Are you Asking the Wrong Questions of your Cleaning Prospects

June 14, 2013

How may times have we heard about a over-hyped merger or a partnership between two companies, only to have it deemed a failure within a year or two?! Forget the world of business, how many couples have you come across in your personal life who seem ‘meant to be’ at first glance, but separate soon, citing irreconcilable differences?!

Why does a ‘supposedly perfect’ partnership fail? The simple answer is that they just don’t ‘fit’. And they don’t fit because the respective parties don’t take the time to evaluate whether the partnership is viable.

Much like in our personal lives, companies too need to take a good, hard, long look at a prospective partner to determine whether a long-term relationship is possible.

The same concept holds true for the relationship between your cleaning business and your cleaning prospects. It’s important to thoroughly evaluate your prospects before making the decision of whether or not to acquire them. And the best way to assess a client’s requirements is to – ummm – read their minds?! NO!

The right questions will find the right partners

The best way is to ask them questions. This might not be the most romantic technique to form partnerships, but it is certainly the most efficient technique. So now the question becomes: what sort of questions to ask?

The wrong questions might actually drive away a perfectly suitable client, while attracting the unsuitable ones. The types of questions that fail usually fall into one of the following categories: (a) presumptuous (b)condescending (c) ‘fishing’ (d) desperate (e) intrusive

You should only ask questions that try to understand the prospect’s needs –and subtly, please– so your company can decide whether it is possible to customize your services to suit their needs or whether the relationship is just not possible.

Important Tip: Focus on forging a long-term relationship from the very beginning. Do not think about only acquiring a ONE-TIME account – that’s like choosing to marry a partner only for a year!!!! From Day 1, you should be thinking about whether this client can become a repeat customer; only then will both of you enjoy a happy, profitable, long-term relationship.

Click on the following link to read about some specific questions that you should avoid while meeting with a prospective client: http://www.thejanitorialstore.com/public/Are-You-Asking-The-Wrong-Questions-Of-Your-Cleaning-Prospects.cfm