How To Start A Cleaning Business -
Step By Step
1. Decide what you want from your business. We're all different. For example maybe you're looking for just a part time income – or you're ambitious and want to build a serious company. It's very important that you get your mindset right first.
2. What cleaning niche are you going after? (Some are a LOT easier than others). You
have a good choice - Schools, colleges, restaurants, hotels, care homes, hospitals,
sports clubs, offices and domestic houses to name just a few. TIP. You must break the
cleaning niche down because otherwise you'll be up against a lot of competition. You
don't want to do that. The idea is to work smart – not hard. The secret is to find or
create a niche within that niche. That's where the money is.
3. Choose a business name and order your stationary (Make sure you get that right!)
4. Research your competition – use yellow pages and classifieds. Pay attention to their
marketing. What are their websites like? Are they using newsletters – what other services
are they offering. Are they owner operators? They're the ones you need to attack. Write
out a competition planner - Spend time on this.
5. Use yellow pages and classifieds to find your potential customers
6. Set up a mailing database
7. Write up your introductory letter. You're dealing with busy people here so just
remember that. If you send out the wrong letter you won't get anywhere ...
8. Start mailing 10 – 20 letters a day. Be very careful what days you mail on though -
otherwise you'll be throwing money away. Also remember what I said about stationary.
Try to be original.
9. Give it a few days and start calling. If you can't do it – then outsource. The trouble is
they won't be as good as you. So it's something you need to learn I'm afraid but the good
news is it's not as difficult as you think. You just need to be shown.
10. Next you will need to go on appointments. It's no big deal. If you've done your
Homework properly you should have found a niche within a niche and created a unique
service. Something that potential customers haven't seen before.
11. Explain your cleaning service service and the key benefits that you will be offering. As
your confidence grows getting the business will become easier and easier - and you'll be
signing 1 in 3 up. (The ones who called you from your mailing). TIP. Get them to sign 12
month contracts that automatically renew. It's a great business model. The recurring
income stream.
12. Arrange a cleaning schedule (weekly, monthly or fortnightly) and agree the price.
That's it you're done. Now one last thing. This is very important and why I've saved it to
last. You must make sure that you look after your customers. It's an old adage of course
but there are certain techniques and methods that produce stunning results – for very
little work. We'll cover that another time.
More Tips:
Take your time and don't over promise
Some days you'll work a lot better than others – we all do. Don't let that get you down.
Try to take regular exercise. You'll be surprised how much better you perform!
Always price on the high side – you can always come down
Never say “I'll match their price”. This is a service business not a store. So be prepared to walk away. It's a great feeling when they call you back!
Be very careful with your pricing – people talk
More Articles:
Start your own cleaning business today!
Start a home business part one
Start a home business part two
A Step-by-Step Guide To Starting A Home Business Part One