Acid Cleaners and How to Use Them

We all know which cleaners work and which cleaners don't work but we don't always know why. We often learn through trial and error. Understanding the science will help us understand if a new cleaner will deliver on its promises without risking damage to a customer's home. Also the ability to explain why a product works separates us from our competition by showing that we are true professionals with training and knowledge. In fact the topic of today's article, acids and how to use them, was the reason I won a large contract as the sole cleaning contractor for an apartment complex with over 450 units.

If you were offered a $20 discount coupon on a $2,000 color television, would you be (a) compelled to buy or (b) inclined to feel insulted?  Considering that a person interested in hiring your company to clean for them on a regular biweekly basis will be spending $2,000 or more with you over a year’s time, how do think a 1% discount offer might be viewed?  There is no doubt discount coupons work.  All kinds of companies use them to induce potential customers to buy their products and services.

It's not a stretch to say that our industry has gotten a bad rap throughout the years and an image that we must constantly strive to overcome.  

The image of the cleaning industry has been an uphill battle that is fought and won on a daily basis. The public perception of our industry can be one that sees our work not as desirable as other types of work, pays lower wages than other types of work and attracts employees who may be less qualified for other types of work.

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Imagine a driven, dedicated and organized professional - let's call him Tim - who runs his life and his business with tasks - checking off each thing on the list methodically and efficiently.

Tim looks at his list and discovers his next task is the grocery story for next week's meals.  He hops in the car, takes the route that saves him 0.7 miles over an alternative and arrives at the store he prefers.  Once inside, he buys broccoli, wheat bread, Greek yogurt, onions, tilapia, wine, potato chips, coffee and vegetable soup. He bags up his groceries, heads home and checks "grocery store" off his list.

Tim accomplished his task, but the groceries he bought cannot be combined into meals for a week.  He selected ingredients without a recipe in mind.

We encounter this approach to the creation of websites every day. The business owner - who has a thousand things vying for his or her attention - hears friends talk about blogs and articles and self-promotion on Facebook, reads about the "ten ways to reach new customers", and sees ads online for websites created overnight for $299 and thinks, "I can do this."

Networking is one of the most powerful ways to build your cleaning business. Other than your time and effort there is not much else that is required, making it also one of the most cost effective ways to get new clients and grow your company. Owners of Home Cleaning Services have the unique opportunity to stand out when in networking groups because more often than not, you will be the ONLY cleaning service there. If you have networked at all and seen for yourself that there is always many real estate agents, tons of financial planners, and more life coaches than you can count. This is not the case with cleaning services. At this point in the game, you should still have the market cornered!

There are many different types of networking events, receptions, closed networking groups, and luncheons. Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages. For this article, we will cover the "round robin" style, where each attendee gets the opportunity to stand up and tell everyone about themselves and their business, usually in about a minute.

First, NEVER spend your time repeating...

When it's time to hire a Team Leader for your cleaning business, most owners look to their cleaning team. There is usually at least one person who stands out from the rest; they do a great job cleaning, they're dependable, and they go the extra mile for you.

Some people who are put into a supervisory position end up failing, even though they were a stellar employee. There are many reasons this can happen; here are the top 5:

There is no better time than now to heed the warning of sage advice, ‘never eat alone” or “dig your well before you’re thirsty”—both top selling book titles.  We would all be better off, or at least have greater resources, if we had done more of this a few years ago, before the current economic crisis reigned in on our daily lives.  Owning your own cleaning service business is a full contact sport that can humble even the strongest, most gifted of entrepreneurs.

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If someone asked you to name the places where you do business and feel you get outstanding service, which companies would you pick? In thinking about those companies, what is the one thing that made you select them as a winner?

Could it be how you were treated? Could it be that winning your business mattered to them?  In most cases, that is the number one answer for identifying an outstanding company.  It is often not their price, not their selection, not how the store looks, but always HOW important you were made to feel when you did business with them. 

All of this points to one area in our businesses that is sometimes sorely lacking;