You regularly spend countless hours on training, certification, education, preparation, and presentations. All to ensure that the cleaning services offered by your business are second to none. You’ve prepared and even over-prepared! But why do you continue to lose commercial cleaning contracts to budget-oriented cleaning contractors?
If you have experienced this before, then you will understand the all-too-familiar feelings of frustration and disappointment. You are understandably angry and may even feel betrayed. You have done your absolute best to demonstrate the quality and value of your services to your prospective client. Now you are bidding to secure a lucrative cleaning contract from. Not only do you need this job, but you also know that you can do better than other companies!
Why does this happen, and what immediate changes will produce different results? Please consider the following and determine how to apply these tips to future commercial cleaning contract bidding opportunities.
Address Your Clients’ Biggest Concerns
Sometimes, we find it difficult to listen. When preparing your bidding proposal, try to listen with full attention to consider what is in the best interests of the client. Listening will help you solve the customer’s needs. Focusing on the customer’s specific requirements will help you to develop a presentation that addresses all their doubts and provides a comprehensive solution. For example, if a customer is particularly concerned about the bathroom’s cleanliness because the previous commercial cleaning company did a less than thorough job, make sure to mention the bathroom in your presentation specifically.
Understand that Innovation Is Key
The inability to correctly express and communicate innovation continues to worry customers. When you do your best to explain to your customers the advantages of the solution or its value, the innovative practices used can differentiate you from your competitors. A properly structured proposal and cleaning contract can clearly map the price to the defined benefits, thereby stimulating customers’ interest.
Avoid Industry Jargon
In some cases, the information you provide is too much for prospective clients to comprehend. Remember, just because you are familiar with certain terms and phrases does not mean that your customers know them. As an industry professional, you need to be able to communicate your bidding proposal to potential clients without complicated terminology. Wherever possible, apply the KISS design principle developed by the United States Navy back in 1960; ‘keep it simple, stupid.’
Improve Your Bid Creation
Your customers have different ways of learning. In the long run, satisfying every type of learner in every presentation will bring you greater rewards. Talk to customers, conduct field visits with customers, write down your plans, and develop solutions for customers. You are a professional, and your speech represents the image of your company. It may feel that there is more work to be done than necessary. But if you can get a contract once a year or even once, which is more than worth the effort.
First, make sure that the grammar is correct and use the appendix to supplement your presentation with other relevant information. Then, ensure that you are using the latest information. The world is changing every day. If you fail to incorporate the latest trends and technologies in your bidding process, you stand to be upstaged by your competitors who do.
Don’t Forget Bonds and Insurance
Savvy customers who desire impeccable results, always use quality cleaning contractors, and they understand that quality cleaning contractors charge more. The cost of having proper insurance will affect your bid. Shrewd customers know how to ask questions about insurance, and major cleaning contractors know that their insurance is invaluable when problems arise. Take some time to explain to potential customers why you are an excellent cleaning contractor, and you will help create smart customers. Taking the time to do this and include the information in your cleaning contracts will really make you stand out from your competitors.
Decide: Good, Cheap or Quick
It’s important to understand the time-honoured project management triangle – good ones, cheap ones, and quick ones. Cleaning contractors can only ever possess two of these qualities at any given time:
- Cleaning teams may provide decent cleaning services and be relatively inexpensive, but they won’t be fast or efficient
- If they deliver quality services and are highly productive, their services will not be cheap
- Finally, they may be cost-effective and get the job done in record time, but their service quality will be lacking
Determine whether cleaning option a, b or c is the service combination that your client is most interested in. Providing services that are in line with their cleaning expectations and budget will give you the edge. This will also ensure that your commercial cleaning business is able to capture a greater number of cleaning contracts.
