Well, I drove 2 hrs round trip to that high end lawyers office on the 17th floor to give an estimate. As we did the walk thru, she pointed out the halls and some other areas that she wanted to have cleaned. She didnt want any of the offices cleaned. She wanted half of a hall cleaned in one area. Well, to make a long story short, the office is a lot bigger, but she only wants about 1/2 of it cleaned. Probably a $250 job, if that (I still have to figure it out)

Totally disenchanted because:

1) I thought I would be landing a whole floor of cleaning in a skyscraper
2) She only wants 1/2 of the place done,
3) I got all dressed up, leather briefcase and all, and drove 2 hrs round trip to look at a possible $250 job
4) If I do get it, it's another 2 hr round trip, hard parking, and bringing equipment to the 17th floor. For goodness sakes, I can get $250 cleaning my neighbor's house, never mind driving 2 hrs and trying to find parking.


PLEASE tell me, no, TEACH ME how I can avoid this scenario again! Ive heard so many good things about landing those "$2,000 class A office building dream jobs" but my drive to get more commercial really got stifled today.

Thanks

Joe

Just my opinion, but this is what I'm about to do once more

I'm picking a particular area close to where I live, luckily, most of my commercial work is within a fifteen minute drive from home.

In this area, I will choose businesses that have a reasonable amount of carpet.

I'm not after shops as such, but in shopping centres I don't knock them back because they can all lead to other work not only in the centre, but also in residences.

(Oops, I don't go into gift shops, cluttered shops, etc; only well laid out areas that is going to be incident free for me).

I like the larger offices for after hours work when no-one is around and you get through much quicker.

Arrange with the person in charge, & do a demo.

I must admit, down under it appears so much easier after reading the trouble you people go to with "gatekeepers" etc;



Most times, I front up, talk to the people, ask if they would like a free quote and give them a brief run-down on the method and positives, after that, they usually book the job in.

Sometimes I do get one that'll tell me, "We have someone that does the carpet", so I'll ask who it is, if they don't mind, or simply, "Is management happy with the result"?

I never knock the opposition.

I also offer to clean the boardroom free as a demo if it is a large job and I'm confident of getting it. Very rarely have I had to do a demo.

Price does not come into it at this stage, and I don't undercut.

So, pick your area.

Target the jobs YOU want.

Get the CMS from Rick & go get 'em.

Be persistant, keep on their tail until you land that job you want.



Oh yeah, your client only wants "half the hall" cleaned. ????

That's great.

Do a real good job on cleaning it, then they'll have to get you back to clean the other "dirty half"

I have also been known to clean half a yard into an office that "they" say, does not need to be cleaned.

When the person in that office sees the result, I usually get called back to do the rest.

"Work the dirt" to your advantage.

Ooroo,





I've seen the light, and changed my wicked ways.
www.get.shorty.com.au

Shorty gave you some excellent advice above!!!

You said...
"2) She only wants 1/2 of the place done, "

Sweet! You now have your foot in the door. Look at it from their perspective. They don't know you. But they're willing to give you a test run. Sure, it's not what you had in mind going in. But don't knock it. There is tremendous potential here; as I see it.

1. The rest of the office will eventually need to be cleaned.
2. There are other potential clients in that building.
3. Once you have them on the hook as a satisfied client, you can tell other people that you serve _____ attorney, in the _____ building, on _____ street.

You have a head start to use them as a referral. And that can bring you plenty of good things in the future.

One more thing to keep in mind. The CMS Marketing package utilizes a strategy to write the proposal in such as way that it leads to CONTINUAL service. It is designed so that you can set up the account to be maintained on a routine basis. For example, you might clean this attorney's hallway in June and December, the peripheral offices in July, and the lobby in January, May, and September.

Joe I think you may be selling your success short. If you want to build your commercial business, it's done one step at a time. And each step leads to the next step. And it gets easier as you move along.

As the saying goes...
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.



Hang in there bud!





Rick Gelinas

That is some excellent advice/perspective.

I too catch myself thinking that little jobs just aren't worth it. Then I remember that this whole this is a process, not a get rich quick scheme! You just don't know what the end result will be.

Look at that $250 job as a demo that you are getting paid $250 to do. We willingly provide free demos. So what's so bad about getting paid for one for a change!

Disappointment comes with selling, that's for sure. However, giving up isn't an option. Keep up the good work and it will pay off in time (actually, I'm telling myself this, too!).

Been there, done that. It stinks and is disheartening but it can lead to better things.

I do work for a prominent very high end remodeler in the area. Every job seemed like a total waste of time. Small, irritating, poor access, bad attitude etc. But, just telling people I work for them as their carpet cleaner has lent me considerable credibility. Every time they call, I cringe. But then I remember the amazing referral I got from them them or the fact that they let me use them as a reference for other commercial jobs.

This is a good thing. I promise.

Joe,
Do not think of this as a waste of your time, you could be punching a time clock somewhere for some other company and really feeling like S%@T.

I believe that whatever we have to do (especially in this economy) in order to work for ourselves, we must do.

In addition, your story reminds me of when I started in 1991, we were servicing a customer that occupied an office in a 20 story building in Manhattan, before long I serviced the entire building. Remember it is just an elevator ride!

Listen to what Rick & Shorty have told you and do not set your sights to low.

Just think of one day in the near future when you can tell prospects that you clean and maintain the XWZ A class office building downtown, and I believe that having a customer that is an attorney is always a plus.

By now you should have a Cimex or Orbot and are using Releasit which will make the job more cost effective and create a cheerleader that occupies space in a 17-story building.

Thanks! I think I might try pre-qualifying commercial calls that are over 1/2 hr away; maybe just ask how many halls, rooms, etc. they're looking to get cleaned...then set a minimum dollar figure and/or a minimum square footage we clean. The ride alone (2 hrs) really takes away a lot of the day...

Boy I miss those days when I used to land the occasional 30,000 foot job! It seems like the economy just sucked those jobs away...

Joe

It takes baby steps and before long the building will be yours.

And if not you still did a job and ate for a few days. And in this day and age its all that matters.

Just my 2 cents.

those small jobs lead to bigger ones.

I remember doing this dinky job that ended up leading to several accounts that have been paying well for years