The phone rings and on the other end you have a potential customer calling you for a cleaning quote. This is good news and your all fired up and ready to go. You spend a few moments chatting on the phone and you are just about ready to ask when you can pay a visit. Then the caller drops a bombshell.
You will be joined on the bid walk-through with four other cleaning companies. Yikes!
Well…that changes the equation a little doesn’t it? Your enthusiasm has just been drained. What looked so promising a moment ago looks like a long shot. Your thinking that when your the only one bidding you are the only one that can win. There is some truth in that. But this is no reason to run for the hills. Perhaps you can turn it into an advantage for you. How?
Make yourself stand out.
This is the key that unlocks your success. How would you do this you ask? For starters you should make sure you are the best dressed. This alone will make you stand out as most owners show up much to casual. Next I would make sure I have at least one really good question to ask (with a prepared follow-up response). Not a run of the mill question like “how soon do you need the quote” or “what time can we start cleaning each visit”. You will need a better question to make yourself stand out.
How about asking “where do you keep the MSDS binder?
The manager walking you through may reply “huh”? You follow up with “the binder that contains all the Material Data Safety Sheets for the solutions that will be used to clean your facility. Its required by OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration). My company creates a custom binder for each client to comply with government regulations”.
Well that just set you apart!
Ask another good question like that one and the manager performing the walk-through will start to see a clear favorite forming. You! It also might get your competition thinking maybe they are the ones in over their heads.
At the end of the day you want to make yourself stand out (in positive ways) as much as possible. Make it easy for the manager who is responsible for hiring the cleaning company to choose you. Be light to lift as they say and reap the benefits of it with increased business.