Cleaning Business Coaching: Eliminate Price Shoppers, Low Ballers, Tire Kickers, And Time Wasters

How to Avoid Tire Kickers, Price Shoppers, and Time Wasters in Your Cleaning Business

Video Resources:
Notes from video (scroll down to bottom)
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Overview:
In this video, I share a comprehensive guide for cleaners on how to avoid customers who are tire kickers, price shoppers, low ballers, and time wasters. Based on my experience owning a successful carpet cleaning franchise and coaching hundreds of cleaners in the past few years, I lay out actionable steps to identify and target your ideal customer, offer premium service experiences to justify higher prices, and handle phone calls and common objections confidently.

Highlights:
00:00 Introduction: Dealing with Difficult Customers
00:52 Identifying Your Ideal Customer
01:44 Offering Premium Service Experience
04:23 Setting Premium Prices
09:53 Handling Phone Conversations with Confidence
17:56 Managing Common Customer Objections
22:24 Conclusion: Maintaining Firm Policies

Notes From Video:
1. Start by knowing who your ideal customer is, where they live, what their homes look like, what their needs are (rich vs poor customers). This will shape your service
2. Offer a premium service experience so you can command higher prices. Focus on customer service and “wow factor.”- Examples from my carpet cleaning biz: uniforms and shoe covers, walkthrough inspection to ID “problem areas” / build value / and confirm pricing, vacuumed every job including the edges, citrus scent on every job.- PRO TIP: Your review will reflect the quality of your service. We were getting reviews on at least 1-2 jobs per day which told us we were hitting our marks
3. Charge premium prices and provide a lot of built-in value. Charge more and include more.- Offer premium upsells like pet treatment, deodorizers, protector. But include everything else that they would expect and just charge accordingly.- Consider “deluxe” and “premium” packages (notice I didn’t say “basic”). Or create packages like our “whole home cleaning” that will attract customers with larger homes.- PRO TIP: set a reasonable minimum if you still want to do a large volume of jobs (I.e. You want to be a multi truck operator)
4. Advertise your premium pricing by promoting it in your ad copy, on your website, online booking portal.- Use language that speaks to premium customers, not budget conscious customers. Don’t say “affordable” or “cheap.”- Promote your testimonials and ratings to reinforce your premium service with social proof. Put them on your website, social media posts, and advertising.

Then once you’ve done that:

5. Take command of phone calls to eliminate price shopping behavior by flipping the power dynamic with a simple question. Example: “I would be happy to help with a quote on that, but first let me get your name.”
6. Ask a scripted set of questions to put customers in the backseat while you assume control of the estimate process and gather the information that you need. Name, is this the best phone number, email address, specifics of job, any upgrades/add-ons
7. Provide the estimate and then assume the sale. “I have time on Thursday at 1 PM. Does that work for you?”
8. Follow up on quotes via email and send them a booking link. Many customers will book online after the fact.- PRO TIP: Create a follow-up automation that could include an email sequence or SMS reminders nudging people to book
9. Have scripted responses to common objections or frequently asked questions. Write this down so that it’s documented and can be handed off to somebody else who answers your phones in the future.
10. In my experience, it’s best to remain relatively firm on your policies and the scope of work. Sometimes customers will ask innocent questions like “do you move beds?” Which you can politely decline. But if customers are insistent, remain firm on your policies even if it cost you the job. this will prevent a lot of headaches from dealing with time wasting customers later. They will self-select out.
11. Use the same approach when in the customers home. Make sure your technicians are trained to handle requests the same way that your staff and management handles them. Everybody needs to be on the same page. You can remain professional and consistent in how you treat your customers.
12. Go back and fix mistakes within reason, but remain firm in your policies. You don’t want to work hard to “win over your worst customers”. I’ve found that a well-timed refund offer can fix most problem customers. And a few refunds a year cost less than the hassle of dealing with those bad customers forever. Your time wasters will self-select out or you’ll refund them and force them out so that you can move on and focus on your best customers.

Hope this helps! Like & subscribe.

Talk soon,
Reuben ‪@BookCleaningJobs‬

#cleaning #cleaningbusiness #carpetcleaning