letters and views Editor’s Note: A recent discussion on the Cleaning & Maintenance Management Online™ Bulletin Board pertained to ISSA’s Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) certification. That discussion of differentiating your business from that of your competitors with industry-accepted criteria and standardization fol-lows below. Posted by: David Moynihan 1/10/2011 Has anyone gone through the CIMS certifi-cation process? If so, has the certification made a differ-ence in obtaining contracts? Do you use the certification as a way to differentiate your business from another? If so, how do clients/potential clients per-ceive the certification? I searched for threads in which CIMS cer-tification was discussed, but the most recent one was a couple of years old. It is giving them that good gut feeling within the first minute of meeting them. Focus more on them and their business needs and less on yourself and your busi-ness. As I always say, do what others never do — listen. David Moynihan 1/11/2011 Robert, did you not find a certain certifica-tion worthwhile? With regard to the CIMS certification, I would think the greatest benefit is going through the process itself — much like the Baldrige self-assessment process. But, from what I can gather, only a small number of firms have gone through the cer-tification process. to improved efficiency, greater customer satisfaction and an overall better quality of service — regardless of whether your organization performs cleaning in-house or is a building service contractor. Your question was: “Has the certification made a difference in obtaining contracts?” I’m pretty sure CIMS wouldn’t help in the area; what you want are sales classes where you can learn to sell your services. David Moynihan 1/11/2011 Here is an example of CIMS making a dif-ference in obtaining a contract: “Spencer, who now requires that all new contractors hired by State Farm are CIMS-certified or certified within six months, says the Standard has made his job easier by pre-qualifying contractors.” Full article: www.cmmonline.com/article.asp?IndexID=6637107. Responses: Aaron Baunee 1/10/2011 I suggest checking our searchable archives for the monthly “Raising Standards” column written by Dave Frank and/or Jim Peduto. The column discusses various aspects of CIMS and often speaks of success stories. Robert Jess 1/11/2011 Like I said, it would probably be good for learning more. For instance, if someone does carpet cleaning, then the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) would be a good benefit for learn-ing more about carpet cleaning. It doesn’t help them get customers, because most customers couldn’t care less. But, it would help the person retain cus-tomers and perform better quality work from the experience they received going through the learning process itself. So, to answer your question: I find most of them useful to some degree. If they’re used to apply, then they’re useful. If it is meant to be used as a magic wand to get customers, then it’s useless. In general, CIMS certification should lead Robert Jess 1/12/2011 David, if you feel that strong about it, then you should go for it. Personally, I wouldn’t rely on it to get cus-tomers, but it could help make your busi-ness better. We are both from Massachusetts, except you are down in the Cape Cod area and I’m in the Worcester County area. I know your area very well, since I’m usu-ally down there three days out of the week. Even though I don’t do business there, I know a lot of businesspeople in that area — hotel owners, restaurant owners and so forth. I can guarantee you the majority of busi-nesses in that area couldn’t care less about Robert Jess 1/11/2011 I don’t find certifications do any good for getting customers. But, at the same time, I wouldn’t write them off as a loss, as it would likely benefit you to learn more about the industry. For differentiating yourself from others in order to get more customers and win more sales, I don’t see the value. Instead, it starts with your personality and the way you present yourself and your busi-ness to the client. Show interest in their company and describe your ability to instantly provide a solution to their problems. 6 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • February 2011
CMM – Archives Feb 2011: 6
