Stop spending money on janitorial leads. Learn where you can find high-quality leads for free. 

It’s easy enough to get janitorial leads. You find a service that will get leads for you, give them a big pile of cash, and then you don’t have to worry about a thing. Of course, reality isn’t quite so simple. Going this way, you may or may not get qualified leads. You may or may not be competing with other commercial cleaning companies for those same leads. 

We’re not here to trash lead generation services. Without question, the right service can be a huge help in finding new customers. If you have the money, there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing this part of your sales process. But if you prefer a more hands-on approach, or if you have more time than money, there are a lot of places you can find good janitorial leads without spending a dime. 

Use software to help manage your cleaning business so you can do more. Check out a free demo of Janitorial Manager today to see what we’re talking about!

If you want janitorial leads, you can’t overlook the potential of these FREE resources

Whether you realize it or not, you have janitorial leads all around you. Look outside your door; your neighbors have businesses, or they know people that do. Your kids go to daycare, or the kid next door goes to a private school. Here are some places you can find free leads that might not be so obvious. 

To be fair, this will require a little legwork on your part. But if you’re struggling to get your commercial cleaning business off the ground, or you need a little more business coming in, it could be well worth the effort. 

1. Referrals. If you don’t have a referral program, now is the time to adopt one. Your customers don’t know if you have room for more clients. Most of them probably don’t even think much about it. However, in nearly any industry, happy customers are more than willing to help you if you ask. Get the word out to your current client list. Tell them you’re trying to expand your business, and you would appreciate their referrals. As a bonus, offer them a free week of service or a limited-time upgrade for each referral that signs a contract with you. 

2. Friends and family. This isn’t much different than client referrals. They don’t have to go out of their way to find clients for you, but ask them to keep you in mind if they hear of anyone looking for a cleaning service. 

3. Local newspapers. Whether it’s your regional news or your neighborhood weekly or monthly paper, keep a lookout for any new businesses opening up or expanding. Be sure to visit in person to drop off your marketing materials. At the very least, if you can’t go in person, send the information in the mail along with a handwritten, personal note. Businesses with new ownership or management are ideal candidates, too. These will all likely need cleaning services, and it might as well be you. 

4. Local social media. You can use social media for advertising. In fact, that may be a better option than print ads. However, there is a lot you can do for free to find or attract new janitorial leads. We could write entire blog posts about this (in fact, you can read some of them here and here and here). The short version is this:

1. Be active on your preferred social media platforms, whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or even YouTube.
2. Don’t be afraid to share your personality; people appreciate real.
3. Just be careful about things that may offend or alienate your customers.

And lastly, follow other local businesses, your area chamber of commerce or business districts, and businesses in your niche market if you specialize. For example, if you excel at carpet cleaning, you might follow carpet installation services or shops in your area that sell rugs. Oh, and be social – like and comment on posts and be personable. 

5. Cold call. In-person visits are nice, of course. But you can’t just walk into any local school or medical office and expect to talk to someone. Open the phone book or hop onto Google and find local businesses that you’d like to get contracts with. Private schools, daycare centers, medical offices, and labs are just some of the places you’ll probably need an appointment if you want to talk to someone. Schedule a time, make a list, and sit down to make calls. This is one of those hidden ways you can find janitorial leads that most people won’t attempt – and it works. The trick is to block off the time and do it. If you relegate this to something you’ll do, “whenever you have some time,” it will never get done. 

What to do once you find janitorial leads

Even though these resources can all be effective for bringing in new business, you should still plan on being patient. Most likely, you won’t get a quick fix from these sources. What you can expect, however, is that the leads that do come in will be of higher quality, and the return on your investment is unbeatable. 

That means by the time you talk to these leads, they’re already on the road to signing a contract with you. It’s your job to close the deal. Make sure when you talk to them, you have your price list and service options ready to share. Offer before and after pictures, along with recommendations from other customers. Be prepared to schedule a detailed walkthrough, preferably within 48 hours. 

Remember, finding janitorial leads is just the first step in signing more deals for commercial cleaning services. 

One last thing, you don’t have to limit yourself to these five sources. Anytime you walk into a retail shop or bakery or barbershop or neighborhood store, you have an opportunity to share what you do. There are plenty of businesses out there, and whether they know it yet or not, they need your help. 

Find out how easy it can be to stay in touch with employees and clients, bid on jobs, manage inventory, perform inspections, and more with Janitorial Manager. Check out a free demo to learn about all the great features!