Your customers are comparing the quotes you receive from cleaning companies like yours, and to them, they can seem a little daunting. There seem to be a lot of similarities and industry terms that aren’t in their area of expertise. Don’t worry, it’s in ours.

In this post, we’ll walk you through how your customers compare cleaning company quotes, with some tips and tricks along the way on how to improve yours based on their point of view.

Let’s dive in!

Your customers are likely to:

• Inform and protect themselves by getting at least three quotes
• Ask you for a walkthrough of their site
• Not be as specific in their communications about what's really needed

Cleaning Company Quotes Tip #1 - Not every cleaning company is created equal

Your customers probably can’t really see how one cleaning company is different from another. They may feel like all the cleaning companies they’ve gathered quotes from are mentioning the same things in their sales pitches. There are a lot of similarities and overall best practices for janitorial services. Oftentimes, these are the bare minimum, expectation-wise, so don’t be fooled into thinking that they add much value to the cleaning contract proposal. Don’t let your future customer base their decision on these basic standards, as they are expected from any reputable cleaning company.

Some of these statements include:

• We use green or environmentally friendly products.
• We have been in business for 30+ years.
• Our customers love us.
• We have the best or hardest-working cleaners in the city.

Since these are considered standard, make sure that you provide proof of these claims. List a few products, have testimonials from actual customers that will provide references to back them up. With the right technology, you can measure and prove the productivity of your team. 

Cleaning Company Quotes Tip #2 - Your customers are going to get what they pay for

While going for a cheaper option and saving money will tempt most people (your customers are only human), there are quite a few reasons that your customer should not base their decision solely on price. Have you heard the term “seems too good to be true?” Well,  sometimes, if you’re not paying enough, you’re just not getting what you need. Companies that bid low often are not managed well, can cut a lot of corners, and have high turnover, which will create a lot of headaches for everyone involved. You need to make sure that your future customer knows what goes into a well-managed cleaning job and why you price accordingly.

Low-priced bidding is the plague of the cleaning industry. It’s so prominent because it’s actually very easy to start a cleaning company; just buy a few supplies and basic equipment, and you are in business. Will that kind of company keep their team and visitors safe? There is no universal standard for the cost of cleaning services, so it’s very important to carefully map out your cleaning plan (more on that in the next chapter) and then realistically consider if the quoted price will truly meet their needs. You want to deliver a combination of both quality work and affordability for what it actually takes.

Cleaning Company Quotes Tip #3 - Be specific about what you're delivering

As mentioned above, you need to establish your cleaning plan for each quote, which is essentially a scope of work. Cleaning plans have changed in the post-pandemic landscape, so now more than ever, it’s important to create a cleaning company quote that accurately reflects your future customers' needs.

Your future customer is likely to examine the quotes carefully, after all, they've likely been disappointed in the past. They don’t want to get oversold, or even worse, undersold, by a company that is just trying to win the contract with a low price. The workspace needs to be cleaned at a frequency that creates a safe space so that your team can continue to go to work. 

Get the right information in the walkthrough!

Cleaning Company Quotes Tip #4 - Can tou spot the differences between quotes?

When reviewing cleaning company quotes, you're going to want to highlight to your future customer that there are a number of aspects to consider in order to find the best fit.

Here are the Important Elements of a Commercial Cleaning Company Quote:

Scope of Work – Trust starts to be built with your potential new customer at the proposal stage. To ensure that the cleaning company quotes can be accurately compared, you might ask your future customer to challenge the companies to give them prices based on the same general cleaning plan. For example, they shouldn't accept a quote from one company based on seven days per week of cleaning and another for four days. Encourage them to ask questions and build their knowledge during this step. The goal is to move to their side of the table and become their trusted advisor.

Supplies – Suggest that your future customer ask what kinds of supplies are the companies promising to use? Keep in mind that its general practice to use environmentally friendly products. Do the competing companies make a note that the supplies they’ve recommended are on the approved list for fighting COVID-19? Can they provide the MSDS sheets or overall specs for the chemicals? The more information you can force them to provide here, the better.

Communication – How does the competing cleaning company communicate with their team and with your future customer? How will they resolve problems or stay on top of changes? It’s important to know in advance how communication will happen on an ongoing basis. For example, give them a specific scenario like: If a conference room is locked and we can’t clean it, how does our employee tell you about this? How will do we close the loop?Other Services – Are there specific features or perks that your future customer is looking for? If you’ve communicated these already and they are not being offered in the proposal, your customer will probably ask why. They may want to consider a company that can also provide floor care, carpet cleaning, and disinfecting services. Do you offer these as a differentiator? You'll want to highlight that you use use technology like janitorial software to help run your business. This can signal that you take servicing your clients very seriously.

Cleaning Company Quotes Tip #5 - Technology

66% of the industry’s front-line employees do not speak English as a first language. Get your customers to Imagine you leading their teams, who often clean overnight, in multiple buildings around the city, by using only pen and paper. You don’t get caught in that mess. There are better options out there, and cleaning companies who take servicing their clients seriously are using these tools. They care about doing the best, most accurate and most proactive work they can, which is why they’ve chosen technology to help.

Cleaning Company Quotes Tip #6 - Professionalism & company culture

The way a potential contractor presents themselves can say a lot about how they manage their company, and their employees. It’s important to note your prospectve customer will notice things such as: was the potential contractor on time for the site visit or any other in-person meetings? Do they communicate in a professional way via phone and email? Did they genuinely help you learn about your cleaning needs through the walk-through, and suggested cleaning plan? They want to deal with a company that instills professionalism from the top down. They also want to hire a company that aligns with their own organization’s culture and vision, so asking questions and getting to know each potential customer will help you to present in the most favorable light as they're making their decision. We’ve put together this fun little tool to help rate professionalism.

Your future customers have a busy life, so they probably haven’t stopped to consider how happy the people who clean their space are. But ask yourself this; how much effort do you put into your work when you’re miserable? And how much of a difference do good company culture and positive reinforcement make in your working life? It's possible to build a culture even with a distributed workforce with the right technology.

Cleaning Company Quotes - Summary

Since the quotes your future customers receive from cleaning companies will generally look the same, it’s important to understand their needs to help them choose the right contractor. Once you’ve leveled the playing field by suggesting that they ask for all the quotes based on the same scope of work, you should be able to get them to focus on differentiators like supplies, communication, professionalism, culture, and other features that make your business value unique.

Tools like Swept software can really set a company apart, as it ensures the speediest communication and the most accurate service. Lastly, get to know the culture of each prospect company as much as you can to ensure you'll be a great long-term fit.

We will continue to strive to provide you with concise, easy-to-digest information on the commercial cleaning industry, and how best to navigate it. Of course, we’re only scratching the surface of the know-how you’ll have to equip yourself within the coming months, but consider this a good jumping-off point in the right direction.

Customer story: How does Swept help you win bids without lowering your price?