Secondly…with the clients you DO have, ask them to refer you to others and give them a financial “thank you” in return.  For every client they refer that gets TWO cleanings, you will agree to take $25 off their subsequent cleaning.  It’s win-win for the both of you.  Now why specify TWO cleanings?  Well, if you think about it your chances of “winning” that new client increase with more than one cleaning.  Secondly, it takes less of the top of your profit margin if you figure you are only “losing” $12.50 per cleaning overall.  And lastly…it costs a lot more than $25 to gain a client by using other marketing techniques.  That would be my biggest recommendation to get clients faster.  If a current client recommends five people…heck…they’ve basically earned a FREE cleaning by that time, right?  But look at it for the long haul and realize that you just exponentially increased your client base for the cost of a few hours of your time.  See?  ;)

What you NEED to do is sell your services and show your potential clients that you offer professional services for a fair price.  Work on your approach.  Remember, you are not “fly-by-night” like others may be.  You don’t have to tell them that you only have three (or whatever many) clients and only starting out, even if you are!  Conduct business as though you have a full schedule and you have to “squeeze” them into the schedule (as if you are doing them a favor…or picking THEM as a valued client!).  NEVER ever bash the competition.  It makes you look bad.  Just state “I can offer better services and can guarantee my work”.  There’s no need to say “There are inexperienced people out there and you should choose me”.  It’s all in the presentation and how to get into the pockets of those who ARE in the market.  BUT, don’t sell yourself short on your rates.  Adjust if necessary, but don’t get desperate.

Lastly, in reference to the "approach",  I have something that might help…

Imagine what a new potential client hears between these two conversations (say by phone).  Then tell me which sounds more influential to hire you.  There is a bit of psychology involved here:

Client:  Hi, I was wondering what you charge to clean my home?

You:  Thanks for your interest in our services.  I’d be happy to give you a free estimate, but first let’s go over some of your needs.  Then I can see about fitting you on my schedule.

OR…take this conversation:

Client:  Hi, I was wondering what you would charge to clean my home?

You:  Well, I normally charge $25 per hour but can negotiate it if it’s too much.  My schedule is wide open.  When do you want me to come out to start?

The first conversation does many things.  It appreciates their interest and shows good customer service.  It sounds more catered.  It gives the appearance that you are more than just “one” person cleaning.  It emphasizes the value (mentioning “free” is always good) of your services.  It also makes them think that your schedule is tight and they may risk losing an opportunity to have you as THEIR cleaning person versus someone else scooping you up and hiring you right out from underneath them...they will want to act fast.  :) 

The second conversation asks the same question but uses a different approach.  In this response, you would sound too eager, too inexperienced, not in demand, and quoting numbers is just asking for people to focus on the lowest number they can find via phone and feeling like they aren’t getting much for their hard-earned money.  You never got a chance to get your foot in the door on that conversation!

What would others add to this?  I am sure we have our own "selling points" that work.  What are they? 

wow. what a great resource. Thank you

I needed that.... Business is so slow and i feel so desperate to advertise 

 I like this advice. I am just a start-up and not working yet but will be adding this to my notes and studying it ! 

 I am thinking of starting by specializing with just bathrooms and then venture out to other areas when I can. (hopefully quickly!) everyone hates cleaning bathrooms and I am dang good at it!

For now it will be one man operation but I have a friend that is willing to work on an as needed basis. 

   This post was very helpful in how to handle a new phone call. I planned more for any problems and how to handle them and had not got to this part of the business yet. I figured that there are occasionally going to be problems and they can cost you customers fast and needed to be handled quick and well so that you can kep the customer. In other area I have found that the correct handling of complaints or problems is very very important and that if you do all you can to help those calls you have a customer for life. When I hire someone to do something or buy somthing I always like to see how they handle complaints. Too many people try to get out of taking responsibility for mistakes these days. Disclaimers are everywhere that try to do just that! I have even seen some related to this board. I understand but that is not how I want to handle it. 

 How do you handle complaints?

Bernie