Making Contact In Person

The 'Stop By' Approach

At some time or another, just about everyone finds themselves in a situation where they want to just stop by a potential client's place of business and get some information about who to see, leave a brochure, find out if the business currently has sweeping services, etc.

Some contractors even prefer this approach for many of their calls, in the belief that it's more difficult to say "no" to someone in-person than it is on the phone. Also, although a good phone presentation should provide better, more time-effective results in the long run, there are those who simply feel they make a better impression in person and just don't like calling on the telephone.

Here are some tips to remember when using an 'in-person, no appointment' approach:

Usually you will encounter a receptionist first. Find out who would be the decision-maker on hiring their outside cleaning services, and then ask if they are in and if you might be able to speak with them for a minute. If the receptionist calls them on the phone or leaves the room to announce you, hand her your business card so she has it for reference.

When you do have an opportunity to meet the manager, start out by introducing yourself and your company, and then ask if this is a good time for you to talk together for "just a few minutes."

If the answer is "yes" be brief, to the point, and well prepared in advance with any visual materials you are using. Find out what outside cleaning services, if any, they have now and how these might be improved upon. A good question to ask is "Are you 100% satisfied with your current sweeping contractor's quality, consistency and price?" Many times they will say that they're happy with everything but price. Asking this question not only gets their curiosity aroused, but it also generates the interest you need for your presentation.

If it isn't convenient for them to meet with you at the time you stopped in...

If someone doesn't have enough time for you to provide your complete presentation right then...

In each such situation you will have to decide when to leave a brochure and when not to. In many instances when you can't speak to the manager while you're there, the best alternative is to...

Developing An Effective One-On-One Presentation

When meeting for the first time with a prospective client, there are steps you can take to ensure the best possible reception to the services you offer. One of these is to keep firmly in your mind that you are in the process of making a first impression, and then do everything you can to make certain it is a good one. It is vitally important that you control the flow of information and the tempo of the meeting; after all, you called it! You don't want to appear 'pushy' or unbusinesslike, but you need to be professional and in control.

If you can't get him to realize that you are a professional, he won't pay attention to what you are telling him, and your chances of signing him up for sweeping services is nil. Sell yourself first, then sell your sweeping. The best approach is one that...

What might be called "the science of making presentations" is well-documented. The following information adapts this science to this specific business. A good approach normally consists of a series of opening statements which have two steps:

Step 1: The Greeting

The Greeting is a statement which shows you are appreciative of the appointment, and are glad to be there. As examples; "Good morning - it's great to finally meet you face-to-face," or "Glad we could get together this afternoon." The Greeting is the initial ice-breaker: It shows that you appreciate that they have scheduled time with you and that you are glad to be there. It also begins the appointment in a friendly manner and sets the tone for the rest of the presentation.

Following the Greeting may come a minute or two of 'warm-up' or 'small talk,' but don't forget that both of you are busy people, with busy schedules. It is by far best if you can...

In any event, don't wait more than 5 minutes before coming to the second opening step to your presentation, which is:

Step 2: The Conversational Bridge

A conversational bridge is when you combine the topic of conversation with the reason you are there. As an example:

You might be talking about the way the area's businesses have grown, and then insert the conversational bridge of "And that's one of the reasons that it's becoming more and more important to maintain an exterior appearance that is clean and neat at all times. That's the service we provide."

The important point to remember with the conversational bridge is that you...

Establishing Your Credentials

The better you are able to establish the credentials of your company in the eyes of a prospect, the more likely that you will be able to turn him or her into a customer. Although your credentials are of course not as strong when you are first getting started as they will be later, you should still be able to find several good points to introduce about yourself and your fledgling firm.

One of these is going to be the sweeper you operate. Whatever brand you have, tout the efficiency and quality of your sweeper as one of the reasons you will do a good job.

You also have an advantage because you are the owner of the business. Even though you haven't been in this business for long, don't hesitate to...

Fact Finding

If you haven't yet done so, you need to establish clearly:

1. That the person you are meeting with is the decision- maker for sweeping services.

2. Whether or not they currently have sweeping services being performed by another company, or hand pick the lots themselves.

If you are not speaking to the decision-maker, you may well be wasting your time at this appointment. Find out who does make this decision and how you can set up an appointment with them. A tougher call for you to make is in the matter of partnerships. Sometimes the prospect will tell you that he and his partner or another member of the firm make this decision together. It is typically much better to make your presentation to both at once; if that is not possible, then you need to make it to the person present.

More than likely, however, you will be with the decision-maker for sweeping services, and the prospect's company either will or will not currently have a sweeping contractor doing the job for them. If they do not now have a contractor doing sweeping then you should structure your questions in such a way as to find out why not, what they do now to keep their parking areas cleaned, etc.

Under this circumstance you will want to...

Features Vs. Benefits

You will find that each prospect has certain needs. When evaluating what you have to offer, each will do so based upon what he believes these needs to be and how well the proposal(s) you offer will address them. Something which you need to understand as you attempt to fill his need list is that he will not be as excited about the features of what you have to offer as he will be to the benefits which will come to him.

As an example, you may be excited that you have a curb broom on your new sweeper. The potential client is unmoved, however, and the more you talk about its features - how it is adjustable up and down as well as on angle, how you can adjust the rotation - the more likely it is that the prospect will go to sleep!

What he is interested in is the benefit to him and his organization that you have a curb broom. For example...

Explain that developing a scheduled sweeping program is very cost-effective. In fact, it may actually save him money in the long run, because loose dirt and and other debris irritates the costly sealcoating and striping that must be maintained on parking areas. Sweeping up this debris will prolong the life of the pavement, and dramatically reduce the need for these relatively costly repairs.

Especially if a prospect does not now have their property swept, be sure to bring up the benefits sweeping provides to the interior floor surfaces. Because a significantly smaller amount of dirt and grit will be tracked into the inside business area, the cost of interior floor maintenance will go down. It will also increase the useful service life of the inside floor area.

Another good example of a benefit of sweeping is illustrated by the story of the mall which was sued over a slip-and-fall incident, and was found to be not liable by the state's Supreme Court largely as a result of having contracted for nightly sweeping service (see Shopping Center Finds Sweeper Service Key To Winning Lawsuit, located in the Support Material section of the manual.) You will find that this type of true story, in which someone similar to the prospect has either received a benefit or avoided a loss, will be helpful in your presentation. Be sure such stories are true, brief, and relevant to the prospect's own needs before you tell them, however.

Also included in the Support Material section is a listing which illustrates many of the reasons why sweeping is beneficial. It is entitled Why Keep Business Parking Areas Clean?

Use Trial Closes

Buying signals are any actions or statements made which indicate an interest in hiring you to do the job for them. Trial Closes are questions which you build into your presentation for the express purpose of assessing the prospect's interest and understanding about the information you are presenting.

Beware a situation in which you do all of the talking for more than 5 minutes. A monotonous droning of facts, figures and examples can serve to put someone mentally to sleep. Look for ways to...

Contrast and Compare

Whenever you can, contrast the benefits of what you will do for them with what they have told you about the weaknesses of their current situation. The prospect will always reach their buying decision by...

Minimizing The Cost Of Your Service

Everyone is interested in cost. However, keep in mind that most buying decisions for sweeping services are not made purely on cost alone. There is a 'cost' associated with a company which doesn't do a good job, isn't punctual, doesn't notify management about abandoned cars, loiterers, burned out lights, etc., too. If your bid for services is higher than the current price being paid, that doesn't necessarily mean you won't get the contract.

By and large, however, it is of course better if you...

One of the toughest situations to sell is where the prospect currently has no one cleaning. This means that they do not yet see the value in contracting for sweeping services. In this instance especially, one of the ways to minimize cost is to break it down into a small number. For example, you might ask what the approximate total overhead of the mall is per month, then take the answer and divide it into the cost of sweeping per month.

Let's say that the property manager tells you that the mall currently has an overhead of $15,000 a month, and your bid for sweeping services is $300 per month. If you divide $300 by $15,000, you get .02 or 2%. A two percent addition to what is already being paid is not much of an additional increase.

Another way to break down cost is...

The Summary

A good summary should briefly re-outline the benefits you discussed, and particular emphasis should be given to the "hot button" areas as expressed by the prospect during the presentation and fact finding. A summary statement will typically not bring up any new information to the customer (notice we now start calling him the customer instead of the prospect; after all this you are going to sign him up for service, aren't you?!).

In your summary you want to...

The Close

By the end of the presentation, one of you will be convinced. It's your job to make sure that they are convinced that it will be better to contract with you for services rather than whatever they have been doing until now. The last part of the presentation is called the close. This is where you get their decision.

In this particular business, this could take several forms. One is that they will want you to do a survey of their parking area and make a firm proposal (that's why it is typically better if you have already done the survey and can provide them with this on the spot). Another is that they will agree to what you have told them and indicate their willingness for you to get started. They may also have some additional questions they want to ask.

Whatever you do...

If the answer is "yes," then immediately get up and shake hands and say "Thanks for the vote of confidence in my company, I assure you that you'll be very impressed."

This is also the best time to finalize all the details in your Proposal of Services, just to make sure there aren't any misunderstandings. (A sample Proposal Of Services is located in the Sample Forms section of this manual, and more information is covered on it in the section entitled Bidding The Job.)

Once the Proposal of Services has been approved, you can move on toward the actual signing of the Contract for Services. Remember that this is the agreement which puts you under contract to provide the services you said you would!

When the Answer is "No"

No matter how good a job you do, you won't sign everyone up. This doesn't necessarily mean that you didn't give a good presentation, that the prospect didn't need what you were offering or that a competitor is doing a better job than the one you proposed. It doesn't even mean that the prospect wouldn't prefer to do business with you. And, of course, situations change over time. For these reasons, there are several actions you should take even when the answer is "no"...

When the Answer is "Yes"

Referrals should also be part of your game plan with existing customers, of course. They are by far the best form of new prospects, and should definitely be pursued.

Some contractors routinely offer incentive programs for their existing clients in the event a referral signs up for steady service. Often this takes the form of a free sweep, but might alternatively be dinner for two, theater tickets or some other form of enticement. In the long run you will find that a strong request for referrals will be a nice builder for your business.

With new customer referrals, the question arises of when and how to ask for referrals...

No matter what method you use, we recommend that you have a standard referral form which you use. It should have your business name and logo on it, as well as some 'reminders' of people who may be referrals.

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World Sweeper
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