Whatever your reasons for
starting a cleaning service, be it because you want
to be your own boss, you want out of that 9-5 office
hours or simply because you enjoy cleaning and doing
a great job for your clients, your business still
would not last unless you’re making great profits.
With the cleaning industry being highly competitive,
your profits at a particular job may only be a
margin of not more than 10 to 20 percent. Soon as
the prices of supplies rises or even with the hike
in gas prices, your profits and the success of your
business will be placed in danger.
So what can you do to back up your profits? Here are
some of the ways to increase the money coming into
your cleaning business.
1. Offer other services aside from the usual. When
trying to acquire a new job, try to put in routine
carpet spotting, carpet cleaning, window washing
etc. Persuade your customers to take other services
done on regular intervals like 3 or 6 months. This
will help keep their places, homes or buildings stay
cleaner as well as bring in more profits for your
business. But remember that to be able to offer
those services, you have to educate yourself
appropriately.
2. Sell cleaning items to your customers. Aside from
providing cleaning services, you might as well sell
items to your clients. Each building need trash
liners, hand towels, soaps and others. You may also
offer to manage their cleaning supplies and just
bill back the cost of the products. Doing this can
add up 15 % of profit for your company.
3. Bundle services in a package. This way you wont
even need to offer discounts on services – if your
customer realize that they can have all services
needed from a single company (window washing, floor
stripping, carpet cleaning), they will also be
saving money and time by not having to go elsewhere.
4. Stop competing with prices. Make sure that your
customers are aware of the quality and dependable
service that you provide so that they will trust you
with their cleaning jobs even when your prices are
not the cheapest in town.
5. Build strategic alliances with non-competing
businesses that also serve or sells to your target
market. Pair up with ultrasonic blind cleaners,
carpet cleaners, duct cleaners and fire restoration
companies.
6. If you are running a website, trade links with
other non-competing businesses. If you are selling
products on your site, you can create an affiliate
sales program wherein other business may receive
commission for every paying customer they refer to
your site.
7. You may also hire an independent salesperson to
market your services. Just pay a commission to the
products and services that they are able to sell.
Though there may be a slight reduction of profit in
each sale, you realize that overall your profits
will grow.
8. Persuade repeat business and add-on services with
your present customers. Attach flyers on the extra
services that you offer with each invoice that you
send out.
9. Add other cleaning services. Make a little more
profit by cleaning microwaves and refrigerators. You
may even put this on regular schedules.
10. And if you have some equipments or vehicles that
you no longer use, sell them out or consider renting
then out instead of having them sit around.
