Bad Marketing Ideas for Cleaning Companies
Episode 189 Marques Posey Janitors of Atlanta
Today Mike coaches Marques Posey, owner of Janitors of Atlanta on marketing for cleaning companies. Marques has cleaning experience from his time in the military. Six months ago, he decided to start his own cleaning company. Today Marques wants the most effective way to market a cleaning company to a niche market like daycare centers.

Currently Marques does both residential and commercial. Bad idea. Marketing for cleaning companies is hard enough when you can customize and craft your message to a specific audience. The needs of a stay at home mom are very different then that of a business owner, gym manager or property manager.

KEY POINT: Residential OR Commercial- NOT both
When you are marketing your cleaning company in a large city like Atlanta it is nearly impossible for a new company to make headway and get known in the first couple of years. When you focus on a specific niche like daycare facilities it’s much easier to make a name within that community. It gives you the opportunity to know that group of people in that city better than anyone in the world.

Janitors of Atlanta is a great name for a commercial cleaning company in Atlanta, but not great for a residential maid service. Homeowners hire maids and businesses hire janitors. When focusing on a niche market, you could get even more specific with a name like Daycare Janitors of Atlanta.

HINT: Marketing for cleaning companies starts with your name
It’s the little things like this that give you the upper hand when dominating a niche. Different businesses use different language. They want to do business with people who understand them. If you are selling to a doctor and referred to his patients as “customers”, you would likely offend them. Picking a specific niche allows you to dive in and use the language they use.

KEY POINT: Words matter when marketing for cleaning companies
This all ties into Marques’ original question about what to put in his marketing message. You must know the right words to use to convey that you understand your prospect and their specific needs. The easiest way to connect with any niche is to talk about THEM.

Your prospects are just like you. They have a lot going on in their lives. Sick kids, bills to pay, fights with their spouses… When your message is all about you and your company, they are not going to pay attention.

SPOILER ALERT: They are not interested in you or your company. They are interested in themselves and their needs
Have you ever been to a company who you wanted to do business with and heard- “Why don’t you leave your info behind and we will give you a call if we need you…”? Did it feel like they were just trying to get you out of there as quickly as possible? At that point, it doesn’t really matter what your material says because it’s likely going to end up in the garbage.

How do you combat this? Stop talking about yourself. Ask questions about them and their business. Listen to their answers. Discover their biggest struggle- what keeps them up at night. Personally and professionally. You will likely be surprised at how quickly they will open up to you and share details about problems you can solve for them.

KEY POINT: Ask questions and listen. Your clients will tell you exactly what you should put on your website and sales materials
It’s not that they don’t like you personally. They just have 100 things on their to do and getting a new cleaning company isn’t in the top 20.

RESOURCE ALERT: Click HERE for more on how to get your prospects to open up to you
Instead of cold calling on a prospect handing them a bunch of info about you, your company and your offerings, listen to their problems. Explain that you are specializing in serving them. Ask how you can customize your offerings to make their lives easier. Don’t try to sell them anything.

A couple good things will come from these conversations:

You will get all sorts of good topics and messaging for your marketing materials
No one else has taken the time to do this. You will stand out in a very positive way
You will likely get several of them to ask you to give them a bid
The ones that don’t ask you for a bid, you can reach back out and explain you had that same conversation with 20 other daycare facilities in the area. Offer to share what you have discovered and how your are customizing your services to meet their specific need.
KEY POINT: When marketing for your cleaning company- make it all about them, NOT about YOU!
Long story short- you need to know your customer’s pain more than anyone else in your field. You want to be able to communicate that pain more clearly than the client has ever heard it before.

Before the fun ends, Mike gives his guest the opportunity to share their wisdom when it comes to marketing for cleaning companies in the…

Lightning Round
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
If you aren’t working towards your own dream, you’re working towards building someone else’s
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in the cleaning business?
Going out and buying a bunch of product before he needed it.
What one thing Cleaning Nation can do today to improve their lives or their business?
Building a regular schedule for a customer call back.