Hey Marketing Gurus I opened my own business, and I need some great ideas and help from you!

All the above.

I would also add in calling office managers on the phone, and offering a discount
for testing your company out.

Yeah do cold-calling mainly, be the sales man they want to buy from.

Finally, invest in some geo-targeted/local SEO. If you rank for 'yourcitycleaning.com' you will get 99% of the local business.

Chat to real estate agents about doing a commision based exchange on new home owners/arrivals. Alternatively, pay them per lead.

CRAIGSLIST

CRAIGSLIST

CRAIGSLIST

CRAIGSLIST

The key here is you need clients "now". So how do we get clients right away? A lot depends on what you bring to the table.

1. Why did you start a cleaning business? You likely had been doing this for a while working for someone else. What contacts did you build during your previous work that you can use today to get a client in the next hour?

2. What services do you offer? For truly cold marketing this will determine who to target. If you are a one man show you wouldn't want to land a large manufacturer at this point unless it was for a small area such as cleaning their breakrooms or similar.

3. Who are your target clients? You started a business because you saw a niche that needed filled didn't you? It's ok if you didn't a lot of people build a job vs. a business. What isn't ok is to keep thinking like that. If you don't have a target market, that niche that needs filled you need to seriously take time and think and find one. For example maybe you noticed when you worked for someone else that they were turning down small new businesses. Maybe you noticed that a lot of small business owners had to hire two cleaners, one for the office and one for home, because no one offered both services.

If you need help with this I am sure many of us are willing to help but until you know who you will target and why you started this business none of our help will matter. And if you have already figured that out why didn't you ask, "How would you target ______ to gain their business if you were running a new cleaning company?"

Seo and Warm calling. Actually most here call it cold calling but if you have a warm heart its really warm and enjoyable. In your script the first thing you want to know is if they already have someone hired for cleaning. If they do, offer 2 weeks free on the condition that they recommend 5 others who may need your services. If you need a calling script ill create one for free. Good luck

Commercial Real Estate agents could help make connections for you. I know a guy who just bought a four story office building and it took him a few weeks to get the cleaners running.

Just remember to spend 80% of your time marketing and 20% of your time fulfilling. As soon as cleaning takes up time from your marketing, start hiring more people.

I have my own cleaning business and have for 12+ years. We focus on residential, but have done commercial as well, and specialized in rentals for the first several years. I've also started a mobile auto detailing business, and ran that through many large businesses that I got to market my services to their employees. So, I know a little bit about this.

If you're going for commercial work, I doubt that you will get much through Craigslist. I've picked up some great clients through Craigslist for residential, but I also brand and market my business to differentiate myself from the lowball cleaners that are probably just looking for a way into the homes of people to steal their meds and money, lol.

Commercial is often picked up like Irish said above, by happening to go in to talk to a business at just the right time. Let's face it. If you actually show up, don't steal anything, and maybe even clean, you're doing better than a lot of cleaners out there. So, be prepared that the business that you enter in person may have someone already, but also know that they are probably unhappy in some way, so touch on those issues that are often problems and speak to your proficiency in those areas.

Pick up an office in a building with many offices, and you might just start a chain reaction that gets you a bunch of work in one location.

I've never had much success with any adwords campaigns or anything like that, for residential or commercial.

Going in and talking to people face to face, building relationships by continuing to visit and being nice to the office staff and making your mark, is the best way to pick up commercial clients, in my opinion. Have marketing materials to leave with them.

BNI could be beneficial. I've been invited many times but never needed the work so I didn't take them up on it. Just know the rules of BNI and what you need to do in order to remain an active participant.

Building relationships with realtors can be beneficial, though I don't know how many would help you get commercial business. Maybe you could target commercial realtors. Don't forget about property management companies. They often take care of many properties and use contractors to do so, which may present openings for you.

DON'T SELL YOURSELF ON PRICE ALONE WITH CRAZY LOW PRICES. Doing so is just a race to the bottom, and if a commercial facility goes with your services just because you're cheaper than their current guy, they will do the same to you when the next person comes and cuts the price five bucks.

I personally hate commercial work and would rather have residential any day, but that's just me. Good luck with it. Oh, and be sure to have insurance and such, as you will be required to have it when getting most commercial jobs. In our area you must carry $1,000,000 in general liability to even be considered for most jobs.

The search function of the forum will benefit you very well.

Just PM'd you with some information that'll help. The ideas here all outline a great start, but you need a firm plan and someone to help you implement it. While it's great that you want to do it yourself, too many people bite off more than they can chew and then drown. Be sure you think through things or have someone help you that knows marketing, before you shell out money for the "next big marketing tool."

The best thing to do is try a variety of things.

Never put all of your marketing and advertorial eggs in one basket, even if it's WRECKING.

Always diversify!

You can split test things that are offline too.

Have certain domains and subids for certain offline ads, to track where your leads are coming from.

You can have great fun with offline ads.

Local Search Marketing, Google Places/Local, Social Media including Yelp and Angies List

Direct Marketing Kicks Major A$%

Don't pay attention to all the people who have been spreading false noise about direct marketing being dead. Direct Marketing is alive and stronger then it's been for years.

Just take a look at these posts:

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ll-action.html
http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...vert-well.html
http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...-do-today.html
http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...cess-more.html
http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...some-soul.html

Cleaning service direct mail marketing and mailing lists are a cost effective way to introduce your cleaning service to potential customers. By combining a targeted mail list based on location, income and family structure, with a custom designed postcard or brochure describing your business services; you will be able to quickly build your client base while minimizing travel time between customers.

Cold Calling

Call every business in your target market and see if they have a a need for your services. It can't hurt and you are getting your name out by doing this. Chances are you could land some really great clients through cold calling. Just remember the results are in the numbers. Don't judge the results of your efforts until you have made more then 100 calls. I hate calling people without warming them up first. In some cases I like to send a postcard and then follow up with a "warm" phone call. You could send a email and use a email tracking system to achive the same affect. I think this post shows what tracking services work best: http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ne-emails.html

Website + PPC

I think a good online marketing system would be to design a "pimp" landing page (I can help with that.) and direct traffic to using ppc, adleads, facebook ads... you get the point. You could convert the traffic by offer a call to action like " Call us today and get 25% off" You could add blog and write posts establishing yourself as a expert in your market. I would also capture emails and set it up where they receive the coupon via email after signing up. This will build you a targeted email list to market to in the future.

I hope you find success in your market. Don't give up, market the hell out of your services and I am sure you will see results!

The best way to reach these prospects is through calling. You have to remember that your competitors are much bigger and more well known. You need to get on the phone to get clients. If you do not have time for this, you can always hire telemarketers that has experience calling for cleaning and janitorial companies.

1. Focus. Focus. Focus.
   Many first-time entrepreneurs feel the need to jump at every "opportunity" they come across. Opportunities are often wolves in sheep's clothing. Avoid getting side-tracked. Juggling multiple ventures will spread you thin and limit both your effectiveness and productivity. Do one thing perfectly, not 10 things poorly. If you feel the need to jump onto another project, that might mean something about your original concept.
2. Know what you do. Do what you know.
   Don't start a business simply because it seems sexy or boasts large hypothetical profit margins and returns. Do what you love. Businesses built around your strengths and talents will have a greater chance of success. It's not only important to create a profitable business, it's also important that you're happy managing and growing it day in and day out. If your heart isn't in it, you will not be successful.
3. Say it in 30 seconds or don't say it at all.
   From a chance encounter with an investor to a curious customer, always be ready to pitch your business. State your mission, service and goals in a clear and concise manner. Fit the pitch to the person. Less is always more.
4. Know what you know, what you don't know and who knows what you don't.
   No one knows everything, so don't come off as a know-it-all. Surround yourself with advisors and mentors who will nurture you to become a better leader and businessman. Find successful, knowledgeable individuals with whom you share common interests and mutual business goals that see value in working with you for the long-term.
5. Act like a startup.
   Forget about fancy offices, fast cars and fat expense accounts. Your wallet is your company's life-blood. Practice and perfect the art of being frugal. Watch every dollar and triple-check every expense. Maintain a low overhead and manage your cash flow effectively.

Hey good to know about this different type of business, I think you can mainly depend on flyers, Attractive newspaper adds, Discount deals and Online advertisements like through social media promotions for your business promotion.
All the best and let us know how was the response.

Why not try buying an ad in your local news paper. I don't mean you have to buy a full page ad. You could get a classified ad and pay a bit more so that it's highlighted.

But whatever ad you buy in your local newspaper, the key I think is to offer something Outrageous. For instance, you could offer a FREE simple service for the first 30 callers (or more if you are up to it). It's a great way to get customers fast.

But don't just stop there. Give these 30 or more "fast action takers" a voucher that they can use to get 50% off your cleaning service if they hire you again within the next 30 days (if that's a good time frame for you).

If you offer them service twice in quick succession they are likely to stay for good. So first time free, second time 50% discount.

Also, you could write or have written a free report that goes something like "7 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before You Hire a Cleaning Service" (I apologise if someone already uses this title). Offer that report for free in your local newspaper.

It could be a digital report on a simple download page or a physical report. Just make sure you can use that title without infringing anyone's trademarks.

This way you'll probably get many of the businesses who need cleaning services to ask for your report. Then of course you give them the 7 questions and let them know why you are the best at the end.

I don't think any other cleaning company in your local area does this. I've done some consulting for a cleaning company so I know this would probably be foreign to most cleaning companies.

Hope this helps.
Bruce

You've got tons of FREE advice here for people that usually charge to do scripts, set up marketing plans and carry them out for you. It's not odd that someone just shows up here with 10 one line posts to be able to send PM's, so if you want to stick around and continue to get advice, I suggest you start giving some helpful feedback in more posts. Don't just start a thread to get free products. They're onto that.

For those here volunteering free things, I'm not saying this is a spammer, but check the background. Exactly 10 posts (that are one liners), then nothing. It's most likely someone that has no clue how to market looking for us to do the work for free. Advice is one thing, free stuff is another.

I have updated some feedbacks in the OP after a little try out of the tel marketing method, and I have wrote the new questions that i have meet in the post too, please kindly give some advice.

One thing that you want to do is network! Go to the local chamber of commerce and find out where the business owners hang out in town. Network and you will get some leads! Also go to linkedin and search for business owners in your town. That's a great way to get around the gatekeeper.

You should test as much ways that you can, split test these and see which one has the best ROI, then its natural to continue with these..

Cheers,