Episode #29 -- The 5 Most Common Marketing Mistakes Cleaning Business Owners Make

Many cleaning business owners don't understand why their marketing isn't working. This episode points out the 5 most common marketing mistakes cleaning business owners make and tips for getting on the right track.

Read transcript of the video:

We often hear from cleaning business owners who can't quite figure out what they're doing wrong when marketing their cleaning services.  They're out there pounding the pavement, doing what they can to get the word out; but it's just not working for them. When we start asking questions to get to the root of the problem, we often discover one or more of these five common mistakes that are holding them back from gaining new clients.

So let me share the five most common marketing mistakes cleaning business owners make.

  1. Not Doing Your Homework. They're simply not pre-qualifying their prospects. Too many business owners spend too much time talking to prospects who are unlikely to buy. Or they spend their time talking to a person who isn't the decision-maker. So before marketing to a prospect, do some homework to find out if this is in fact a good prospect for your business. If so, do even more research to find out who the decision-maker is and then target your phone calls and marketing materials to that person.

  2. Expecting Immediate Results. Marketing is a process and it takes time, especially if you're just getting started. Remember that selling your services is YOUR priority, but it's NOT your prospect's priority. Even if you made a good connection with the prospect, it takes time to get the ball rolling. People are busy so they may not get back to you right away, so it's your job to find a way to stay connected with them, without being a pest -- and that takes time.

  3. Giving Up Too Soon. Usually it's the people who fall into the trap of #2 (Expecting Immediate Results), that end up giving up too soon. Some people are lucky enough to have a large network of people to market to. These people may be able to build their business faster than those who do not have a large network and need to start from scratch. If you want to hear a story about how to get started from scratch, with absolutely NO CONNECTIONS in the community, then I encourage you to click on Past Episodes at CleaningBiz.tv and watch Episode number 28. Ok, back to giving up too soon. Think about the network of people you currently know. If it's small, and if you really don't have any connections in the business community, well then you need to get out there and start networking and building those relationships. As I already mentioned, selling your cleaning services takes time, and what happens is that most people give up right before things start clicking; so if you give up too soon, you'll probably have just missed the success that was about to explode.

  4. Doing the Same Things Over and Over and Expecting Different Results. Are you used to doing things the same way? Is it working for you?  If not, then it's time to think about making some changes. Let's say for the past two years you've been spending $100 a month on a yellow pages ad. It's time for renewal so you go ahead and sign up again because you've been in there for the past two years and you feel strongly that you need to have that presence because you never know when that next big prospect will call you up because they saw your ad! But if you already know that over the past two years you haven't received any new clients from this ad, then why would you expect to get any different results next year? This is a classic example of doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. So why keep doing it? Unless you can change your results by changing your sales copy or your sales technique, you're better off trying something new.

  5. Afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Most of us are not natural born sales people, so selling your cleaning services probably means that you need to get out of your comfort zone. If you want to find clients you really just need to get over it and do what you have to do to market your business -- unless you LIKE sitting in your office waiting for the phone to ring! That being said, if cold calling just isn't your thing, well then don't do it! Instead, join networking groups and focus on just MEETING people and building relationships with them. This should make the thought of marketing your business a lot easier.

Ok, so do any of these five mistakes sound familiar? I think most of us can relate to at least a couple! If so, what I want you to do is identify which of these five mistakes is a problem for you, and then make a commitment to make a change, so you stop wasting money on marketing that just doesn't work. I'd also like to find out what mistakes YOU'VE made when it comes to marketing and how you corrected the problem. All you have to do is post your comments below the video at CleaningBiz.tv.

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