It’s a given that you won’t win all your janitorial bids, but if you’re on a losing streak, here are some things you might want to change.
Naturally, we want to win all the janitorial bids we compete for. Why else would anyone spend the time and energy putting bids together and sending them out? Obviously, it’s unreasonable to think that every job we bid on will end up in our schedule.
The problem comes when it’s more than the occasional bid that we lose. A commercial cleaning business can’t function without clients. And you don’t want to corner yourself in a position of desperation, where losing a client or two will put your business in jeopardy. You need to win janitorial bids to keep your business secure and growing.
Several factors may influence your success in bidding. Unfortunately, some of them are out of your control. However, for the factors that are within your control, it might be time to give them a review.
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7 Ways to start winning more janitorial bids
1. Review your losing bids. We all know that some bids are more challenging to win than others. Are you going after government cleaning contracts? Medical facilities? High-profile customers? These janitorial bids might be harder to win simply because of the requirements and the competition. If this looks familiar, adjust your goals. Go after the smaller clients or the jobs that don’t get much attention. You may even find that you like working with small business owners or property managers more than large entities.
2. Review your proposals. After a while, it can be second nature to fill in the details on a bid and send it off. That has advantages, but don’t let that lead to sloppy bids. Treat each bid as a unique document. Make sure all the signatures are there, the requested information is addressed, and the entire proposal is neat and professional.
3. Review your reviews. When was the last time you looked at Yelp! or Google reviews? It only takes a few bad reviews to counter all the positive recommendations out there. Do NOT, however, go after the negative reviews with a combative attitude. If there are legitimate complaints, address them. Apologize, take responsibility, and ask for a chance to win back their business. What if the reviews are fake? You still don’t want to argue. Report them to the appropriate site. Do the same for your social media channels, too.
4. Check out the competition. If you were winning most of your janitorial bids and now you aren’t, look around to see if there is some new competition in town. Then find out what makes them unique. They may offer more services, lower prices, more convenient scheduling, or some other service. You may need to alter your janitorial bids to highlight your record of community service or reliability or some other aspect of your business that stands out.
5. Ask more questions. Are you positive that the janitorial bids you’re offering are set up to meet the clients’ needs? Does your bid address their concerns? The only way you’ll know is to ask plenty of questions on your walkthrough.
6. Follow up. No matter how great your bid is, you need to follow up. Don’t be pushy, and don’t ask if the client has made a decision. This is your chance to show off your customer service skills. Ask them if they need any more information from you or if they have questions about any of the services.
7. Update your bidding template. There is a lot you can add to your janitorial bids in addition to the expected list of services and prices. If your team has any certifications or special training, be sure that’s included in the “About” section of your bid. You can also list any specialized equipment or techniques you may use. If you haven’t updated your template in a while, there’s a good chance these selling points may not be there. And these are the details that can help you win more janitorial bids.
You still won’t win every job you bid on. The goal is to win enough that your business remains stable and you can grow it if you want. After all, the more cleaning contracts you win, the more people you can help!
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