facilities and their people.
