We’ve all been there, haven’t we?
You’ve been marketing, and measuring, and bidding, and selling, and hoping and then suddenly – the phone rings!
Your dreams are coming true! They’re calling to tell you the good news – they’ve chosen YOU to clean their building or home.
Happy days, right?
Yes, well, sort of.
You guessed it, the bad news is you’ve just discovered ALL of the new accounts want you to start cleaning on the same day.
And which day is that?
You guessed it, either
the first of the month or if not, the first Monday in the month, right?
So, now what?
I don’t have to tell you how hard that can be to handle.
Heck, between the call-offs and extra jobs that need to be done, it’s hard enough just to get through a normal night of cleaning – let alone trying to get one new account started.
And, now we’re talking about MORE than one new account!!
So, what can you do?
Well, you certainly don’t feel like telling them you can’t handle it, do you?
Nope. I agree and completely understand why you don’t like the idea of having to postpone any new client – especially when you’ve worked so hard to get them!
So, here’s a couple ideas.
First, as soon as you can, sit down and think.
As with most things that seem like impossible emergencies – many, if not all of than can be fixed with a little calm, clear, thinking – and planning.
Second, find out which of the new cleaning accounts might be flexible on their start date.
I mean – if you don’t ask, you’ll never know, right?.
Many customers are more open to working with you to get through a scheduling conflict than you think.
If you explain your situation to them, they may not only understand, they may actually feel even better about hiring your company when they realize how busy and ‘in demand’ you are.
And that’s a good thing.
Third, lay out a number of possible ways of getting these cleaning jobs started including the possibility of moving their start date back, or UP!
That’s right, I said UP.
Consider offering to start an account earlier than they asked. It may sound like you’re putting even more pressure on yourself sooner, but getting one new account ‘up and running’ ahead of time – may actually take the pressure off!
Fourth, clear as much ‘other or extra type work’ scheduled for those days from your schedule as you can ahead of time.
That’s right, look at ‘banging out’ any extra tile maintenance or carpet cleaning work scheduled for the time of the start-up NOW instead.
Basically, ‘clear your plate’ as much as possible.
Fifth, consider training specific members of your cleaning team to be ‘start up’ experts.
You know, it takes a certain kind of person to effectively start new accounts.
They need to be calm, organized and capable of handling the unique challenges of starting a new jobs – where things are unfamiliar and ‘surprises’ always seem to come up.
Identifying these individuals, and then training and rewarding them accordingly, can provide you with a big ‘leg up’ in tackling the challenges of starting new accounts.
So, the next time you’re lucky enough to have a handful of new jobs to start all at once, you can be confident you can get through it – by knowing how to plan rather than having to panic!
Comments