[Reef215]

I am in the process of looking to use an appointment setting/lead generation company for my newly started commercial cleaning company and the quotes I am getting from these companies range from 1300.00 to 3000.00

One co, who quotes 1800.00+ states that they will give me 20 - 25 appointments in a 30 day period for that price, but they use international callers and I don't know how that will play out

Another co. well one guy really, states that he can set me appointments 100.00 /appointment guaranteed, and I am leaning towards using him but after seeing a post on here that somebody wasted thousands of dollars on appointment setting I got scared because this is my last bit of money and I really need it to invest in getting new contracts.

So my question is: will appointment setting company work for my newly started commercial cleaning business?

[Stringer]

I have been in the commercial cleaning business for about 35 years, the last 17 with my own companies.

I have never tried this and don't think that I will. The reason is that I count on myself and the people that I hire to direct sale. 'Wear out your knuckles' making in person calls on businesses in your area. Read all newspapers for sales opportunities, join local Chambers, talk with everyone who can help identify prospects or may know someone else that can... Offer a 10% cash incentive of the first month's billing to anyone who gives you a lead that becomes a contract, etc.

Follow up on ALL leads and names that you receive, never fail in during this... and your bid to close ratio will increase as you improve.

Please let me know if this helped in any way, thanks.

Stringer

[Reef215]

I have been in the commercial cleaning business for about 35 years, the last 17 with my own companies.

I have never tried this and don't think that I will. The reason is that I count on myself and the people that I hire to direct sale. 'Wear out your knuckles' making in person calls on businesses in your area. Read all newspapers for sales opportunities, join local Chambers, talk with everyone who can help identify prospects or may know someone else that can....Offer a 10% cash incentive of the first month's billing to anyone who gives you a lead that becomes a contract, etc.

Follow up on ALL leads and names that you receive, never fail in during this...and your bid to close ratio will increase as you improve.

Please let me know if this helped in any way, thanks.

Stringer

Well...
1.) in person cold calls are a little scary... no... a LOT Scary. And I've found the most quick way to kill your aspirations of being a "successful" entrepreneur is getting a large dose of rejection right out the gate.. but I also know that anybody who can't go through enough "NO's" to get to your needed "YES's" don't need to be an entrepreneur. I think of two quotes when I think about "rejecting rejection"

“Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak”

And

“Money grows on the tree of persistence”


2.) I work full time, so making its impossible for me to make any face to face cold calls, I can make some telephone cold calls on my lunch break is OK, but that doesn't yield much results. Which is why I figured that I can pay an appointment setting company until I can acquire my own sales agent and go on most of the appointments using my sick/vactaion time

Is this a good strategy?

And also I looked for a link to pay you for your answers Stringer but I didn't see one

[Stringer]

I haven't taken money here for my advice... although I have done quite a bit of guest speaking on business matters over the years Reef.

I like your quotes.

Another (paraphrasing) is that the fruit doesn't grow on the trunk of the tree, so you must risk it and 'go out on the limb.' 'No one will hear your message if you are shouting it down a well'...

You have a somewhat unique situation which stifles your productive time and the prime time of the day that will allow you to make good calls/contacts.

You need to evaluate the 'sweat to the reward' here I believe. If you select a company to get you the leads you have an expense and the chance that you may not get qualified leads, no matter what they are telling you now.

I have a better suggestion Reef, or one that at least will possibly help fix your present dilemma. There is a member that is an expert on web advertising here on the desk that in most cases will not cost you a penny. He can lead you through this process and put you right in front of clients, he certainly has a talent in this area.

I will notify him of your thread and I am sure that he will be happy to respond to your problem, his name is Clough.

You are kind of in the what came first situation Reef, the chicken or the egg. You need to get some revenue coming in from the new business but cannot presently leave what you are doing. If you could secure at least one large piece of business or several medium size you could make the jump. I have to say here though it is very wise to have some cash back up or a line of credit prior to starting a business as slow pay and losing a contract is detrimental and can prove suicidal. The KEY here is NEVER stop PROSPECTING for business... never be content... When other activities in the business start taking your time... hire some one or farm it out if possible so you can continue to get new business. In this business, no matter how good you are... at some point you will loose the business you have (at least some of it)... sooner or later. So never stop prospecting!

I think that between Clough's advice and finding some time to make some direct calls that you will find success if you give it all you've got. You have to have faith in yourself and what you are doing... I put a mortgage on my home 17 years ago when I started and for the first year pulled in a net of about $2,500.00 net per month. I had to succeed I gave it everything I had (sometimes I didn't sleep for days on end), failure was never an option, whatever it took...

I am sure that Clough will respond as soon as he has a moment.

Stand by, if you would like to talk further about sales or particularity about the cleaning business please advise... I would be happy to help.

Good luck,

Stringer

[Fr_Chuck]

I cold call every day 5 days a week. You are either good at it or not, we have a saying, if you don't get throw out of someone at least once a day, you are not doing your job.

In my sales work, I have hired appointment setters who do calls all day, I normally pay between 10 and 20 dollars a set appointment to the caller. You can advertise for someone who will be glad to come in and make calls under those terms. Heck I would make calls for you for 100 dollars an appointment.

But you also should consider sales people who cold call in person, I for one do this and those of us who are pros do it very well.

[Reef215]

I haven't taken money here for my advice....although I have done quite a bit of guest speaking on business matters over the years Reef.

I like your quotes.

Another (paraphrasing) is that the fruit doesn't grow on the trunk of the tree, so you must risk it and 'go out on the limb.' 'No one will hear your message if you are shouting it down a well'.....

You have a somewhat unique situation which stifles your productive time and the prime time of the day that will allow you to make good calls/contacts.

You need to evaluate the 'sweat to the reward' here I believe. If you select a company to get you the leads you have an expense and the chance that you may not get qualified leads, no matter what they are telling you now.

I have a better suggestion Reef, or one that at least will possibly help fix your present dilemma. There is a member that is an expert on web advertising here on the desk that in most cases will not cost you a penny. He can lead you through this process and put you right in front of clients, he certainly has a talent in this area.

I will notify him of your thread and I am sure that he will be happy to respond to your problem, his name is Clough.

You are kind of in the what came first situation Reef, the chicken or the egg. You need to get some revenue coming in from the new business but cannot presently leave what you are doing. If you could secure at least one large piece of business or several medium size you could make the jump. I have to say here though it is very wise to have some cash back up or a line of credit prior to starting a business as slow pay and losing a contract is detrimental and can prove suicidal. The KEY here is NEVER stop PROSPECTING for business...never be content......When other activities in the business start taking your time...hire some one or farm it out if possible so you can continue to get new business. In this business, no matter how good you are...at some point you will loose the business you have (at least some of it)...sooner or later. So never stop prospecting!

I think that between Clough's advice and finding some time to make some direct calls that you will find success if you give it all you've got. You have to have faith in yourself and what you are doing...I put a mortgage on my home 17 years ago when I started and for the first year pulled in a net of about $2,500.00 net per month. I had to succeed I gave it everything I had (sometimes I didn't sleep for days on end), failure was never an option, whatever it took.....

I am sure that Clough will respond as soon as he has a moment.

Stand by, if you would like to talk further about sales or particularity about the cleaning business please advise.....I would be happy to help.

Good luck,

Stringer

Thanks A lot, I have been studying some of yours and Clough answers on here, and I did see he provided some detailed answers in the "cleaning advertising not getting many responses" question/answer thread. Im going to look over those in detail myself.

Now, when you say that they may not me qualified leads, can't I structure a contract so that if the appointment/lead is not a quality one than I won't pay for it or get a refund back for it?

That type of question has me leaning towards the 100.00 per appointment, because it only pays for an actual face to face appointment.

But Stringer I have to tell you, I love your passion and determination. It reminds me of Will Smith's character in Pursuit of Happyness, "you will not be deterred!" I remember when I was younger and after reading dozens of motivational books and people would hear my dreams of being a millionaire and they would say "Good Luck" and I would respond "its not if Luck will let me,......but if Luck can stop me!"

But I would love to pick your brain... you should write a book on cleaning success, because the current ones out are not really that good.

[Reef215]

I cold call every day 5 days a week. you are either good at it or not, we have a saying, if you don't get throw out of someone at least once a day, you are not doing your job.

In my sales work, I have hired appointment setters who do calls all day, I normally pay between 10 and 20 dollars a set appointment to the caller. You can advertise for someone who will be glad to come in and make calls under those terms. Heck I would make calls for you for 100 dollars an appointment.

But you also should consider sales people who cold call in person, I for one do this and those of us who are pros do it very well.

And you know something Chuck I agree with you, cold calling is mindset that either people have it or they don't. Even though no one physically harms you, cold calling stops very intelligent, very bright and talented entrepreneurs dead in their tracks everyday. And I'm afraid that I have became one of those people... well not quite, because I can deal with rejections better if I have appointments because they are more focused rejections and your not treated like a "snake oil salesman"

So chuck you think I could hire someone to do appointment setting at 20/appointment? Is this a straight up price or is this included with a salary?

And if you feel confident enough in your appointment setting skills, I wouldn't mind doing a contract for 100.00 per face to face appointment. If you want you could email me... im not sure if I can just put it on this board but if they have a Private message on here than I'll be more than happy to PM it to you.

[Stringer]

Thank you Reef.

Yes, I think that if you do your due diligence on these companies and you are very specific in what exactly is a qualified lead/appointment then it could very well work for you.

Possibly you can even specify what size building/s that you are interested in; 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 sq ft etc. How many days of service per week? (We only take jobs that are 5 to 7 days per week. The only exception/s are when a large existing client has a new, small building that is less.)

Again, I have never used these types of companies, but common sense tells me that you will have to be very specific and have everything in writing. (By the way, all business is only by signed contracts.)

The first person that you have to sell day after day is... yourself. You have to believe that you are the answer and there is never a doubt about that. That self assurance (not cockiness) will transfer to your prospects,

Knowledge breeds confidence... learn everything about the science of cleaning. It is not only a mop and bucket, it is so much more;

Specialized equipment

Specific cleaning agents

Control of your staff and the process

Scheduling

Customer Service

Follow up...

Public relations

Much more...

80% of the cleaning companies get 20% of the business... 20% get 80%. (This is really the 80 - 20 principle at work) Now ask yourself why?

They are prepared, ahead of the curve AND they DO what they SAY they will... day after day... consistently... (period), what ever it takes in all phases of this work; sales, operations and admin.

My business partner is a 'white knuckle', he also can to some degree talk with someone after the ice has been broken. However he is still working on that, yep even after 17 years. But his expertise is operations and administration. We 'jell' because that is OK in our particular business, as sales is my bally wig. You have to honestly believe in yourself, your company, like people and be interested in them. Ask questions, let them talk about themselves, build bonds/rapport.

Honestly, the main reason that people do not want to call on the 'gatekeeper' is fear, but why? Ask yourself, fear of what? Your own embarrassment, your lack of knowledge, confidence? Well, didn't we discuss this already, 'knowledge breads confidence.' If that is the answer then isn't that silly? That fear will keep you from becoming successful and having the type of life that we all desire? Every successful person will tell you that they have their 'crosses' to bear... but guess what Reef... they overcame them with determination and practice; they sucked it up and pulled up their bootstraps. I'm sorry, but if they don't, they become one of the masses.

Sorry again, I get way to deep and involved sometimes. But I have a passion and I sense that in you too... you need to remove your obstacles one by one.

I was shy as a teen. I loved singing, got into several bands. I had to develop a 'separate' personality to even think about standing up on that stage. I did it and it paid for most of my college ed. At 21 I got a job with Mutual of Omaha selling life and health insurance... wow, this was a challenge. Now I had to speak to people--one on one AND in their HOMES!! I won the sales contests in my division each of the four years I was there. I also worked longer hours.

What eventually happened Reef is that who I was and who I wanted to be... merged...

My mentor, my uncle, once told me; "if you are not going to make each day count, take a step towards success each day, learn something new, then why even bother putting your feet on the bedroom floor in the morning"? "Life goes by like a speeding train, take a ticket." Thanks Uncle John... it worked.

Again, sorry I do carry on don't I?

If I made any sense at all then please 'rate' my answer... hee hee that is my payment...

Any questions at all, I am available when I get the chance. Believe it or not, I am in my office at 11:20 pm on Sunday night writing this to you... Do I work all those hours now... no, "I now have people...."

There are a lot of answers out there Reef, you have to know what questions to ask first, research, become the most knowledgeable person about this industry.

Some suggestions:

Sales Tips:

Secrets of getting past gatekeepers.

How do you answer when a gatekeeper asks you "May I say why you're calling?" Some salespeople think revealing their business destroys their shot at talking to a decision-maker. So they resort to evasion: "It's personal." "It's confidential." "Just tell her Al Allen's on the line." Use these strategies instead:
• Understand that part of the gatekeeper's job is to eliminate callers who don't deserve their boss's valuable time.
• Cooperate with gatekeepers. They're more likely to cooperate with you. Make them feel it's important to get you in, rather than keep you out.
• Tell gatekeepers who you are, what company you represent and how your product or service can benefit their company. It all boils down to convincing them that your product or service can benefit the boss.


- The Competitive Advantage Ezine

Another is: Jeffrey Gitomer at: [email protected] he "tells it like it is." I have attended his seminars several times, he hits the mark.

Try this site and there are plenty more... most are good, some... well...

Stringer

[Stringer]

Here is another sales tip Reef... something simple but true when you are starting a business. There is a lot of good information out there that can help:

Sales Tip of the Week:
Don't Get in the Way of Your Sale

One of the issues that salespeople struggle with in the Budget Step is the affordability of their product or service. Salespeople who sell a product or service that they can't personally afford frequently have trouble talking about money. Because their product is too expensive for them, they assume it's too expensive for their prospects. A good rule of thumb to remember: Never look in your prospect's pocket.

You're selling BMWs and the average price is $55,000. Besides the company car, which costs you nothing, you own a ten-year-old Chevy, worth a few hundred dollars. Your prospect has enough pain to move to the Budget Step, but you choke. Why? Because you think that spending $55,000 for a car is extravagant. Your customer empathy shows all over your face and suddenly the only thing in the way of making the sale is you. Don't project a poor self-image to your prospect. Get out of the way of the sale. Let your prospects buy your product or service because it satisfies their pain. Learn that, and you'll go to the bank more often!

When your prospects are really in pain, it's not rude to talk about money. In fact, it would be rude not to.

Excerpted from the book You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar by David H. Sandler. © 1995 David H. Sandler. All rights reserved.

You may want to subscribe to some of these sites;

[email protected]

[Reef215]

Thank you Reef.

Yes, I think that if you do your due diligence on these companies and you are very specific in what exactly is a qualified lead/appointment then it could very well work for you.

Possibly you can even specify what size building/s that you are interested in; 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 sq ft etc. How many days of service per week? (We only take jobs that are 5 to 7 days per week. The only exception/s are when a large existing client has a new, small building that is less.)

Again, I have never used these types of companies, but common sense tells me that you will have to be very specific and have everything in writing. (By the way, all business is only by signed contracts.)

The first person that you have to sell day after day is ...yourself. You have to believe that you are the answer and there is never a doubt about that. That self assurance (not cockiness) will transfer to your prospects,

Knowledge breeds confidence...learn everything about the science of cleaning. It is not only a mop and bucket, it is so much more;

Specialized equipment

Specific cleaning agents

Control of your staff and the process

Scheduling

Customer Service

Follow up....

Public relations

Much more...

80% of the cleaning companies get 20% of the business....20% get 80%. (This is really the 80 - 20 principle at work) Now ask yourself why?

They are prepared, ahead of the curve AND they DO what they SAY they will...day after day.....consistently....(period), what ever it takes in all phases of this work; sales, operations and admin.

My business partner is a 'white knuckle', he also can to some degree talk with someone after the ice has been broken. However he is still working on that, yep even after 17 years. But his expertise is operations and administration. We 'jell' because that is ok in our particular business, as sales is my bally wig. You have to honestly believe in yourself, your company, like people and be interested in them. Ask questions, let them talk about themselves, build bonds/rapport.

Honestly, the main reason that people do not want to call on the 'gatekeeper' is fear, but why? Ask yourself, fear of what? Your own embarrassment, your lack of knowledge, confidence? Well, didn't we discuss this already, 'knowledge breads confidence.' If that is the answer then isn't that silly? That fear will keep you from becoming successful and having the type of life that we all desire? Every successful person will tell you that they have their 'crosses' to bear....but guess what Reef....they overcame them with determination and practice; they sucked it up and pulled up their bootstraps. I'm sorry, but if they don't, they become one of the masses.

Sorry again, I get way to deep and involved sometimes. But I have a passion and I sense that in you too...you need to remove your obstacles one by one.

I was shy as a teen. I loved singing, got into several bands. I had to develop a 'separate' personality to even think about standing up on that stage. I did it and it paid for most of my college ed. At 21 I got a job with Mutual of Omaha selling life and health insurance....wow, this was a challenge. Now I had to speak to people--one on one AND in their HOMES!!!! I won the sales contests in my division each of the four years I was there. I also worked longer hours.

What eventually happened Reef is that who I was and who I wanted to be...merged...

My mentor, my uncle, once told me; "if you are not going to make each day count, take a step towards success each day, learn something new, then why even bother putting your feet on the bedroom floor in the morning"? "Life goes by like a speeding train, take a ticket." Thanks Uncle John...it worked.

Again, sorry I do carry on don't I?

If I made any sense at all then please 'rate' my answer...hee hee that is my payment....

Any questions at all, I am available when I get the chance. Believe it or not, I am in my office at 11:20 pm on Sunday night writing this to you....Do I work all those hours now...no, "I now have people...."

There are a lot of answers out there Reef, you have to know what questions to ask first, research, become the most knowledgeable person about this industry.

Some suggestions:

Sales Tips:

Secrets of getting past gatekeepers.

How do you answer when a gatekeeper asks you "May I say why you're calling?" Some salespeople think revealing their business destroys their shot at talking to a decision-maker. So they resort to evasion: "It's personal." "It's confidential." "Just tell her Al Allen's on the line." Use these strategies instead:
• Understand that part of the gatekeeper's job is to eliminate callers who don't deserve their boss's valuable time.
• Cooperate with gatekeepers. They're more likely to cooperate with you. Make them feel it's important to get you in, rather than keep you out.
• Tell gatekeepers who you are, what company you represent and how your product or service can benefit their company. It all boils down to convincing them that your product or service can benefit the boss.


- The Competitive Advantage Ezine

Another is: Jeffrey Gitomer at: [email protected] he "tells it like it is." I have attended his seminars several times, he hits the mark.

Try this site and there are plenty more...most are good, some ...well....

Stringer

Wow, your story is very inspiring! And your Uncle John sounded like a great and wise man and a fine mentor. I don't have a mentor per se, but I would like to use the accumulated information I get from experiences like my time talking to you on this website as my "mentor".. so you, and all the experts on here are part of my "mentor" program and once again I would like to Thank You, and everyone else on here, for taking the time to answer these questions?

And I definitely want to learn more about the cleaning business, I have googled dozens of terms related to commercial cleaning. And have bookmarked lots of them including Cleaning Success which is why I became a YouTube subscriber of Jeffrey Gitomer. Do you have any sites that you recommend?

Also I see that you recommend that I let prospects talk about themselves and build rapport. How many appointments did you have to go to when you first started to get a contract?
Because I am wondering if it's a frequency thing, where I do follow up appointments with the same client to get the contract. Or is it just a thing when the lowest bid and best proposal wins the contract.

I tried rating your answer, and it said I have to spread some reputation around before I can give you reputation again.

[Stringer]

I only have a moment Reef, I have to get back to a party... my birthday party... don't even ask.

To answer one of your questions; Obviously, the more calls you make the better you become. Everything counts; your knowledge, experience, attitude, composure, body language, tone of assurance in your voice, eye contact, showing passive ambition/aggression, your observance of the things around you, etc.

Think about it, if they have pictures of dogs on their wall, are you going to make small talk about horses? And if horses are what you are knowledgeable about... learn from them about dogs... it is their time and about them... not you.

Later,

Stringer

[Fr_Chuck]

Sales is just what people want to make of it, I could not image myself doing anything else,

People ask me how I get back the "gate keeper" the girl (or guy) at the front desk, my answer is I don't go in the front door, almost never, In larger buidings I look for that large overhead door left open, or that door for deliveries or employees, I try and find someone fast that looks like a "worker" and say I am here to check on...
And ask the where is this or that, and who do I talk to.
Well by the time I stop talking to him, since I have made him feel important, I know where the managers or supervisors office is, what their name is, what type of equipment or where that equipment is, I may even walk over to that equipment and look at it, before going to see the manager.

Do I get thrown out sometimes, of course, but guess what, I leave them a line card when I am getting thrown out and may even call back in a couple days for that manager.

Not everone has the personality to do this.

[Reef215]

I only have a moment Reef, I have to get back to a party...my birthday party...don't even ask.

To answer one of your questions; Obviously, the more calls you make the better you become. Everything counts; your knowledge, experience, attitude, composure, body language, tone of assurance in your voice, eye contact, showing passive ambition/aggression, your observance of the things around you, etc.

Think about it, if they have pictures of dogs on their wall, are you going to make small talk about horses? And if horses are what you are knowledgeable about ....learn from them about dogs...it is their time and about them ...not you.

Later,

Stringer

Happy Birthday!

[Reef215]

Sales is just what people want to make of it, I could not image myself doing anything else,

People ask me how I get back the "gate keeper" the girl (or guy) at the front desk, my answer is I don't go in the front door, almost never, In larger buidings I look for that large overhead door left open, or that door for deliveries or employees, I try and find someone fast that looks like a "worker" and say I am here to check on ......
And ask the where is this or that, and who do I talk to.
Well by the time I stop talking to him, since I have made him feel important, I know where the managers or supervisors office is, what thier name is, what type of equipment or where that equipment is, I may even walk over to that equipment and look at it, before going to see the manager.

Do I get thrown out sometimes, of course, but guess what, I leave them a line card when I am getting thrown out and may even call back in a couple days for that manager.

Not everone has the personality to do this.

Wow you have courage of a lion. I really am inspired by you guys... I need to ask you something. What is your mindset? What do you focus on day to day when doing your cold calls? How do you deal with rejection and people telling you to "get out"

[Stringer]

Thank you Reef, at my age, it is really just another day.

But thanks.

[Clough]

Somebody mention my name?

Hi, Reef215!

Stringer gave me a summons to your thread. Does that mean that we have to meet in court?

If you would like help in setting things up for you so that you get the optimum and most exposure and also possibly beating the rest of the competition when people do searches for what you do on the Internet around where they're wanting the work to be done, please do let me know. I'd be glad to help!

Thanks!

[Reef215]

Somebody mention my name?

Hi, Reef215!

Stringer gave me a summons to your thread. Does that mean that we have to meet in court?

If you would like help in setting things up for you so that you get the optimum and most exposure and also possibly beating the rest of the competition when people do searches for what you do on the Internet around where they're wanting the work to be done, please do let me know. I'd be glad to help!

Thanks!

Wow, you guys are AWESOME!

Well Clough, I'm letting you know, I definitely would love to get optimum exposure via the internet and any other marketing medium in my new commercial cleaning business!

[Stringer]

Because I am wondering if it's a frequency thing, where I do follow up appointments with the same client to get the contract. Or is it just a thing when the lowest bid and best proposal wins the contract.

If I am interrupting your question correctly Reef;

Finding prospects that are interested in talking to you, willing to sit down with you is a constant, on-going effort, it never ends. It may take 100 initial calls (phone or in person) to get 4 or 5 interviews (Obviously this is not always true... you can make one call and bingo). This is your "Call to interview' ratio.

Of those 4 - 5 interviews you may be given possibly 3 - 4 opportunities to bid. This is your 'Interview to bid' ratio.

And finally; of those bids you may get 1 - 2 contracts. This is your 'bid to close' ratio.

So, this is not to discourage you in a any way, but to emphasize that prospecting is a constant thing throughout the life of your company. As 'you' grow, become more experienced in cold calling, networking and closing these ratios will get better.

So, make 100 initial calls (phone or in-person) and make 1 or 2 sales? Sounds like a lot of work huh? This isn't work Reef, to me this is having fun, I love it, I enjoy meeting people. It's like raising a child... YOU take something that was crawling on the floor (cold calls), to dealing with the 'teen' (interviews and bidding) to watching him/her graduate (Ah ha... the sale). It is all you, your skills and influencing that accomplishes this, if that doesn't make you proud...

If you are feeling down about only possibly making 1 or 2 sales after making over 100 initial calls, think about this:

If you do your due diligence (learn about your prospect-Google them before the meeting), marketed well, and those 2 sales are for buildings of average/good size, say 30,000 sq ft each. Your sweat to reward ratio is probably a monthly profit of; $2,000.00 to maybe $3,000.00. That is for ONLY 2 jobs of average size.

Still not impressed huh? (kidding) Well, remember that, that $3,000.00 will continue to come in every month that you keep these contracts (customer service and a 'can do' attitude)! Yep, and guess what, sell another 2 contracts and you layer this $3,000.00 in profit with ANOTHER $3,000.00, now; $6.000.00 profit per EACH month... it goes on... What other sales job/business (yes, I know of a few others) continues to pay you each month. You do not have to worry that unless you 'recreate the wheel' every day you will not have a steady income stream.

Trick here is to never, never stop prospecting (min 20 to 30 new and follow up sales calls a day) that plus leads from advertising are your life/blood line.

That may seem pretty good to you, I hope so, I think that you will do great. But always remember that if prospecting is your blood line then customer service is your heart that pumps that blood. Unless you adopt the proper attitude with your clients you will create a 'slippery slope.' In my 17 years with my own cleaning business I have only canceled 2 client contracts and that was mostly due to non payment.

Naturally, along with sales, nothing is more important than customer service. All the administration, hiring processes, new equipment, new special cleaning products, new cleaning methods, labor relations, new uniforms, etc, will not matter, it won't exist because; Without prospecting, sales and customer service...

These other items are important but have to be put in the proper perspective.

Summary; Always take care of these three most important items and you will be on your way...

When you make your first sale Reef I will be very disappointed if you don't come back and let us know, so we can all celebrate.

Stringer

[Reef215]

If I am interrupting your question correctly Reef;

Finding prospects that are interested in talking to you, willing to sit down with you is a constant, on-going effort, it never ends. It may take 100 initial calls (phone or in person) to get 4 or 5 interviews (Obviously this is not always true...you can make one call and bingo). This is your "Call to interview' ratio.

Of those 4 - 5 interviews you may be given possibly 3 - 4 opportunities to bid. This is your 'Interview to bid' ratio.

And finally; of those bids you may get 1 - 2 contracts. This is your 'bid to close' ratio.

So, this is not to discourage you in a any way, but to emphasize that prospecting is a constant thing throughout the life of your company. As 'you' grow, become more experienced in cold calling, networking and closing these ratios will get better.

So, make 100 initial calls (phone or in-person) and make 1 or 2 sales? Sounds like a lot of work huh? This isn't work Reef, to me this is having fun, I love it, I enjoy meeting people. It's like raising a child......YOU take something that was crawling on the floor (cold calls), to dealing with the 'teen' (interviews and bidding) to watching him/her graduate (Ah ha...the sale). It is all you, your skills and influencing that accomplishes this, if that doesn't make you proud......

If you are feeling down about only possibly making 1 or 2 sales after making over 100 initial calls, think about this:

If you do your due diligence (learn about your prospect-Google them before the meeting), marketed well, and those 2 sales are for buildings of average/good size, say 30,000 sq ft each. Your sweat to reward ratio is probably a monthly profit of; $2,000.00 to maybe $3,000.00. That is for ONLY 2 jobs of average size.

Still not impressed huh? (kidding) Well, remember that, that $3,000.00 will continue to come in each and every month that you keep these contracts (customer service and a 'can do' attitude)! Yep, and guess what, sell another 2 contracts and you layer this $3,000.00 in profit with ANOTHER $3,000.00, now; $6.000.00 profit per EACH month....it goes on.... What other sales job/business (yes, I know of a few others) continues to pay you each month. You do not have to worry that unless you 'recreate the wheel' each and every day you will not have a steady income stream.

Trick here is to never, never stop prospecting (min 20 to 30 new and follow up sales calls a day) that plus leads from advertising are your life/blood line.

That may seem pretty good to you, I hope so, I think that you will do great. But always remember that if prospecting is your blood line then customer service is your heart that pumps that blood. Unless you adopt the proper attitude with your clients you will create a 'slippery slope.' In my 17 years with my own cleaning business I have only canceled 2 client contracts and that was mostly due to non payment.

Naturally, along with sales, nothing is more important than customer service. All the administration, hiring processes, new equipment, new special cleaning products, new cleaning methods, labor relations, new uniforms, etc, will not matter, it won't exist because; Without prospecting, sales and customer service.....

These other items are important but have to be put in the proper perspective.

Summary; Always take care of these three most important items and you will be on your way....

When you make your first sale Reef I will be very disappointed if you don't come back and let us know, so we can all celebrate.

Stringer

Once again, thanks a lot Stringer. I swear in all my days I never knew of a group of people willing to share information and advice to strangers for no other payment than just the gratitude of helping. I feel blessed to have found this site!

And that ration of 100 calls for 1-2 sales is A GREAT RATIO!! I would love to have that kind of success. I think one appointment setting firm told me that there are over 7000+ office buildings of 5,000 sq ft or more in my geographic area. And that from cold calling (All Phone) that if I could get 10 - 15 appointments per 1500 calls that they make plus a couple leads for just mailing than that would be a very successful campaign. And that's because reaching the actual decision makers from that list will be difficult. If I can get a 75% "ability to present/bid" rate from the appointment setting firm or person that I would be using, than that would yield between 8-11 actual appointments and if I was able to close 25 - 50% of those bids to contracts like your example above than I WOULD BE ELATED!! That would be such a blessing if that would to happen!

you see stringer, I get excited about going in and actually talking to people who are expecting me so I can make a presentation. I give great presentations! I was Salutatorian speaker of my graduating HS class and gave countless presentations when I was involved with a MLM years ago... so I like presenting. And If I could present 8 - 11 times a month and get 2 -4 contracts from those presentations than that would just be FAN-TAB-A-LISTIC!

I definitely will let you guys know how the entire process is going, from first appointment to first sale...

side note:you guys don't mind I would like to show you a copy of the contract I will be signing for the appointment setting firm before I actually do it. because no results from that would set me back 6 - 12 months because i have been saving up for that for so long.

And I totally agree with you about customer service, which is why I am starting my own cleaning company now. The company I was working for had horrible customer service, the clients weren't happy, they treated the employees (me) like low class workers (even though I was only using the job as supplemental income to help pay my student loan), and they were not professional in any way shape or form. And I knew that I could do what they do a 1000x's better... and I would treat my customers and employees like Gold! Because without either of them I wouldn't be able to have Gold (money) without them.

[Stringer]

Thank you Reef...

ALWAYS remember: 'YOU' always bring the PROFESSIONALISM to the job. I really do not like cocktail parties but I have to attend some anyway... (sigh). I realize that most Americans do not want to clean toilets, think about cleaning toilets or talk about cleaning toilets. WE are an acceptable nuisance to some degree. But that is OK, because this attitude , for the most part doesn't affect me. Trust me, I EARN more income than most of these nicely dressed people or 'near do wells.' NO, there is no anger or anguish on my part, I conduct myself in a way that commands respect. I am not trying to be egoistical here at all, but I bring the professionalism to my work and social events. All the things that I mentioned in my earlier posts; posture, eye contact, tone of voice, etc... apply, always.

Funny story, once while attending one of those parties where you hold your wine glass oh so appropriately with your little finger held out so you look like you might know what you are doing...

I was approached by a finely dressed attractive lady who, while standing very close to me, smiled brightly and politely asked me my name and what was it that I do for a living?

Tired of the reaction that was usually given to my answer, and I might say maybe a bit enumerated, I looked deeply into her eyes, paused, spoke with a clear voice that 'I clean toilets.' Well, not knowing how to respond to this answer... she did the fastest spin in high heels that I ever saw and hurried back to the wine bar... laughed my a$$ off. not really, but I sure smiled to myself though.

Sorry, sometimes you just have to. People will treat you as you want to be treated IF you bring that professionalism with you always. (Not necessarily the one I mentioned above though.)

Phone sales:

Here is something you may want to read. Sometimes what you need is something along the lines of a script. But you have to be flexible, always. Be alert, listen and be ready to 'join' the conversation and not simply stick word by word with the transcript;

Mr. Inside Sales - Top 20% Training

I have read many, this one is simple and to the point and useful.

Stringer