Typically, when I get a call from a cleaning contractor that needs some help, it is for one of two reasons:
1. They are big and want to get bigger.
2. They have just lost one or more customers and need help getting back on their feet.
As you can imagine, the more trying scenario is the second type of client, the one that needs some help moving forward. However, they are also often the most rewarding as we turn things around.
Now, I could teach these struggling contractors all types of new marketing techniques to help get them moving again. I could go out prospecting with their salespeople, helping them improve their selling techniques. I could work with them to polish up their prospect presentations. But none of these steps would be beneficial until we did a little mind work.
One of the first things I need to do is help these contractors realize they are not their business. Their value as a person does not go up and down based on the highs and lows of their companies. Businesses do go up and down. That’s the way it is with every company. Their job as owner is to remain stable during these periods.
Another thing I help them realize is that there is a good side to these down periods. It’s during down periods that contractors are often forced to reevaluate the ways they are doing business. Why have they lost clients? Does their employee training program need some brushing up? Is their company still fulfilling its mission? Have they been marketing their services? In good times and in bad, contractors should always be marketing their services and securing new customers.
But the most important thing is that it allows them to evaluate their outlook on their businesses and their lives. We must realize that everything – our individual lives, our businesses, and our finances – are all interconnected. When things are not going well in one sector, it should not be a surprise that they are not going well in another.
It can take time, but slowly as we work together, I help clients develop a more optimistic outlook. There is a lot of power in optimism, and a recent study has pointed this out.
In 2018, more than 2,000 Americans were asked about their outlook and financial well-being. Based on their responses, they were given an optimism score from 0 to 100. Here is what the researchers uncovered:
· Of those in the study who had sound financial health, 62 percent were optimists, while only 9 percent were pessimists.
· Of those who practiced what was termed “better financial habits,” such as saving and investing money wisely, 69 percent were optimists and 36 percent were pessimists.
· Of those who had put money away for a large purchase or for an emergency, 90 percent were optimists, about half were pessimists.
Overall, the researchers concluded that those surveyed who had a more optimistic attitude in life had as much as a 10-point increase in financial well-being. In other words, flow with the ups and downs, but keep looking forward to a positive future.
Ron Segura helps cleaning contractors grow. He has over 45 years of experience in all segments of the professional cleaning industry including ten years as Manager of Janitorial Operations for Walt Disney Pictures and Television. To contact him, call 650-315-8933.
