Help Finding Clients

[Bucky19]

Hi, I have started a commercial cleaning business and have been in business a year now. I have one client but I want to obtain more clients. I have put out a newspaper ad, brought business cards and passed them out, sent out post cards, but nothing seems to be gaining any attention. I want to grow my business but need advice on how to do it. The only issue I have is that I work full time so going door to door to businesses and trying to pitch my business proposal is hard.

[Fulcrum]

This is where you need to make a choice. Do you continue to work full time and moonlight as cleaner or do you take a chance and jump in head first to launch your business?

[huggytree]

finding new customers is everything....without it you will be out of business someday

having 1 customer only is very scary......your 1 phone call away from being out of business...you need to change it fast

first identify who your customer is? cheap or high end?

figure out what you do better than your competition....make up a flier....send them out every month or quarterly to all your potential customers.....ask your customers for referrals...maybe even pay them $1,000 for every new large customer they refer you to

can you cut down on your normal work hours? maybe go to part time while you try to work full time on your cleaning business????

I started out part time too, but I was lucky to have Fridays off, so I worked fri/sat/sun on MY business and m-thurs full time for someone else.....eventually you get enough work to dump your old job...or in my case get found out and fired

[Jim Gillum]

Face to face contact can work wonders...if you can figure out a method to gain the time to do it...

Most small business owners start by "working in the trenches" and would appreciate someone who is out building a business...

One alternative could be to hire a commissioned sales person...:)

[Pronity]

This is very cliche, but do you have a website? What location are you in? Did you design the graphics yourself? Have you spent money on advertising? Are you showing up for Your city + office cleaning and other similar keywords?

Would love to help you with your efforts but we need more information!

[Bucky19]

I do not have a website yet. I am in the process of making one as we speak. I have placed ads in the local newspaper, made business cards with the company logo on them, and made postcards. I begun by going to multiple businesses and passing my cards out and giving them my pitch. After I started full time I was unable to go door to door so I brought postcards and started mailing those out. I think marketing and getting my name out has been keeping me from gaining clients. Any ideas?

[DeniseTaylor]

Hi There

I wouldn't quit your day job yet. You need to build things up first.

How about asking for referrals from the client you have? Also, I believe when you say commercial cleaning company, you mean for offices, right? If so, you need to promote yourself where those people are, which makes it a bit tough if you work during the day.

What about "passive" advertising, so that when/if someone has a need, your name is there. Have you posted your business on Google Places? What about ads in local trade magazines? Are there any weekend expos or trade shows you could go to and hand out your business card, or even set up a booth?

If you're serious about this, you need to keep promoting somehow. If you do, you will eventually garner the clients you seek. It just may take time.

Good luck!

[Pronity]

I use to do marketing for a commercial cleaning company a few years ago, and what we found is that current business owners that have their office cleaned have trouble with communication, mostly because the workers don't speak hardly any english. I'm sure that's not a problem for you, but you would be surprised to find how many cleaning companies are using foreign workers (nothing wrong with that!). Not sure about you, but this could be a selling point to current businesses.

I would also check out apartment complexes due to the high turnover rate and they usually need cleaning at least 3x a month. There's also the chamber of commerce in your area that I would suggest joining to connect with businesses that may need your services. Same for local property manager groups. Finally, never be scared of face to face interaction. Worst they could say is that they're happy with their current cleaning company (as long as you keep it brief).

There is more you can do with online marketing, but since you don't have a website yet I would start with the traditional marketing above. Hopes this helps

[Pronity]

Hi There

I wouldn't quit your day job yet. You need to build things up first.

How about asking for referrals from the client you have? Also, I believe when you say commercial cleaning company, you mean for offices, right? If so, you need to promote yourself where those people are, which makes it a bit tough if you work during the day.

What about "passive" advertising, so that when/if someone has a need, your name is there. Have you posted your business on Google Places? What about ads in local trade magazines? Are there any weekend expos or trade shows you could go to and hand out your business card, or even set up a booth?

If you're serious about this, you need to keep promoting somehow. If you do, you will eventually garner the clients you seek. It just may take time.

Good luck!

I agree with Google Places and referrals, expos and tradeshows, but i would stay away from local trade magazine unless the cost is very low as you don't have any current branding.

[Richt]

Bucky
I know cold calling isn't pleasurable but get a cheapie cell phone just for the business, put a professional voicemail message on it. Get a list of prospective customers and call them on your lunch hour you'll probably get the gatekeeper so find out who makes the decision try to get their extension number, ask if the person comes in at 9am or if they come in early or stay late, most c level managers, owners or decision makers do, then call before you go to work and after work and on your breaks.
Once you make contact say Mr prospect I would like to come in and introduce myself and chat for a few minutes but I know if your like my other customers your an extremely busy person. I see I called you at 8:15 do you usually get in early? Well great I start my day early also, how about I stop by tomorrow at 8:00 with some Starbucks and we can chat for 15 - 20 minutes I have another appointment at 9am across town so I promise I'll be only 15 minutes or so, Mr prospect how do you like your coffee cream and sugar or black?
if you can't meet in the morning find out what time the prospect leaves the office if they stay later than 5 do the same thing or meet at a cafe close to their office for coffee or a drink whatever works.
I was a National Account Rep for a major telecom company and was able to get most of my prospects on the phone before 9 and after 5 no gatekeeper means access to decision makers and busy people like when you respect their time. get in, introduce yourself chat for a few minutes, find out their needs, take notes, leave your brochure and get their contact info to send them a proposal, once you have met face to face you can follow up by phone and email with the proposal, then go in and close the deal.
Definitely get a website, don't worry about seo, internet marketing in the beginning, you need a place to send prospects to, at the stage of business your in right now passive marketing is not the answer, the only thing standing between you being a full time business owner or staying an employee is Customers! Just go out and get Them. There are always a percentage of customers who are unhappy with their current vendor or need to cut some expenses you just need to be in the right place at the right time. If you just do what I put in this post religiously for a few weeks you will start to onboard new customers and move closer to your independence.
Good Luck

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[Damon the Marketer]

Expos and trade shows CAN be good. Can is the keyword. You've got to go in with a strategy, a plan. Don't do what most people do.

Here is what most people do:

1. Set up a booth.
2. Have pamphlets and brochures out.
3. Wait people to come by and ask you questions.
4. Give them a brochure to take home and "read over."

This "strategy" ultimately fails because you have no way to sell to the people who walk away.

What you should do is this:

1. Prepare a demonstration to get more prospects to view your booth (don't just stand there waiting for people).
2. Prepare a questionnaire (this should capture your prospects' emails, phone numbers and addresses).
3. Send out a follow-up marketing campaign to those people.

In short, you should go to a trade show looking for leads and go home with a handful of email addresses, addresses, or phone numbers. And if you stopped at point one and said "I can't have a demonstration for [my product]," you're wrong. Even the most boring things can become interesting if you present them in the right way.

Your trade show strategy, is thus:

1. Capture attention.
2. Capture information.
3. Start the follow-up marketing (this is where the money is).

[Steps212]

Hi there!

I'd like to add a second (or third) nod to getting a website. You don't even need a complicated one.

Some easy (and relatively inexpensive) steps:

- Find out if your company name is available as a domain name. If so, then buy it. I'd also recommend adding the privacy setting, so your personal information isn't public.
- Purchase web hosting (Google "web hosting" and read reviews).
- Use a free/low-cost Wordpress theme (or your web host's "starter" page) and include your contact info.: e-mail & phone number.
- List the services you provide.
- Ask your client for a referral and use some or all of that text on your website (get permission first).

Hope that helps. Good luck!

~Paula

[Damon the Marketer]

- List the services you provide.
~Paula

Don't do this.



- Ask your client for a referral and use some or all of that text on your website (get permission first).
~Paula

Do do this (it's call a testimonial, by the way). If you can, also get a picture of the person leaving the testimonial. Put this on your frontpage, in a sales letter or below a call-to-action for best effect.

[RickGrantham]

Some great advice here. Liked the play-by-play [hone call from Richt on page 1. An item or two I would add...

Who is your customer? (I think someone else asked that too)
And once you have defined that... where do they hang out? If you can find this out... then be there.

Kiwanis or Chamber of Commerce Meetings at night? Forums that are specific to your area that you could become a member of? Maybe a Business Section Forum of the Local Newspaper?

[VeritasCustom]

I agree with what most are already stating. A website (even a simple one) is always beneficial. Add your business to directories such as google, yahoo, yelp, etc.

[Robert Stafford]

It's important that you actually put work into your venture. Without adequate implementation, you will not succeed. Try to focus on attaining new customers through innovative methods. Being unique is the best way to land new clients.

[FlyPizzaGuy]

Have you tried the flyer idea and put them under windshields at any of your local Super Markets. Just have to make sure you have permission and to apartments complexes just to name a few?

[huggytree]

im not a fan of coupons, but for a pizza place I think its a good idea

my wife bought a groupon to a pizza place id never consider...it was dirt cheap!!!...like $15-20 for a extra large, 4 soda's, 3 appetizers....maybe it was $1

the place was in a strip mall....a place id NEVER consider going to for a meal......but guess what...it was one of the best pizza's ive ever had....we've been back a few times since for full price....my 5 year old even picked the place for her birthday meal

folding chairs, 0 appeal.....they are mainly carryout.....were always the only ones sitting down for a meal...they even give you paper plates.. we go a few times a year now

[levis_88]

website is effective, a flyer can be effective and cheaper as well

[justinnichols]

Hi Bucky19,

You've mentioned all marketing tactics. Marketing does not make you sales, most of the time. You need to sell, and you need to be comfortable with that. There's no need to go door-to-door though. Instead, call up five people you ALREADY KNOW who are in business for themselves. Tell them you want to explore a strategic partnership with them that involves referral fees.

Then you can simply call them once per week and ask them who you can talk to. The caveat here is you need to be prepared to reciprocate. This is a power tactic for growing your business.