The following was published in Cleaning Business Today
When marketing cleaning services or working with a current client, there are some words and phrases used that are just no longer appropriate.
What happens is they can cause a conversation to make a wrong turn, and that is something we want to avoid.
“Fortunately, many of these words and phrases can be replaced with more suitable terms that keep the conversation positive and going strong,” says Ron Segura, a cleaning consultant, who helps cleaning contractors market their services and build stronger relationships with their clients.
Among the terms Segura says should be avoided – and what should be said instead – include the following:
No, we do not provide that service.
Try to avoid saying “no” to any customer or prospect request. Instead say, “While we do not provide that service, we have some options that may work just as well.”
I’ll look into that.
This is vague, and very often the customer/prospect assumes they will never hear back from you. Instead say, “Let me do a bit of research, and I will call you back later in the week.” This is more reassuring and gives you a bit more time to come up with an appropriate answer.
I’m sorry that happened.
While you should always apologize if you or your crew made a mistake, apologies are not solutions. Instead say, “I’m very sorry about this, but don’t worry, I’ll make it right for you.”
I have another call coming in.
Unless it is an emergency, never put a customer or prospect on hold. It makes them feel their problem or their call does not matter. But what if it really is an emergency? In that case say, “Unfortunately, I have an emergency call coming in. Let me handle this, and I’ll call you back as soon as possible.” We can all related to this and no harm is done.
Let me correct you on that.
This makes the customer/prospect think they are the bad guy. Instead say, “This is my fault, I apparently did not explain that correctly.”
There is nothing we can do.
No one wants to hear this, and invariably there is something you can do. Say instead, “I understand your frustration. How can we help?”
