How
Do You Get Your 1st Client When You Have A New Cleaning Business?
Often I get this question asked of me. One subscriber had a prospective ‘account’ manager that said, "I like what you seem to offer, but I don't know if I dare take a chance on a new company. If you could get a few clients first, then come back and I’ll take your proposal to the building owner.”
That was pretty discouraging to my reader and he didn't know how to handle the situation. Without having any customers, he had no testimonials or letters of recommendation. What should a new business owner do?
Here is an approach I used when starting my business.
"No, I don't
have any clients yet, so if you’ll give me the account I have to work harder than anyone else! I can’t afford to lose you as
a client because I need your
recommendation to get my next account. Here’s the best part; if you ever have a
problem with the work being done, you call me,
not some office manager or route supervisor.”
By-the-way – the statement that “If you ever have a problem
with the account, you can call me.” still holds true today. Yes, I have account managers and route
supervisors, and most of the day-to-day communication occurs between them and
the building owners/managers; but every building owner/manager has my phone#
and email address.
Does
this approach work? After nearly 2 decades in business, I still have my 1st
cleaning account, and our client retention rate is nearly 100% in an industry
where client turnover is reported to be 40% annually. Yes, it works!
For more ideas on starting your own business, go here.
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