[colley614]

Hi Guys,

Just wondering how you advertise for contract cleaning. Whenever I've got an office cleaning job in I find clients are really enthusiastic until you mention the word contract but then a lot of them seem to go cold. But without contracts your business has no substance.

[Mike_Boxall]

Hi

There are lots of ways of advertising from directories, leaflets, doorknocking and networking through organisations such as BNI but, whatever you do, it needs to be little and often to build up some kind of awareness of your company. They say it takes 9 exposures before clients recognise your business. I'm not sure I entirely agree with your comment about the business not having substance without contracts - if you do a good job and just have a rolling monthly agreement, that's often just as valuable as a longer term contract.

Do a search on the forum and you'll find loads of previous topics about advertising.

Regards

Mike

[j4kJeff]

I agree with Mike.  All of our accounts are month to month.  We still have our first account 14 years later.  Quality work and good customer service is what will keep you in business.

[Phild]

Just because you have a 'contract' with someone doesn't make your business easier to run or more valuable. To be blunt, no matter whether you are cleaning a pub, a local business office or for a 'Blue Chip' company you are only as good as your last clean. Every contract can be got out of. Even then if you are best cleaning company in the world things change. The leisure industry - pubs, clubs etc are going pop all the time and always have. Management dictak changes so your best customer may be forced to do central buying i.e. use the contractor HQ tells them to use even if YOU know they are cr*p. That's business/life. All the time you have to be bringing in new customers as your business and every business is dynamic. When you come to sell your business the person buying it will pay you a sum based on the gross profit you have maintained / averaged over the last year or so. The customers who make up that profit have to be a mix of new ones, old ones and the ones who come back now and then. Nothing is static in life.

Much easier to think of your 'Contract' as being a specification of what you provide the customer with. Then as it changes - and you should be driving this - you re-sell the additions or subtractions to the service their premises need. Position yourself as the customers personal cleaning specialist. That's where you need to be.

And everyone thinks you are just a cleaner? NO You are a businessman/woman.

Phil D

[Paul H]

I had the chance to take on a what i would consider a good contract.. i assessed it seen what the cleaners weren't providing / doing .. after evalaution i came to the conclusion with my  own staff i could do a far better job with less staff in the same time

problem being you mention contract etc.. but the company is tied as if took it on i would inherit the poor workers... due to TUPE.. then i inherit paying off staff etc..

Why cant if the service provided is dross can the contact not be terminated ... me and my team hired...

answers on how i get round this if i can appreciated thanks...

   

[hurley]

Hi i would say from my exsperience that a lot of advertising doesnt work 
.i joined BNI one year ago and this networking is well worth the money.I got my money back within 6 weeks and to date work that i have got through BNI accounts for twenty % of my turn over and i am just starting with another networking group.

[Office Cleaning Company]

I'm not sure but I think the OP is asking about the phrasing of adverts? Whether using the word contract in an advert has a negative effect? If this is correct and you are finding that it is putting off potential clients, I would suggest researching copy writing for writing effective adverts, you need to look at focusing on what makes a customer purchase rather than solely on what you are trying to sell.

If you mean however that you are having problems once you mention the word contract to potential client and then cannot progress to the point of sale - maybe you need to change your way of thinking. I'm not sure either what is meant by "without contracts your business has no substance". You can have umpteen pages of t&cs with clauses for everything but if no one signs them and no one uses your business then this would suggest a business has no substance.

As Phild wisely points out contracts are practically worthless when push comes to shove - and you are only as ever as good as your last clean. With this in mind I would suggest not focusing on "inflicting" your terms upon someone but winning new business by meeting the clients needs, surely its better to have the business than have a wad of unused contracts piled up?

Regarding the TUPE issue mentioned further down, this is the problem with TUPE: it protects poor performing workers. It was meant to prevent asset stripping companies/hedge funds cutting back on the biggest cost (labour) when carrying out their mergers and acquisitions before then flogging onto another company for huge profits, but the consequences for cleaners and cleaning companies/contractors was not considered and imo the regulations do not benefit anyone except employment lawyers/and poor performing staff.