ASK FOR THE ORDER

One of the interesting observations I have had over my many years in this business and employing numerous sales people is that many of them overlook one major thing when presenting a proposal. They fail to ASK FOR THE ORDER. Let me give you an example,

I employed one gentlemen a few years back that was a good looking chap, dressed well, and was just naturally friendly and likeable. He had no trouble securing opportunities to present proposals to prospects.

He would deliver the information and when I questioned him on how the presentation went, his answer almost always was, "it went great, they really like me, I know they are going to go with us". The problem was very few did. So, I spent more time delivering proposals with him and found that he never asked any closing questions. I eventually had to terminate his services. I took him to lunch and bought his to go. I should also mention that I made several presentations with and for him in the training period so he knew the sales process I was looking for.

You see, there are several opportunities during a presentation to ask for the order.
Let me review a few obvious ones,


1. I don't like being billed at the first of the month. Our reply can be when would you like to be invoiced? If we invoice on the day you want, will you award us the business. We can start as early as ____________.

2. Do you usually start on a weekend? Our reply, we can start when you want. How about _______________________?

3. How much room do you need for your supplies and equipment? Our reply, why don't we walk to the closet and double check the room you have and I can give you a better idea? Note: No matter how much room they have it is enough. We then say something like, this will work perfect, how about we establish a start day, say, ________? It also gives the prospect the opportunity to see the current providers dirty closet.

4. Would you be keeping the current employees? Our reply, are there employees that you would like us to keep? We will guarantee each of them an interview (you will note I didn't say guarantee a job, just an interview. Never guarantee a job).

5. You're to high? (This one comes into play if you haven't reviewed the specifications without the pricing and got them to agree to the 10% plus or minus idea I discuss in my Selling Contract Cleaning Services 101 book?
Answer something like this--Can you give me an idea of the dollar amount in your budget? With that number we can together discuss the specifications and arrive at some frequency adjustments that can meet the budget you are planning. Note: Never automatically get to their price without some sort of adjustment even if it is small.

6. I want to think it over? The facts of life are that no matter how professional you appear and how professional your proposal is, there will be times, many times, that you get that phrase, "I want to think it over". You then have another opportunity to close by asking,
"So that I can prepare the information that you need, just exactly what is it that you are wanting to think over? You see, I want your business and it is important that I present you with all the facts so you can make the correct decision". Their answer then dictates where you go next. You have to be prepared to provide the information for them and set another appointment for delivery.

So many sales people respond to this "I want to think it over" phrase by saying "Okay, I'll check back with you". When you say that you have left them off the hook and you have just given a competitor an opening. Always ask what it is that they want to think over and remind them at the same time how important their business is to you.

I also realize there are times, many times, when you are asked to just leave the proposal because it is going to a "committee" or the "boss" for review. In that case, ask who the decision makers are so you can prepare a proposal for them as well. You want everyone in the decision making process to have their own copy. Also, always ask when the committee meets and if you can present to the whole committee. Most of the times you won't get the opportunity but you won't know unless you ask. Sometimes you are given the opportunity.

So, always be looking to close the sale.You see, every objection the prospect has puts you one step closer to a sale. If you don't ask for the order it is difficult to make the sale.

Don't forget to sign up for our free weekly pod casts at www.tripodcast.com. They are short, concise, helpful subjects that can help you in your business and everyday life.

Till next time.

BUYING SUPPLIES/I'LL GET IT AT SAM'S

When we start out in this business we are looking for any way we can to save a dollar. I know I did. I can remember in the first months of my business existence, how we pulled trailers behind our cars with our company logo on the trailers. Saved us buying a van for the first year we were in business.

One of the ways many contractors attempt to save money is on the cleaning supplies and equipment they purchase. While it is commendable to be frugal, sometimes you can make decisions that cost you considerably more dollars in the long run. Cleaning supplies and equipment is one such decision. Are you really saving money running to Sam's or Costco?

As you grow your business, many potential clients want to know what products you are using and if they are environmentally safe. This is particularly true with the emphasis on green cleaning in this 21st century. What do you say when they ask what products you use? "I buy whatever is cheapest at Sam's". I don't think so.

Another potential problem with buying supplies and equipment wherever it is cheapest or whatever is on sale, lies in the need to keep Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on every product that you use in a facility. Once you buy all types of different products from whatever sale is occurring you are potentially setting yourself up for a sizable fine from OSHA.

One more thing. Each spray bottle must have a correct label on it. A magic marker saying Dickie's disinfectant is not a correct label. OSHA fines per bottle if they decide to levy such a fine when an inspection occurs.

In my book entitled "THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF CONTRACT CLEANING FROM ONE WHO DID AND DIDN'T, I outline 10 steps you should take to purchase your supplies and equipment BEFORE you ask the price. Following these 10 steps will save a lot of headaches for both you and your staff and the earlier the better.

In my book I also write of another mistake I made. As I got larger I thought I was now in a position to go directly to the manufacturer and get better pricing AND many of them would private label for me. Imagine, all the mop buckets and spray bottles with my company name and logo on them. Wow! I was in the big time.

Wait a minute. Where's all the help I need if I have a problem. ( Hint, hint, one of the 10 points talks about this help). What do I do if I have a product liability claim? If I'm doing a bad job in a building, it's better if people don't know I'm cleaning it. Put aside your ego, Mr. Ollek, and utilize the local help that's available.

I learned that my prospects and customers were more familiar with Spartan, Diversey, Ecolab, or Betco than if I told them I was using Dickie's disinfectant.

Don't let your ego get in the way. Lay out a methodical plan of buying supplies and equipment and stick to it. Be consistent and you'll save bunches of money in the long run.

By the way, don't forget to go to www.tripodcast.com for our Monday morning free pod cast. These are short, concise, messages to help you manage yourself and your business better. You can sign up there to get a notice whenever a new tripodcast is posted and you can also listen to some older sessions. Our web site at www.consultantsincleaning.com also carries some older messages.

Later.

BUYING SUPPLIES/I'LL GET IT AT SAM'S

When we start out in business we are all looking for any way we can to save a dollar. I know I did. I can remember in the first months of my business existence, how we pulled trailers behind our cars with our company logo on the trailers. Saved us buying a van for the first year in business.

One of the ways many contractors attempt to save money is on the cleaning supplies they purchase. While it is commendable to be frugal, sometimes you can make decisions that cost you considerably more dollars in the long run. Are you really saving money by running to Sam's or Costco?

As you grow your business, many potential clients want to know what products you are using and if they are environmentally safe etc. This is particularly true with the emphasis on green cleaning in this 21st century. You want to tell your prospective client you buy whatever is cheapest at Sam's? I don't think so.

Another potential problem with buying supplies and equipment wherever it is cheapest or whatever is on sale, lies in the need to keep Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on every product that you use in a facility. When you buy from whatever sale is occurring you are setting yourself up for a sizable fine from OSHA if you can't keep track of the MSD sheets.

As an additional comment here, don't forget you need correct labels on each spray bottle that you use or you can open yourself up to sizable fines PER BOTTLE if an OSHA inspection should occur.

As early as possible in your contract cleaning career it is important to make some decisions on what brand of cleaning products and equipment you want to use. In my book "THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF CONTRACT CLEANING FROM ONE WHO DID AND DIDN'T, I outline at least 10 steps you should take BEFORE you consider what the price is and who you buy from. Once you take these steps you will make life much easier on yourself and your staff.

Another point to make. As you grow your business you will be tempted to start talking to manufacturers about private labeling your supplies. You begin to think "big" and want your name known everywhere. Wrong bowl cleaner Bill. You'll find your prospects and customers are much more familiar with the names like Diversey, Ecolab, Betco, Spartan, etc. than than with your private label Dickie's detergent or Billie's bowl cleaner. Plus, the manufacturer probably won't be there the night you have a major problem with a product but the trusted distributor you buy from will be. Hint, hint, that distributor is one of the 10 steps outlined in the book.

I could go on and on about this subject of supplies and equipment but hopefully I have made a few key points that will help you avoid some of the mistakes I have made in the past.

By the way, don't forget to go to www.tripodcast on Monday mornings to listen to our latest pod cast. These are short, concise, free messages that can help you manage your business. You can sign up and receive a notice each time one is posted. While there you can also listen to several past episodes. We have some posted at www.consultantsincleaning.com as well.

Later.

FIVE KEY POINTS IN A CUSTOMER AGREEMENT

In this session I want to cover what I consider to be some key points to include in a customer agreement. You will notice I do not call it a contract. I found that some people put up a barrier when you ask them to sign a contract but if you ask them to sign a maintenance service agreement, it doesn't seem to invoke the same kind of legalism.

I want to make it very clear that we are in no way offering legal advice. Develop your own agreement and get your legal counsel to review it and make recommendations.

I will, however, recommend that you, with the advice of counsel for wording, include the following points in your agreement.

1. Request a 90 day termination clause by EITHER party. If the prospect balks at a 90 day clause you can always negotiate 45 or 60 days which is still better than the standard 30 day clause so common in our industry. Our success with 90 day clauses was about half and half with the rest usually being 60 days and some with the standard 30 days. My policy always was that I would sign whatever termination clause the customer wanted as long as both sides had the same terms.

2. Make the agreement an evergreen agreement meaning it goes on forever unless and until either party gives the 90 day termination in writing. This takes you out of the re-bidding process every year. I also suggest a "notice to cure" clause whereby the customer gives you a written 30 day notice to correct deficiencies before a 90 day termination letter is issued. "Stuff" does happen and this gives you an opportunity to "cure" the deficiency.

3. Have the billing begin the first of the month. Our business is all about cash flow and the customer should understand you will have payroll to meet. I usually reminded them the first invoice would be in their hands within the first week after we start. If they tell you they only want to bill at the end of the month, do it. I never made a big issue of it. Most of my customers never objected to first of the month billing.

4. Spell out specifically what triggers price increases.Some of these items are increase in the minimum wage, payroll tax or workers compensation insurance increases. One item that I tried to include was a clause that stated if I did a big strip and wax job or carpet job near the beginning of the agreement at the customer's request and they then canceled the agreement prior to the one year anniversary, they were to pay me for the job as if it were a one time job. It came about when early in my career I had a customer request I strip and recoat 30,000 square feet of white tile in the first month of the agreement. They then canceled the agreement stating the floors were really what they wanted done and they sure looked beautiful. I learned my lesson.

5. I suggest you put in a paragraph that outlines what happens in the event the customer "steals" your employee. Happens all the time. I created wording that said that I had a major investment in recruiting and training the staff that worked at my customers place of business. In the event they wanted to hire them, they were perfectly welcome to do so and we would invoice them at 15% of the annual wages of the employee they hired. This was not a penalty but rather a recruiting and training fee because if we had not done such a good job of finding a great employee, the customer would not be trying to hire them. If you put it in words like that rather than making it sound like a penalty, it is very acceptable. Did I ever collect? Absolutely! Many times.

On another subject I hope you are listening to our weekly pod casts that come our every Monday morning. You're not? Shame on you. You can get an automatic notification each time one appears by going to www.tripodcast.com and signing up on the right hand side by entering you e-mail address and clicking the orange icon. You will not receive any advertising etc., just the notification of when a pod cast has been posted.

Have a great week.

HANDLING COMPLAINTS

As much as we hate to admit it, most of us will have a customer complain at one time or another. If someone tells you they don't have complaints, take their temperature and get them to the hospital immediately.

While it seems simple as to how we should handle complaints, as I travel the country I see many ways not to handle complaints. Doing it wrong is the surest way to lose a customer so let's review my suggested way to handle that call that will inevitably come.

1. When you first hear of the complaint, arrange a meeting as soon as possible---within a half hour if at all possible.

2. DON'T MAKE EXCUSES. Listen to the customer and acknowledge the complaint. You see, the customer doesn't care if you had 3 people out last night or if your vacuum doesn't work or you were short of supplies. They hired YOU to solve those problems. If they have to handle the problems, they don't need you. Making excuses is one of the ways I find some contractors try to talk their way out of a problem. Making excuses only makes you look worse so don't do it. In the eyes of the customer if you are making excuses you are not managing your organization. You have just made it easier for your competitor to take the account.

3. Take notes and get all the facts you can from the customer. Inspect the area WITH THE CUSTOMER IF POSSIBLE. Know exactly what the complaint is.

4. Tell the customer what you are going to do and WHEN you are going to do it. Then---DO IT.

5. Follow up with the customer the next day, IN PERSON, to make sure the customer is satisfied. Thank them for calling it to your attention.

6. Ask the customer if there is anything else you can do for them.

7. THANK THE CUSTOMER FOR THEIR BUSINESS.

Remember, each time you come in contact with the customer you have the opportunity to solidify your relationship and potentially get more future business. On the other hand, not handling a complaint in a satisfactory manner is also an opportunity to lose business and in today's business environment we should be doing everything we can to keep our customers.

The saying from years ago still holds today----

THE TWO RULES FOR KEEPING CUSTOMERS,

RULE NUMBER 1--THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT

RULE NUMBER 2--IF YOU THINK THE CUSTOMER IS WRONG, REFER TO RULE NUMBER 1.

Incidentally, I have had many people challenge me on the saying above. My answer is always the same. You most always have 2 choices--you can follow the rules or cancel the customer, the choice is yours. It's that simple.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK. Hopefully you'll not have any complaints, but if you do, take care of them in a positive way and hopefully the guidelines above will help you maintain a positive progressive relationship with your customers.

SERVICE VS. SATISFACTION

Let me start by saying I am a firm believer that we should be in the customer satisfaction business and not just the customer service business. There really is a difference. Have you ever lost an account where you felt you were doing everything on the list of specifications yet the customer canceled? "But the place is clean". Right, but the customer was not satisfied. A "small" thing like an employee complaining to the customer at night about a vacuum not working or that they never get enough time to clean the area can lead to a customer cancellation.

You see, CUSTOMER SERVICE IS A CONCEPT, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS A DEMONSTRATION. You can have a concept all day long, but what keeps customers is a positive demonstration of your concept.

Think about it. Ever been to a restaurant where the service was bad? You got your food, it was good, but oh, the waiter had an attitude that made you want to get up an leave. You see, that restaurant had service and good food but you left as an unsatisfied customer. They had the concept but not the demonstration.

The same can happen in our business. We can clean good but if we haven't installed a training program that teaches our employees proper customer relations etc., we will lose customers.

I remember so well several years ago hearing Tom Peters give one of his famed lectures in which he stated, and I am paraphrasing here, "If your company needs to have customer service representatives, what are the rest of your people doing"?

My interpretation of that phrase was that everyone in the company should be focused on satisfying the customer and you should not need designated individuals visiting the customer to see "how are we doing"? I am not saying you should not be visiting your customers to maintain an ongoing positive satisfactory relationship but I am saying that if you are visiting them to check on the cleaning, somebody missed the boat. So many companies have "customer service representatives" that go to the accounts during the day to check the work. Shouldn't that be done when the work is being performed? I am sure I'll get some push back on this but so it is.

In my opinion, if you are focused primarily on "doing the specifications" and providing service and not overall CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, your account turnover will be high. Want a phrase that will lose customers day after day? Here it is , ready? THAT'S NOT IN THE CONTRACT. Know anyone in your company who has made that statement lately?

Let me suggest you make your company an organization focused on satisfying the customer, not just servicing the account. Do the proper training throughout the organization and you'll see your account turnover reduced.

MAKE IT A GREAT DAY and we'll see you next time. In the meantime, send me a message on your thoughts or you can visit me at www.consultantsincleaning.com and click on the ikon that sends me a direct message.