Commercial Cleaning Sales Lifecycle Explained

A sales lifecycle, or sales process, is a set of repeatable steps that a salesperson takes to get a prospective buyer from the early stage of awareness to a closed sale.

Many independent contractors, regardless of industry, don't follow a detailed and consistent plan when it comes to forming new business relationships. 

This can make your business look unprofessional and cause you to have gaps in between jobs or projects.

Setting an organized routine for yourself that you follow for every new lead and prospect will greatly improve the overall structure of your business.

A Detailed Look at the Commercial Cleaning Sales Lifecycle

Finding Leads

The first step in the commercial cleaning sales lifecycle is to find customers. This can be done in a number of ways. Word of mouth is extremely important in this industry so get people talking about your business online.

Make a social media presence for your company. It's free, it's easy, and it doesn't require a development team to maintain.

Don't feel pressured to make your account over-the-top; remember, social media can be used as a business tool. Use any social media account as a way to get happy customers to quickly spread the word about your cleaning business to their friends. People can quickly share links to your website or easily contact you when you have a presence online.

Another way to find customers is by building your own client referral list. There's no better marketing than a happy customer, so this strategy is sure to improve your lead generation.

If you have the budget for outside marketing, consider hiring a lead generation company to help fill the sales pipeline with quality prospects in need of your commercial cleaning services. 

 Advertising is a broad topic to put it lightly, but if you want to do paid advertisements, start thinking about what kind of ad you want to run; radio, print, online paid media, Google search words, social media, etc. The best ads engage prospects at a time and place where they're most attentive to advertising for your commercial cleaning services.

These are just a few thought-starters on how to get leads and generate new business. Do research online to learn more about introductory approaches in the cleaning sales lifecycle.

The Walkthrough

Let's suppose your leads are going great and you have some potential new clients who want to meet with you. The next step in the cleaning sales lifecycle is to schedule a time for a walkthrough.

Talk with your prospect and find a time that works for you both. In scheduling the walkthrough, make sure to get a clear picture of what service the prospect is looking to hire for.

Remember, every facility needs to be cleaned - they also need all kinds of other building services your business may or may not provide. Understanding the prospect's building service needs can land you multiple service contracts if you're able to perform them.

The walkthrough is the first tour you do on a potential job site where you get a good picture of the work that needs to be done.

We have a great online video to help guide you. How to Walk Through and Measure for Cleaning Proposal

While you conduct the walkthrough, remember that you are trying to determine how much time it will take you to do the job well. 

It is extremely important to take good notes on the walkthrough. Tools such as Route's Walkthrough Builder are a fantastic help.

When you finish the walkthrough, thank your client and give them an expected time to hear back from you.

The next part of the cleaning sales lifecycle is the proposal and estimate.

The Proposal

After you've completed the walkthrough, you need to review your notes back at your main office and determine what the scope of work will cost.

If you're working with a team, this is a good time to bring them in to discuss the project.

For a commercial cleaning job, you may want to write up a service plan that includes all the services you'll be doing and the frequency. Later you will transfer this to your contract.

This is also a good time to write a cover letter or introductory statement to include with your estimate. The style and best design practices are covered extensively in our proposal writing content series, but the general idea is that you want to introduce your company before jumping straight into the cost.

After you've determined the best way to do the job, it is time to write the actual contract.

There are many ways to do this, but we like using the Proposal Generator tool on Route. We designed this software to be user-friendly and professional. It's a great way to make your proposals stand out. 

Fostering a Good Client Relationship

After you've presented your proposal to your prospect, the next step is arguably the hardest—waiting.

Hopefully, your prospect will see what a good fit you are for their commercial cleaning job and

contact you to start immediately.

When that happens, the final step in the commercial cleaning sales lifecycle is to do the job and build the relationship. 

Obviously, this takes time and in-person experience to do, but here are a few tips to make sure the relationship starts on the right foot:

• Always be prompt when showing up for a cleaning job
• Wear a clean uniform or nice, comfortable clothing so you look professional
• Spend 10 minutes talking to your client to get to know them if they are on-site
• Call your client to follow up with them after your visit
• Stay in touch and get feedback from your client as you continue the business relationship

The commercial cleaning sales lifecycle is a highly detailed process that takes time, energy, and patience to master. Reviewing the steps of this market strategy is key to developing a greater understanding of your business and how it operates. 

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