I loved cleaning for my residential customers. (Well, MOST of them anyway!) BUT I tell every SFS class: “Residential is the hardest money in our industry!” Why? Vicious pets, every house is a different minefield just waiting to blow up on you and residential clients are notoriously fickle!
This is why almost all cleaners (including many restoration contractors) crave the easy, consistent cash flow of regular commercial carpet cleaning accounts. But these cream puff accounts won’t just fall into your lap! The secret is to recognize that…
In commercial (and restoration) sales your two biggest challenges are apathy and inertia!
NOTE: You must first conquer your OWN “sales apathy and inertia”! How? 1) Recognize “Displacement Activities” for what they are, 2) dump your Fear of Rejection and 3) hold yourself “accountable” with a weekly Dedicated Sales Morning. (DSM)
Now let’s focus on commercial inertia with property and facility managers! (And insurance adjusters too.) These overwhelmed (and often cynical) folks are “over-solicited” by your competition so their “defenses” will be up when you make a sales call.
So how can you “break through” commercial inertia in your sales calls?
1) Stop worrying about selling every single contact! How? By getting the Law of Large Numbers on your side! If a prospect blows you off just move on to the next one. (Remember, you will make 15-20 new sales calls during your weekly DSM!)
2) Use “show and tell” on large public facilities. Your competitor is making “blah-blah-blah” sales calls. You are going to strut your stuff with demos that…
3) Solve their “Point of Pain”! Your mission is to discover what each PM (or adjuster’s) “Point of Pain” (POP) is. (What makes them dread going to work?) NOTE: Use this free Commercial Carpet Analysis form to discover their POP! Your relationship will last forever!
CLICK HERE for ten more “how to overcome commercial inertia” tips!
But wait! I can hear you now, “Steve, it isn’t that easy! What do I do when I hit the ‘gate keeper’?” Fair question so let’s talk about it soon! Meanwhile, “git yerself out there”!
Steve