From Zero To $1 Million In Sales In Three Years - True Story From A Successful Cleaning Business Owner
In our Closing the Sale webinar, part of what we talked about was the fact a lot of people are their own biggest obstacle when it comes to closing the sale. The fact of the matter is most people who have a hard time growing their business lack confidence in their own abilities; and deep down, have doubts about whether or not they can make a go of their cleaning business. On the other hand, there are people that use their strengths to their advantage when it comes to growing their cleaning business, and I'd like to share a story of one such business owner. A member of The Janitorial Store explained how he went from zero to a million dollars in sales in just 3 short years.
The Story
“I started my business three years ago after spending about 17 years on Wall Street. I didn't do any traditional advertising, in fact I still don't have a website -- we are in the process of doing that now. I made a list of everyone I know. I set up an appointment with them and just explained what my new venture was going to be and then asked for any help they could give me. I also asked if there was anyone they thought I should meet. Literally that was all I did. The meetings started coming in and we started closing sales.
I've always been in somewhat of a sales role. I just felt that if I brought a level of professionalism that my Wall Street career taught me, I could really beat my competition. I still believe in this today because there are a lot of unprofessional, unprepared companies out there. Everyone says it, but network – network - network. Talk to everyone you know - even if you don't think they could help you. They may know someone who can. If you ask people, most are willing to help.”
What we can learn from the story
The first thing we can learn is that he carried the confidence he had from his previous career into the new business. Even though he didn't have the cleaning experience that many of us have in this industry, he believed that his professionalism and confidence in his company's ability to serve the client helped him close a lot of sales. And without that ability to close, you simple cannot grow your business.
Next, he didn't sit behind a desk buying mailing lists of people to send his sales letter to. Instead he got out and met with everyone he could possibly think of to let them know what he was doing. Most of these people were probably not prospects, but he knew that some of these people would be able to offer him valuable advice, and others would know people that COULD be prospects.
And finally, he said that there are a lot of unprofessional, unprepared companies out there – and I agree with him! During our webinar, we spent quite a bit of time talking about how to prepare for a prospect meeting. The truth is, the more you prepare the more confidence you will have when it comes to closing the sale. So for those of you out there playing the blame game when it comes to not being able to grow your business, I would ask you to take a look in the mirror, and see if the problem lies somewhere inside you. If an inexperienced, new entrepreneur can go from zero to a million in sales in just three short years, there is no reason you can't challenge yourself to do the same.
What's the catch?
Yes, there is a catch to this story. This business owner realized that by growing so fast, he neglected to put certain systems and training programs into place. He is now taking the time to go back and create his employee policy manual as well as training programs and safety training programs. We do not recommend growing first, and putting your systems into place later, as you will have a lot of re-training to do with your existing employees and may have to break some bad habits.
The best way to get your business on track from the start is to get your systems into place BEFORE hiring employees. Not only will you be better prepared to start hiring and training, but you'll have more time if you get things in place before your business really starts to take off.
For those of you that already have your systems in place and just want to grow your business, I recommend you heed the advice given by this member and start contacting everyone you know in order to start a buzz about your business. You can do it – it just takes your commitment and perseverance.
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No Retreat. No Surrender
I truly believe that knowledge is power in business. Getting your feet wet without the knowledge can be a business ender. Having the proper tools and the proper training is imperative to being successful. We all want to grow fast. But growing to fast, we will all notice that some part that leads to a successful business could have fallen by the wayside, and it will catch up to us eventually.
Having a business and marketing plan and setting short term and long term goals are put in place for a purpose. Have them and stick to them following them correctly as they were put into a plan of action.
To get the close, you must first know how to get open and that comes by having a plan and studying that plan to have the answers to any queries that may come up during any part of the process from the beginning to the close and thereafter.
I am very enthralled that there is a place filled with a wealth of information as is The Janitorial Store. I am just starting out in the cleaning business myself and I will put all these tools to good use to make sure there is another success story to tell about in the future and most of all, to be the provider for my family and to be able to provide them with a business they can be proud of and a part of.
