How to Get Commercial Cleaning Clients (Even If You’re Just Starting)

You might be wondering how to get commercial cleaning clients. Maybe you’re just starting out, or you’ve got experience in residential and want to know how to land your first janitorial contracts. 

I’ve seen many cleaning business owners struggle to grow beyond referrals or break into commercial cleaning. The biggest hurdle is that most don’t know how to sell their services. So they rely on bids and tenders (competing against plenty of other janitorial service providers).

If you’re just competing in tenders, or waiting for referrals, your business isn’t going to grow. In fact, most of our commercial cleaning clients came through direct prospecting. 

Pre-bid meetings and reading through lengthy RFPs feel like a waste of time in comparison. In fact, these were my least favorite. Hunting new business is a lot more exciting (in my experience).

And luckily for you, I’m going to share everything I learned through years of experience growing a commercial cleaning business. 

Below you’ll find my best janitorial sales tips–so that you can start closing new deals. Starting today! 

Start By Defining Who You Serve

Many cleaning business owners I’ve talked to make the same mistake – they try to sell to everyone. 

I’m not saying you can’t serve multiple industries. In fact, I’ve sold across many industries (offices, high-rise apartments and condo buildings, auto dealerships, gyms and fitness facilities, restaurants, medical and dental clinics, shopping centers / retail, industrial and warehouses, post-construction, and more). 

However, we grew fast by figuring out who our BEST clients are. And honing in on them from the start.

Once we were established, it was easier to land clients outside of our main prospects (plus – many inbound leads came while I focused on our area of expertise – which meant we got to pick and choose who we wanted to work with). 

Action step: define your ideal client.

Think about:

• What industries do you already have experience in (offices, retail, medical)?
• What size buildings are ideal for your crew?
• Do you want regular cleaning, or project-based jobs (post-construction, carpet cleaning, etc.)?
• Who do you actually enjoy working with?

Now ask yourself:

If I could fill my business with just ONE type of client, what would they look like?

Hold that thought…

Build Your Commercial Cleaning Lead List

Here’s the thing about getting new commercial cleaning clients: you can’t wait for them to come to you!

If you’re relying on and waiting for commercial cleaning business lead generation, you’re not going to grow your business.

Don’t wait for leads – go find them!

But before you can do that, you need to have an active prospecting list. This will be the most valuable asset for your business. 

If you’re just starting out, Google Sheets or Excel is fine. In fact, I broke my first 7-figures in janitorial sales with nothing more than a Google Sheet and a cellphone! 

Btw – here’s a free commercial cleaning company prospecting template that you can get started with. 

Eventually, you may want to upgrade to a CRM.  There are many options available (eg. Zoho, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Hubspot, etc.). 

But it’s not essential. Most important is that you (or your team) are building a list of leads. And staying organized.

How to Find Properties for Commercial Cleaning

So you’ve got yourself a prospecting worksheet or CRM. But how do you find leads to populate it with?

There are multiple ways to source leads. Google maps is a great place to start. Use industry filters (dentists, offices, medical clinics, car dealerships, apartment buildings, etc) and add them to your list. 

Also pay attention while you’re driving around! Make a note of properties that look like they would be a good fit. I would sometimes pull over when I saw new builds and take pictures of signage.

I’ve even sold to restaurants while having breakfast or lunch. Waiting staff are naturally friendly (as customer-service is baked into their profession). 

But don’t be pushy about it.

Simply pay attention to your surroundings. And if the opportunity presents itself, don’t be afraid to ask about what they have in place for cleaning, and if they’d be open to discussing what you can offer (more on that in a moment).

Google maps, Yelp, LinkedIn, or physically navigating around your areas – all sources to find properties to add to your list. 

Be sure to include property name, address, and (if available) the building manager or facility contact (website team pages and LinkedIn are helpful to find this information). 

Finding Key Decision Makers

Once you find properties to add to your list, you should take the extra step to find who’s in charge.

In fact, many cleaning business owners and sales reps make the mistake of calling the general phone number. Or cold emailing the ‘info@’ address.

But with a little extra effort, you can usually find the person in charge first.

As mentioned, you can often find these people on team pages from company websites. When I was researching properties, I’d go to the team page and could often find Property Managers, Senior Property Managers, Directors, etc.

If you can’t find them there, the next best place is LinkedIn. Just search the company name and look at their ‘people’ tab. You can usually find who’s who there.

Alternatively, you can search by title (such as ‘property manager’) under people, and filter by city. This is another great way to find potetential opportunities in your service areas.

You should familiarize yourself with LinkedIn this way. It can be a gold mine for identifying leads.

Want more tips for how to connect and message contacts on LinkedIn? Sign up for the prospecting kickstart (100% free) – where you’ll find tips for building a network and connecting with leads on LinkedIn (and a whole lot more!)

How To Book Meetings For Commercial Cleaning Contracts

Once you’ve filled out contacts in your lead sheet or CRM, it’s time to reach out. 

This is where the fun begins!

If you’ve never sold before, you might feel a little nervous. But I promise you, B2B sales is easy. You’ll be reaching out to professionals – so it’s not as scary as it sounds.

Fortunately for you, most cleaning business owners (and sales reps) avoid these techniques. So if you use them, you’re already at an advantage.

How to Use Cold Calling to Book Meetings for Commercial Cleaners

Once you’ve filled in some leads (aim for at least 50 on your list), it’s time to reach out.

And I highly recommend you start with cold calling.

Don’t be nervous! It might be awkward at first (especially if you’ve never cold called before). But I can assure you it’ll be great. And you don’t even need to be a pushy salesperson (in fact, don’t)…

Try this intro script:

“Hi [Contact Name], I’m [Your Name] from [Company Name] – we help many [Contact Title]s keep their properties sparkling clean for employees and guests. I just wanted to introduce myself and offer a free, quote for you at [Building Name]. Would you like to have one prepared for you?”

Simple. Respectful. Non-pushy.

If they say yes, your next step is to book a meeting. Just say something like:

“That’s great! To proceed with the quote, I’d like to take a quick look at your property and get a better idea of the cleaning scope. I can stop by this [day, time] or [day, time] if it works for you?“

If they say no? Try this:

“That’s great! If you have someone reliable, you should never switch. But I would still love to offer you a free quote. There’s no obligation to switch, and this way if your situation ever changes, you’ll have our quote handy. How does that sound?”

That’s it. Don’t overthink it.

I’ve booked plenty of meetings with those exact scripts.

Want more detailed cold calling tips? Sign up for our free Prospecting Kickstart and get more in-depth info on how to book yourself solid!

Should You Leave a Voicemail?

If you’re wondering if you should leave a voicemail–the simple answer is yes. 

But keep it short and to the point. And pro tip: add a note that you’ll call back if you don’t hear from them! 

Here’s an example you could use:

“Hi [Name], [Your Name] here from [Company Name] – just wanted to connect to discuss the cleaning at [Building Name]. Can you give me a call back at [Your Number]? Again that’s [Your Number]. And I know you’re busy, so if I don’t hear back I’ll try you again soon. Thank you!”

That’s it. This type of message is what worked best for me to get callbacks. 

Voicemail framework to remember:

• Keep it short and professional!
• State your number slowly, twice. 
• Mention that you’ll call them again if you don’t hear back.

Emailing Commercial Cleaning Leads To Book Meetings

Ok so you’ve tried calling and couldn’t get a hold of the prospect. No problem, you’ll follow up later just as you said in the voicemail. 

The next touchpoint is email.

However, unlike most people that make the mistake of avoiding the phone for email prospecting alone, you’ll use it as the next step to cold calling. 

Remember, you’re reaching out to busy professionals. Just like with the phone, you’ll want to be mindful of their time.

Here’s a simple email you can try: 

“Hi [Name], 

I tried calling earlier, but I understand that you’re busy. I just wanted to connect to discuss the cleaning at [Building Name]. 

[Contact Title]s around [City/service area] rely on us to keep their properties sparkling clean for their employees and guests. And we specialize in properties similar to what you manage at [Building Name]. 

Maybe you’re all set, which is great. But I’d love to offer a no-obligation quote for you?

If not at this time, that’s okay too. Just let me know either way. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you,

[Your Name]
Email signature”

That’s it. Simple. Professional. And respectful of your prospect. 

Always Follow Up!

Finally, when it comes to sales, 90% of results is in following up!

Remember that most prospects don’t say ‘no’. They say nothing!

So it’s your job to keep bugging them until you get an answer.

If you’ve called, left a voicemail, and sent an email, be prepared to reach out again. Try every few business days until you get a response.

Something like this is respectful enough without being overly annoying. Just make a note that it’s you again and you understand they’re busy. Keep the messaging similar, professional and to let you know where they stand either way.

You’ve Got the Meeting — Now What?

By now, you’ve got everything you need to build a prospect list, reach out with confidence, and follow up effectively. If you’re doing the work, I guarantee you’ll start getting meetings — and that’s when the next stage begins.

What do you say during the meeting? How do you make sure you leave a solid impression? And what do you include in your proposal to actually close the deal?

We’ll cover all of that in the next part of this series.

Remember, you can get more tips and strategies for landing commercial cleaning clients within for our Prospecting Kickstart – our free course that teaches you how to sell your services (even if you’ve never sold before).

Here, we’ve only scratched the surface. The free course will dive further and train you on how to be a commercial cleaning sales pro. I highly recommend you sign up!

Or, if you’re ready to level up your prospecting and turn more calls into clients, check out The Cleaning Sales Starter Kit — a complete system built specifically for commercial cleaning businesses.

It includes everything from outreach templates to proposal strategies to real-world closing techniques.