If your cleaning proposal template isn’t doing the job, it’s time to tidy it up with janitorial software.
The bidding process can be a strange animal. You may need to do your walkthrough with competing companies. Potential clients may decide to add something at the last minute or wait until you’re leaving to tell you about that leak that happens every time it rains. Your cleaning proposal, initially neat and easy to read, becomes a column of crossed-out numbers, small notes in the margins, added numbers between lines, and marked-up tasks.
At least, if your cleaning proposal is on paper, that’s what it might look like. Your clients have to search for numbers and ask if you included the breakroom on the second floor. In other words, it’s a mess. And in industries like commercial cleaning and building service contracting, appearance is important. After all, if your proposal is barely readable, what kind of work will your prospects assume they’ll get from you?
That’s where janitorial software can make a huge difference. Good software makes it simple to change numbers, add tasks, alter the type of cleaning products you use, and other details like the frequency of the work.
Harness the power of Janitorial Manager to enhance your bidding process. Schedule a free discovery call and find out how to win more contracts with an accurate bidding calculator!
How to use janitorial software to make your cleaning proposal stand out
The first thing to remember is that a cleaning proposal is so much more than an estimate. In fact, it’s more than a business document. Done well, a cleaning estimate is a powerful marketing opportunity for your commercial cleaning or BSC company. It represents your professionalism, your training, and your customer service.
Imagine you’re a client, and you get two proposals. One is similar to the bid described earlier – it’s in pen, has numbers and items scratched out, and there are barely legible comments across the page. In addition, the template itself is photocopied, so the business logo is a little fuzzy, and the contact information isn’t entirely clear.
The second proposal is clean and neat. Everything is typed, so it’s easy to read. Any changes or alterations happened before the final draft was printed, so you don’t have to work around extra numbers or comments. The logo and contact info are crisp and defined. Which do you think you would choose?
Of course, there’s more to it than that, but you can’t discount the first impression. By the way, if you want to learn more about what goes into a proposal, check out How to Write a Cleaning Proposal That Makes Your Company Sparkle to discover five ideas that will make your proposal a winner, or read How to Create Janitorial Proposals That Win to learn about the seven sections that absolutely need to go into your proposal. It’s also worth reading How to Write a Sample Proposal for Cleaning Services if you want to find out more about writing a quick proposal that you can hand to prospects in a hurry.
Back to the topic at hand, though: the ways that janitorial software can make your cleaning proposal better. In actuality, the biggest benefits of creating proposals with software are for you.
For example, you can easily alter your cover letter, your logo, your business hours, or anything else in just a few minutes. And you don’t have a box filled with the “old” version taking up space in your office.
That’s all undoubtedly nice. But bidding and proposal software also gives you a competitive edge. When you talk with your prospect or do your walkthrough, you can easily explore the cost of cleaning their location. That means negotiating is quick and painless because your budget is accurate. If your prospect is looking for a lower price, more services within a specific budget, or they’re just curious about different options, you can give them detailed answers almost instantly.
And with Work Loading, you can build detailed proposals that even account for factors like room usage and floor type.
It’s not just your cleaning proposal that benefits, though. Janitorial software can make the entire process better. You can determine how profitable any job will be, and you have everything in one place, so you never need to worry about losing a proposal or trying to find an old one in the back of a file cabinet.
So if it’s time to update how you write and submit proposals, give yourself a competitive advantage and make better, easier bids by using janitorial software designed for just that reason.
If you are ready to take your cleaning organization to the next level, schedule a free call with Janitorial Manager to see how our software can make your janitorial operation more successful.