(This is THE best, most cost-effective strategy for getting more commercial cleaning jobs)…
Trigger a Consistent Influx of Referral Leads Into Your Commercial Cleaning Business
I’m guessing you don’t need “selling” on the idea that referrals are extremely important to your commercial cleaning business, do you?
After all, just about everyone knows a referral lead costs less to acquire than a “cold” lead, via, say, conventional advertising.
That’s marketing 101, right?
Yes it is. But what you may not (yet) appreciate is just how much of a positive impact referrals can have on your commercial cleaning business… as well as…
Your Entire Life
A true story to illustrate my point (and although it’s about a dentist, the referral principle is just as applicable to you in the commercial cleaning business) …
The dentist (in Australia), called Dr. Paddi Lund, used to work like a maniac at his dental practice — putting in 60-hours per week.
That was the input. The output was Dr. Paddi Lund made about the average yearly salary for a workaholic dentist.
More: He was tired, stressed, burnt out, and extremely unhappy.
So he decided to do something drastic and revolutionary.
He Made It a Mandatory Condition Of Anyone Who Wanted to Be a Patient to Refer other Quality Patients to Him
And this new “rule” also went for existing patients who wanted to continue being a patient.
Question:
Would you care to guess what happened after Dr. Paddi Lund “re-engineered” his business into a referral only operation?
Answer:
The way I heard it Dr. Paddi Lund went from working 60+hours a week to only working about 22 hours a week (about 1/3 of what he worked before) and his annual salary is over 3-TIMES the average dentist’s salary.
And as far as I know, Dr. Paddi Lund is (and has been for some time now)…
The Highest Paid Dentist in Australia
As well as the most chilled-out.
Okay, now we’ve set the stage for just how much of a positive impact referrals can have on a business — (and, yes, even for a commercial cleaning business) — let’s explore some…
Systematic Referral Generating Strategies You Can Begin Implementing In Your Commercial Cleaning Business
By the way, notice in the above sub-head how I’ve underlined the word systematic.
Why have I done that?
Because most business owners that attempt to generate referral leads do so in a very haphazard way.
No good.
What you need (what you must have) is a systematic process in place.
Now, you don’t have to be as militant about it as Dr. Paddi Lund.
You can still accept business from other sources (apart from referrals)… but… it is a good idea (especially during sluggish economic times) to have some kind of systematic referral marketing process in place for your commercial cleaning business.
But how?
Well, let me “paint a picture” of a typical scenario that often plays out when someone tries to get referral(s)… and then… contrast it with a basic, yet well-thought-out, systematic approach to stimulating referrals.
Okay, what most commercial cleaners do to get referrals (if they even try at all!) – is do whatever cleaning work they’ve been contracted for… and then… only after the client seems pleased with the results does a commercial cleaner summon up the courage to ask for a referral.
Most don’t even ask – they merely hint!
This, of course, often creates an all-round awkward situation in the client / commercial cleaner dynamic… and… more often than not…
Results In Zero Referrals
Or, at best, a few unqualified referrals (otherwise known as “names”).
Let’s contrast that with a better – more systematic – way that’s likely to result in more referral business for you as a commercial cleaner.
Let’s say you’re in the process of talking with a qualified prospect that is making all the right “noises” about wanting to hire your company for a commercial cleaning job or contract.
Well, it’s at this stage in the relationship (before a prospect has become a paying client) that I suggest you set down your “rules of business” – communicating your expectation that all clients you take on will refer other quality prospects to you.
Here’s a quick example of how that conversation could go:
###
COMMERCIAL CLEANER: “Mr. Prospect, I would be happy to work with you and deliver an outstanding cleaning job in the XYZ areas of your premises. However, I do have a condition you must agree to before I take you on as a client…”
PROSPECT: “Oh, what’s that?”
COMMERCIAL CLEANER: “When I have delivered the cleaning results I am going to provide after the 3rd cleaning job… including in areas X, Y and Z… and… assuming I satisfy your expectations… you will agree to give me the name and contact details of X number of quality referrals – based upon the criteria I will share with you — can you foresee a problem with that?”
PROSPECT: “Uh, no. I can’t see that being a problem.”
###
Hardly anyone will see it as a problem.
Why would they? After all, if you look at the above phraseology of the commercial cleaner, you’ll notice it’s communicating 4 very important things:
1). It communicates that the commercial cleaner has heard – and more importantly understood – what is required by the prospect.
2). It communicates that the commercial cleaner doesn’t just take on anyone as a client. Money alone is not enough. You must agree to refer in order to qualify.
3). It communicates that the commercial cleaner is ultra–confident they can meet and satisfy the prospects expectations – without overtly saying so (which would be perceived as a “sales move”). This, of course, inspires confidence in the mind of the prospect – making them much more likely to want to become a client.
And…
4). It communicates – right from the “get-go” the authorative stance and leadership qualities of the commercial cleaner (so they are perceived as a peer and top expert, instead of just another service provider that commands little respect).
Of course, if you run with the systematic referral strategy I’ve outlined above – you must continually remind the client of their agreement to give you X number quality referrals at the set date / time frame (eg: after the 3rd clean job you do). And make sure you educate your client on what a good quality referral lead would look like. Give them a printed piece of paper with the referral client criteria list on it.
Plus, of course, it’s a good idea to set aside a special “referral only” meeting with your client (at a pre-agreed upon date / time frame) where you will sit down with your client for the sole purpose of gathering those quality referrals.
Try it. The strategy works if you work it and have confidence in yourself to communicate what you expect (up-front) with every new cleaning client.
Centaur produces these articles as a “value added service” to the commercial cleaning industry. Our overall aim is to help you become more commercially successful with more time-freedom – irrespective of if you ever buy from Centaur. So please “bookmark” this article resource and check back often for more informative articles that can help you run and enjoy a more lucrative commercial cleaning business.
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