Last Updated on August 25, 2023 by The ZenMaid Team
- 1. Your cleaning business needs a profit-first method
- 2. Improve the hiring and onboarding in your maid service
- 3. Have a proper home cleaning company training program
- 4. Utilize great branding and marketing strategies for your maid service
- 5. Revise the sales conversions for your residential cleaning services
ZenMaid is the simple scheduling software that will help you save 30+ hours in your cleaning business, every week. Join thousands of other cleaning business owners who now have time to take a nap, spend time with their family and take vacations! Start your free 14-day trial today to discover how many hours you can get back in your week.
“Learners are earners” – Debbie Sardone
Some of the most wealthy people in this world have built their empires on mistakes, and the reason why is simpleโฆ
They learn from them.
These folks develop a positive mindset, listen to their teams, and continue to renew the systems they have in place to function better.
Just like them, when we donโt give up, continue to learn, to grow and to evolve, we can change not only our world, but the world of those around us as well.
However, it takes willingness and effort, not just a pure heart.
You have to be willing to take risks and make mistakes in order to learn the lessons that create financial and professional success.
Fortunately, you donโt have to make all of them yourself. There are opportunities to learn from other peopleโs blunders rather than going through each of them directly.
Many of the lessons from leaders in the home cleaning industry have been obtained by altering the systems that they had in place, in order to better their companies.
This is not simply a cash grab project though, these strategies are meant for those who are invested and who have a desire to make a difference.
Are you the kind of maid service owner who genuinely wants a quality, honest, residential cleaning business that values their cleaners and office staff?
We know you are!
So, we are here to tell you that with the proper systems in place, you too can grow a seven figure self-running business.
There are 5 main systems that you should improve at your maid service in order have abundance and freedom in your life:
1. Your cleaning business needs a profit-first method
Without any understanding of how to maintain a proper profit margin, you cannot grow at all.
The problems that occur with low (or no) profit will continue to build over time.
- You can’t pay yourself
- You canโt pay your cleaners
- You canโt pay your cleaner staff well
- You canโt create benefits for employees
…and there are certainly no incentive programs.
There are ways to better understand where your money comes from and where it goes, so that there is effectual profit though.
One option is to designate and follow through on how revenue will be spent.
For example, it can be split into different areas of the business like this:
- 20% can be allocated for owner income and profits
- 25% can be designated for overhead and operations
- 55% can go to cleaners and cleaning office staff.
This would improve your home cleaning business while investing in the very people that make it work so well.
These numbers can be altered as appropriate for your personal maid service, but no matter what they are, itโs important to know where your money is going.
2. Improve the hiring and onboarding in your maid service
If you find yourself struggling to find quality cleaners and cleaning company staff, consider the position that you are offering.
Do you provide a company with a supportive and friendly culture?
Do you pay your cleaners appropriately?
Most of making employees happy, doesnโt have anything to do with the job itself. This element is likely something they have already been drawn to.
Itโs about creating an environment where people feel valued and enjoy what they do.
If you want to keep quality employees, you should target much of your efforts toward them and their growth within your company.
Additionally, the owner who values their employees should also invest in them monetarily.
Staffing is the most important thing in the cleaning industry, so if there is any place where you are going to increase the budget, it should be here.
Donโt expect to keep your best cleaner around for years without continuing to pay at the level they deserve.
“You need good pay and an incredible culture for people to want to become career cleaners” – Debbie Sardone
3. Have a proper home cleaning company training program
Quality, well-trained cleaners provide the consistency needed to make your business reputable.
However, it all starts at the top! A wonky, inconsistent crew is not the fault of the group, it is the fault of the leader.
So, you have to begin proper training from the top down starting with the owner, moving through to the trainers and finally to the cleaners.
This will help to keep the whole implementation of a new training program on track.
As an owner, you should know everything about the training program that you are providing. Get your office manager or virtual assistant in on it too!
Study your maid serviceโs company training programs, so that you better understand what it is you want from your cleaners and office staff.
Following owner and office manager training, be sure your trainers know how to properly teach the techniques in the course.
This will allow the trainers to translate the objectives of each task to the cleaners with ease.
High quality cleaners at your home cleaning company is essential, but in order to have cleaners at this level, you also need the trainers to know how to train.
Really, the owner and the cleaning office manager should be trained prior to execution of a new module to assure that the entire program is organized as efficiently as possible.
Finally, train the cleaners and residential cleaning office staff to give them a more uniformed look to their daily routines.
With everyone from the owners to the cleaners on the same page, you show your cleaning customers that your company is organized and functions well as a whole.
4. Utilize great branding and marketing strategies for your maid service
In order to succeed in standing out above the rest, you should have an approach to the ever changing strategies that get your home cleaning business noticed.
Understand why clients choose you over other people.
What values do you and your clients share?
Do you appreciate having your cleaning clients all from the same area or are you in the business of cleaning homes on a wider scale?
These are vital things to consider so that you can know how to market to your target customers.
Use a variety of methods to stay on top of the minds of your cleaning clients as well as gain new ones.
Combine paid marketing, such as AdWords or Facebook advertising, with organic marketing mass mailers (yep, they still work) to reach your target.
Never stay focused on just one area because there is no one perfect way to gather your people. Continue to evolve and continue to learn, there is no magic pill for success.
5. Revise the sales conversions for your residential cleaning services
Do research on the price points in franchise services and adjust your prices accordingly.
If you set your prices too low and are making little to no profit, youโre going to find yourself spinning your wheels.
Your sales should always reflect what you are offering and what you deserve.
This is not the sort of thing you can check off of your list forever once it is done, complete this cycle of research and revise periodically.
How you value your cleaning services and staff should show through in your prices.
“There are no advantages to being priced in the middle” – Debbie Sardone
Remember, if you are putting out a great product, cleaning clients will pay so that you can be profitable.
Additionally, as the maid service owner, you can teach people in your office in sales so that you don’t have to and make money no matter if you’re working or vacationing.
Now, that is the life!
This article was based on a talk by Debbie Sardone at the 2019 Maid Summit, hosted and organized by Zenmaid.
About the presenter
Debbie Sardone has been a driven individual her whole life. She started working at 14 through a school work program and now has her own consulting firmย The Maid Coach.
As such an incredible business woman, she has not one but several successful businesses in the cleaning industry.
Debbie is the owner of Speed Cleaning, a line of professional green cleaning products and Buckets & Bows Maid Service.
She also founded a non-profit, Cleaning For A Reason, an organization which provides a cleaning home for women with cancer.
Debbie is truly an inspirational businesswoman and we love that much of her knowledge is directly maid service based.
Read more articles from cleaning industry experts like Debbie Sardone:
- Cleaning Business Automation Just Got a Lot Easier โ Your Complete Guide Written By Cleaning Business Owners
- Should You Send a Newsletter for Your Cleaning Business? Yes, and Hereโs How.
- The Day I Said Goodbye to 9-to-5: My Journey to Starting ZenMaid
- Cleaning Business Supplies: What You Need for Residential and Commercial Cleaning
- How to Market a Cleaning Business: 10 Strategies that Actually Work
