I started this week with a presentation cleaning assessment for Tom and Marci at Edward Jones. As you may remember, this lead came through connecting with new friends's friends on LinkedIn (2nd Connections). I was able to point out several cleaning & presentation changes that could "present" their office better on first impressions to their target client. They were grateful for the time and free consulting I suggested. Plus, it was really great to meet my new LinkedIn friend Tom McKee in person! I promised to email the proposal by Wednesday and delivered. I was very pleased with myself because I was able to cut my office cleaning proposal time by 2 hours with a better template. This will save me time in the future!
At MCBA, I shared my Edward Jones story to show what I do. It connected with the group. I also voluntold that it was my turn to do a 20-minute showcase at an upcoming meeting. This opportunity gave me an idea. What if I could use my time to help another member and let everyone know what I do? I talked to another member, Vernessa Hopkins of H3 Business Services, who also rents the meeting space to our group. She was totally game! We chatted for a few minutes and she told me her ideal client and gave me permission to walk around to do my presentation cleaning assessment. After the meeting, I chatted with member Gary Volpe of Volpe Enterprises. He said. "Your name came up yesterday. We've had our cleaner for a couple years and their quality has been declining. We're not ready to switch, but I wanted to talk to you." I offered to do a free presentation on assessment to give my impression of the condition and what the current cleaner should change. Gary was very kind to think of me when cleaning came up at his company. I look forward to setting up an estimate. He said one other thing that really made me feel special. "I had a good feeling about you when I first met. You can just tell about people. Then, I met your wife and I got a better feeling." My takeaway is this. I am networking to establish myself in the community, build relationships, and grow our business. It's so cool that I could introduce Teresa to a friend, successful businessman, and potential future client. 1-on-1 meetings are very productive. I have tried to meet with other members of my 2 networking groups at least once per week and certainly 2 per month. I met with James Hardy (a fellow MCBA member) for breakfast and had a fabulous conversation about how each of us are in the business of first impressions. James owns the Carpet Guys and has been in restoration carpet cleaning for over 20 years. He shared some stories of how vital trust and excellence are in his company. One story in particular, James shared how his company maintained a consistency and excellence from the first phone call to the estimate, clean uniforms and work truck, to the initial cleaning excellence of his equipment and the work he did. I was SO impressed with his mindset for excellence that I asked if I could interview him for my podcast at some point and call the show "Presentation is Everything". He thought it would be a great idea to get the word out on what he does and help others. I also did a 1-on-1 Mary Ann Alig of Fox Roach Realtors. She's a fellow member in my BIB meeting. I really liked the niche she serves of first-time home buyers and how she educates them fully. She also goes to church with James Hardy and they didn't know each other. I connected them with an email introduction afterward. Mary Ann was very interested to get me to visit her office to give a presentation on Presentation Cleaning for realtors. A few weeks ago, I shared about a lead I got to clean an entire grocery story. I followed up on that lead a few times without much success. Since I was at the grocery store with James Hardy, I stopped over to the customer service desk and asked for Sean He was there and the two of us chatted in his office for 10 minutes. He needs a better cleaner to contract out to clean 3 hours per day, 7 nights per week, and a crew of 6 guys in the kitchens, bathrooms, and mezzanine. I didn't want to embarrass myself, but I knew that I had to answer honestly. I declined the opportunity and thanked him and said I'd refer a company if I come across one that I trust. He thanked me. Here's the lesson of this meeting and the title of this episode. I could have said, "I can do that." It would have placed me on a new focus to hire 6 commercial cleaners and then train them. I could have, but it's not in my lane. When you drive outside of your lane, you slow down and cause damage. I didn't want the distraction. And yes, I have said "I can do that" before. In 2007, a commercial GC found me and wanted me to deep clean a school. I said yes and then panicked. This lead to me cleaning a school, a library, a pool, stipping & waxing a gym. These stories ended up in the Funny Papers for a reason. I was out of my lane. Oh, and after my meeting with Sean, I stopped at a chiropractor's office next to the Gehman building that I clean. I had reached out to this chiropractor on LinkedIn to introduce myself and he gave me permission to stop by and say hello. Therefore, I wasn't stopping over cold. He was expecting me. When I got there, my timing was good and Mike immediately recognized me from my LinkedIn profile picture. We chatted for a few minutes. I offered to add him to my cleaning tips newsletter and he was very grateful to be added. Now, let's get to some house cleaning! I've been cleaning for an office in Perkasie for over a year. Recently, the owner asked if I could stop over for a house cleaning estimate. It took some time to coordinate, but we got it done this week. The estimate went well. She was very impressed with my ability to fit her in for a pre-party cleaning this week and how I do the house priority zoning in my quoting process. She hired me to do the 1-time deep cleaning for the next day and I absolutely performed with excellence. She was very happy. Afterward, she hired me for ongoing biweekly services. Yay! I got a new house cleaning client! Teresa had been connecting with other moms on the local Facebook Mom's group. One mom needed help with cleaning, so Teresa connected the two of us. I talked with this mom for 20 minutes about her needs and made sure to answer all of her questions. She had previously hired a mom that was there once, but cancelled 3 times. She needed someone reliable. I shared my price range and she invited me over for an estimate the next day. The estimate went really well. I delivered the proposal as promised and she said yes to one of my options! Yay! I got a second new house cleaning client! I've been sharing my marketing journey for a few months now. This week I had 3 estimates and sent 3 proposals. It lead to 2 new clients! It felt great!
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