Starting a Cleaning Business

Bid Calculators

noreply@blogger.com (CalcSolutions) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:57:00 +0000

New bid calculators are now available.

Please visit www.servicebidcalculators.com
or www.cleanoutlook.com

We have the Building Survey Rate Calculator™ for $130.00- This calculator helps with the bidding process from start to finish. If you have a portable device, laptop computer or mobile phone with mobile office you can use this calculator to automatically figure out the total square footage of a building while also breaking down each room and each floor type. It generates pricing for cleaning services, floor care, carpet cleaning, and tile and grout cleaning. On request it can also include pricing for items such as windows or blinds, etc...

Once the survey process is done you will have a cleaning proposal and special service proposal that has already automatically been completed and is ready for printing. Or you can print out a complete professional proposal package with contract agreement that also has been automatically completed. If you have the proper equipment you can even do all this right at the bid walk. This calculator also has built in rates for reduced frequency cleaning.

All Building Survey Rate calculators are customized for each customer and can even include your logo if provided. This calculator can come with national average rates or can be customized with your own rates and rates can easily be adjusted on the go for specific facility types or sizes.

This calculator is great for those new to the business and veterans a like.

Order your Building Survey Rate Calculator™ today!!!

www.servicebidcalculators.com

Staying in front of potential customers with email marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Effective and integrity based email marketing campaigns keep you in front of your customers and potential customers and can be the single most affordable marketing tool you have for recruiting new customers and strengthen your relationship with your existing clients.

In our economy not only is marketing an absolute must it is also something too many cleaning companies are cutting back on in effort to save money.

Now isn't the time to cut back on marketing. It IS time to take advantage of the fact that many of your competitors ARE cutting back and by increasing YOUR marketing you can bring more attention to your service.

There are some great web based email marketing programs available. The biggest problem with that is that with so many cleaning companies suffering the recession the idea of another monthly expense can be a little scary.

Problem solved

Our Email List Manager program is yours.

It isn't rented, leased or borrowed.

You host it on your website so there are

No monthly fees (besides what you are already paying your host of course)

No fees based on your number of subscribers

No fees based on the number OR frequency of your emails

You might be saying, that's great but I have absolutely no idea how to manage campaigns, write the emails, get people on my list, what the spam laws are.........

Most of us aren't natural born email marketers. Those who are should sure appreciate the talent they have been given.

Just like with other aspects of your cleaning business, hearing how someone else has successfully managed a situation or system is motivating. If you're lucky enough to have them share recommendations based on their experiences you then feel encouraged. Isn't that why cleaning company owners join peer groups, industry associations and cleaning business forums? Because they get information and ideas based on their type of business not business in general.

So you want to learn about email marketing to maximize the results of your list and to avoid making mistakes. Well you could visit ebay or do a Google search to buy an ebook. A lot of those programs have great information and ideas. There's just one BIG problem---for the most part they are focused at marketing information or products. In other words, they don't really relate to cleaning companies.....continue

How to Enter a Cleaning Business Owner Forum...

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:24:00 +0000

How to Enter a Cleaning Business Owner Forum...

That sounds silly doesn't it? Why would I have to learn how to enter a forum? I just sign up and post right?

It would seem on the surface to be that easy, but sometimes you see people have a real hard time getting off on the right foot...

Over time forums create a very tight community. Members learn the rules and looks out for each other...

That's the first thing... Read the rules.

Different forums approach how you display links differently or even what you can talk about...

The other thing is don't come in gang busters!! Don't try to prove yourself and get to excited about proving everyone your knowledge etc....

Get to know the community first.

Hang out for a while.

Introduce yourself politely... Usually there is a separate area set aside for intros...

And then start browsing.

Get to know the other posters...

Remember a lot of these people have known each other for a while. They may even be doing business behind the scenes...

Once you have a feel for it, start helping out.

Helping out... If you have any knowledge to contribute, provide it... Help people with things you know about.

Learn... Read... Learn... Read some more... Ask questions...

Then let it.... (continue)

Start Up Marketing For Cleaning Companies

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:22:00 +0000

Start-up Marketing For Cleaning Companies
by Traci Isley

Marketing:
1) The act or process of buying and selling in a market.
2) The commercial functions involved in transferring goods or services from producer to consumer.

By now you probably have your required license/s insurance, bonding supplies and equipment, and you’re ready to get started!

Congratulations!

But how do you get those new clients?

Marketing of course!

I realize this can seem like a very BIG word for a small company, but in reality it’s not.

Marketing can be as simple (and free!!) as telling everyone you know, and meet, who you are and what you do.

It can be done through cold calling; you’re already paying a phone bill…use it to your advantage!

Keep the calls local and there isn’t any additional cost.

There are also sites like this one (www.cleanmyofficenow.com ) that offer a free listing for your company! See, 10 seconds into the article and you have 3 viable marketing campaigns and haven’t spent a dime!

Realistically, however, you will need to have some sort of printed materials available to potential clients.

I suggest your first marketing expenditure be your business cards. The cost for these is minimal if you keep it simple.

There are websites that offer free cards (if you don’t mind having their name or website printed on the back of your card) or you can find reasonable rates at office supply stores using their basic templates.

You can even print your own if you are so inclined. Your business card is the foundation of your marketing; it provides all the vital information in a format that says “professional”.

You will also need some flyers or introduction letters that you can leave with people, or mail to them, for their reference later on.

The Introduction Letter

The introduction letter is just what it sounds like. It is your business’ “Hello”.

You want the letter to reflect who you are, and what your company is about.

It can be formal or informal, but should remain “professional”.

If you are intimidated by the thought of a “professional business letter”, there are many places to find templates for writing them.

The local library is a good source, or a quick search on the web will provide many ideas for wording and professional structure.

The example below is a very basic layout for your letter.

Remember to keep things very simple at this point.

You are saying “Hello” not giving your resume. ;)

Your first paragraph should state briefly who you are and what you do.

Using bullet points draws the eye. They are easy to read, and are better able to hold the readers attention, which is what you need!

Limit yourself to 3 or 4 bullets.

These are the highlights of

your business. In your closing be sure to thank them for their time, and let them know you will follow up at a later time.

Something like this: “A member of our staff will call you during the next week to answer any questions you have. If you prefer, you can call us at 555-5555.”

Bullets

These are the “clinchers” or “attention grabbers” of your letter. These should be brief and to the point.

• We have over 15 years experience in the cleaning industry
• Satisfaction Guaranteed!
• Really unique trait!

Once you’ve written the letter and are happy with it, send it out to the companies you’d like to clean for. Keep an active list of contacts you’ve made and follow up with them.

Whether it’s a notebook you update by hand or a computer contact manager, use the list and keep it current.After the initial contact I suggest calling them.

Set an appointment for a “free estimate.”

Whether they need your services right now or not, offer the estimate for them to keep on file for future reference. Remember, each contact you make, by mail phone or in person builds a connection between you and your target client.

FLYERS
Flyers are an excellent tool for expanding on the selling points of your intro letter. They can be fun too! The biggest consideration in any marketing material is the client’s perception

continue (see examples of cleaning business flyers)

Free Window Cleaning Images Slide Show

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:20:00 +0000

You're going to love this. A couple weeks ago I noticed that Andy over at FreeWindowCleaningTips.com had posted a 'Window Cleaning Slide Show'.

So yesterday I got to talk to him (!) and he gave me a graphic show I could show a little preview and link you up to see it as well.

The Window Cleaning Pictures Slideshow is at his site that I know you'll find entertaining and useful.

The slide show consists of 31 of his favorite window cleaning pictures he's taken over the last 14 years in business. Pictures of high rise, mid rise and low rise commercial and residential window cleaning accounts.

You'll find captions at the bottom of each image that provide helpful tips on window cleaning techniques, window cleaning safety and other insider secrets.

Click here now to see the slide show!

I dare you to try to pick one favorite.
Anyway, the point to this post is very simple:
--if you aren't carrying a camera with you to jobs you need to be.
Look at those photos or his window cleaning jobs...no stock photo site can duplicate that.
The same holds true for your cleaning company website...we can pick out stock photos all day long-- but pics from YOUR jobs or of YOUR team will always be the best ones!

Don't forget to check out Andy's slideshow ;) Click here now to see it!

Hate the word 'Maid'? ...yeah I know BUT...

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:24:00 +0000

"Christy, I can't stand the word 'maid', please take it off my site right away and change it to cleaning service"

So quite a few residential cleaners are going to read that and say 'oh my gosh, I can't believe Christy put my request on her blog'.

Now what you DIDN'T know is I hear that very statement at least once a week. So I'm not typing this about YOU, I'm typing this FOR the new maid...ooops...Residential Cleaners that will be coming on board.

Here's the deal- WE don't like the word MAID because we come from the business.
- Your customers DON'T come from the business.
- They don't speak the lingo.
- They don't understand the difference.
- They are simply looking for someone to clean their house

...and that is ONE word that a large percentage of them are going to use when they are searching the internet for YOU.

In a time when marketing is more important then ever the last thing you want to do is alienate yourself from a potential customer.

Use THE WORD to your advantage and educate them at the same time. Write a small blurb for your website explaining what your company feels seperates cleaning services from maids. If you are a commercial cleaning company write up something similar explaining why a commercial cleaning service is a lot more than just a janitor.

You have just created an informational piece and at the same time added more of those important keywords that people who do have money to spend are looking for. ;)

Bonuses with 10 page website design packages

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:15:00 +0000

Get free proposals or gift card sales information with a 10 page website With the purchase of any 10 page website package during February 2009.

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY - ORDER THIS PACKAGE IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY AND WE WILL THROW IN YOUR CHOICE OF SELECT BONUS ITEMS.

Choose from
a Proposal Package template (http://cleaningbusinessformsstore.com/cleaning-forms/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2)

OR A....
Debbie Sardone Gift Card Sales CD

OR a...
Residential Cleaning Bid Sheet.
Visit http://www.cleanoutlook.com/website-design-10page.html for more information.

Offer expires 3-1-2009

Visit http://www.cleanoutlook.com/website-design-10page.html for more information.

Offer expires 3-1-2009

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 03:49:00 +0000

Debbie Sardone, Maid Service consultant and author of Cracking The Dirt Code--Learn How to Bid and Price Jobs Accurately discusses the biggest obstacles to growing your residential cleaning business.

The Four L's new cleaning business owners must overcome:

-Intellectual-Developing the 'you are now a business owner mindset'
-Emotional-Learning to "Let Go" of perfection
-Technical-Developing your technical skills including job costing, estimating cleaning jobs
-Capital-Under capitalized businesses find it hard to grow. It takes money to make money...

Listen to a 30 minute interview where she discusses and elaborates on the four L's and provides tips for profiting from your new residential cleaning business. http://www.thejanitorialstore.com/public/557.cfm?sd=148

Writing killer sales letters

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:04:00 +0000

Sales letters can be a great tool when marketing commercial cleaning accounts.
They really aren't hard to write at all and after you read the article below putting together a great sales letter will be even easier for you :)

'
Tips On Writing A Killer Sales Letter
by: Andres Munoz
Writing a sales letter doesn’t have to be that difficult all you need is the right writing style and some tips to knock out a killer sales letter
Benefits The first thing you need to do is focus on the benefits the reader will find useful. Tell the reader what’s in it for him. Promise them increased sales, better skin, better results in writing a resume or whatever it is that you’re selling. Tell them how your product can help them. Don’t beat around the bush and get right to the point. Stick to benefits, facts and features. Whatever you do don’t be vague it will turn them off.
Give additional benefits. Show additional value other than main benefit. Give product/service features. Support benefit promises with product/service facts. Show how your company will help him. Don’t start sounding arrogant and brag.
Writing Style: An emphasis should be placed on “you” and not “I”. Use words like you and your, so that the reader feels you are writing for him. Write clearly. Make sure your reader doesn’t have to think about what you’re saying. Your main points must be understood immediately. Make yourself believable. Make sure your claims or representations appear to be realistic and believable. Don’t promise a 200% increase in sales because most people won’t believe it even if it’s true! You must be able to back up your claims. Use repetition; repeat benefits throughout letter. Present the same ideas and benefits in different ways.
Ask for action. Ask the reader to place an order, return the sales envelope or the sales card or phone for more information. Give reasons to act now. For example: Make your offer time sensitive a limited supply, two-week sale, and special purchase. Most sales letters fail to do this.
Understand that people are emotionally motivated. They want to:
Make more money
Save money
Do a good job
Experience love
Have a satisfying home life
Get something for free
Look good
Use simple graphics to get the reader’s '............Read the rest of this article

CleaningForCancer.com

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:17:00 +0000

If you own or are starting a cleaning business and you have considered offering a charity cleaning or community outreach program to your list of services we encourage you to visit our Cleaning For Cancer blog. http://cleaningforcancer.blogspot.com/

This completely free to join site will open on May 29 and will provide cleaning companies with marketing items and ideas for starting their own charitable cleaning program along with a free listing in our directory.

Companies who don't have a website or who don't have the ability to add the information to their company website can use one of our free templates. We have volunteers on hand who will help you create your page if needed.

The structure of the site is to be a completely free resource to both people with cancer or other critical illnesses as well as to cleaning services wanting to reach out and give back to their community. Because our structure is free CleaningForCancer.com will not accept monentary donations instead will we have a list of organizations in which you may make donations.

Contributions of time by volunteers will always be welcomed and there is a sign up form along with tasks that could use a helping hand on the site.

If you run a commercial company and don't see what you could possibly do to help....think again. We'll have some ideas how you can have your own outreach program that will in turn benefit the residential sector of our participating companies.

Current CleanOutlook.com customers who want one of these free pages added to their website should contact Christy christy[at]cleanoutlook.com. There will be no charge for this page. In addition new customers coming on board after June 1 will be offered a free page at time of purchase.

Commercial cleaning contracts

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:36:00 +0000

Our article "Putting together a cleaning service proposal" continues to be one of our highest traffic pages. The other day I came across a binder of information I collected years ago from James Nokes at Build A Business. When I checked his site, yes the example Commercial Cleaning Contract is still there :) http://build-a-business.com/cleaning_contract_sample.html

This article gives a good explanation of necessary items for your contracts such as monthly fees, late payment fees, and a termination clause that is followed by a sample written contract for janitorial services.

Don't forget that you can also get a pre-made contract for commercial cleaning services from the Cleaning Business Forms Storefor $20.00

Hiring employees for your cleaning company

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:28:00 +0000

Hiring staff for your cleaning company

As you grow your cleaning business you will be faced with needing to hire employees.
In an industry where turn over averages over 300% annually recruiting can become expensive and time consuming.

One of the most common questions asked by cleaning companies recruiting for the first time is ‘where to advertise’ for employees.

Newspaper ads in most medium to large cities can be very expensive. If your community has a free ‘shopper’ these are usually more affordable than a newspaper ad.

Many churches will allow members to place employment ads in their bulletins.

Putting flyers on laundry mat bulletin boards in the areas you are recruiting for have proven effective for many cleaning contractors.

Local employment service directory websites are good resources but can become expensive.

Craig’s List employment ads are free and can generate a lot of applications. (If you are using Craig’s List for recruiting we recommend you read our tips here http://www.cleaningdesign.com/customerarea/showthread.php?t=2982 or you could end up with so many phone calls that you shy away from using their website again.)

Friends, family and neighbors- talk to everyone you know, let them know you are looking for quality workers and ask them to spread the word then hand them a business card.

Existing employees- let them know about the job openings you have. Offer referral bonuses for any employees that send you people you hire.

Once you find a system that works for you make sure you are always recruiting. By doing so you will be able to maintain a database (collection) of people you could interview right away and will reduce the likelihood of having to do ‘crisis hiring’.

Other articles for after you have recruited employees
Prescreening cleaning company employees- http://www.cleanpeers.com/peers/viewtopic.php?t=45

Communicating with your cleaning staff- http://www.cleanpeers.com/peers/viewtopic.php?t=42

Determining wages for your cleaning staff-
http://www.cleanpeers.com/peers/viewtopic.php?t=41

Motivating your cleaning staff- http://www.cleanpeers.com/peers/viewtopic.php?t=40

A name for your cleaning business....

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:23:00 +0000

Everyday we see several people come in thru the search engines with the phrase 'name for a cleaning business' and we thought why not include that as another thing we do since helping cleaning companies IS what we do and enjoy :)

Feel free to post information about the cleaning service you are starting or hoping to come up with a name for in our forums and let's see if our staff can help you pick out a great name to get you started. http://cleanoutlook.com/portals/viewtopic.php?t=714

Who knows, if you select your cleaning company name on our site we might even throw in a discount on cleaning business logo design!

Interesting Articles

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 05:57:00 +0000

Cold Calling for Sales-
Intimidated by knocking on a door? Can’t find the right words? Afraid you can’t get past the gatekeeper? These are probably some of the most frequent requests for help READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Ken Galo of Cleanpeers.com

The History of Spring Cleaning from Plano and Lewisville, Texas Cleaning Service, RZJ Janitorial http://www.rzjservices.com/articles/

Are You The Kind of Janitorial Service Customers Are Looking For? Los Angeles Janitorial Company Advanced Cleaning Concepts: http://los-angeles-janitorial.advccleaning.com/articles.htm#choosing-a-janitor-service0

Cleaning Business Brochure Design and Printing

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 03:37:00 +0000

Check out our new Tri Fold Brochure Design and Printing Services at http://brochures.cleanoutlook.com/

Offer Gift Certificates for your cleaning services. Printing for as little as 75 cents each. More info at http://giftcertificates.cleanoutlook.com/

Cleaning Service Recognized by Business Peers

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:09:00 +0000

Cleaning Service Recognized by Business Peers
StartupNation made its selection from among thousands of home-based entrepreneurs who entered the competition.

StartupNation, a leading business advice and social networking site for entrepreneurs (http://www.startupnation.com) today named L & K Office Cleaning Services, (http://www.lk-clean.com/) a Top Ten “Highest Vote-Getters” in the first annual StartupNation Home-Based 100 ranking of the nation’s top home-based businesses. Organized into 10 categories such as Most Innovative, Boomers Back in Business and Best Financial Performers, the Home-Based 100 celebrates the innovative, nimble and resourceful home-based entrepreneurs who have gone largely unrecognized until now. The full results of the Home-Based 100 ranking are available on StartupNation’s Web site at http://www.startupnation.com/hb100.
“Although large companies often grab the headlines, home-based businesses today are thriving,” said Rich Sloan, entrepreneurial author, radio host and co-founder of StartupNation. “Millions of people are following their passions through entrepreneurship by pursuing innovative, sound business ideas.”
The StartupNation Home-Based 100, composed of ten Top Ten lists, presents a unique look at the nation’s top home-based businesses. Category winners span a wide range of revenue levels, sectors, ages and other characteristics.

Milwaukee, WI based L & K Cleaning, won in two categories, top vote achiever and grungiest. (http://www.startupnation.com/home-based-100/85/8924/winner.htm#WinnerTop and http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/TopTenVoteGetters.aspx )
L & K Office Cleaning a family owned and operated janitorial service for commercial, industrial and retail properties was started in 1999 by Laura and Ken Galo. They offer green cleaning services to businesses in the Milwaukee and Waukesha areas. Ken along with his partners, Dave Crichton and Christy Caley operate CleanPeers and Global Cleaners Association to benefit the janitorial and residential cleaning industry by provide resources and networking opportunities.

About StartupNation
Founded by Rich and Jeff Sloan, StartupNation (http://www.startupnation.com) provides entrepreneurial advice via a nationally syndicated radio program and through online content for entrepreneurs who want to start a business. The Sloan brothers are successful inventors, experienced entrepreneurs and authors of StartupNation: Open for Business (Doubleday). They appear frequently as small business experts on national television and in online and print media. More information is available at http://www.startupnation.com.

Cleaning Industry Editorials

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:14:00 +0000

There should have been a press release for this ;)

Ken Galo announced late last week that he will begin posting Cleaning Industry and cleaning related editorials on his blog at http://wwwcleanpeers.blogspot.com/

To open his new editorial site Ken writes about GS-42 the environmental leadership standard for certification of green cleaning services. In his article Galo explores the cost and benefits of this newly established certification. In addition a poll is posted where you can give your opinions about the cost of this program. Bet you wouldn't have guessed it starts at $7000. I'm NOT joking...check out his article...

A big thanks and a site worth mentioning

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:05:00 +0000

I wanted to post a big thanks to The Cleaning Entrepreneur, James Nokes. Chances are if you are reading my blog you've been doing a lot of searches about starting a cleaning business and have come across his site. But just in case you can find him and his wealth of information at: http://www.build-a-business.com/

The Cleaning Entrepeneur was the first cleaning business related site I found when I began my quest for information almost 4 years ago. So you can imagine my delight when my business was featured in their latest newsletter. You can read it here in Edition 134 http://www.build-a-business.com/newsletter_134_A.htm

When you have a chance look thru the rest of the website. There are tons of cleaning business related articles not only from Mr. Nokes but now also from the Janitorial Store, there are free reports, free ebooks, resources and there is even a start up cost comparission for commercial and residential cleaning. If you are looking to see an example of a cleaning contract this is the site to visit.

Thanks again James! It was an honor to be included in your newsletter.

Janitorial Communication Books- A New Approach

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:16:00 +0000

Communication Books left at a reception desk or worse yet in the janitorial closet are ineffective tools for the cleaning business with employees.

Although the thought behind them is with good intentions

Customers write down concerns or special requests for the cleaners
Cleaners in an ideal scenerio complete the task and leave a note in response to the client contact
The cleaning business owner or supervisor reads this documented communication during their next visit to the building

Unless you are monitoring the communication book at all times you are missing out on important communication that you should have NOW not next time you inspect the account.

By using an online version of a Cleaning Communication Book you are able to monitor communication between your employees and your customer. In addition to monitoring resolution of conerns these portal type systems allow you a secure area for employee and client imformation, specifications and printables.

www.cleanoutlook.com offers Cleaning Portals for commercial cleaning services that are practically priced and easy to maintain. Visit us at www.cleaningportals.com to learn more about these innovative solutions to 'Communication Book Break down'

Why You Should Have An Original Logo For Your Cleaning Business

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:49:00 +0000

Why you should purchase an original licensed logo for your cleaning business

A logo is the first step in developing a corporate identity. By using stock images, clipart or free logos you are likely to end up with a logo identical to another companies or possibly a mascot image that is over used across several industries.
A vast amount of our traffic comes from people surfing to find free logos for cleaning services. While we will provide these as a free service we can not endorse the use of free or stock logos as a corporate identity.
Please take a moment to look thru the options and features that come with our purchased logo packages. These include various file sizes and versions and best yet we never create two alike. Cleaning service logo packages >>

Why are Clean Outlook's regular logo packages so expensive when I can get a logo on graphics or elance sites for $50?

Please understand our logo packages are not just a logo image. We use your original logo image and give it to you in over 10 formats and include black and white copies for newsprint. In addition we create templates for letterhead and envelopes that use your image in the proper format for printing. From your logo we also create over 10 sizes in gif format for use on your website and we create a minimum of 3 website banners from your logo.
Why do we do that?
The first few logos we sold we, as most graphic artists and e-lancers do, only provided the original image of the logo. As time went by we noticed our customers saving or printing their logos in the improper format or creating web graphics from them that ended up as distorted versions of the original.
You own a cleaning business. Imagine if you will stripping and waxing a vct then burnishing it until you could see your reflection only to come back a week later and find out that your client had cleaned up a spill with bowl acid! Of course you would see the etches in your once show room perfect floor and wish the client had consulted you before trying to take care of the problem themselves.
We're no different...Our finished product is important to us yet we realized that our customers need more variety for the ways in which they use their logos. They don't always have time to contact us and they don't always have the graphics tools that we own and use daily. Purchasing graphics software or learning a program to edit your logo is nothing more than downtime and lost money for you.
By providing images for every possible use for your logo we eliminate the need for you to make edits and revisions yourself. The time you save from this far exceeds the money you would save using a site that provides you with one version of your logo.

Remember our business was developed to take care of YOU!

This article and others may be read on our website

Cleaning Business Brochures

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:30:00 +0000

Cleaning Business Brochures

With spring over and cleaning business owners already looking toward getting their Fall Marketing in full swing we have been getting numberous inquiries about using and creating brochures for cleaning and janitorial marketing.

Using color brochures when you are out cold calling, as inserts in proposals or as mailings are a great way to showcase your business and give quick information about the services you provide.

Putting together information for your brochure is as simple as writing an outline of the services that you provide. Rhonda Pressgrove founder of HelpMeRhonda Cleaning Services in greater Memphis and Residential Cleaning Bidding Peer Mentor at the Global Cleaning Association has often hired students for the final product after providing layout and content.

Printing brochures is best left to the pro's though unless you have a high quality laser printer.

Several online editors such as Vista Print will allow you to create your brochure online and Microsoft Word is just as effective in putting together a nice brochure as the more expensive MS Publisher.

To assist our community of cleaning business owners we have created a free brochure template that requires only MS Word to edit and print. It's downloadable in zip format at our website http://www.cleanoutlook.com/freebies/marketing.html

The cleaning pictures in this brochure template were provided free by CleanPeers and can easily be replaced with your own.

How To Write A Cleaning Proposal

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Sat, 19 May 2007 10:45:00 +0000

One of the top searches at my website this past week was 'How to Writing A Cleaning Proposal', 'Writing Cleaning proposals', 'Cleaning Proposals, creating', and the like so we put together a page of information ranging from finding the components to put in a proposal package, what to present the proposal in, what is the bid sheet? and how to present the proposal package to your prospective client. Links thru out this article will take you directly to the information on our home site.

Creating a Cleaning Proposal can seem overwhelming if you have never seen one before. Structurally a proposal package is easy. The time involved to put together the perfect packet to represent your company can be a process that spans over the course of your years of operation as new qualifications, services, certifications and programs are added.

What is the difference between a cleaning bid and a cleaning proposal?

How large or how many pages should my cleaning proposal have?

A basic cleaning proposal would be composed of the following items

Optional Items That Can Be Included In Your Cleaning Proposal Packages

How do I present it? What do I put it in?

Saving yourself time with commercial cleaning proposals!

Starting off with a great template that can be edited and revised on the fly will save you loads of time. Cleanpeers.com features a great Commercial Cleaning Template in Microsoft Word Format. Priced at only $40 this complete proposal pack with 3 sets of cleaning spec's, green cleaning, communication program documentation, if a time saver that no building service contractor should pass up. After customizing it to your company many pages could be pre printed and ready to go increasing your delivery time for professional looking cleaning bids.

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 20:41:00 +0000

Putting Together a Cleaning Service Website

For months and maybe for years you’ve probably came across other websites you admired and made a mental note that you would like to have something similar eventually. However to have a designer come right out and ask point blank to spell out everything you want is similar to being thrown a set of keys and thrown into a new building. You get a ‘where do I begin’ feeling.

No more staring at a blank screen trying to drum up an idea of what you want to say.
Listed below are ideas for putting together content (text) for your web pages. Just pick a few and before you know it you’ll be writing a new proposal presentation-online style that is.

Rule number one, don’t over analyze yourself. Remember your best ideas will be the first ones that fly from your fingers!

Content and interaction

Services provided and any specialty services
Certifications
Service Area
Request a quote for service (form)
Customer Survey (feedback form)
Contact page (may or may not have a form but should include your phone #, email address, fax number, and possibly address)
Company history
Mission statement and/or core values
If you have employees
1-Any aspects of training or employee selection process that you would like to highlight
2-Team and team route cleaning, systematic cleaning, uniformed staff, bonded staff, supervised staff, etc. that you would like to highlight to the prospective client
3-A place for prospective employees to apply online (form) or inquire about employment opportunities
4-Listing of employment opportunities with your company
List of customers to use as a reference. We recommend asking your client’s permission before publishing their contact information online.
A photo or two of site that you service
Reasons why a prospective client should choose you. Don’t overlook including items in terms of:
1-Safety and safety Programs

2-Training programs/procedures

3-OSHA compliance
4-Hazmat certifications, etc.

Graphics Images should be kept to a minimum but great things to include are:

Photo of owners
Photos of employees (you should get a signed release to use photos)
Logos from any associations you are involved with
Logos from any certifications you hold

Items to consider avoiding

Pricing
List of items done in each area/room
Large or flashy graphics

Rule number two, write your content before you even start looking at page layouts. Remember your text is the information (content) of your website. By trying to fit what you want to say into a format not only will you overlook important information that you should have included you will waste time. As as business owner your time is money.

How do I Make an Interactive Website for my Cleaning Business?

noreply@blogger.com (Clean Outlook) — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 05:28:00 +0000

Interactive sites give the user some control over what they do on your page.

There is a general misconception that interactive means lots of flash or animated graphics. That's not the case.

For a cleaning service website nice ways to add interaction would be:

Feed back forms or guestbooks where someone can leave a testimonial for your service
Photo albums-if they can scroll thru the pictures thats even better
FAQ's- a place where they can find answers to specific questions
A place to request an estimate or sales call.

We never encourage the use of forms that calculate pricing for customers as there are too many variables and nothing beats a good old fashioned walk thru.