Afraid To Go After Large Sized Cleaning Accounts? Don't Be!

Steve Hanson

If you own a small commercial cleaning company, chances are you started out cleaning (or still clean) smaller sized buildings. You probably clean each location one to three times per week, and the accounts may bring in $250 to $500 a month in revenue.

The nice thing about these accounts is that they are generally profitable, and quick and easy to clean. Another nice thing about these accounts is that you haven't put all your eggs in one basket, so if you happen to lose one every so often, it's not devastating to your business and it's fairly easy to replace the the account.

But if you're like most of us in this business, you aspire to take on larger buildings. The thought of taking on a new account that brings in $1500 - $5000+ a month is pretty exciting. Think of how quickly your business could grow. But it can be a little intimidating when you first start going after these larger sized buildings. The thought of hiring several employees, managing the building five to seven nights a week, and buying equipment and supplies for that large of a facility can be intimidating.

Here's the good news. Managing the cleaning of a larger sized building is really not much more difficult than managing the cleaning of a small sized building. In fact many people find it easier to manage a larger sized building. That's because all the employees are working in one location every night instead of moving around from location to location, working a varied schedule.

Another benefit of cleaning larger buildings is that it is easier to retain employees when they know they have a set schedule at the same location every night. When you are able to retain employees, you spend less money on hiring and training new employees, plus the quality of the cleaning is better with long-term employees. In addition, you or your supervisors will spend less time traveling from building to building to building, making sure employees showed up to work and checking up on the cleaning.

As far as profit, you'll find that the larger accounts are less profitable than the smaller accounts (as far as the percentage of profit), but the total profit dollars is much higher. And if you provide a total package of services including floor care, window washing, etc., you'll be able to offset some of the lost profitability of the general cleaning.

So if you've been afraid to go after larger accounts, don't be! You just may find that you like it even more than the small profitable accounts you've been cleaning.

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Copyright TheJanitorialStore.com. All Rights Reserved. Steve Hanson helps owners of commercial cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through his online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. For more tips on owning a profitable cleaning business, watch the popular Web TV show CleaningBiz.tv and sign up for the newsletter, Trash Talk.