Can You Give People What They Want?

Gravity, taxes, and oh, yeah, here’s the other seemingly immutable law –
people want what they want. Cleaning prospects and customers are no different.

So, why even mention it?

Well, because lately, we’ve been hearing some so-called cleaning experts say things like…

“Customers don’t know what they’re talking about half the time. You’re the cleaning expert… You’ve got to tell them what they need and how much it’s going to cost; cased closed. That’s the only way to make money today. And, if they don’t like it – just wait; they’ll get tired of those cheap, fly-by-night cleaning company soon enough… and then they’ll come crawling back.”

They’re frustrated. It’s understandable; it’s tough out there.

But, to simply decide in the face of these challenges, to “take your baseball mitt and ball”, quit and go home…isn’t the answer. And even though it may feel good, temporarily, it misses the point, which is…

It’s not about them. And it’s not about you or me. It’s about the customers.

Deny it all you want; but if your prospects and customers want certain things, like lower prices and improved service – they want ‘em.

And they want them for a reason.

You or I may not like the reason, but there is a reason, and it’s usually a good one. And it’s probably one they’ve come up with to face a number of pressing business challenges.

Don’t misunderstand; it doesn’t mean they’re right. But, it also doesn’t automatically mean they’re wrong either. Our job as independent cleaning business owners is to listen to what they want; and to see what CAN be done – what is possible.

It’s hard. Finding ways to increase quality and improving service while holding or even lowering prices isn’t easy. It can often seem impossible. And it may be.

But, it’s our job to find the answers. And not just quick or easy answers, but, instead, the real answers.

For example, when prospects and customers demand more service and better service for less money, it’s easy to get defensive and refuse their request out of hand.

But, if we dig a little, we may find there are, in fact, not one or two, but many things we can do to increase service while holding or in some cases even lowering prices.

Some of the biggest steps forward in the quality and efficiency of cleaning have come about in direct response to demands from customers that at first seemed completely ‘ridiculous and unreasonable’.

-Can you clean without bothering our people as they work? – ultra-quiet vacuums
-Can you dust without spreading the dust? – microfiber cloths
-Can you help us if we want to shut down our offices after 6 PM? – day cleaning

Many times, there are answers to challenging times and “unreasonable” requests if we look hard enough, long enough and creatively enough.

People want what they want. Are you willing to help them get it?