Here’s why you’re losing leads – and how to fix it

When Ray Malasaki started his marketing company, Get Cleaning Clicks, maid service owners came to him for fresh leads – and he delivered. Sometimes his clients would become so overwhelmed with leads they’d shut off their Google Ads campaigns. 

Sounds like success, right? But Ray had a lot of churn with these clients. The problem: The majority of leads didn’t convert. 

Were they just bad leads? Not necessarily. There’s two reasons for the lack of conversions:

• The leads weren’t ready for the sale. According to Ray, 63% of all consumers who request information about your company won’t purchase for the next three months. 
• His clients didn’t have a sales process that included a way to nurture or follow up with those leads. Failure to nurture leads is the reason 79% of them don’t convert, says Ray.

Today, Ray does more than connect cleaning service owners to potential clients. He teaches them how to become the top choice when those leads are ready to book a cleaning appointment. 

If you’re struggling to convert leads into sales, read on to learn the three-step blueprint Ray uses to help his clients. 

Step 1: Build up your database

Potential customers likely come to you from various sources, including phone calls, emails, your website, and social media. 

It costs you time and money to acquire their interest, so don’t waste it by failing to add them to your database.

Your sales process should include a way to get their information and then organize it so you can follow up.

Always ask for names, phone numbers, email addresses, and home addresses – all the information you’d need to create a quote.

Have a simple way to organize this information. If you don’t invest in software to do this automatically, a spreadsheet is always an easy, low-tech option. 

Step 2: Keep in touch with your leads

So you’ve landed the leads and added them to your database. If they don’t convert, then it’s time to nurture them. This means reaching out with helpful information that makes them know, like, and trust you.

Often, businesses only use email to nurture leads. Ray recommends including text messages and phone calls. 

No matter the method, showcase your company’s value and offer plenty of reasons why people should choose you. Chances are good that 30 out every 100 leads is comparing you to other cleaning services. And these companies likely have them in their own sales funnels and are nurturing them, too. 

Remember: Not all leads are equal

Leads are in different stages in the customer journey so you’ll need a variety of message strategies. 

Segment, or create different categories, for the leads in your funnel and only send them messages that are right for the stage they’re in.

You should know:

• What part of the customer’s journey are they on?
• Are they in the consideration stage or the decision stage?

Here’s a peek at how Ray segments his leads in his sales pipeline:

Be ready to follow up – repeatedly

How often are you following up with leads? If your answer is one or two times, it’s not enough. Consider these statistics:

• 95% of leads need six calls before they convert
• 60% of consumers say no four times before saying yes.

That’s why it’s important to make sure your automated sales process includes all of the necessary follow-ups.

Step 3: Deliver what you promised

While sales and marketing systems are important, what ultimately sets companies apart is the experience the consumer has with you and your staff. 

After you’ve converted your leads, it’s time to make good on the value you’ve promised in your nurture sequence.

High-quality work with results that clients love encourages repeat bookings. Consider it part of the sales process. 

About the presenter

Ray Malasaki is the owner of Get Cleaning Clicks, a company that helps maid services owners achieve their goals through sales and marketing. He is the former owner of a cleaning company called Maids in a Minute. 

For more tips on how to nurture leads into sales for your maid service business, watch Ray’s full talk below:

This talk first aired at the 2021 Maid Service Success Summit.

The Maid Summit is an annual online event that brings together the most successful leaders in the cleaning industry, like Debbie Sardone, Angela Brown, Courtney Wisely, Amy Caris, Chris Schwab and more. Get free access to masterclasses and workshops that will help you to grow, scale and automate your cleaning business so you can get more leads and create more profit. Make sure you’re on our email list to find out how to get free tickets to the next event.

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