How to Stand Out Against Cheap Competitors

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Understanding the Competition Problem

Stephanie: Hello everyone. Welcome or welcome back to the Filthy Rich Cleaners podcast. I am your host Stephanie from Serene Clean and in today’s solo episode we are going to be talking about standing out from cheap competition. This is something we polled you guys here on YouTube. You might not be listening on YouTube right now, but on YouTube we do post these episodes in video form if you didn’t know that. So you can see me as I talk to you. Hit that like right now. Just hit it because you’re listening. Just hit it right now, guys.

We are going to talk about standing out compared to cheap competitors because we had polled you guys here on YouTube and you said that this was important to you and something that you are interested in hearing about. And I will say one of my Maid Summit talks that I did a few years ago was titled Standing Out in a Sea of Options. And I highly recommend we’ll link that below for you guys to listen because I go very deep dive in depth on that. And I am sharing my screen. I’m showing you different examples.

But I think this area still needs to be touched on because so many people are just every single day getting into cleaning. And meaning individual cleaners or very inexpensive folks who aren’t charging very much. And so if you yourself are how do I stand out? This is a great topic to talk about because there are ways that we can go about standing out compared to this.

Perception vs. Reality

And I’m going to talk a lot in this episode about what we perceive versus what the client perceives, or perhaps rather the better way to phrase it is how we think we are showing our value versus what the client is experiencing from an outward perspective. And the reason I bring this up is because it is very easy for us to get huffy, for us to be like, don’t they understand? Why aren’t they going for the cheap guy? They don’t know what they’re going to get with that. They’re going to regret that. All of these things. And we get on our high horses of we’re better than that person. And the client’s just dumb because they’re not understanding that or the prospective lead or whatever you want to call it. They just don’t get it.

And if you have ever had that thought of gosh, everybody’s just going for the cheap alternative, why aren’t they picking me? Why aren’t they choosing me? If you’ve ever had these thoughts, that is what this episode is about. And what I’m talking about right now is it is not the client’s fault if you have not communicated your value effectively enough to them, if you have not showcased what the differences are between these two options. Because if all they have to go off of is price to compare you to, they’re going to choose the cheaper option every single time. Because that’s exactly what you would do.

If somebody has not communicated effectively to you why they are a higher price or why the value is what it is and all of these things. If somebody’s trying to sell me something and they haven’t done a good enough job of showcasing that in the ways that we’re going to talk about today, I’m going to go for the cheaper option. Why are we mad at the customer for our lack of effective communication, marketing, and branding? That’s not the customer’s fault. That is our fault.

The Apple Analogy

So put yourself in the customer’s shoes. You’re shopping around for cleaners and you want a house cleaner. And you are presented a couple options. Somebody says, I’ll clean your house for this price, 80 bucks. You come up and you’re the price is going to be 150 for biweekly, every visit. And you have done nothing else other than saying, yeah, we’re better than them. Well, they’re going to pick the other one, most likely, because you have not communicated your value. You haven’t shown them. And not only just verbally, but from a holistic perspective, it should smack somebody across the face when they interact with your company in any way. Oh, this is why the price is what it is.

And there are things that we can blatantly say and explain, because what’s happening when they’re presented these two options, cheap option, you, they’re presented these two options. They think they’re in the grocery store buying apples. And here, all these apples are the same. Where you’re this juicy, succulent Honeycrisp apple. And that’s a discount apple. But they don’t know that. They need to have the visual signs and the actual writing on the thing that says, this is a Honeycrisp apple. Because we all know what a Honeycrisp is. It’s the most delicious apple. Fight me. I know there’s another apple that’s kind of coming up. I’m not up to date on all of the apple culture, but gosh, do I love a good apple, but only Honeycrisp.

I will only buy Honeycrisp because I know how good it is. I’ve experienced it before. And it says on the sign that it’s a Honeycrisp. It’s giant. It’s juicy. It’s beautiful. I can see very easily that that Honeycrisp apple is the superior apple. But there’s other apple here. If I couldn’t see that about Honeycrisp and I just basically if I had two bins of apples and I could not see anything outside of price, it’s just a closed bin of apples. I’m going to go for the cheaper one because I have no idea why I should be paying more for this apple that I can’t see. It’s not labeled. It does not tell me or communicate why this apple is the superior apple. This is exactly what you guys are doing.

You are not showcasing to the customer why this price is. So when all I have to go off of price, if that’s the only factor that I have to go off of when I’m choosing and there’s no other explanation or context, I’m going to go for the cheaper one. So don’t be mad at the customer if they’re not understanding. If they still go for the cheaper option when you have explained and communicated and done all the things that we’re going to talk about in that episode. It is what it is, but this will help it not happen so much. So that’s why the first thing I want to establish is don’t blame the customer for your lack of marketing, for your lack of ability to communicate effectively and showcase why you are the better option for them.

Again, we’re going to be putting ourselves in the customer’s shoes a lot today in this episode. So buckle up and go put on your customer’s shoes, I guess, if you’re cleaning right now. I don’t know. Don’t do that. Don’t go to your customer’s class.

Communicating Quality

So one thing I want to think about first is what is it that would make somebody want to pay more for a cleaning service? What would the reasoning have to be in order to do that? Because frankly, a lot of you guys are well, we clean better. We’re going to be more effective and more thorough. Okay, you can tell me that, but how can you show me that? How can you show me that if I have not experienced it before? If I’m coming to you to potentially hire you, how can you communicate that before they hire you and make that decision so that they can know that?

Well, there’s a variety of ways we can do that. Of course, before and after pictures, really well done marketing that showcases our work. Secondly, testimonials and reviews from other clients, social proof. Oh, they’re very thorough, commentary on that. So all of these things can help the customer understand that we are going to be actually better at the work itself. Because there’s several things people are wanting when they are hiring a cleaning company or really any home service. But for a cleaning company, there’s multiple things that we want to look at.

The Power of Checklists

So one of the things that is important, but it’s not the only thing, is going to be the actual quality of work. So a lot of you guys will argue, well, I’m a better cleaner, or my company is better cleaner, the end result is going to be far superior than that cheap alternative. Well, one, you don’t really know that unless you’ve seen their work, because some cheap alternatives are great cleaners, they’re just cheaper because for whatever reason, they have less overhead, or they’re willing to take less of a paycheck. They’re an individual cleaner, so they don’t have any of those things.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Just focusing on the sheer quality of work. How does the customer know that without any social proof, without any photos, and without any communication of the level of thoroughness, meaning in the shape of, you guessed it, a checklist provided prior while we’re trying to sell. We are trying to sell. We need to showcase exactly what work we’re going to do. And that in itself will oftentimes make you stand out because a lot of times where people are I’m looking for a cleaner. They post on their Facebook group or local groups or wherever they’re posting or they’re asking a friend all of the ways people look or they’re searching on Google, which most likely they’re not finding the cheap ones on Google.

But all of the different ways that people find a cleaner and they ask the cheap person, can you clean? They’re yep, I can come clean for you. And maybe we have a conversation of what I’m going to do. So how can we differentiate ourselves during that decision-making process? And that is having a really well done and thorough explanation of the scope of work that you can perform for them. I cannot tell you when individual Stephanie, I mean, I was a business, but it was just me. When I was selling to those first customers and I didn’t have any of these things, I did have social proof.

One of the things, I’m going to be all over the place in this one, I can just tell, but I’m excited about it. That’s why it’s not just because that’s just how I am. I also haven’t eaten today, but let me just keep drinking caffeine. That’ll help.

Building Social Proof from Day One

So one of the things I did when I opened that helped me stand out immediately is at my local community center, before I even announced the business, I found the, I guess you could call them influencers in our local rural area. They were the moms who were stay-at-home moms or did work, but they had a lot of friends in the area. They were well connected in our community, whatever that looks like in your community. Again, this is a town of 5,000 people. I opened the business and I asked if I could clean their house for free. And I did 10 free house cleanings before I even opened the business in exchange for an honest review on Facebook because I didn’t know about Google back then. And I wish I would have gotten a Google review and I wish I would have got a video review as well at that same time. But I did what I knew, which and that instinct was Facebook, Facebook review.

And so when I announced my business and put it on Facebook, those ladies immediately went and gave me a review. So I had that social proof right away. I was already differentiating myself, even though it was just me. I didn’t have cleaners, any of those things. So that would be one asset of again, you’re getting social proof, but just that act itself in finding women who were very influential in my area to get that word of mouth going too, because, oh, they just got a free cleaning that they’re happy with. I did a killer job. And they are going to go talk about it as well and help spread the word. So that really helped me additionally.

The Checklist Success Story

But the point, that is all side point. That’s a great tip. But beside that, I was talking about checklists. And when it comes to checklists, I had that cleaning checklist from day one when it was just me. And that communicated what I’m talking about here is the difference of quality of work. I showed them before they hired me, before anybody hired me. Here, this is the checklist I’m going to follow. And that was one of my key sales tactics or strategies was in the email or if I was going to go do walkthroughs, I brought my checklist. Here is the scope of work I can perform for you. You can see it’s incredibly thorough.

I remember really clearly doing a walkthrough at one of our long-term clients. We’re not a client anymore, just beautiful family. They were so sweet. And they had, I think, four kids at the time. And I know they had another one at least. I don’t know, lots of kids, lots of kids. Gorgeous house right on the golf course, just stunning. And I show up and I’m so nervous when I had my, you know, branded polo shirt on, I had my khakis on, my car was clean, all of those basic things that sometimes we overlook of presenting ourselves. But I know a lot of you guys don’t have that issue. But keep that in mind for your cleaners. Of course, I showed up, I was so nervous, because I don’t I’m not good at estimating yet. But I was charging hourly. So that didn’t make it a little bit easier.

And they heard about me from their friend who I had cleaned for, or found me on Facebook because somebody that they knew left me a review. Again, this is the first month of business for me, April 2019. And I was so nervous, but you know what I had as my foundation, my anchor, my cornerstone? I had my cleaning checklist. And though it doesn’t look exactly how it looks today, it was pretty close because it was so extensive and beautifully done. And they just kept commenting on it. They’re this, this is amazing. We’ve never seen this before. And they had had individual cleaners in the past because there was no cleaning companies in my area.

So that, that told me that, that confirmed to me, there is something here. There is this checklist thing, light bulb. Hold onto this because it immediately shows what exactly I’m going to be doing for them. And it makes me stand out from the others. It makes them say, wow, a concrete representation of what is about to occur in our house. You know what? They hired me and they left for a family vacation. They gave me the key to their house and they just let me come and go because it took me 16 hours to do the full initial clean. So I was over there for multiple days and they were totally they trusted me. They trusted me immediately without even knowing me.

The Importance of Visual Representation

And that goes to show one how important those foundational things with marketing branding. But it’s that soothed their anxieties that I had put thought into this. I was dedicated to this and I was serious about this and what I was going to do for them. And it gave that level of accountability that if I check this off, I’m going to leave this behind for you. You guys can review the work, look at what happened. Obviously I was taking, you know, before and after photos as well. Obviously I did a good job. I did great work. So that proof after the fact was there, but we’re not talking about after the fact. We need to stand out before we even step foot in their house, we need to stand out and showcase ahead of time, why were the price that we are.

And so I know a lot of you guys aren’t using checklists. And I know you’re probably sick of me hearing about this. Or, you know, you’re we don’t leave them behind, the cleaners have access to them to reference. I get that. And it absolutely works. A lot of companies go that way. But I’m just trying to tell you my experience and what worked for me and it made me stand out so strongly even from the beginning and just time and again at this point I’ve had thousands and thousands of residential clients over the years and we’ve given out even more estimates and and and communicated with so many people and it’s just this foundational thing of Serene Clean uses standardized checklist so you know exactly what got done in your home every single cleaning. Additionally, if we have a different cleaner they’re going to perform to that same level of excellence.

So we’re promising that standardization that one of the biggest issues is going in between cleaners, you’re having wildly different results. So it’s both an external thing. And of course, for you internally, from a quality and training perspective, the checklist is so important. So I know I talk about this so much, and you may be stop beating this dead horse. But it’s one of the most important factors to the success of Serene Clean has been using checklists from day one. And it’s allowed me to grow very fast because it’s here, this is what I’m going to do for you. Because if I tell Sally, go clean this house, or I tell Tina, go clean this house. And there’s no foundation or there’s no scope of work that they’re following and you’re holding them accountable to well me telling you to go clean the house versus I go clean that house are two different results as well, potentially when they are looking at cheaper alternatives, they are not providing them a checklist. I promise you that they will probably verbally say, yeah, I can dust, I can clean the bathrooms, I’ll clean the kitchen, do all the floors, I’ll do the baseboards, I’ll do the ceiling fans.

Making Your Checklist Count

Even just verbally listing these things off, there is something really visceral of seeing the list. You need to see it, you need to read through it. And they meant just skim it and just be blown away by the extensiveness. And a lot of your guys are using basic checklists, but it’s exactly what I just listed. I want you to separate it out by room. Don’t just say, we’ll dust in the entire house. We’ll clean the bathrooms. We will clean the kitchen. We’ll do all the floors. We are doing those things, but I’m breaking it out in every room on the checklist. Maybe we can insert and remind me to give you a copy of our checklist and we can insert it. It’s a double-sided thing. And it just, every, you know, there’s a lot of repeating because in every room we’re doing the ceiling fans and every room we’re dusting, but we’re listing that off because our cleaners are filling that out and being held accountable to it.

So you could add some girth and heft to your guys’ scope of work that you are then showcasing to the customer. And I see this on your websites a lot too, where it’s oh, this is our basic pass-out package. This is our deep clean package. And it just, you may be, you, actually, not you, maybe, I know you guys are great cleaners. I know it, I’ve seen it. That’s the feedback. That’s not the issue. It’s the way it is perceived by the customer. This list does not feel very extensive. Oh, that’s the deep clean. It’s this little section and in six bullet points. I know you may think that that’s better. It’s actually works because we are trying to sell ourselves in the extensiveness of our cleaning because that on this particular area of quality, this is how we stand out.

Quality Control and Beyond

Now, once you get cleaners, because I, you know, some of you may be individual cleaning companies right now and you don’t have staff, but once you do get cleaners on the topic of quality, you can talk about your quality control and how you go about making sure that everybody is happy before you during the sales process, basically. Because one of the concerns that people have when they are hiring a company is, oh, is the cleaner going to be as good as the owner? Or if I do have to switch cleaners, what is that going to look like? So we need to talk about quality control, we need to talk about our low complaints rates and our satisfaction guarantee, the things that we can offer that maybe a cheaper company is not going.

So that is kind of the topic of quality. And I know, obviously, having a quality service is the foundation of a successful cleaning company for sure. A hundred percent. But it’s not the only thing that we can sell to the customer about the experience of working with us that is going to differentiate away from individual cleaners. Or I don’t even say let me let me caveat. I’m not trying to attack individual cleaners here. This is more you guys asking about the cheap alternatives or the ones who aren’t going to provide that quality service. And the customer doesn’t know until they’re burned by it. So, again, they have to try it to get burned. So we’re trying to get ahead of that. So they don’t even ever get burned at all. So we it’s our job to communicate this value effectively while they’re in that shopping period.

Communication is Key

And so quality is one thing. And gosh, I might make two episodes on this, honestly, because there is several areas that we could talk about. So the next thing I want to talk about is, okay, we talked about quality. The next thing that I would like to talk about is communication, because and I guess being communicative and consistent and dependable. So how you behave and we need to be able to say that. So when it comes to a cheap alternative, one of the problems, again, put yourself in your customer’s shoes of what is the problems that we are trying to solve for them by cleaning their house? And it’s do a good job. But the second area is they want to know and be able to depend on your great communication and the fact that you are going to be prompt, you are going to show up when you say you’re going to show up.

And so how can we show them again, coming back to show, don’t just tell, show them that we are going to be communicative and we are going to show up when we say that we’re going to show up. And this is where having tools like if you invest in a scheduling software, use that as a sales tool. I showcase from day one, hey, our cleaners clock in with GPS tracking in ZenMaid. And that was a sales tactic for me because that gave them the security of knowing there’s a level of accountability of the cleaner is going to be where they where they are supposed to be when they say they are supposed to be there, meaning us as the company. And so that helped ease even subconscious fears about dependability. Because a lot of people have had multiple cleaners before and they are not dependable.

Using Technology to Your Advantage

So how can we show that we’re dependable before they actually experience it is what I’m getting at here. And so utilizing a scheduling software that you can clock in and clock out, meaning with GPS tracking for your cleaners. Sell that. Talk about it. Show them during during your your either your walkthrough. You can explain that you can. I’ve literally pulled out ZenMaid and showed this is how we manage our cleaners. And they are one dazzled that by the software itself to the fact that you invest in it. That showcases that you’re serious. So these are the types of things that we’re going to communicate about dependability.

We also talk about we have our backup system or we if for some reason a cleaner is sick, we are going to ensure that your cleaning gets done at the at the soonest possible time. And we’re all human and blah, blah, blah. We’re having conversations about that. But they really if they’ve had individual cleaners in the past, they’re probably very sick and tired of getting canceled on last minute or there is no backup system in place. And I know a lot of you guys just can’t offer that right now. But once you are able to offer some level of backups or the cleaning is going to get done, even if that means you yourself are going to clean it, we need to communicate that because that’s a benefit. That is a benefit that we can differentiate ourselves on.

Professional Communication Standards

Additionally, when it comes to communication, there’s a few things that are conscious and subconscious. One of them being, do you have a business phone number and do you have a business email or is it at gmail.com? These little details, that is a branding thing that is going to differentiate you from the cheap alternatives who are just using Gmail and their personal cell. And they’re just texting. And the way we communicate with clients in those first interactions and really throughout the entire relationship, of course. But again, how many times can I say this? Take a shot. The whole point of this episode is how can we communicate our value prior to them actually making that decision with us?

And so the way we communicate is a huge one for that of how promptly do we get back to them? Even again, if they’re filling out the booking form, have a freaking booking form. Don’t just have them text your personal line and they have to say, hey, I want cleaning. How does this work? Utilize some type of contact form. Again, ZenMaid’s got their booking form. We have that embedded on the website. I’ve had that from day one. One, have a website. I’ll talk about that later when it comes to how we market and brand ourselves. But they fill out the booking form. They get the automatic response, telling them what to expect of, we will get back to you within one business day. We will reach out. And so it’s already setting that precedent to ease their okay, I just filled this thing out. Is it actually going to happen?

The Power of Prompt Response

Because I cannot tell you how many people have said, oh, my gosh, thank you so much for getting back to me. I reached out to five other cleaners and nobody’s gotten back to me. And actually, that’s something that we did, you know, shop one of my competitors a few years ago. And they use ZenMaid to actually maybe they’re listening. No, no shade. All right. But one of the things was we filled it out, obviously under a pseudonym. And you know, no shame, all’s fair and love, warm business. You can shop your competitors. So we filled out the thing. And they did get back to us a week later, a week later. So what that tells me is they’re great cleaners. Their reviews are amazing. They’re amazing cleaners. You guys are great. Fantastic work. However, what that tells me, if I’m a customer, customers are also experiencing that. They’re also not getting that prompt communication.

And I know you might struggle with this because you’re in the field. Even if it’s simply sending an email or text saying, hey, I got your estimate request. I will get back to you on this date or time because you are easing that uncertainty of is this person going to communicate? Because if you can’t get back to me when I reach out to you for cleaning, not in a week, that’s going to put the doubt in my mind that when I’m working with you and I have an issue, you’re not going to get back to me. How we behave in the beginning is what they’re going to expect throughout the entire relationship because they are analyzing and seeing if you are a good fit. So if you can’t get back to them right away and you’re not at least saying, this is when I will get back to you, you’re setting the tone for what they can expect through you. And that may not be correct. Maybe you’re great communicating when they’re a customer. They’re not going to give you that opportunity in the first place.

Making Every Email Count

So we need to be aware of how we’re coming across from the very first interaction. How are they just everything about that? They need to be showcased, oh, they get back promptly, they communicate well and very professionally. All of these things we’re selling ourselves, even in the speed at which we communicate. And so for me, what I mean, when I was cleaning all the time and I would get a quote request, yeah, I would shoot them a quick email and say or for me, honestly, and I know some of you guys are going to want to hear this. This was my late night work. I was getting estimates back out, or at least that communication same day within one business day. And so that was just the shitty part of I’m cleaning and I am full 100% all of the admin. Well, that’s owning a small business. And well, you know, if you truly want to stand out, there’s going to be some sacrifice that needs to happen. And you know, maybe you already have a virtual assistant or an office manager or whatever. And this is irrelevant. But I’m just saying that these things do matter.

And if you’re wondering why nobody’s hiring you, it’s well, maybe you’re really you have very inconsistent communication and it doesn’t put them at ease that you’re going to handle problems if slash when they do hire you. So how we communicate, having a professional email, having a work email, not just texting, the way we text and the way we email needs to be really professional. There’s little details that we can go into that showcases from a subconscious level. Can you have a branded email address? One. Two, can you have an email signature? Really easy to make that in Canva completely free. Have AI do it of make a pretty email signature. Here, you’ll see that it’s a photo of me. It’s my title, owner, blah, blah, blah. And I’ve seen a lot of you guys as I’m emailing back and forth, you guys are actually creating this, which is awesome. I’m so proud of you because it makes you look good and it makes every email that you send out to a prospective client. It tells them this person put effort into this. They care about this. It’s important to them.

Creating a Strong First Impression

And so without you even saying anything, just having a nice email signature communicates. Oh, they’ve put they put some work in this. This is this is serious for them. And that’s what we’re trying to showcase with all of these little details. So it’s it may feel just like an email that you’re sending, an estimate email. But how we showcase this? Are we attaching the checklist? Are we explaining our differences to them and actually selling? If all you do is say this is the price and this is when I can come for you. That’s not that’s not good enough. Of course, apples. Remember, take us back to the Apple analogy. You’re doing that again. You’re doing that again. This is the Super Bowl. This is when you can really shine that you got back to them promptly. One. Two, you showcase in that email how you communicate that it has been thought out. You’re not just telling a price. This is the time to sell to them. Explain to them how you’re different in that. And if you can’t tell me why you’re different than the cheaper alternative, well, you got some work to do.

You can’t be upset that they go with the cheaper alternative if you can’t effectively communicate or showcase why you’re different. So if you don’t know what that looks like and you don’t know what those things are. Well, for some examples, if you have insurance, boom, that’s kind of bleeding into the third thing of people want to know that they can trust you in their home. So what work have you done in order to make sure that that is the case? Perhaps you run background checks on all of your cleaners. Perhaps you have insurance and bonding.

Insurance and Bonding as Marketing Tools

And if you don’t know what bonding is, it’s basically we’ve gotten bonding since the beginning specifically so I can say we are licensed, insured and bonded. That is so I can have three little things in that phrase and it sounds real snazzy. But bonding is basically a guarantee that if somebody steals something in their house and it is proven the bonding agent will pay them back immediately. And then us, the company, we pay back the bonding company, basically. So in six years, I’ve never had to use this at all. I think I use, the website I use is suretybonds.com. We can link it down below. And I think it’s 120 bucks for a $10,000 bond and a year. And I pay that specifically so I can say we’re bonded and it makes people feel a certain way. It makes them feel safer or that there is some protections in place for them so that they can feel good in there, that you are going to be in their house and that there are some guarantees there.

So I would recommend getting bonded if and only if for this particular situation you’re most likely never going to need it because they’re going to need to prove that it was stolen blah blah blah because I think for the bonding company to do that it needs to be proven that your cleaner stole the thing. And we’ve had cleaner steal stuff but it’s always been to the point of we just cover that or replace that thing there’s no need to get the bond in place so it’d have to be something really big that we couldn’t just pay for outright. Again, this is for marketing. This is so we can say that in our sales email as you know, we’re bonded, licensed, and insured. We follow standardized checklists. See attached so you can see the exact checklist that you’re going to be following.

Building Trust Through Transparency

I have recorded a frequently asked questions video that we actually link and put the image of a screenshot in there so that they can click and go look and listen to that if they so care to. Most of them aren’t going to. The point of that is psychologically that shows that I have put effort in that I know what the fuck I’m talking about and that we know what we’re doing. All of that first email for us is it has been perfectly shaped in order to showcase our value so that when we say your first cleaning is going to take 17 hours and it’s going to be $1,800 or whatever the fuck. That’s not right. That’s not the math at all. That’s not our pricing. Totally it’s $800. Your first cleaning is going to be $800. And it’s going to take this long.

Everything else about that email needs to say why it needs to showcase, whoa, they’re on it, not only in how the speed in which we communicate, but how we communicate. We also send them a text message when we when we send the estimate to their email saying, hey, check your email. We just sent the estimate. Thanks so much. Can’t wait to hear back from you. So we’re hitting them in multiple avenues in that way. And then they’re seeing the checklist attached, they’re seeing the reasons why we’re different. We’re also giving them a no-brainer offer of, you know, book your first cleaning, get your second 50% off as long as this performed within one month of the first as a thank you for your loyalty. We’re doing all of these things in this first email.

The Details That Matter

But as you are noticing, I’m talking about little details that really make a difference from the get-go because they are so say you send an email like that. It’s got the scope of work attached. It’s got what makes you different. It’s got a photo of you in there and a nice email signature. They get, okay, you’re being a Honeycrisp apple right now. And discount barrel apple over here says, yeah, I can do it for 80 bucks and they send it on Facebook Messenger or they send it on text and they have some grammatical errors. Who’s gonna win? You, you’re gonna win unless they really don’t give a shit about that stuff. And then they’re going to get exactly what they deserve when it comes to quality and consistency and all of that stuff. So this is how we stand out and not just saying, yeah, but we’re better or we’re higher quality. We need to show them. We need to show them. And there’s so much things psychologically that we can do in those little details that is going to do that.

Following Up Effectively

Following up after the fact, again, communication, showcasing after, meaning after the fact of sending the estimate. You sent the estimate and then you don’t hear from them and you never reach out to them again. Okay, let’s pursue them. They asked for it. We’re going to pursue them. Cry, buy, or die. They need to tell us to knock it off and leave us alone or we’re not interested or we’re going with a different option. They need to tell us that. Otherwise, we’re going to keep pursuing them because they’re probably just busy.

So if you guys are just sending the pricing and you never follow up one or two or four times, well, again, we’re showcasing in that pursuit, they pay attention to details. They’re interested in our business and they communicate effectively just in that alone. And people may not consciously think all of these things in this nice little bulleted list. But it’s how you’re making them feel. They’re making, they’re feeling that you are going to be consistent. You are going to communicate well and you care about your business. Because that’s what it is a business. So in all of these things, that’s how we stand out is in our behaviors in that way. And this is all before we they even hire us. So that’s that’s what we’re focusing on.

Wrapping Up Key Concepts

So there are other areas that I’d love to talk about when it comes to standing out. But I think I’m going to cut this one here because I really want you guys to focus on these foundational things. I know I just talked about quality and communication and how to showcase that prior to actually being hired. But think about these two areas. Those are the big ones. These are the really big ones that we can showcase. I guess I also talked about how do we show that they can feel good about you in their house or your cleaners in their house? So showcasing that you do background checks or showcasing that you have the proper insurance and bonding or whatever to feel protected in their home. So you need to communicate that you have these things in that first iteration or on your website, on your social media.

And so I want to talk about social media in a different episode because there’s so much to say about that and just branding in general of convincing them before they even they even hire you. And so there’s so much to talk about there. I’ll save that for its own episode. But yeah, how can we show our quality? How can we show our communication and how can we show our basically insurance or or put them at ease about your folks in their house? How can we do those things before they even hire us so that we are the juicy Honeycrisp? And it’s so obvious that enough said nothing else has to be said. They should be choosing us. So that’s what I got for you guys today.

Call to Action and Closing

Hit that like, hit that subscribe, leave a little blue diamond or blue shape because I got this cute little polka dot dress on right now. So I don’t think there’s polka dot emojis. Is there? Just leave me a little something in the comments so that I know that you listened all the way through and let me know down there as well, how do you feel about these? What areas are you going to go work on right now? Because I just talked about them. All right, let’s have a little accountability in the comment section. And other than that, join the ZenMaid Mastermind. If you have not done so, it’s totally free. You do not need to be a ZenMaid customer to do so.

And definitely check out the rest of the YouTube channel here. The Maid Summit Talks, which were so amazing this year, are all being posted as we speak or have already been. Shameless plug, I did my Maid Summit talk about our training program that allows us to go months without complaints at a size of 30 staff members. And I give a bunch of just a little tips in there. So go watch my Maid Summit talk. I would love to hear what you think. And I’ll see you in the next episode of Filthy Rich Cleaners. Bye guys.

If you enjoyed this episode of the Filthy Rich Cleaners podcast, please be sure to leave us a five-star review so we can reach more cleaners like you. Until next time, keep your work clean and your business filthy rich.

Note: This transcript has been edited for clarity and readability.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• ZenMaid
• ZenMaid Mastermind
• Maid Summit Talks
• Surety Bonds
• Standing Out in a Sea of Options – Maid Summit Talk

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