Cleaning Business Tips: What To Ask Customers On The Phone

Published on 21st November 2016

Summary

The conversations you have with your clients over the phone are full of marketing opportunities. Of course, we’re focused on converting these leads into customers, but even if you don’t get someone booked in you should leave the call with some valuable insights that can inform your cleaning business’s marketing.
In this lesson, we cover the 2 questions that you need to ask every single person that calls your cleaning business. These 2 questions will help you grow your business and make it more profitable.
We’ve Made a Video Version of this Lesson, Watch The Video Here.

QUESTION 1: Where Did You Find Our Number Today?

You need to find out where every caller found your phone number, even if they don’t book in for a cleaning job. You then need to make a record of this. Even if it’s something simple like making a tally chart on a scrap piece of paper, just make sure you’re recording this data. This data allows you to figure out exactly which marketing sources are bringing you in work, which are attracting price shoppers and which simply don’t make the phone ring at all.
If you are spending any money on marketing your cleaning business this is super important. You need to know which platforms are bringing in new business. Then, at the end of each month, you can make an educated decision of how to spend your marketing budget next month.
If you’re not spending any money on marketing yet, this is also useful. You can start to see trends of what sources are already successful for your business without investing money into them. Then, when you begin to set aside a marketing budget, you can confidently invest in marketing sources you know work already.
It is good to keep these records safe, as you will start to see trends over the years. Perhaps Google AdWords brings in a lot of calls to your business during the Christmas period, whereas Facebook Ads work best in the summer holidays. Keeping these records, allows you to notice patterns and plan ahead next year, for example, you can start planning your summer holiday campaign weeks in advance and be putting some of your marketing budgets aside for a particular Facebook Ad if you know it consistently works.

QUESTION 2: Why Have You Decided To Get Your Home Cleaned Today?

This question is all about building a profile of your customer’s needs so that you can sell the relevant benefits of your service to them.
A customer might respond…

“Because we have a baby due, and we want the whole house to be clean for its arrival”. Here, you can talk about the child-friendly, non-allergenic products you use. Perhaps you offer a ‘stain guard’ treatment or a cleaning maintenance plan, so the house can stay clean and healthy once the baby is home.
“Because our puppy hasn’t been potty trained yet…” Here, you can talk about the importance of using pet-friendly cleaning products, and talk about the ways you can not only eliminate the smell of pet urine but you can neutralize the pH, making the stain go away. Whatever it is you know about pet stain removal make sure you tell them!
“Because we get our house cleaned every 3 months”. Here, you might talk about the perfect cleaning maintenance plan you offer, or you may offer a complimentary ‘reminder service’ where you will call a few weeks before they’re due for another clean.

Whatever the response to your question is, you are then able to go into more depth about how you can help.
The purpose of this question is it opens up a conversation between you and the prospective customer. They start to tell you things about them, and you start to sounds like an expert who understands their needs. This is going to set you apart from any other cleaner they ring. You are not just giving them a price (and let’s face it someone will always beat you on price); you are offering a personalised solution that is just for them.
Asking this question will increase how many calls you turn into customers. So, start asking it today!

Next steps…

Now you know the 2 questions that are pivotal to growing your cleaning business, start asking them on every single phone call.
We’d love to hear about the responses you get (especially to question 2, we’ve had some wacky answers in the past). Comment below or tweet me any good ones!