There are dozens of ways to generate cleaning leads, but not all of those will translate to sales. Read on to find out the best ways to turn leads into dollars.
Lead generation is part of every business. After all, customers won’t just show up at your door (most of the time). And not every business owner is a natural salesperson, which can make it difficult to find leads. Don’t panic, though. No matter your experience with sales, there are plenty of effective ways to turn cleaning leads into profits.
Before we get started, though, it’s important to remember that lead generation may not translate into dollars and cents right away. Commercial cleaning leads especially may take extra effort since most established businesses probably already have cleaning services. However, over time—and with proper measurements—using the methods described below, you’ll likely see significant long-term increases in profits if you stay on top of your marketing efforts and remember that converting leads to sales in the commercial cleaning business is a marathon, not a sprint.
6 Ways to find and keep cleaning leads for your janitorial business
1. Choosing the best methods
In their 2018 State of Inbound report, Hubspot found that 30% of marketers believe paid advertising—specifically, print, outdoor, and broadcast—is the least effective marketing tactic. If that’s true, you’re not going to develop many leads that way.
True, generating cleaning leads is a little different from other types of sales. You’ll likely still want to put a little effort into traditional forms of advertising. But before you go making a big spend on direct mail campaigns or local television commercials, remember that even in the cleaning business, digital is king. Even if you’re not very familiar with digital advertising, it’s probably a good idea to recognize that it’s a necessity for lead generation.
2. Know your audiences
No lead generation method will prove very successful if you don’t know something about the audiences you’re trying to target. Real estate offices, for example, are going to have different cleaning needs than dental offices. Know the pain points of each industry you target so you can show them the value you offer their business.
Remember, there are a lot of cleaning companies out there competing for business. If you establish yourself at the lead generation stage as the business that can best meet the client’s needs, you’ll be the first place they call when they do need cleaning services, even if that doesn’t happen for a few months.
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3. Email campaigns reign
It might seem unusual, but e-mail marketing campaigns, as of 2017, remained the most effective method for B2B lead generation in the United States. That’s probably in part because you can reach so many potential leads at the same time, but it’s also because e-mail is less intrusive than phone calls or mailings. Just remember that your e-mails need to be attention-grabbing and brief, or your audiences may not read far enough to understand the value you offer.
4. Customer retention and referrals
If you’re worried that tracking down cleaning leads has gone all digital, rest easy. Customer referrals are another fantastic way to find clients who need cleaning services. If you’re good at what you do, customers will jump at the chance to refer you to colleagues and friends. If you want to add a little incentive, offer discounts or free cleanings to current customers that refer in new business. This is another sure-fire way to find leads that translate to profits.
And while you’re thinking about current customers, remember that they are some of your best leads for profit boosts. Stay in regular touch with them and learn how else your cleaning business can serve them. Upsell where you can. And don’t forget to track down old customers and find a way to earn back their business. Current and former relationships are more valuable than they may seem. Nurture those relationships and watch them turn into dollars.
5. Online options
What else works for turning prospects into leads? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing has proven to be another effective way to get people interested in your business. Social media marketing is always a good outlet, specifically on LinkedIn where more companies may go to find local cleaning services. (Instagram is another good one for cleaning services.) And of course, there’s always the trusty trial offer where you show a prospect what you’re made of with a free test drive of some sort. It may seem like a lot to sacrifice, but it could be worth the money you make later on.
6. Tracking your results
To make sure you’re investing your time and money in the right lead generation techniques, you’ll need to track how many cleaning leads turn into revenue and then profit. This may be the most time-consuming part of lead generation, but it’s the only way to know if your efforts are yielding the results you want. There’s plenty of software to help you track ROI, especially for any digital campaigns, which can be monitored in real-time. For any traditional campaigns or person-to-person leads, you’ll want to determine the ROI at least quarterly to make sure you’re on the right track.
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