Brandon,
Farming implies selectively going after prospective PRIME accounts and then continuing to fire away at the target until you are successful. I once heard from a frustrated cleaner who said he had sent out 500 letters and got nothing. Well that was the problem! We can't begin to imagine that we can send out 500 letters and expect to get much of anything in return. That's called the SHOTGUN approach - i.e. the lazy man's aim to marketing.
Rather our objective should be to get in front of the decision maker. Toe to toe in the trenches is the very best way to sell to these types of commercial accounts. The point of sending a sales letter is simply to get your name in front of the decision maker, nothing more. Ultimately sales letters are mostly just a waste of time IMHO. We only use them to establish contact. Like I said, the real selling happens when we get in front of them, one to one.
So choose a dozen, maybe 20 really choice properties. And then begin the process of doing whatever it takes to get in front of the decision maker. Be creative! Show your keen desire to help them solve their cleaning problems. Don't give up!
When you do finally get in front of the decision maker make him/her aware of how you will FIX their problems. Demonstrate by cleaning a section for free. Become their ally in providing a cleaner indoor environment. Become their resident expert and friend.
It may take several attempts before you get in front of the decision maker. Big deal, it's worth the effort. I once approached an account and asked to speak to the decision maker. No dice. I went back later and asked again. No dice. This went on for months. Finally my PERSISTENCE paid off. The decision maker (who by now was very aware of my several visits) met with me. He allowed me to do a demo. This resulted in a $40,000+ a year account that I serviced for the next 18 years. Not a bad return for a few return visits before finally connecting with the person who had the ability to choose my companies service.
That's what I mean by selecting/farming a target and shooting away at that target till it is yours. You see, they may not have an itch when you first call, but don't give up because in time they will have an itch, and who are they gonna call? They're likely going to say... "let's call that guy who has pestering us for the past 6 months, we should at least see what the big deal is." ... "He says he's a commercial expert, I wonder what he can do for our carpets?" Determined effort to nail down a few choice accounts will undoubtedly bring you some good results. This process really does work.
Hope this gives you some food for thought
Rick Gelinas
encapman
