Cleaning Business Postcard

Here is what I did.

I took him from being a general cleaner to being a cleaner who specializes in cleaning churches.

I also made him a headline that is all about benefits to the consumer - saving at least 20%.

I explain lower cost and lower overhead gets them a cheaper price and make them call to request a quote for the cleaning company.

On the back I hit the benefit headline again and let them know we've been in business, cleaning churches, for 13 years.

Bet he hates it.

But if he is smart he'll focus on churches and offer a deeper discount for them to allow him an ad in the church bulletin so he can get more customers and the churches endorsement all at once.

Not to mention where he lives there are thousands of churches so he can focus his efforts on them and expand as needed.

Lets see what happens.

Of course positioning on cheap price sucks... but the dude
is out of work. He's not gonna get traction with anybody
saying "Same price, better quality" - not for this. Unless
the current cleaner the client has is stuffing it up, the only
appeal likely to get attention is the carrot of a competitive bid.

That's reality in marketing a commodity.

Here is some advice from someone that owns a relatively successful cleaning business. (PM me and I will send you my link)

You mention price? My price is never 20% less, I have my margins and I will make them. It's about the service, the trust I bring to my clients (note I said clients, not customers) and doing a good job all the time. I was recently in negotiations against a national company that for all intensive purposes was just a brokering agent. They claimed to "manage buildings" ultimately I won, not because I was cheaper, I was actually more expensive by 10%, but because my clients have 24/7 access to ME, not a call center.

There is no mentioning of insurance, bonding, etc. Any type of commercial account will require it and your friend might want to consider getting some. Most (not all) liability accounts run around $600 or so a year, quite an investment when you are first starting out, not to mention workman's comp etc.

Although cleaning may seem "easy", there are barriers to entry if you want to do it right and make money. Anyone on their mother can open a "cleaning" business, its' whether or not they are legit.

So to recap 1. Emphasis the service, that's the most important part. 2. If he/she is new, explain that to your potential clients. 3. DO NOT send a postcard, it doesn't pay off (unless you feel like wasting money). Go knock on some doors and introduce yourself (yes that means cold calling). 4. Don't say 13 years experience in commercial cleaning unless he/she really has it, I personally would ask about your background.

Good luck.

It helps, if you are going to go residential it will definitely help more. With commercial cleaning, going to be very much a case by case basis. "Green" is generally considered a premium cleaning solution.