Recap of BSCAI Convention

The BSCAI (Building Service Contractors Association International) Convention was April 13 -- 17, 2007 in Chicago.  The picture seen here is the view from the convention center. For a quick recap, check out the blog post at Cleaning-Success.com - http://cleaning-success.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/04/back_from_bscai.html.

Here are some of the highlights of the convention:

* The first night was the opening reception, where we met some of the members of the Board of Directors, who all run very successful cleaning companies. We sat at a table with the President Elect for 2008 and his staff. Their core business is in the Washington DC area and it was interesting to hear about their business and the challenges they face. They have a unique niche -- high security buildings. They also told us about the challenges of working with a union staff. Basically the union dictates wages for the workers, along with yearly increases. So the cleaning company doesn't do annual performance reviews like most companies. They also told us how difficult it is to fire anyone who is not doing their job. This is a very different culture, but then it pretty much levels the playing field as far as bidding goes. Since everyone is paying the same wages, their employment expenses are about the same, so each company really needs to differentiate itself from the competition in other ways.

* The keynote speaker for the convention was Christopher Gardner. Will Smith played him in the movie, Pursuit of Happyness. If you ever need inspiration in dealing with the challenges of owning your own business, then you might want to either see the movie or buy the book. Garner certainly overcame more challenges than most of us could ever dream of.

* After the keynote, the trade show opened up, so we headed on over to check out some of the vendors. The first booth we stopped at was Advanced Vapor Technologies, which sells a steam cleaning unit that is really quite amazing when you learn how it works. Many hospitals and hotels use it because it sanitizes and cleans surfaces on contact, and very efficiently. We'll be writing an article soon about using steam to clean.

* There were a few software companies, including 3 telephone timekeeping companies, and a company who offers an online communications system for cleaning companies and their clients.

* Pro-Team was there with their famous back pack vacuums. They featured a smaller version of the Super Coach, which is lighter weight and easier to handle for women and people with a smaller build. They've also made some modifications to the basic unit to make it easier to use and more comfortable. They even have a new battery operated vacuum and cart called the GoCartVac. Read more about this unit here:

http://www.pro-team.com/product_detail.asp?ProdBaseNum=106087&;VacStyleID=5

* Here's a great product that every cleaning company should have, and it's an inexpensive little piece of plastic! It's called the Tyan Wedgie and it's a doorstop. Have you ever stuck a broom handle in the door jamb to keep the door open?  This doorstop is safe to use, is self-adjusting for different door sizes, you can place it at convenient heights so no more bending over, and it works on just about any size or weight of door. Check them out here: http://www.tyanwedgie.com/.

* We also attended some break-out sessions. One topic that was discussed was sales. We went around our table to see how many people were using sales people. Most did have sales people, but many also mentioned that they've had the most success by participating in local business events and networking groups. Building relationships is what we've stressed for years now, and it was reinforced to us here - most of the other companies also find that networking and building relationships is what works best.

Here is how some of the companies pay their sales people:

Base pay with commission. Sales over $1000 - 15% for the first month and 1 or 2% of the profits over the life of the account. Sales under $1000 - 10% for the first month and 1 or 2% over the life of the account. 

Other companies have a time limit on how long sales people continue getting commissions on accounts - usually the commissions stop after 1 to 3 years. This is to keep the sales people from growing complacent, knowing that they'll eventually lose the commission on each account.

* On Sunday we had more roundtable discussions, which were very informative. The first one was on green cleaning culture. One man asked how you can sell your customers on green cleaning when they really don't seem to care. The consensus seemed to be that green cleaning is definitely here to stay, but it's the schools and government that will lead the way. More and more states are mandating green cleaning in government buildings, and parents are becoming more concerned about having a healthy environment for their children in school. The more green cleaning spreads to these two sectors, the more it will get the attention of building owners and managers. The key to selling to the commercial market is to emphasize the benefits to people working in the building - fewer sick days, better performance, lower tenant turnover.

This was also reinforced by Monday's keynote speaker, Stephen Ashkin, a green cleaning consultant and expert. Ashkin also gave a clear definition of green cleaning - "Cleaning that protects health without harming the environment." This is important because it's so much more that just using green products. There are also procedures and equipment that that need to be used when offering green cleaning to your customers.

So if you're thinking more about green cleaning, you're on the right path because it's definitely gaining momentum. We're currently working on our own green cleaning program so stay tuned because we'll announce its release soon.

* Another roundtable discussion was about sub-contracting. Most of the companies at our table perform their core service -- cleaning -- themselves. However many cleaning companies are expanding into other areas like property maintenance and landscaping. Most are forming alliances with other sub-contractors to handle the additional services. So if you'd like to get into landscape work, you could find a local landscaper who would give you discounted prices. Then you work with them to provide the service for your customers. You would invoice your customer, and then the landscaper would invoice you. Your price increase to the customer might be 10 to 15%. If you're in a competitive area, you might want to consider this as an option for expanding your business. If you can lock your customers into letting you handle more services, then it makes it harder for them to shop around for another cleaning company since you handle so much for them.

* The seminar on Marketing for Small to Mid-Sized Companies, was a little basic, but you can usually find a nugget or two from each presentation. The main takeaway from this seminar was the 5 things that you should include in your marketing materials:

1. Company background or company history, including bios of key people.

2. Your company and customer philosophy - this could also be your mission statement. What is important to you as a company and what do you do to put your customers first?

3. Services offered. Not everyone lets their customers know the scope of services they offer so be sure to include everything on your marketing materials.

4. Your strengths (quality control, training, certifications…)

5. Letters of recommendation or testimonials.

* There was a seminar construction cleaning services. The speaker said that the average price per square foot for construction cleaning is $.20. However this price may vary by location and scope of the job. Like most commercial cleaning projects, the square foot price will go down the larger the job. When pricing the job, get as much information as possible: building owner's name, your contact person, emergency contact, get the floor plan if possible, measure the square footage by type of floor surface, count the windows, find out what other materials are being used in the building so you know what you'll be cleaning, and an estimated timetable.

When asked what the production rates were, she didn't have an answer. Most attendees agreed that it can vary widely but is usually from 500 - 900 sq ft per hour. On large jobs she recommended either billing a percentage of the job each month, or billing by the job (floors, windows, etc.). She also stressed documenting everything being done. Have the site supervisor sign off on all work being done so they can't come back later to say something hasn't been completed. This is very common in construction cleanup, as construction workers may track through a cleaned area and the cleaning contractor has to go back and re-clean.

All in all, we felt the convention was definitely worth attending and plan on going again next year. Talking to other building service contractors was very informative. It's interesting to hear their stories and how they were able to accomplish so much. Many of the people we met were running companies that their fathers had started, while others started their companies many years ago and successfully built it themselves. The most inspiring story was from the woman in Texas who decided that making $200,000 in sales per year just wasn't enough. She wanted to be a much bigger player in Dallas so she found mentors who helped her grow her business quickly - she went from $200,000 making a year to $1 million - in just one year!  It will be interesting to see her at the convention next year to see how much her company has grown in 2 years. Not everyone has such high goals for their company, but the important thing to remember is that if you have the desire and the drive, you can accomplish whatever it is you set out to do with your company. Go for it!