Owning an AustClean franchise means that you have made the decision to be a local owner/operator and small business in your local community. It’s important to remember that if you like using local services, which most people do, then other’s will most likely be the same.
Before you can feel that you’re well known locally as a specialist cleaner, you have to help the community recognise your face that goes with our brand. This takes time, it takes a lot of effort but it will certainly pay off if you put in that effort to be recognised. Local networking groups or just actually networking locally is vital to becoming recognised as that specialist in what you do. Tell everyone you know what you do, tell them to tell everyone they know and spread the word. I know a lot of you are recognised in your territories because I’m constantly being told that people have seen you going about your business or asking me who the AustClean person is driving such and such of a van. Referrals from networking locally are the cheapest form of advertising which may have come from someone you know simply giving someone else a flyer or business card of yours, or simply looking you up online.
My question to you is have to tapped into your ‘local’ circle of influence. From the local bakery who sells you bread each week or the neighbour up the street who is a builder. Have you recently had a quick and ‘free’ conversation with them about everything you do and who they might know who could need your service. Most humans are really happy and keen to help others, however from my experience this rarely happens unless they’ve been asked. “Do you know any other builders who may need builders cleans”? “Who cleans the office that you work in and do you think your boss would look at a free quote if you mentioned it”?
Giving back to the community can be a simple way to be recognised more and more locally for your service. Offer your kids school a cleaning voucher, offer your neighbour a free service if they get you any referral work. One of the best networking ideas I’ve heard of in house at AustClean over the past couple of years comes from one of our Exterior Cleaners. He simply gives a free service to an elderly lady at a retirement village for organising the cleaning of other residents. Because he’s in the one spot, that elderly lady gets to offer a great price to the other residents because it’s done in bulk and in return hers is done for free. He simply cleans to her schedule every 3-6 months and they all talk about his service in the local community. So what people, places, ideas can you come up with to be talked about for your profession in your town?