Improve Your Cleaning Business With These 23 Steps!

23 Things That Every Cleaning Business Owner Should Know

1. In business you should not focus on selling just your services. You should also focus on selling customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers return to spend more money and are more likely to refer new customers to you, whereas dissatisfied customers will not only stop buying from you, they will also discourage potential customers.


2. Adopt a liberal guarantee policy. While there are some who will abuse this policy, the majority will appreciate it and will in turn spread the word. This can be excellent and inexpensive advertising for your company.


3. Answer all customer inquiries and complaints as promptly as humanly possible. All customer complaints, comments, and suggestions made to your cleaning staff should be summarized for management's review and place into client files. Monitoring customer comments allows you to establish new customer service policies.


4. Let your employees know that it is the customer who signs their paycheck. It is the customer who determines their pay raises, paid vacations, holiday schedules, any benefits that you might offer, and so on. Without happy clients, who are willing to pay for their services, none of this is possible.


5. No matter the size of your company, 2 or 200, hold regular staff meetings. These meetings are excellent forums for discussing such things as customer complaints, new procedures or services, ideas, as well as policy and process issues.


6. Expect that each of your employees should learn something new every day. Assist your employees in selecting educational books, tapes, and courses. The company should pay for the materials.


7. Give “on the spot” cash or rewards to an employee who goes above and beyond the call of duty or who comes up with money saving or money making ideas. This will demonstrate managements' interest in employee's ideas.


8. Consider arranging a trip to other companies just like yours but outside of your trade area. Discuss products, services, customer relations, vendors, procedures, financial statement information, etc with these non competing colleagues.


9. If your company runs well now will it run well in your absence? If you are currently indispensable, start training people now. One of the most rewarding forms of retirement is to own your own company and to have the flexibility of being absent as much as you like without stopping the flow of business.


10. Good financial records are necessary for bank loan requests, to substantiate income and deductions for income tax purposes, as well as to substantiate the value of your business if you ever want to sell your business.


11. Learn how to use your financial statements to make good business decisions. Can your company afford to make those purchases at the moment? Without knowing your numbers, you're clueless and can potentially harm your business in the long haul.


12. Year-to-year comparisons are one of the best measurements of how your business is doing. Are your accounts receivable and accounts payable growing faster than your sales?


13. You need “A.B.I.L.ity” which stands for – ACCOUNTANT, BANKER, INSURANCE AGENT, and LAWYER.   These professionals handle a variety of business problems every day. Consulting with them before you conclude transactions can help to eliminate problems and save you time and money.


14. If you are not a franchise, consider joining or forming a buying cooperative (such as Independent Cleaners Purchasing Alliance-www.sm-business-alliance.com). Utilize the purchasing power of a larger group in order to obtain national contract pricing from vendors.


15. Knowing your breakeven point is important because it monitors whether or not you are properly adjusting your prices in relation to your costs. The breakeven point is the point which you have neither a loss nor a profit from your operations. Theoretically, once you pass breakeven, all of your gross profits become net profits.


16. Don't confuse CASHFLOW with PROFIT. 


17. Let your business pay for its own expansion. If your business grows faster than its earnings can fund it, a banker, investor, or partner will be necessary. If you borrow to expand, you will be in trouble if your sales happen to take a temporary downturn.


18. Don't incorporate your business without first checking the long term tax and non tax considerations. There are many small corporations that should have never been formed.


19. Control fraud inside and out. Businesses lose billions each year due to fraud. Small businesses are especially vulnerable since they often lack the proper controls.


20. It has been said that it costs six times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an old one. With this in mind, perhaps you should take 1/2 (yes, half!) of your current marketing budget and put it into customer relations, retention, and services.


21. Advertising dollars that don't create sales are wasted dollars! For example, paying for advertising that covers a 100 mile radius when you only service clients within a 20 mile radius is a waste of your advertising dollar.


22. Your best mailing list is from your own customer files. If you have not done so already, compile a list of all of your existing as well as past customer information. Include names, addresses, and email addresses. Send out regular notices of sales and special promotions.


23. Location, location, location - it is important for existing businesses as well as new businesses. Many customers feel more comfortable working with businesses that are in their own neighborhoods. If at all possible, rent/lease office space centrally located in the neighborhoods that you want to target your business. Look for a small office to set up base in, even if the office is only big enough for just a receptionist.

Theresa Peterson

Quality Cleaning "Maid to Order"
http://www.petersons-maid2order.com

Independent Cleaners Purchasing Alliance
http://www.sm-business-alliance.com