How To Win "Cheap" House Cleaning Sales Leads

As a cleaning company grows, it begins to search for more available channels of sales opportunities and client acquisition. In other words, this company is beginning to scale. And, as a company scales, it's client acquisition foundation is ruthlessly challenged.

Your cost per lead will go up & your conversion will drop.

To many, this is a blow to the ego that not many can handle with grace.

Way too many folks are interpreting this as a failure or a setback. It's not one bit of either of those. It's a huge opportunity. If you fall into this category, you have problems today that you wished you had when you first started. Please don't forget this. Always keep this in mind when you come across your "cheap — prospective — clients".

These types of people exist in every facet of the world — every industry — every business. Every nook and cranny of the entire world. How you handle and deal with these folks will be a difference-maker in the success of your own company.

Your service is a luxury to clients — remember this

Home cleaning services is a luxury to our clients. If someone is pushing back on your pricing, they:

1. Don't see the value yet

2. Will never see the value

If they don't see our value yet, it's our job to gently explain this to them. What works best for Custom Maids is explaining to them the # of hours we can save for them over the course of their first year with us.

Time as an asset

Time truly is a human's greatest asset here on earth. We all understand this, but some of us still need that consistent reminder. If you are willing to take the time to educate your prospects on your true value, many of them see it. And you will enjoy tremendous success.

Identifying "Cheap" Prospects

When you've been in the home cleaning business for a while, you start to get a sixth sense for signs that a lead may be a "cheap" prospect. Our time is valuable, so it's important we learn to identify these signs early in the sales process and decide whether it's worth investing effort in educating the prospect on our value.

What are signs of a cheap prospect?

Here are some indicators to look out for:

• Price is the very first thing they ask about, before any talk of services or benefits

• They try to negotiate rates before even booking an initial clean

• They ask for lots of extra services or upgrades for free/cheap

• They request significant discounts off our published rates

• They compare our rates negatively to extremely budget options

Knowing when to walk away

While some cheap prospects can be educated on why our premium service warrants a higher price, some may never understand or care enough to pay more. When should you abandon a lead rather than wasting time trying to convert them?

• If after patiently explaining our fair rates, they still relentlessly push for unrealistic discounts, it may be time to cut ties. We cannot work for peanuts.

• If they express that cleaning "isn't worth THAT much money" or should be as cheap as a teenage neighborhood babysitter, they probably will never pay our true value.

• If after sending links detailing what is included and why our service is superior, they still complain about "overpaying", it's better to walk away.

Educating Prospects on Your Value

When confronted with price-sensitive prospects, our first reaction is often to get defensive about our rates. However, the more effective approach is to educate them on the value we provide. By clearly communicating our benefits and breaking down the time savings we offer, we can transform that objection into an opportunity to win their business.

Breaking Down the Time Savings

One of the best strategies is quantifying how much time we save our clients compared to them cleaning themselves. Here are some examples:

"For a 4-bedroom home cleaning that takes us 3 hours, that would likely take you 8-10 hours to complete on your own. So with weekly service, we save you over 250 hours per year you gain back for family, hobbies, work, and rest."

"Spending 3 hours per week scrubbing bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting instead of time with your kids? We handle all of that so you don't have to. Work with us for just one year and we’ll save you over 150 hours you can spend on things you enjoy."

Communicating Benefits Clearly

Along with breaking down those time savings, we also emphasize benefits like:

• Thorough and reliable service from trained professionals with years of experience

• Attention to detail and personalized care of your home

• High-quality cleaning supplies & equipment

• Convenience of flexible booking and recurring service

• Peace of mind knowing your home is healthier for your family

An example response incorporating both time savings and benefits could be:

"I understand it feels like a major investment upfront, but the 150 hours we save you each year makes it worthwhile when that means fewer weekends spent on chores. Plus, you can trust our 5-star staff uses the best methods for safely and effectively caring for your home in a way you can't match on your own. That premium service is what you’re paying for.”

Spelling out the calculation of hours saved plus reaffirming the value of hiring professionals usually shifts prospects’ thinking about our reasonable rates.

Overcoming Price Objections

It's inevitable that some prospects will balk at your rates, no matter how clearly you communicate the time savings and benefits. How you handle these pricing objections is key to turning that hesitation into an opportunity.

Responding to Pricing Pushback

When faced with pushback on your fees, avoid getting defensive. Instead, here are some empathetic responses along with concrete examples you can provide:

"I totally understand feeling stressed about cost when looking for a cleaning service. Many new clients feel apprehensive about investing in a cleaner because it seems like a luxury. What I’ve seen time and time again is the second they experience the relief of coming home to a sparkling clean house, all that apprehension fades."

"I know the number might seem surprising at first glance. But keep in mind hiring us gets you back over 300 hours every year that you would otherwise spend tidying up. When you compare it to an average hourly salary, our service pays for itself in time savings and peace of mind."

"I get how seeing our monthly rates could feel overwhelming compared to grabbing some cleaning supplies and DIY. But we use high-grade equipment and solutions that thoroughly sanitize in a way homemade mixtures can’t match. Plus we lift all the physical burden from you entirely while handling every nook and cranny."

Turning Objections into Opportunities

After empathizing, you can turn the conversation positive again:

"I get the hesitation, but let me walk through some specifics I think will help this feel like an accessible investment..."

"I'm happy to break this down to make our services feel more affordable..."

"Let's explore this concern together because I truly believe we offer an invaluable service I don't want you to miss out on..."

Then revisit the time savings, health benefits, constantly clean home, and other value points through helpful examples rather than with more hard selling. Once they connect emotionally with the benefits cleansing services provide, they often move past the sticker shock.

Qualifying Leads

The key to ensuring you spend your valuable time and effort pursuing only serious, high-quality prospects is to properly qualify leads upfront.

This involves asking key questions early on and assessing indicators of real interest and intent to hire you.

Asking Key Questions Upfront

Rather than launching right into a sales pitch, first vet leads by asking a few strategic questions:

• Have you hired professional cleaners before or had others clean your home previously? If so, what did your experience look like? What did you like/dislike?

• What motivated you to reach out about our cleaning services now? Were you looking to deepen an existing relationship or excited to try working with new cleaners?

• What would your ideal cleaning routine look like in terms of frequency or rooms covered? Are there any particular pain points you’re hoping we can help tackle?

Assessing Real Interest & Intent

As prospects respond to those initial questions, listen and watch closely for signs of real intent versus just curiosity:

• Are they actively listening, asking thoughtful follow-up questions showing genuine interest? Or do they seem dismissive or apathetic?

• Do they share specifics about cleaning frustrations showing they seriously want solutions? Or do they give vague, abstract responses indicating they’re just browsing options?

• Do they seem open and flexible or rigid and committed to particular preferences or rates that don’t match your offerings?

Taking this intentional pause upfront before launching into sales presentations saves enormous time and effort. You can filter out the “looky-loos” from serious prospects truly motivated to purchase your services.

Then once you do identify and invest in those high-potential leads, your chance of closing sales is far greater after readying them through smart qualifying.

Conversion Strategies

You’ve put in the work to identify and qualify promising prospects. Now, it’s time to seal the deal through savvy follow-up and targeted sales closure. Implementing the right conversion strategies is key to turning all those previously cheap or skeptical leads into paying customers.

Following Up Effectively

The initial sales call is rarely when a prospect commits. Be prepared to patiently nurture leads through strategic follow-up touchpoints:

• Send testimonials and before/after photos showcasing your cleaning services 24-48 hours after pitching them. Visual proof and social validation are powerful.

• Provide video introductions to the actual professional cleaners that would service their home. Puts a friendly face to your company.

• Check in periodically with valuable news like special seasonal refresh offers. Gives reasons to reengage them.

• Share positive updates like awards, press features that demonstrate your expertise and reinforce why you warrant premium rates.

Closing the Sale with the Right Approach

Once you sense a prospect nearing a purchase decision, guide them gently towards closure rather than high-pressure selling.

Some positive closes include:

• “I know you mentioned waiting but we actually have availability next Tuesday if you did want us to go ahead and get started...”

• “Shall we tentatively book you in for the 17th so you can secure that date before our schedule fills? If you need to cancel, please let us know just 24 hours before your scheduled cleaning.”

• “Let me email the service agreement paperwork over so if you do decide to move forward, we’ve got everything squared away to hit the ground running...”

This pulls them incrementally towards commitment while allowing space to defer if they remain hesitant. Gentle nudges towards action can tip fence-sitters over into hired customers.

Case Studies

The best way to drive home strategies for turning cheap leads into customers is through real-world examples and success stories. Here are a few case studies of prospects who initially balked at our fees but ultimately became loyal, high-value clients.

Examples of Custom Maids Turning Cheap Leads into Sales

Mark reached out asking if we “offered discounts for recurring service” right off the bat without knowing anything about us. After walking him through the value we provide including 350+ hours of time savings per year, he agreed to a premium weekly plan at full-price.

Julia complained our rates were “more than she spent to clean her whole house herself.” Once we quantified that our team handles in 3 hours what takes her 8 hours when tackling solo, she finally recognized our time-saving worth.

Vivian only wanted to pay $60 per cleaning when we start at $130. Instead of arguing, we positioned our higher rates as “an investment in self-care to alleviate chore burden” which resonated emotionally with her as a busy mom.

Custom Maids Success Stories

Charlotte remains one of our favorite client transformations from initial pushback to satisfied long-term customer. Despite complaining initially that professionals were too expensive, fast-forward 3 years later and she’s referred dozens of friends and family members to us.

The key is patience and knowing certain prospects merely require education on your true value to shift their perspective on your reasonable prices. Then with consistently impeccable service proving your worth, many ultimately become vocal advocates and sources of referral business down the road.

Optimizing Your Sales Process

Closing those once seemingly “cheap” prospects is an incredible feat. But the work doesn’t stop there. To build on your success transforming bargain-hunters into buyers, it’s essential to continually optimize your sales process.

Evaluating What's Working and What's Not

Regularly analyze your sales performance to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities:

• Review your sales conversion rates over the past 3, 6, and 12 months. Are you converting an increasing proportion of leads into clients?

• Compare conversion rates by lead source. Which sales channels bring in the highest percentage of budget-conscious prospects vs premium buyers?

• Assess sales rep performance data. Which team members excel at educating clients vs those who tend to get sucked into price arguments? Model their best practices.

• Send post-sale customer surveys asking what finally convinced them to purchase. Apply those winning messaging strategies earlier in the sales journey.

Implementing Solutions to Improve

Leverage those informed insights to continually refine and enhance your conversion tactics:

• Invest more in lead sources yielding higher-quality prospects, pare back poor performers.

• Revisit rates if certain services attract more price resistance than others.

• Update sales scripts to leverage language bringing quicker perspective shifts.

• Add targeted testimonials or cost/benefit data to common price objection touchpoints.

• Provide specialized objection response training to build reps’ education skills.

With ongoing analysis, testing and process improvements, you’ll continually get better at unlocking value, transforming sticker shock into sales, and smoothly guiding prospects from bargain-hunters to buyers.

The Path Forward

Turning “cheap” prospects into successful sales is an invaluable skill. But lasting success requires both continually educating yourself and setting clear goals to scale lead generation.

Continuing Education and Development

As a cleaning business owner, make time for ongoing learning to sharpen your expertise transforming bargain shoppers:

• Read case studies from top service firms detailing how they justify premium fees.

• Attend industry conferences with sessions on overcoming price resistance.

• Participate in sales-focused peer roundtables to exchange objection handling ideas.

• Complete sales methodology courses focusing specifically on value communication tactics.

Investing in continual elevation of your sales acumen ensures you stay on the cutting edge of turning doubts into dollars.

Setting Goals for Lead Generation

With a reliable process for converting even the most skeptical leads, set targets to dramatically expand your pipeline:

• Increase lead goal from X per month to 2X per month within 1 year

• Rank and tier outreach strategies by conversion rate and cost efficiency, then pour budget into the top performers

• Develop referral incentives driving X new leads per existing client per year

• Test advertising on Channel Y which targets our ideal buyer demographic

• Launch an automated nurture system turning dead leads active again.

The more prospects you bring in the front door, the more budget buyers you can educate on your worth and develop into vocal brand champions. Making that at-scale lead gen a focus will let you rapidly grow through servicing customers who once balked but now rave.

Build Client Acquisition Systems That Do This For You

During times of struggle, a business will fall to the level of its systems that are in place.

Anyone can thrive and push forward in good times. But when times get tougher, the gap begins to widen between those who'll make it and those who won't.

One of the greatest thing you can do for the longevity of your business is build those systems + processes and document the heck out of 'em. This task will feel like it's "not worth it" while your doing it. It's a huge undertaking that takes a lot of effort, but it's monumental for your company's longevity.

Having a client acquisition system in place ensures a revolving door of hot, fresh, new sales leads every single day for the rest of your company's life. If you've never enjoyed this privilege in the business realm, it might be difficult for you to comprehend 2 new people every single day reaching out for services (let alone 10 new people each day). All of this is totally possible.

A lot of us were raised by parents who succumbed to a scarcity mindset — many through no fault of their own. But you must shake this off and understand there is an abundance of opportunity out there.

The demand is there out there – over 2 billion dollars gets spent annually on house cleaning services. You must believe unshakably in your worth and services’ value, then build scalable systems delivering enough qualified prospects to replace any too cheap to pay premium rates.