Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Try to get a name and call, work out what is best for the client, I gather they would already be using a service, something like," what have you been paying, send me the details Ill get back to you with a breakdown quote."

or how many rooms need cleaning, how many couches etc, something you already probably do, but, this can be given as a breakdown quote to the decision maker in a professional manner.

offer a demo of your service.

Since facility managers are busy, your message to them needs to be simple: a high ROI for your services. If you don't have them, compare the cost of not regularly doing this cleaning to the bottom line of their business. Your marketing shouldn't be "just another choice to do cleaning", but "why our company is the best to help you out". You would highlight your list of satisfied facilities managers, your 24/7 emergency cleanup services, you bonded service people, and your extra training to handle delicate fabrics and tricky cleaning.

In addition to Phil's suggestion to get the gate keeper to pass along a gift, your message can arrive to facility managers though a wide variety of channels: email, direct mail, phone, magazine ads (for example, Today's Facility Manager), and face-to-face visits/presentations.

Create then introduce a coalition or business network that has monthly meetings... Ask the gatekeeper for a very official sounding appointment- the idea is to begin with the intetion to sincerly build a trusted relationship in which they benifit by not only your excellent services but your ability to help them stay connected as well.

I disagree that visiting the place in person doesn't work. Our clients have tons of success with it. But it, like every other effort, has to be done right. Treat the receptionist like a gatekeeper and they will act like one. Treat them like they are an important person in the (prospect) company and they will listen to your elevator speech.

In terms of contact information, most can be gleened on the internet or your local library.

Michael

Do you know there is a gatekeeper in every building? I work with facility managers and housekeeping all day long. Its pretty rare to find someone at that level screening those calls.

And yes, visit them at their place. The earlier in the sales cycle the better. These people don't sit at their desk. But they carry pagers and will come. And they'll be glad to meet you.

No gifts. You are a professional providing a valuable service that will save them time and money. They need you as much as you need them. Don't start off on the wrong foot. This is a relationship of equals. You don't need to buy their time. Your offer will stand on its own, or look at the offer.

Sell Well and Prosper tm

One idea which one of our clients tried with great success was to work very hard on something that they could leave which exemplified the value of their services but which could not be construed as a gift.

The subtlety which we suggested was that the sample or example would be intrinsically interesting and of use, but obviously incomplete. Making and enquiry resulted in the missing bit being delivered in exchange for a chat.

For a specialist cleaning company, for example, we had them make up a pack of samples of specialist cleaning products they used – in this instance a pack of 6 in an off the shelf box used to retail inexpensive small bottles of shampoo – one for each day of the week.

They included 3 products and some information in the form of a folding media card (X card or Zeddie from Curveball print Media would do the trick these days) with info on the items and how to get the missing bottles.

Surprisingly they got a 68% response rate.

You’d need to think carefully about this, but their costs were surprisingly low. The boxes were pennies, the bottles pennies and the ingredients pennies as well, so if you could dream up a similar offering, you will find that the gate-keepers will fall over themselves to get them to the right people. Of course, you caould always leave a spare----!


Steve Alker
Xspirt