Wanna Know How to Get Clients for a Cleaning Business?
Nearly every day we get asked how to get clients for a cleaning business. Today Mike coaches Lisanne, owner of Lisanne’s Labor of Love (lllaustin.com) on getting clients for her cleaning business. Lisanne specializes in move-in move-out residential deep cleaning and is based out of Austin, TX is passionate about the cleaning business but struggles getting clients.

The first step in getting clients for your cleaning business is to determine EXACTLY who your target client is. Marketing to a smaller group of prospects can seem like you are making getting clients harder. The truth is we all have limited time and money. It’s impossible to market to “everyone” or even “just commercial” or “just residential”. You will get clients for your cleaning company faster when you market to a smaller group.

MIND BLOW: You will grow faster by marketing to fewer people!
How to get clients for a cleaning business is much easier when they feel like you are all about them. If you were a lawyer, which headline would grab your attention:

Bobs Green Clean- We don’t cut corners, we clean em!!
Austin Law Firm Cleaners- Improving billable hours with facility management
Let’s face it- Bob’s Green Clean doesn’t stand a chance. Targeting a smaller market allows you to speak DIRECTLY to you prospect and let them know they are in the right place. That you understand THEM!

KEY POINT: Pick a niche and make it EASIER to get clients for your cleaning business
Once you decide on the perfect clients for your cleaning business you need to get to know EVERYTHING about them.

For residential:

Are they single or families?
Young or old?
What is their household income?
Who makes the decision- husband or wife?
How big is their house? How much is it worth?
For commercial

Who is the decision maker…
Small business owner?
Manger for the owner?
Professional property manager?
What part of town are they located in?
What type of business do they do?
How often do they need cleaning?
How big is their space typically?
For BOTH:

What is the biggest pain in their life?
How can your company solve that pain?
Where do they hang out?
What are they passionate about?
Where do they go for referrals?
THE SECRET SAUCE: Know your customer better than your competition. Better than they know themselves!
How do you get to know prospects and customers for your cleaning business this well?

KEY POINT: Ask Questions and LISTEN
Here are some more questions that can help you get clients for a cleaning business:

Why would you hire me?
Fire me?
How would you find the next cleaner?
What would they have to say to get the job?
To keep the job?
Lose the job?
Once you understand WHO your customer is and WHAT they are all about, you have already answered the hardest part of how to get clients for a cleaning business!

Speak to the perfect customer for your cleaning business.
HINT: YOU are not your perfect customer.
Don’t make the message about you.
Talk about their FAVORITE SUBJECT.
HINT: It’s them
Speak to their pain and their passion.
Leave out things about you that they are NOT interested in.
Generally owners of cleaning companies want to talk about Green clean and how they clean better than the next guy. Customers DON’T CARE. Customers for your cleaning company are typically concerned about making more money, time with their family, looking good in front of their customer. Talk about those things.

WRITER DOWNER: It’s NOT about the media type (Facebook or direct mail?) It is about the Message!
Finally, it’s time to figure out WHERE to communicate with your customer. So many owners of cleaning companies think THIS is how to get clients for a cleaning business. Asking questions like “Should I advertise in…”. Wrong question. Wrong time.You MUST start by:

Picking your ideal customer
Knowing them better than they know themselves
Creating a message that speaks to their pain
Then and ONLY then is it time to figure out WHERE and HOW to deliver that message.

BONUS TRUTH: Even the best message isn’t effective if your customers aren’t seeing it.
Again, the best way to find out how to get clients for a cleaning business is to know where your customers are. This will tell you where to advertise. The way to find out is to ask questions and listen…

Are your target customers home-makers? Maybe they spend a lot of time on Pinterest.
Single professionals? Perhaps LinkedIn is a good place to start.
Property managers? Think trade magazines, online associations, Facebook groups, etc.
I know this has been a long post, so let’s sum up the four steps on how to get more clients for your cleaning business:

Figure out your target customer
Find out what their specific wants and fears are
Craft a very specific message for them addressing their interested
Get that message out where they hang out
No post would be complete without even MORE free resources on how to get more clients for your cleaning business and today is no exception. Check out THIS VIDEO and THIS BLOG POST for more Mike and MORE cleaning business clients!