Cleaning 4 Profit

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“Micro” Direct Mail Campaigns Are Easy To Do And Can Make You A Bundle Of Money…

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I’ve talked about direct mail marketing time and time again. If you are new to the concept, it’s nothing more than mailing out some info about your company to a prospective customer.

I normally send a sales letter, flyer, business card and maybe a magnetic business card as well in a run of the mill envelope that I hand address. Nothing fancy, just very basic stuff.

How I find potential customers to mail my info to

The way I get the addresses to mail to is pretty simple. I “drive around” my target area and look for new office parks, existing office parks I may have missed or any tiny strips of commercial space that looks like a business may occupy it.

When I stumble across them I just take a picture of the marquee where all the businesses are listed. If that isn’t available I just hand write the business and suite numbers down on a notepad. You could speak into a recorder too if you like. Just get the name and address somehow!

Some office parks may only have five offices strung together while others may have dozens of them. It doesn’t matter, just copy those addresses down. Now all you need to do is stuff those envelopes, write the address, affix a stamp and drop them in a mailbox. For the record, I always write Attention: Office Manager.

A few success stories using micro direct mail

Mortgage Company – While driving around one day I stumbled across a set of about ten offices that seemed to have sprung up overnight. They were in a part of town I didn’t travel through that much, that’s why I didn’t notice them before. Needless to say, I mailed each of them some info in the mail.

The mortgage company was the only one who responded. So I went out to give them a quote and discovered they needed service five days per week. To make a long story short, I landed the job, and the nearly $1,400.00 per month that came from it. Though they went out of business a little over a year later, I still made nearly 20 grand during that time.

Electronic Parts Distribution – When I first started my business I scouted out this one office park that had about 50 offices. I had a few call for quotes but I only landed this one account. It was SO EASY to clean, as there was nothing but cubicles with salesman selling electronic parts across the country.

The account paid $650.00 per month for twice per week service. This amounted to about $75.00 per visit, which in hindsight was VERY HIGH. When I bid the place it looked “really big” in terms of square footage, so I erred on the expensive side. Turns out it was easy to clean as half the floor space was never used. I made out like a bandit on this one!

Bank Branch – This place was in a strip of stores that had a mix of retail and commercial space. Once again I mailed to the entire complex but only got one job. It still worked out just fine for me as the job was $560.00 per month for 3 days per week. Not a home run, but a good account to have.

Accountants Office – This location is in a small office park that has maybe 20 offices. Once again I mailed to the whole place but only landed the one job. This was one of my very first jobs, and I still have it to this day. It started out at $260.00 per month for twice per week service.

It only worked out to be about $30.00 per visit, but it takes about 30 minutes at best to clean. All in all a nice job to have! I won’t be able to buy a boat with this job but I’ll take 30 bucks for 30 minutes work all day long if I could!

Trash Company – This doesn’t fit the traditional office park model, but I’ll mention it because it shows how TAKING ACTION results in MAKING MONEY. This building stood all by itself. It’s the headquarters for a local trash company that operates in my area.

I passed that office THOUSANDS of times without thinking of mailing to them for some reason. I don’t know how I let that happen! Anyway, I mailed to them and they HIRED ME almost instantly. Over a $1,000 per month for 3 day per week service. It was a lot of work, but we still made out nicely on the job when all was said and done.

I’ll wrap this up by making mention that all I ever did was TAKE ACTION. I drove around and looked for places that fit what I was looking for, which was small to medium-sized buildings that were in my local area. Some were better than others, but using direct mail to reach out to them was the key to getting hired in each and every case. If you have some success stories, share them in the comments!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tom,

    Thank You so much for this post. This is exactly what I needed, I am ready to go driving around today to scout out some offices. I have been thinking about the best way to get commercial accounts as I am currently employed full-time. I am still going to pursue my cleaning business in the evenings and on weekends. Your post and podcast are a God send, I really look forward to Sundays and Thursdays to see or hear what you will say next. I am currently in your shoes when you first started out, as I am working full-time and trying to start my cleaning business AGAIN. I appreciate your wisdom, guidance, and transparency. I look to you as a mentor in this field. I will be purchasing your products in the near future, just waiting to earn some extra cash. Please keep up the great work!!!!

  2. As always great article Tom! Very informative, as a matter of fact I’m going to implement this form of marketing this week. Thanks for the info.

  3. Hi Lindell! Thanks for that… and good luck. This is something I’ve done since day one. You will win some and lose some, but all you need is one “hit” every now and again to make it a big winner financially.

  4. Thanks Sekita! I do my best to share what I know. Some posts / podcasts are more interesting than others, but every lit bit of info helps! Touch base when you need me!

  5. Thank you so much for all the great info, I have been cleaning homes now for over 20 years, but kept it very small, I will like to get into the office part of it, so I greatly appreciate your input.

    Many thanks once again.
    Murielc

  6. Tom… Thanks again for another useful insightful post
    As usual! I look at like the more direct mail you mail
    or hand out, the better your chances for success is.
    Sounds really simple which it is but so many of us
    sit back like the phone is going just ring without us putting in
    Any kind of effort. Thanks for the wonderful posts as always.

    Reggie B.

  7. Great article! I’ve realized from this article that it takes initiative to step up to the plate and step out of that comfort zone. I too work a full time job and it’s not easy to fumble between both. I enjoy reading your emails very Sunday. Thank you for sharing

  9. Hi Johnny! I know EXACTLY how you feel, as I have been there. It’s tough when you do both! Anyway… thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it.

  10. Hi Reggie! Thanks… yea, you just have to keep at it. You have to keep moving every day. Even if you don’t spend hours and hours doing something, just spent SOME time each day working on growing the business. That keeps your head in the game, plus you build momentum that way. THANKS for commenting!

  11. Hello Tom,

    Another great post! I just purchased your flyers a few weeks ago. I’m going to order magnetic business cards and begin my direct mail campaign asap! This newbie really appreciates all the great information you continue to share!

    Best

  15. Hey Tom, I went back to some of my old emails that you have sent before and I found the last qestion that I have asked you, I had it all the time, it was about how do I get the mailing list, well, I got it

    Thanks again, it seems like I am always saying that

  19. I am ready to send my micrio direct mail for potential customers. What should my mail say. I need help drafting the content of this all important mail. Thanks.

  20. Great information! I have identified my target market and have the leads for these businesses. I have about 130 of these near my house (dentists and insurance agents).

    Would you recommend a single direct mail piece or the 3 hit direct mail process as you outlined in your course? I can afford either so I would assume the 3 part direct mail process would produce the most results.

  21. Hi Burke! Go with the 3 like you mentioned. You need to be consistent. Just keep pounding away each and every month. It’ll work over the long haul!

  23. Hi Tom,

    Just 2 questions.

    1. About addressing the letters to the potentials. Do you say “Attention: office manager” in the sales letter itself or on the outside of envelope?

    Who do you find tends to be the person in charge of hiring cleaning contractors in a medium sized office? I called a couple of potential companies to get their name, many of them didn’t even have an office manager position at all.

    Do you think its a good idea to just call the receptionists and try get the names?

    2. I’m sure you know that about 99% of the time, the potential customer we are mailing already has a cleaner in place. Over the years, what did you find was the turning point for them to decide on hiring a new cleaning contractor? How would you make your company appear more attractive than their current contractor?

    Thanks for your time!

  24. Hi Eli!

    1 – “Attention: Office Manager” GOES ON OUTSIDE of envelope. They may or may not tell you they have an office manager when you call. Who knows! BUT one person is in charge (there is ALWAYS a boss when there is an office staff). And the office manager is who you want to send it to. Even if there is no “office manager”, the letter you send will find it’s way to whoever is in charge. And NO, don’t waste your time trying to get names. TOTAL waste of time, JUST MAIL LETTERS!

    2 – There are numerous turning points. No good at cleaning, bad attitude, inconsistent, won’t return calls, better option becomes available. The list is endless. How to be more attractive? Listen to podcast 005 and 068.

  25. Hi Tom!
    Great Article!
    Is it always better to address the information to the Office Manager? I have sent numerous postcard out and I always addressed them to thd head of busineess/owner, etc…

  26. Hi Reese! Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated. To your question, I always addressed stuff to the office manager. When you do it to the business owner, it just sounds like a generic form letter to me. I’m not sure there is a right or wrong way, but I just went with my instinct.

  27. Stamps are quite expensive. How did you over come that expense? My goal is to do just as you say mail as much as possible, however thats about $200 in stamps a week. Do you have any advice on how to cut that price down?

  28. Hi Julian! There is no way to cut price (other than to use bulk mailings, which is a possibility). If the cost is too high, just mail less. Sadly the cost of the postage is the price of advertising. It may seem like a lot, but it’s one of the most cost effective ways to get your marketing message right in front of your target market.