Here's all you need to build a big commercial cleaning business.....

So you want to get into commercial but you don't know where to begin? Or you're in commercial cleaning already, but you're stuck and you don't know how to break through? Let's get you through that hurdle. The purpose of this post is to guide you along a path of that customer hero's journey so you know how to find them, approach them, and to win them over as a new client.

Before You Begin, You Need to......

1) Determine your Service Area. Do you want to focus on one city? One County? 20 mile radius from your home base? 50 miles? Whatever it is, you need to determine that first, and make a personal commitment that you'll only focus on that area, for now. 

2) Figure out what Services you'd like to offer. Do you want to focus on janitorial only? Porter services? Exterior cleaning? Residential? Move in/Move Out or other one-time work? Disinfecting? Specialty Floor work? Or is it a combination of services?

3) Start with One Niche. This one is tough for most. Make a list of niches and pick one to start. Why? If you don't do this one crucial step, you'll see 1000s of opportunities in your service area and you'll get distracted. Distraction leads to frustration. And frustration can stall your business. Examples include Banks, Country Clubs, Car Dealerships, Schools, Offices, Office Buildings, and more. Start and focus on one. You can always expand later. Side note: it's easier to market if you focus on one. You'll also find that you become an expert in that niche and it's easier to win referrals. 

4) Create a Vision Statement. Create a vision for your business. Pretend you're meeting a friend five years from now and you're describing all of the cool things that happened/are happening to your business at your 5th year. Describe in detail your income, your focus, and your accomplishments. This exercise will help establish goals for your business. A goal is a dream with a date next to it, otherwise, it's just a pipedream.

The Sales Cycle Is Simple:

There's no need to complicate it. There are 5 simple steps to winning a client. Before we dive in, know that the buying cycle for commercial is a LOT different than for residential. It may take 15-20 conversations with that lead before they warm up to you. Also, some of your leads want to change cleaning services (hopefully to you), but they're stuck in a contract and can't easily get out. So it could take weeks, months, or even years before they sign your contract. But the more you do, the more you get. 

Here are those 5 Simple Steps to Winning New Commercial Clients:

Step 1: Find and Add Leads

What's a lead? It's any property that could use cleaning services. They're everywhere. Drive through your service area and you'll see hundreds or even thousands of leads. Check out the Ultimate Lead Guide and you'll see some sample niches and how we found leads within those niches.

Step 2: Market to Your Leads

Marketing is the process of connecting with that lead to show them they have a challenge or problem through cleaning. You're marketing to them to convey that you can solve their challenges and pain points. Within the cleaning industry, you have well over 100 different marketing channels you can choose from. Check out Winning Though Marketing and example details for your next marketing strategy.

Below are some generic examples:

Social Media Marketing
SEO/Website
Cold Calling
Public Relations
Sales Letters
LinkedIn Outreach
Networking 
Sales emails
Community involvement
Sponsoring local sports teams
Google Business Profile
Paid and unpaid referrals
Podcasting
Blogging
Media involvement
Door to Door
Sponsor an event
Tradeshows
Google AdWords
Strategic Alliances
.....and many more.

Step 3: Do a Walkthrough

If you marketed enough times, your lead will trust you and would want a quote from you. Book it! Do a walkthrough. Go see the place. Develop that relationship. I use the walkthrough to ask critical questions around the logistics of cleaning the place, but to also connect on their pain points so we can demonstrate a better clean. I never offer a price in my walkthroughs. I've learned a lot after 1000 walkthroughs. 

Step 4: Deliver a Proposal (and Contract):

After you did your walkthrough, book a time to return to hand them your proposal or email it. Our proposals have the contract attached, and that contract references info within that proposal (e.g. scope of work). We'll send this proposal 1-2 days after our walkthrough. And we'll follow-up 1-2 days after that, and then weekly until we get a yes/no answer. Click here to see what ours includes.

Step 5: Win a New Client:

If you addressed their needs and connected with their pain points at their price point, you'll win that new client. You did it! Go celebrate! 

About My Clean Pivot, LLC

I got my start in commercial cleaning back in 1997 reviewing commercial cleaning contracts for a local cleaning biz. I saw a big problem. Their sales process was to photocopy their contract over and over, use White-Out and type over the same crappy contract copy, and that was their proposal! 

I helped reform their sales process and proposals, and having a brief stint in law, I redid all of their agreements. Over the next two years I took their company from $600,000/year to over $1.8M. Fast forward, my biz partner and I acquired our employer in 2011 and we exited in 2022. We never fell below 7-figures.

Going backwards a bit, COVID hit. I enjoyed helping other cleaning business owners with their business with clients spanning the globe. It brought me joy and made a big pivot into that space. 

Today we're focused on coaching, courses, community, blogging, podcasting, AI and more, in addition to running another successful commercial cleaning company.

It's great to meet you!

-Mark Lineberry
[email protected]