The Value of Building a Prospect Profile

Episode 84

In the world of business, particularly in the service sector like cleaning, understanding your prospective clients can make a significant difference in your success. We’re about to get into the nitty-gritty of building a prospect profile, particularly for a cleaning company. This endeavor requires a keen understanding of who your potential clients are and how best to reach them. It also means you need to pay close attention as you speak with your clients and true prospects. .

Prospecting Isn’t The Same As Cold Calling

Finding prospects is not just about cold calling, but about building relationships and understanding the specific needs and characteristics of potential clients.

The first step in building a successful prospect profile is identifying where to find potential clients. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of attending networking events such as Chamber of Commerce meetings and mixers or being part of a strong contact group like BNI (Business Network International). These structured groups provide opportunities for businesspeople to meet. And in the best of situations, warm introductions can be made. And I’m going to be crystal clear that almost any warm introduction is more effective than a cold call. A warm introduction can act as a catalyst, making it easier to establish a connection with a potential client. It’s about leveraging existing relationships to open doors and create opportunities for new business.

Building A Prospect Profile

Once you have identified potential clients, the next step is to develop a detailed profile of these prospects. We have a file built just for this and you’ll find a link to that below. This is a 99-cent download. This profile involves understanding the industry they operate in and the specific needs related to that industry. For example, cleaning an auto dealership would have different requirements than cleaning a residential home. Understanding the verticals you are working in provides a significant advantage, allowing you to tailor your services to meet the unique needs of each industry. Moreover, knowing the roles of the people you are dealing with, such as office managers or CEOs, can help you communicate more effectively and build stronger relationships.

In addition to industry-specific needs, it’s important to consider personal characteristics of your prospects. This includes demographic information such as age, gender, and marital status, as well as lifestyle preferences like the events they attend or their hobbies. These details can help you refine your approach and communication style to align with the interests and values of your prospects. When you can speak the language of your clients and demonstrate an understanding of their world, you are more likely to build trust and secure their business.

Finally, its important to track and utilize this information effectively. By developing a comprehensive profile for each client, you can identify patterns. These insights will help to form your business strategy. This might involve using tools like Excel to organize and analyze data, helping you identify your best clients and where to find more like them. By continuously refining your approach based on these insights, you can build a more efficient and effective business, ultimately leading to greater success in the competitive world of cleaning services. I work with cleaning teams and owners every day to grow their businesses. When you’re ready to grow, contact me here.

 

This Week’s Podcast transcript can be found below.

 

00:08 Joel

Joel, we’re back. One of your clients specifically asked about this topic. I’m not going to name him.

 

00:14 Joel

I am going to name him. It’s Darryl Jackson. Darryl, this one’s for you.

 

00:18 Ray

We are looking at building a prospect, list, and prospect profile. Because the business is personal and because it really does require some very specific direction, who are my prospects as a cleaning company? We got to get a little more nitty-gritty. How do you lead this?

 

00:36 Joel

It’s basically a two-headed monster. (Do tell.) The first one is, “where do we even find people?” I know that we’ve done other podcasts that talk about how you generate long-term relationships a lot along the lines of prospecting. Where we find these types of people are going to chamber of commerce events, mixers. Being part of a strong contact group such as a BNI, where there’s just one seat per category. And as you build those relationships and you flat out ask, “I’m looking to be introduced to so and so at such and such a company”. When someone can be introduced to somebody rather than picking up the phone and saying, “Hi, Ray, this is Joel from… Are you interested?” I’m usually hearing the phone, get hung up on me mid-sentence. You want a warm introduction to somebody because now they know who you are and you’re hoping that that third party is going to make that introduction. So there’s some catalyst that has happened. But it even goes deeper than that. If you already have clients, and hopefully, if you’re listening to this, you at least have started your business and you do have some clients. Even if you have two clients, you can develop a profile.

 

01:39 Joel

What industry do these clients work in? What are you cleaning? Are you cleaning an auto dealership? Are you cleaning a movie theater? Are you cleaning an apartment complex? Are you cleaning residential homes? Knowing that vertical that you’re working in is a huge advantage because a lot of companies might go, I’m just going to take everything that comes my way. (There’s It’s a mistake.) Exactly. Did that early in my career, and then it’s very hard to train because every type of industry has differences about it. Are you dealing with an office manager, a practice manager, a CEO, a CFO, a facilities manager, a receptionist, a shipping clerk? In the cleaning world, it’s more diverse on the types of people that you have to talk to. Where do these people go? Are they married? Do they have significant others? What zip codes might they live in? Do they have children? What events do they like to attend? Are they part of golf tournaments? Are they at a country club? Are they going to a blue-collar bar? Are they going to a play? Are they going to Do they go to the show? Do they go to the movies?

 

02:47 Joel

So, you want to really try to develop a profile so you know exactly what you’re looking for. Because the better you know your client, the better you can refine yourself to be able to talk to that type of individual. Are you talking to males? Are you talking to females? What are their age demographic? Are they Gen X; Baby boomers; Millennials; Gen Z? Who are the decision makers that you’re talking to? Learn about that and be able to talk the talk. Because when you can talk the talk and you get people to understand that you understand them, they’re more apt to do business with you. I often have talked to other individuals, one of my good friends that we’ve done a podcast with, Mike Viggiani. (Oh, yeah.) He and I have a blast talking together. He was an engineer and a facilities manager for one of my clients when I started my career. When I was in my early 20s. Now in my late 50s, and we’re still friends, and we still talk. And you’ve seen us sit down and just off camera, just chit chat. And boy, do we get into. Oh, the depth of conversation is about building maintenance.

 

03:49 Joel

And everybody else just looks at us like, How are these guys talking that deep? Because I’ve learned to talk the talk of the people that I need to do business with. And when you have that, you build that trust. And once you build that trust, it’s so much easier to ask for the sale. And they’re going to want to purchase what you are and have because you can talk their talk.

 

04:08 Ray

You know, Joel, when they really do know you, they are much more likely to pass your name on and refer you.

 

04:14 Joel

Absolutely. And that is how you build a really effective business.

 

04:17 Ray

You know, Joel, there’s a companion piece that we’re developing specifically for this. You want to talk about that?

 

04:24 Joel

Companions. The better you know your clients, you can put your current clients in it. And then when you go to these mixer events and everything else, then you can start putting in and seeing how the other people you meet fit in with this profile builder. Just to give you a couple of ideas, like what type of business are they in the vertical? Are they a car dealership? Like I said earlier, are they a manufacturer? Are they an industrial? Is it a Class A office space? How many employees? How big is their building? And it’ll be well worth your while because if you start building this, you are going to be able to work in the verticals that you become very efficient, effective at.

 

05:04 Ray

This Excel file is something you can use and reuse for every client. It helps you build a profile with all the actionable information that you really need to track who are your best clients and where will you find them. You’ll find the link for this 99 cent download in the description below.

 

05:23 Ray

Excellent. Joel, thank you.

 

05:25 Joel

You’re welcome.