How to Get Commercial Cleaning Contracts (22 Ways)

A commercial cleaning contract is a service agreement for cleaning services with a commercial property, such as an office, warehouse, or medical facility.

It’s critical to develop an outstanding sales and marketing strategy that will enhance your company’s image, attract new commercial clients, and outshine competitors. 

1. Define Your Key Selling Points

Get noticed immediately by crafting a personalized message.

First, research and identify your target market and which geographic area you intend to serve.

• Do you want to get office building contracts or school cleaning contracts?
• Or perhaps you intend to target larger properties to take advantage of the higher commercial cleaning prices.

Study your target market’s demographics, including their age, gender, and location, so you can craft a personal, relatable, and effective message when bidding on janitorial cleaning contracts.  

Some Examples:

1. Suppose your target audience cares about environmentally friendly products. In that case, you could take a “green cleaning” approach to emphasize using eco-friendly cleaning supplies, like biodegradable cleaning products, to help address today’s environmental issues. 
2. If your target audience provides top-end services, such as a luxury hotel or elite private school, you can position yourself as a premium vendor that provides top-tier cleaning services using advanced tools and equipment. 

Knowing your target audience will help refine your advertising strategies and provide ideal cleaning solutions that fit your target market’s profile. 

What types of cleaning services do your customers want?

• Find out what services you can offer in packages and the proper pricing to retain clients and generate your desired profits. 
• Learning about your competitors’ scope of services and pricing strategies is a good idea, so you can do better where they’re lacking. 

Key-Takeaway: Discover the unique selling points that set you apart from other janitorial cleaning companies. 

2. Have a Clear Mission in Mind

Following on from the previous point, having a mission statement that resonates with your target audience will be sure to acquire clients and gain contracts. More customers will enquire, and you’ll be able to send out more contractual bids to gain their business. 

Example mission statement for a cleaning company: “Our mission is to provide high-quality cleaning services to busy homeowners so they can spend more time with their families. We offer a range of cleaning services that are tailored to each individual client’s needs’

Make your mission statement clear on your website and use it in your marketing material. 

3. Create a Conversion-Focused Website

Fast-loading and professional-looking cleaning websites are necessary for every cleaning business in today’s digital era. Your website represents your cleaning business and gives people a glimpse of what your company offers. 

When building a conversion-focused site, keep these tips in mind: 

• Websites should be Fast-Loading, Mobile-Friendly, and Smooth to Navigate: Ensure your site loads smoothly in seconds. From opening your homepage to exploring your cleaning services and booking your company online, the experience should be user-friendly.
• Have Clear Call-to-Actions: Create noticeable, well-positioned call-to-actions and provide complete contact details, including your business email and phone number. 
• Represent Your Brand: Ideally, your website should incorporate your brand’s color scheme and brand attributes to set your business apart from the competition. 
• Showcase the Quality of Your Services: Impress prospective clients with your high-quality services, professionalism, and excellent customer service. You can shoot a promotional video introducing your team and before-and-after pictures of successful cleaning jobs. Show any business and employee certifications that will help solidify trust in your cleaning company.
• Include Testimonials: One of the most effective ways to gain clients’ trust and seal the deal is to share glowing testimonials about your cleaning services. You can collect positive testimonials from past clients and add them to your website.

4. Use Paid Ads to Boost Visibility

Pay-per-click advertising, such as Facebook Ads and Google Ads for cleaning businesses, is an excellent tool to direct ads to your target audience in specific regions. 

• You can use Facebook to show targeted advertisements to residents within your service area and redirect users to your business website when they click on your cleaning ad.
• As mentioned earlier, just make sure you have a well-built website that will immediately impress visitors at first glance to get janitorial cleaning contracts successfully. 
• Google Ads make your cleaning company appear in search results to increase your website traffic and promote your cleaning services. 

Key-Takeaway: Running a paid marketing campaign helps spread awareness about your cleaning company and encourages people to know more about your services. By incorporating paid ads into your business plan, you’ll be able to gather plenty of high-quality leads that could turn into long-term, recurring clients. 

5. Maintain an Authoritative Blog

Actively posting blog posts helps you stay in mind with customers and prospects. 

• Blogs also improve your credibility and trustworthiness as you continue to position yourself as a knowledgeable authority in the janitorial or cleaning industry.
• You can attract more visitors to your site and make your brand appear more relatable. 

Here are some examples of blog topics you can write about:

1. Talk about the main benefits of professional cleaning services
2. Develop solutions to common cleaning problems. For example, you can list ways to keep office spaces clean and sanitary. 
3. Offer handy tips to incorporate cleanliness into the workplace culture. 
4. Explain your team’s thorough cleaning process and special cleaning products to give clients an insight into how you work. 

If you need some recommendations of writers to hire for your blog, email us at editor@businesshue.com.

6. Leverage Social Media

Social media provides a great avenue to connect with your prospects, promote your cleaning business, and get commercial cleaning contracts.

Here are five steps to get the most out of social media for your cleaning business:

1. Create an account on popular social networking sites where you can find your clients, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. 
2. Be sure to specify your services and operating hours on your Facebook business page. 
3. After a successful cleaning job, tell your clients to provide reviews to let others know about the quality of your services. 
4. You can regularly post social media updates related to your business and share compelling before-and-after photos demonstrating your company’s outstanding janitorial services. 
5. Share informative posts about relevant, trending topics that hook your target readers. You can even collaborate with influencers on Instagram to promote your business. 

Pro-Tip: It’s a good idea to engage with your clients by commenting on their posts and eventually sending a direct message to let them know about your cleaning business. 

7. Develop an Email Marketing Plan

Email marketing lets you send targeted emails to build brand loyalty, sell your cleaning services, and share updates. 

• Come up with compelling offers, like special discounts, that your target audience will find valuable.
• You can also incentivize your customers to refer friends to your business by creating a referral program.
• For example, you can offer 5% off the next cleaning job or one free extra cleaning service on top of a service package. 

8. Use Traditional Advertising Methods 

To have the widest reach, combine your online marketing efforts with traditional methods to promote your janitorial cleaning business and win more commercial cleaning contracts. 

Cleaning services is a lucrative industry that’s continuously in high demand. People are always looking for professional cleaners to keep office buildings and commercial spaces sanitary; you just need to let your prospects know about your services. 

1. Flyers work well in spreading awareness about your business within your community. Distribute them in the community center, local supermarket, and bustling places where you can pin your advertising materials to a notice board. 
2. If budget allows, you can get creative and hand out branded merchandise, like printed shirts with your company name and details, during local events where most of your prospects can be found. 
3. Additionally, print out brochures to send to people’s mailboxes, or have someone distribute your marketing materials to prospects. 

Don’t forget to add your clear business details, including your company name, official website, services, and contact information. Adding your business phone number and email address gives your customers more ways to contact you. 

Cold-calling prospects is also a timeless strategy to get more business. Create an organized list of prospects within your niche, whether you’re targeting schools, medical offices, or small businesses. 

Other great offline marketing tactics for cleaning businesses include:

• Advertise in local newspapers or magazines
• Sponsor local events
• TV commercials
• Radio commercials
• Stickers 
• Signage and billboards 
• Car vinyls 

9. Network and Build Valuable Connections 

Learning the art of networking can turn your cleaning business into a highly successful venture. Not spending enough time networking is one of the reasons many cleaning businesses fail to grow.

• Use different avenues to get the word out about your janitorial cleaning business. 
• Try to connect with related businesses and professionals, including cleaning supply companies, window cleaners, carpet cleaning services, home builders, school employees, and construction companies. Relevant businesses can be excellent sources of referrals. 

You can join a community association for business owners to find other like-minded individuals and advertising opportunities. You can also volunteer at community events to improve your company’s reputation. 

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘Tipping Point’ he talks about connectors being people who have a vast number of contacts. They know lots of people and are always introducing new acquaintances to each other. 

As a connector, you can use your network of contacts. 

Example of being a connector: Let’s say you meet a business owner at a networking event. They don’t have in-house cleaning staff but are too far away for you to offer your services to them. You offer to put them in touch with one of your cleaning contacts. This will help you build relationships, and possibly lead to new cleaning contracts down the road, for example, if they set up a branch in your area.

Key-Takeaway: Wherever you go, it’s an excellent habit to chat with people about your janitorial cleaning services. You’ll find limitless networking opportunities, whether you’re attending trade shows, renting booths, or connecting with other cleaning professionals through social media. 

10. Use SEO to Get Found Online

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

The higher your website ranks in the SERPs; the more likely customers are to find you when they search online. 

11. Make Sure You Are Licensed and Insured

Depending on your location, you may need to obtain a license and insurance before starting your cleaning business. Make sure you are familiar with your area’s requirements and have everything in order before marketing your business. 

Clients sometimes request this information during the bid process, especially large companies.

12. Get Post Construction Cleaning Contracts

The construction industry is booming, so there will be an increased demand for post-construction cleaning services. You must ensure you’re marketing your business to construction companies to get these cleaning contracts. 

How to get post-construction cleaning contracts:

• Attend local home builders association meetings
• Get involved with your chamber of commerce
• Ensure your website is optimized for construction companies.

13. Ask for Referrals

Don’t be afraid to ask your satisfied customers for referrals. Customer referrals are one of the most powerful marketing tools available to small businesses. 

When a customer refers someone they know to your business, it is the strongest form of almost guaranteeing a sale. 

14. Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce

This is one of the best ways to get cleaning contracts. Joining your local Chamber of Commerce is a great way to network with other business owners and get your cleaning business involved in the community. 

Chambers of Commerce often host events and mixers that you can attend to promote your business. Moreover, they may offer educational resources to help you run your cleaning business more effectively. Anyone who cleans houses for a living or runs a cleaning business should dedicate time to networking.

15. Get Cleaning Contracts with Apartments

Cleaning contracts with apartments and condos can be very lucrative. Many of these properties have hundreds or even thousands of units, which means there is a lot of potential work for cleaning companies. 

To get cleaning contracts with apartments and condos, start by reaching out to the property management companies that manage these types of properties. Essentially you need to get into contact with the person in charge of hiring cleanings, whether that be the building owners or property management companies themselves.

Steps to getting cleaning contracts with Apartments

1. Call property management companies
2. Set up meetings
3. Work together to come to an agreement that works for both parties
4. Put together a contract and get it signed

Like most cleaning services, apartment cleaning costs vary based on location.

16. Pair Up With Local Businesses & Organizations

One way to get cleaning contracts is to pair up with local businesses and organizations. This can be a great way to get your name out there and build relationships. You might want to consider partnering with:

• Local businesses that don’t have in-house cleaning staff
• Real estate offices
• Independent hotels and restaurants 
• Nonprofits or community organizations
• Property management companies

17. Send Out Letters to Local Businesses

Write a letter offering your cleaning services and mail it out to office managers, commercial property managers, or homeowners.

In an introduction letter, you can tell prospective clients about what sets your business apart from the competition.

18. Offer Special Deals for New Clients

One of the best ways to attract new customers is by offering special deals and discounts when pricing your cleaning services. This could be a percentage off their first clean, or one free clean per referral. 

Whatever you decide, make sure that your offer is appealing and that it’s easy for potential customers to take advantage of it. 

Some examples of special deals you could use are:

• 10% off your first cleaning payment
• Free cleaning for referrals
• 15% off if you book online
• $50 off for new customers
• 2 free hours with every 10-hour cleaning 
• 20% off for 12-month contracts

19. Send Old Clients Something Useful

Think about retargeting old clients. It costs less to keep a client than to find a new one. 

These clients already know, like, and trust you. Try sending them something useful, like a cleaning checklist or tips on reducing allergens in their home. 

You could even go a step further and send them something cleaning-related like a feather duster – make sure your company logo is clear on the item, so you stick in their mind. 

20. Get Cleaning Contracts with Banks

One place you can look for cleaning contracts is banks. They are always looking for ways to cut costs, and one way they do that is by outsourcing cleaning services. 

To get cleaning contracts with banks, start by creating a list of all the local banks in your area. Then, contact each bank and inquire. 

Cleaners often make more money working for banks and other types of commercial businesses due to higher commercial cleaning prices compared to residential cleaning prices.

21. Keep Current Clients In Mind

At the forefront of your mind should always be your current clients. Remember, it’s easier to keep an already paying client than get a new one. 

Make sure you do everything possible to keep your current clients happy. Do this by providing outstanding cleaning services, being responsive to their needs and concerns, and always going above and beyond. 

If you take care of your clients, they will take care of you by continuing to do business with you and referring you to their friends.

22. Become Scalable

Getting more clients is the ultimate goal, but paradoxically it can be self-sabotaging to grow too quickly. When you’re cleaning homes or offices, you must maintain a high level of quality. 

Maintaining quality can be difficult to do when you’re taking on more and more clients, have to stretch resources further, and quickly employ staff and train them up to the expected standard.

To avoid this, ensure your business is scalable from the start. Being scalable means having systems and processes in place so that you can easily add new clients and deliver service standards parallel to day one. Do this by making sure you have a growth plan in place.

Common Questions About Commercial Cleaning Contracts

Final Thoughts: Make Your Business a Success by Winning Lucrative Contracts

Now that you know how to get janitorial cleaning contracts, the next step is to implement the steps above to put yourself on the fast track to success. 

Maintain an excellent reputation by providing the best services to every client. The more happy clients you serve, the more referrals and repeat business you’ll get. 

If you need help with your digital marketing strategy, we have trusted experts who can do all the heavy lifting and make things easier for you. You can successfully market your cleaning business and get a steady stream of repeat clients by applying the best marketing practices.