Marketing And Sales This is another area where backing off substantially would be a mistake. New business is the lifeblood of the future. Accounts will always come and go, but if you donʼt take steps to bring in new business on a regular basis, youʼll end up losing accounts and not replacing them — which means your business will shrink in income, profit and opportunity over time. Instead of cutting back on sales, take a more proactive approach; get involved, monitor and guide sales and marketing on a daily basis. Start by setting goals for the sales staff, getting and reviewing daily reports and holding people accountable for creating the activities that will bring inquiries, bid oppor-tunities and sales. The art of sales is truly a combination of physics and mathematics. Itʼs a numbers game — the more action you create, the more reaction you get. Itʼs a law of physics that will repeat itself over and over again — if you just create the action, youʼll get the reaction. ness, but that of the customers you serve. The cutting edge is constantly evolving and moving or it wouldnʼt be the cutting edge, it would be old news. To stay on top of whatʼs happening today and where things will be going tomorrow, you will need to monitor and use what you learn on Internet forums and discus-sion boards, watch the nightly news, read the newspaper, study trade magazines and talk to your customers, suppliers and com-petition. Proactive in-house cleaning employees and building service contractors also attend trade shows, seminars, webinars and other educational events. These are the actions that will help you gain a competitive edge and will enable you to prosper, even in tough economic times. CM A A Higher Higher Level Level of of Green... Sustainable Cleaning Products Powered by Nature Operations Equipment, chemicals and procedures play a key role here. Technology is changing quickly in the cleaning industry, and with it comes oppor-tunities to improve the quality of the servic-es provided while reducing labor costs. The list of emerging technologies is grow-ing rapidly with such products as diamond impregnated floor pads, vapor cleaning, electrolyzed water autoscrubbers and foam cleaners that reduce labor by 70 percent. Push your local suppliers to bring you the latest technology that will reduce labor. If they wonʼt or canʼt, search the Internet for what you need and buy it online. Monitor your supply usage closely at each account. Donʼt overstock or leave closets unlocked or supplies out in the open with uncontrolled access. Plant Power products are powerful cleaners that support the U.S. agricultural industry by using bio-based in place of petroleum based ingredients. The Green Cleaning Solutions Company Support -Training -Education -Products Multi-Clean 600 Cardigan Road Shoreview, Minnesota 55126 PH 651-481-1900 [email protected] www.multi-clean.com Seeing The Future And Reacting To gain a competitive edge and hold on to it, you must make an extra effort to watch for trends that will impact not only your busi-Circle Product Information no. 209 on page 32 www.cmmonline.com 13
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