March 31, 2022 • 20 mins
In this episode, we talk about ways you can grow your business through networking and referrals. Your network is your net worth.
Referrals...build a list of people you know. These include friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers. As you add to that list, figure out who on that list is a decision-maker for a property that you'd like to clean. You can also use that list to ask for referrals to grow your business. Referrals brought in millions in extra revenue for Universal just by asking. Most of the time we're offered a referral without any sort of compensation. But sometimes we'll offer a percentage of any new contract in exchange for a bonus referral. It's a great way to grow your janitorial business.
Networking...this form of marketing has brought in more revenue than all of our other sources. We'll join networking groups, chamber of commerces, associations, and others to get around decision-makers and to grow our business. We never go in trying to sell our business. Instead, we go with the expectation of making friends. Friendship first and business later. It's those long-lasting relationships that led to growth within our company.
Resource mentioned:
https://academy.hubspot.com
This episode has been brought to you by Universal Janitorial Services. If you ever need cleaning in the DC area, we're here to help you. www.ujsinc.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:02):
What's the easiest way to say hi to a stranger? Just
say hi. Do you realize thatdoing so enough times can make
you a millionaire? Hey, I'm MarkLineberry from beyond the mob
podcast, and today I'm going totalk about how shaking a
stranger's hand can make amillion dollars in your cleaning
business. But first, like withevery episode, I offer a tip or
(00:24):
a resource, a full cup,something that can help your
business grow. Let me ask youthis. Do you wish you can have
an ongoing flow of new leadscoming into your business but
you don't know marketing wellenough to get there? Are you
looking for a free resource toget marketing training and even
be certified? Do you wish youcould clean up your competition
(00:47):
and outgrow them? Hey, look nofurther than HubSpot Academy.
HubSpot as a CRM, customerrelationship management software
that helps keep tabs of youropportunities leads and even
clients. As a value add theycreated a platform called
HubSpot Academy. Years ago, Iswitched from Salesforce over to
(01:09):
HubSpot. And I had no idea thatHubSpot Academy existed. And I
was tinkering around lookingaround in there trying to get
familiar to software and I seethis section where they're
offering tons of free courses,courses like well, using
LinkedIn to grow your businessor SEO to grow your cleaning
business, social mediamarketing, sales, management,
business blogging, and so somany more. In fact, there are
(01:33):
dozens and dozens of freecourses available with hundreds
or even 1000s of hours oftraining to help keep your
business growing to that nextlevel. There's no need for an
empty pipeline with HubSpotAcademy definitely check them
out. Academy hubspot.comCompletely free totally
underrated. People. Don't checkit out enough for talk about
(01:55):
enough incredible information.
It'll help your business grow.
Well, back to shaking astranger's hand well ever hear
the term your network? Is yournet worth right Grant Cardone
says that all the time, back inthe day, in the Rolodex days, I
think we you say your Rolodex asyour net worth. That's still
(02:18):
from Jim Rohn, you're theaverage of the five people you
hang around with the most. Sohaving that network around you
having those folks around youpeople that you could tap into
for guidance and so forth is sokey. So critical. And this is
why you want to do it. I'mcovering two concepts here,
networking, and referrals. Let'sjump to referrals first, here's
(02:42):
what I want you to do. Take outthree sheets of paper, on one
sheet, write list a at the top,and then write friends and
family. At the very top. Make alist of every buddy you know,
who are his friends and familyfolks that know you know you by
name. Know your family probablybeen to your house multiple
(03:03):
times. Best friends, neighbors,what have you make that list?
And I'm going to tell you whatto do with in a second. Don't
panic. I know some of you guysare panicking that's like, oh,
no, he's gonna ask me to callthis list. No, no, no, make the
list. I just want you to makethe list. And then on the second
sheet of paper, put list B theseare people that you know, but
(03:26):
are just merely acquaintances.
Maybe you don't even know theirfull name, maybe it's dry
cleaning lady or maybe it'spainter or maybe it's landscape
guy, or what have you. These arepeople that you know, you see
all the time, maybe even paythem use them for services, what
have you. But they're notfriends and family. So make a
list of everyone you know, inthat category, and this list
(03:48):
would be pretty long for you. Ichallenge you to do this, this
is extra credit. Go to googlegoogle something like occupation
list. I haven't done this, I'massuming a list of occupations
would come up if you were toGoogle that. So as you see
different occupations likeastronaut or teacher, or
painter, or musician, what haveyou. Let that jog your memory of
(04:10):
all the people that you knowwithin that category. So whether
it be a butcher, a baker, oreven a candlestick maker, list
that in there, make a list ofall those folks that you know
that fill in those categories.
And then take the third sheet ofpaper, this is going to be the
easiest one of all this islists. See, this is the list of
(04:32):
people that you do not know.
Well, who do you not know? Well,there's like 7 billion people.
You'll know them so why even putthem on the list? You haven't
met them yet. Right? What's thedefinition of a friend a friend
is a stranger waiting to be met.
So I challenge you to take thesethree lists. And I'm not saying
call them right and I'm gonnadive into this. reason you want
(04:56):
to do this. You want to use thislist to start jogging in your
brain Who do you know on thislist is an authority figure who
can make a decision for abuilding or property? For you
residential cleaners out there,everyone on these lists can be
your potential client, assumingduring your service area, right.
But if you're going aftercommercial, maybe some of them
(05:17):
serve on board of a school, orwork within a church or
volunteer at such and suchorganization that needs their
space clean, make that list orgo through the list that you
just made, and figure out whoare those decision makers. And
here's what I want you to donext, consider just just
consider the possibility ofasking, Hey, who do you know, is
(05:39):
a decision maker for property orbilling that I can possibly
clean for?
And then they'll volunteeredpeople like to help other
people, if you went to some ofthese folks on your list and
say, Hey, I need help growing mybusiness, who do you know, needs
cleaning services? Someone willrespond and someone will say
yes, I promise you on that. So Iwant you to go in, take a look
(06:02):
at that. And then dive in alittle deeper. Consider this.
The think those folks on yourlist wouldn't mind getting paid
just for referring your businessto someone else. If I paid you
$100 to provide me a list offolks who might be interested in
(06:26):
having their property cleaned,do you think you could come up
with list if I paid you like 20bucks a person? Do you think
he'd come up with 10 names? 20names 30 names for universal
janitorial services here in theWashington DC area to clean in
those areas? I bet he couldwrite for Money, Money Talks,
it's a good motivator, right? Sohe considered this take that
(06:47):
list these these lists I toldyou to create? What if you were
to offer them a percentage ofevery new contract that they
help you bring in? And what Imean by how well, just by making
the connection, just say, Hey,Mr. Stone, so my buddy here owns
a commercial cleaning business.
And I think they'd be a good fitfor your organization and pair
(07:08):
the two just through email orthrough a phone call or through
a letter or what have you. Soimagine that score that location
reaching out to the cleaningcompany signing the contract,
wouldn't it be cool if the onedoing the referring got paid a
percentage back as a referralfee? Well, we do it all the time
here, universal will pay you apercentage back for every time
(07:30):
you bring in business to us. Andthat new business signs a
contract and they pay everypayment that comes in, we pay a
percentage back to the one doingthe referring for up to two
years. And so years ago, Imentioned last episode, we Hey,
we worked with a uniform supplyperson. And they had, they were
going after clients we weregoing after and namely they
(07:52):
worked with a school that wereally wanted. So we formed the
partnership, we say hey, if youmake that connection, we win the
contract will pay a percentageof that contract back to you
every single month, and is onlylike 2%. But the contract was
$8,000 a month. So that's $160 amonth, do you think it's worth
it for that guy to referbusiness to our future client
(08:14):
for 160 bucks a month, you thinkis worth his time for doing
that? Five minutes worth ofeffort. And now you're getting
paid 160 bucks a month and wepaid him for two years? Pretty
good deal. Hmm. So considerdoing that go through your back
to your list. Think throughthere. Hey, who on this list
would love some money? Who onthis list is the decision maker
(08:37):
for properties that we couldpotentially clean? And so there
you go two sources right therewhere you can bring in new
revenue just through referrals.
Well, the other section I'mgoing to talk about is
networking. This is my favoriteof all time. And before I dive
(08:57):
in, I I'm sitting here behind amicrophone.
Earlier my dog walked out on mehe probably looking for food on
the floor, something like that,that the kids may have spilled.
Who knows. But as I'm sittinghere talking to the microphone,
I'm introverted and I confessthat I'm not seeing you guys. So
I'm not nervous speaking into amicrophone. But if you were to
(09:20):
say Hey Mark, here's the 1000people in this room, go meet 20
or 20 new friends or 50 newfriends and get their name and
number. I'd be terrified I'd beabsolutely scared. I'd my palms
would get sweaty, my heart wouldpalpitate right. I get all
nervous and disheveled andprobably trip up on my words
every other sentence because I'mintroverted and raise your hand
(09:44):
if if you identify that withthat you're introvert too well,
hey, welcome to The Club. You'reawesome. So extroverted people
man You guys rock to now I wantto leave you guys out but it's
it's okay to be nervous. It'sokay to worry about it Bama and
give A technique that will helpyou in your networking question
(10:04):
and here's what I do. When I goto a networking event, I'm going
to describe the process here ina minute. But when I go, I
typically bring just businesscards, sometimes I even live,
leave business cards at home onpurpose. My goal is to go there,
smile, listen, hear otherpeople's needs, learn about
other people's businesses andindustries. I'll give maybe a
(10:26):
32nd elevator pitch if theyasked me what I do. But that's
it, I don't even talk about mybusiness, I'm definitely not
selling my business. Because Ihave tons of opportunities on
the flip side to sell to them,I'll need to sell to them that.
So that takes the pressure offof me, I'm not there to produce
or to win new clients. When I'mthere, I'm just there just to
(10:48):
listen, and get to know thesefolks, right. So if I do that,
if you do that, you don't haveto worry as much, it's it just
takes the stress off, he makesit so much easier. But here's
what networking does for you.
Number one, it does boost yourself confidence, right? Because
the more times you talk aboutsomeone or talk to someone, you
(11:09):
get more confident, you're moreat ease as you go through this
also makes you more noticeable.
So when you're networking, andyou're there meeting after
meeting, and sometimes they'llhave multiple meetings each
month, and they see you thereevery single time. Guess what,
next time they think of acleaning service, they're gonna
(11:30):
think of you first becauseyou're always there. Also, as to
your available resources, right?
We don't know what we don'tknow. And within the chamber or
all these different networkinggroups, you have different folks
coming in at differentperspectives, different
industries that could help yourbusiness grow, and gives you a
chance to learn more about otherpeople. Another thing you could
do is develop long lastingrelationships. I'm going to
(11:53):
describe that here in a second.
But it's a great way to developlong lasting relationships,
because again, you're there allthe time, and they'll think of
you first and finally improvescreative intellect. Right? When
you're around a group of peopleback to that gym room for quote,
you're, you're the average ofthe five people you hang around
(12:15):
with the most if you're in aroom full of successful business
owners. Do you think you'll besuccessful too, just by being a
product of all that? Heck, yeah.
Right, because you're anaverage. And if you're the
average inside a roomful ofsuccessful people, you're going
to be successful to no doubt. Sowhere do we network at? Well, I
love to network at the our localChamber of Commerce. It's my
(12:36):
favorite, right? They'll havenetworking breakfasts, and
lunches and evening events. AndI know COVID Kind of doing this
weird stuff. But that parts ofthe country are kind of opening
back up to that even on Zoom,it's great, because you still
have a chance to communicateback channel and chat with
people and so forth. But it's agood way to meet people. Another
way to do it is throughassociations. I talked last
(12:59):
episode about building ownersand Management Association,
Private Property ManagersAssociation, all these different
associations where yourpotential clients are at, go
hang around and join thoseassociations to it may be geared
towards a particular niche. Butsometimes they'll bring on
vendors or vendor partners tocome in. So now you have access
(13:19):
to your potential clients there.
within that organization. Youcould do meetup groups, if you
go to sites like meetup, calm,there's tons of free networking
events, business and otherwise.
So you could go there and justjoin and hang out and say, Hey,
how you doing and get to knowpeople that way.
(13:39):
Another thing you could do isjoin a structured referral based
networking group like BNI. WithBNI, we join, they only allow
it's broken down in smallergroups, right? Only one of each
industry or business type isallowed in. So it could only be
one lawyer, one accountant orone cleaner, so forth. So when
(14:00):
you're trading referrals, and soforth, you're gonna be the go to
guy where they're gonna sing youthose leads. Another way is to
join civic groups outside thechamber of commerce, like Rotary
Club, another similar conceptwhere they just bring in
industry specific, or you couldcreate a strategic alliance. I
(14:20):
mentioned in some of my goalsgoing forward that I'm gonna do
more strategic alliances thisyear. It's where you get someone
you like, know and trust, sitdown over a cup of coffee or a
zoom call. I like doing thiswith my clients. And I say, hey,
what resources do I have at mydisposal that I could help your
business with? Whether it bemarketing or legal or what have
you. So I tap into all theavailable resources that I have
(14:43):
to help them and so it gives youa chance to trade leads, trade,
referrals and so forth, andgives you a chance to help your
business grow. Both businessesgrow mutually. And lastly, you
could join a local mastermindthat's near you, maybe There's a
mastermind and they happen toknow other property business
(15:04):
owners or what have you thatneed services. It's a great way
to get referrals that way. So,again, my strategy when I'm
doing these networking groups isjust to make friends. Okay? I
can still be the introvert, Ican still be the nervous guy
there in the corner. But all Igot to do is give a 32nd
(15:24):
elevator pitch from time to timeand hone that craft. But then
just ask a ton of questionsabout them. People love talking
about themselves. They love it,they love it, they love it. And
this gives me a chance to dothat for him. So he gives you
the chance to make them shine.
Here's some success storiesaround referrals and networking.
So referrals. This is key. Imentioned that our very first
(15:49):
client, we got 1978. We stillhave it today. I don't know how
much longer we'll have it. Theyjust got acquired by CBRE. So
we'll see where this goes. Butour very first client that we
got 1978 referred us. Well letme back up. There's a member of
the board within that clientwho's no longer alive, but he is
member of the board. And he alsoserved as a board member for
(16:13):
local school procedure school,actually. And so they said, Hey,
since you're cleaning ourbuilding here, can you clean our
school over here? It's likeheck, yeah. Right. And so back
in the early 80s, we got that.
Well, that school referred us toanother school. And we serve
that school from the early 80s.
Really up until a couple yearsago. And so the peak of revenue
(16:35):
for all this is probably betweenthese two referees, referrals, I
should say. Probably brought infor us. Today's dollars, about
$60,000 a month. So do you thinkis worth it to do a great job
for that first client and getthat free referral? And go to
the next and go to the next andgo to the next? Heck yeah,
(16:58):
right. So referrals are key.
Never discount referrals. Never,never, never. Here's another
example. Again, going back tothat very first client 1978. We
got building after buildingafter building after building
waters one building we clean weno longer clean. But catty
corner to that building. There'sanother building? Well, that
(17:20):
building called up thefacilities manager, that
building called up our BuildingNetwork cleaning, they say hey,
who cleans your building? Well,it's universal, right? It's
like, okay, great. They call uswe go out there we do a bid, we
win a contract. It's like 10grand a month. I think it was at
the time. Well, a brother tothat facilities manager served
(17:41):
within a union A union propertylocated just downtown. And
within that union property, theyneeded cleaning services were
not unionized, but they wereokay about hiring us. So we end
up working and cleaning thatproperty. And that's like five
or $6,000 a month at the time.
And then they that guy justhappened to serve on board for
the local boy scoutsheadquarters. And so we got that
(18:03):
headquarters, just because ofreferral after referral after
referral. So you don't know. Youdon't know who you don't know,
right. So the more you go outand more you reach out more you
shake hands. You can become amillionaire, no doubt about.
Here's some success stories withnetworking. Our local chamber I
(18:26):
mentioned, I started with thecompany in 1978. I did sells
really up until about 2002 or sogive or take says a five year
period I left came back boughtthe company in 2010 2011. But in
that five year period, beforewhen I was doing sales, here's
what our local Chamber ofCommerce brought to us in new
(18:47):
business. It brought us a TVstation, it Protestant massage
place, an insurance agency, aproperty management company,
which led the four differentbuildings in the area, a church,
a school and many others. Infact, one we still cleaned
today. I signed it is anetworking event through the
(19:07):
chamber inside that networkingevents actually hosted by the
local credit union, thepresident of that credit union,
we shook hands and just byshaking hands, he called me up
and said, Hey, I'd like you tocome out and do a walkthrough as
in the year 2000. We're stillcleaning today. 22 years later.
At the peak, we had about sixdifferent locations going by I
(19:31):
did the math, we earned over$1.5 million in revenue just off
that one client alone. So do youthink it's worth it to shake a
stranger's hand? Well, youanswer me. It definitely is
worth it. I can tell you that.
So that's all I have for youtoday. Man. I hope this
information is useful hope thathelped. This episode is brought
(19:52):
to you by Universal janitorialservices if you need any
cleaning in Washington, DC Weprovide four different distinct
services, janitorial Porter,specialty floor work and also
disinfecting. So if there'sanything we can do for you in
that realm, be more than happyto help you out. If you like
this show and you'd like moreinformation about the resources
(20:13):
mentioned, definitely check outbeyond the mop show.com. And if
you felt this episode was worthfive stars, or review, or even
subscribe, I truly appreciatethat you could check it out on
any platform, Apple podcast,Spotify, Google or wherever you
listen to this podcast. Again,this episode is brought to you
by Universal and thank you foryour time I really appreciate if
(20:36):
there's anything I can do foryou. Never hesitate to reach out
What's the easiest way to say hi to a stranger? Just
say hi. Do you realize thatdoing so enough times can make
you a millionaire? Hey, I'm MarkLineberry from beyond the mob
podcast, and today I'm going totalk about how shaking a
stranger's hand can make amillion dollars in your cleaning
business. But first, like withevery episode, I offer a tip or
(00:24):
a resource, a full cup,something that can help your
business grow. Let me ask youthis. Do you wish you can have
an ongoing flow of new leadscoming into your business but
you don't know marketing wellenough to get there? Are you
looking for a free resource toget marketing training and even
be certified? Do you wish youcould clean up your competition
(00:47):
and outgrow them? Hey, look nofurther than HubSpot Academy.
HubSpot as a CRM, customerrelationship management software
that helps keep tabs of youropportunities leads and even
clients. As a value add theycreated a platform called
HubSpot Academy. Years ago, Iswitched from Salesforce over to
(01:09):
HubSpot. And I had no idea thatHubSpot Academy existed. And I
was tinkering around lookingaround in there trying to get
familiar to software and I seethis section where they're
offering tons of free courses,courses like well, using
LinkedIn to grow your businessor SEO to grow your cleaning
business, social mediamarketing, sales, management,
business blogging, and so somany more. In fact, there are
(01:33):
dozens and dozens of freecourses available with hundreds
or even 1000s of hours oftraining to help keep your
business growing to that nextlevel. There's no need for an
empty pipeline with HubSpotAcademy definitely check them
out. Academy hubspot.comCompletely free totally
underrated. People. Don't checkit out enough for talk about
(01:55):
enough incredible information.
It'll help your business grow.
Well, back to shaking astranger's hand well ever hear
the term your network? Is yournet worth right Grant Cardone
says that all the time, back inthe day, in the Rolodex days, I
think we you say your Rolodex asyour net worth. That's still
(02:18):
from Jim Rohn, you're theaverage of the five people you
hang around with the most. Sohaving that network around you
having those folks around youpeople that you could tap into
for guidance and so forth is sokey. So critical. And this is
why you want to do it. I'mcovering two concepts here,
networking, and referrals. Let'sjump to referrals first, here's
(02:42):
what I want you to do. Take outthree sheets of paper, on one
sheet, write list a at the top,and then write friends and
family. At the very top. Make alist of every buddy you know,
who are his friends and familyfolks that know you know you by
name. Know your family probablybeen to your house multiple
(03:03):
times. Best friends, neighbors,what have you make that list?
And I'm going to tell you whatto do with in a second. Don't
panic. I know some of you guysare panicking that's like, oh,
no, he's gonna ask me to callthis list. No, no, no, make the
list. I just want you to makethe list. And then on the second
sheet of paper, put list B theseare people that you know, but
(03:26):
are just merely acquaintances.
Maybe you don't even know theirfull name, maybe it's dry
cleaning lady or maybe it'spainter or maybe it's landscape
guy, or what have you. These arepeople that you know, you see
all the time, maybe even paythem use them for services, what
have you. But they're notfriends and family. So make a
list of everyone you know, inthat category, and this list
(03:48):
would be pretty long for you. Ichallenge you to do this, this
is extra credit. Go to googlegoogle something like occupation
list. I haven't done this, I'massuming a list of occupations
would come up if you were toGoogle that. So as you see
different occupations likeastronaut or teacher, or
painter, or musician, what haveyou. Let that jog your memory of
(04:10):
all the people that you knowwithin that category. So whether
it be a butcher, a baker, oreven a candlestick maker, list
that in there, make a list ofall those folks that you know
that fill in those categories.
And then take the third sheet ofpaper, this is going to be the
easiest one of all this islists. See, this is the list of
(04:32):
people that you do not know.
Well, who do you not know? Well,there's like 7 billion people.
You'll know them so why even putthem on the list? You haven't
met them yet. Right? What's thedefinition of a friend a friend
is a stranger waiting to be met.
So I challenge you to take thesethree lists. And I'm not saying
call them right and I'm gonnadive into this. reason you want
(04:56):
to do this. You want to use thislist to start jogging in your
brain Who do you know on thislist is an authority figure who
can make a decision for abuilding or property? For you
residential cleaners out there,everyone on these lists can be
your potential client, assumingduring your service area, right.
But if you're going aftercommercial, maybe some of them
(05:17):
serve on board of a school, orwork within a church or
volunteer at such and suchorganization that needs their
space clean, make that list orgo through the list that you
just made, and figure out whoare those decision makers. And
here's what I want you to donext, consider just just
consider the possibility ofasking, Hey, who do you know, is
(05:39):
a decision maker for property orbilling that I can possibly
clean for?
And then they'll volunteeredpeople like to help other
people, if you went to some ofthese folks on your list and
say, Hey, I need help growing mybusiness, who do you know, needs
cleaning services? Someone willrespond and someone will say
yes, I promise you on that. So Iwant you to go in, take a look
(06:02):
at that. And then dive in alittle deeper. Consider this.
The think those folks on yourlist wouldn't mind getting paid
just for referring your businessto someone else. If I paid you
$100 to provide me a list offolks who might be interested in
(06:26):
having their property cleaned,do you think you could come up
with list if I paid you like 20bucks a person? Do you think
he'd come up with 10 names? 20names 30 names for universal
janitorial services here in theWashington DC area to clean in
those areas? I bet he couldwrite for Money, Money Talks,
it's a good motivator, right? Sohe considered this take that
(06:47):
list these these lists I toldyou to create? What if you were
to offer them a percentage ofevery new contract that they
help you bring in? And what Imean by how well, just by making
the connection, just say, Hey,Mr. Stone, so my buddy here owns
a commercial cleaning business.
And I think they'd be a good fitfor your organization and pair
(07:08):
the two just through email orthrough a phone call or through
a letter or what have you. Soimagine that score that location
reaching out to the cleaningcompany signing the contract,
wouldn't it be cool if the onedoing the referring got paid a
percentage back as a referralfee? Well, we do it all the time
here, universal will pay you apercentage back for every time
(07:30):
you bring in business to us. Andthat new business signs a
contract and they pay everypayment that comes in, we pay a
percentage back to the one doingthe referring for up to two
years. And so years ago, Imentioned last episode, we Hey,
we worked with a uniform supplyperson. And they had, they were
going after clients we weregoing after and namely they
(07:52):
worked with a school that wereally wanted. So we formed the
partnership, we say hey, if youmake that connection, we win the
contract will pay a percentageof that contract back to you
every single month, and is onlylike 2%. But the contract was
$8,000 a month. So that's $160 amonth, do you think it's worth
it for that guy to referbusiness to our future client
(08:14):
for 160 bucks a month, you thinkis worth his time for doing
that? Five minutes worth ofeffort. And now you're getting
paid 160 bucks a month and wepaid him for two years? Pretty
good deal. Hmm. So considerdoing that go through your back
to your list. Think throughthere. Hey, who on this list
would love some money? Who onthis list is the decision maker
(08:37):
for properties that we couldpotentially clean? And so there
you go two sources right therewhere you can bring in new
revenue just through referrals.
Well, the other section I'mgoing to talk about is
networking. This is my favoriteof all time. And before I dive
(08:57):
in, I I'm sitting here behind amicrophone.
Earlier my dog walked out on mehe probably looking for food on
the floor, something like that,that the kids may have spilled.
Who knows. But as I'm sittinghere talking to the microphone,
I'm introverted and I confessthat I'm not seeing you guys. So
I'm not nervous speaking into amicrophone. But if you were to
(09:20):
say Hey Mark, here's the 1000people in this room, go meet 20
or 20 new friends or 50 newfriends and get their name and
number. I'd be terrified I'd beabsolutely scared. I'd my palms
would get sweaty, my heart wouldpalpitate right. I get all
nervous and disheveled andprobably trip up on my words
every other sentence because I'mintroverted and raise your hand
(09:44):
if if you identify that withthat you're introvert too well,
hey, welcome to The Club. You'reawesome. So extroverted people
man You guys rock to now I wantto leave you guys out but it's
it's okay to be nervous. It'sokay to worry about it Bama and
give A technique that will helpyou in your networking question
(10:04):
and here's what I do. When I goto a networking event, I'm going
to describe the process here ina minute. But when I go, I
typically bring just businesscards, sometimes I even live,
leave business cards at home onpurpose. My goal is to go there,
smile, listen, hear otherpeople's needs, learn about
other people's businesses andindustries. I'll give maybe a
(10:26):
32nd elevator pitch if theyasked me what I do. But that's
it, I don't even talk about mybusiness, I'm definitely not
selling my business. Because Ihave tons of opportunities on
the flip side to sell to them,I'll need to sell to them that.
So that takes the pressure offof me, I'm not there to produce
or to win new clients. When I'mthere, I'm just there just to
(10:48):
listen, and get to know thesefolks, right. So if I do that,
if you do that, you don't haveto worry as much, it's it just
takes the stress off, he makesit so much easier. But here's
what networking does for you.
Number one, it does boost yourself confidence, right? Because
the more times you talk aboutsomeone or talk to someone, you
(11:09):
get more confident, you're moreat ease as you go through this
also makes you more noticeable.
So when you're networking, andyou're there meeting after
meeting, and sometimes they'llhave multiple meetings each
month, and they see you thereevery single time. Guess what,
next time they think of acleaning service, they're gonna
(11:30):
think of you first becauseyou're always there. Also, as to
your available resources, right?
We don't know what we don'tknow. And within the chamber or
all these different networkinggroups, you have different folks
coming in at differentperspectives, different
industries that could help yourbusiness grow, and gives you a
chance to learn more about otherpeople. Another thing you could
do is develop long lastingrelationships. I'm going to
(11:53):
describe that here in a second.
But it's a great way to developlong lasting relationships,
because again, you're there allthe time, and they'll think of
you first and finally improvescreative intellect. Right? When
you're around a group of peopleback to that gym room for quote,
you're, you're the average ofthe five people you hang around
(12:15):
with the most if you're in aroom full of successful business
owners. Do you think you'll besuccessful too, just by being a
product of all that? Heck, yeah.
Right, because you're anaverage. And if you're the
average inside a roomful ofsuccessful people, you're going
to be successful to no doubt. Sowhere do we network at? Well, I
love to network at the our localChamber of Commerce. It's my
(12:36):
favorite, right? They'll havenetworking breakfasts, and
lunches and evening events. AndI know COVID Kind of doing this
weird stuff. But that parts ofthe country are kind of opening
back up to that even on Zoom,it's great, because you still
have a chance to communicateback channel and chat with
people and so forth. But it's agood way to meet people. Another
way to do it is throughassociations. I talked last
(12:59):
episode about building ownersand Management Association,
Private Property ManagersAssociation, all these different
associations where yourpotential clients are at, go
hang around and join thoseassociations to it may be geared
towards a particular niche. Butsometimes they'll bring on
vendors or vendor partners tocome in. So now you have access
(13:19):
to your potential clients there.
within that organization. Youcould do meetup groups, if you
go to sites like meetup, calm,there's tons of free networking
events, business and otherwise.
So you could go there and justjoin and hang out and say, Hey,
how you doing and get to knowpeople that way.
(13:39):
Another thing you could do isjoin a structured referral based
networking group like BNI. WithBNI, we join, they only allow
it's broken down in smallergroups, right? Only one of each
industry or business type isallowed in. So it could only be
one lawyer, one accountant orone cleaner, so forth. So when
(14:00):
you're trading referrals, and soforth, you're gonna be the go to
guy where they're gonna sing youthose leads. Another way is to
join civic groups outside thechamber of commerce, like Rotary
Club, another similar conceptwhere they just bring in
industry specific, or you couldcreate a strategic alliance. I
(14:20):
mentioned in some of my goalsgoing forward that I'm gonna do
more strategic alliances thisyear. It's where you get someone
you like, know and trust, sitdown over a cup of coffee or a
zoom call. I like doing thiswith my clients. And I say, hey,
what resources do I have at mydisposal that I could help your
business with? Whether it bemarketing or legal or what have
you. So I tap into all theavailable resources that I have
(14:43):
to help them and so it gives youa chance to trade leads, trade,
referrals and so forth, andgives you a chance to help your
business grow. Both businessesgrow mutually. And lastly, you
could join a local mastermindthat's near you, maybe There's a
mastermind and they happen toknow other property business
(15:04):
owners or what have you thatneed services. It's a great way
to get referrals that way. So,again, my strategy when I'm
doing these networking groups isjust to make friends. Okay? I
can still be the introvert, Ican still be the nervous guy
there in the corner. But all Igot to do is give a 32nd
(15:24):
elevator pitch from time to timeand hone that craft. But then
just ask a ton of questionsabout them. People love talking
about themselves. They love it,they love it, they love it. And
this gives me a chance to dothat for him. So he gives you
the chance to make them shine.
Here's some success storiesaround referrals and networking.
So referrals. This is key. Imentioned that our very first
(15:49):
client, we got 1978. We stillhave it today. I don't know how
much longer we'll have it. Theyjust got acquired by CBRE. So
we'll see where this goes. Butour very first client that we
got 1978 referred us. Well letme back up. There's a member of
the board within that clientwho's no longer alive, but he is
member of the board. And he alsoserved as a board member for
(16:13):
local school procedure school,actually. And so they said, Hey,
since you're cleaning ourbuilding here, can you clean our
school over here? It's likeheck, yeah. Right. And so back
in the early 80s, we got that.
Well, that school referred us toanother school. And we serve
that school from the early 80s.
Really up until a couple yearsago. And so the peak of revenue
(16:35):
for all this is probably betweenthese two referees, referrals, I
should say. Probably brought infor us. Today's dollars, about
$60,000 a month. So do you thinkis worth it to do a great job
for that first client and getthat free referral? And go to
the next and go to the next andgo to the next? Heck yeah,
(16:58):
right. So referrals are key.
Never discount referrals. Never,never, never. Here's another
example. Again, going back tothat very first client 1978. We
got building after buildingafter building after building
waters one building we clean weno longer clean. But catty
corner to that building. There'sanother building? Well, that
(17:20):
building called up thefacilities manager, that
building called up our BuildingNetwork cleaning, they say hey,
who cleans your building? Well,it's universal, right? It's
like, okay, great. They call uswe go out there we do a bid, we
win a contract. It's like 10grand a month. I think it was at
the time. Well, a brother tothat facilities manager served
(17:41):
within a union A union propertylocated just downtown. And
within that union property, theyneeded cleaning services were
not unionized, but they wereokay about hiring us. So we end
up working and cleaning thatproperty. And that's like five
or $6,000 a month at the time.
And then they that guy justhappened to serve on board for
the local boy scoutsheadquarters. And so we got that
(18:03):
headquarters, just because ofreferral after referral after
referral. So you don't know. Youdon't know who you don't know,
right. So the more you go outand more you reach out more you
shake hands. You can become amillionaire, no doubt about.
Here's some success stories withnetworking. Our local chamber I
(18:26):
mentioned, I started with thecompany in 1978. I did sells
really up until about 2002 or sogive or take says a five year
period I left came back boughtthe company in 2010 2011. But in
that five year period, beforewhen I was doing sales, here's
what our local Chamber ofCommerce brought to us in new
(18:47):
business. It brought us a TVstation, it Protestant massage
place, an insurance agency, aproperty management company,
which led the four differentbuildings in the area, a church,
a school and many others. Infact, one we still cleaned
today. I signed it is anetworking event through the
(19:07):
chamber inside that networkingevents actually hosted by the
local credit union, thepresident of that credit union,
we shook hands and just byshaking hands, he called me up
and said, Hey, I'd like you tocome out and do a walkthrough as
in the year 2000. We're stillcleaning today. 22 years later.
At the peak, we had about sixdifferent locations going by I
(19:31):
did the math, we earned over$1.5 million in revenue just off
that one client alone. So do youthink it's worth it to shake a
stranger's hand? Well, youanswer me. It definitely is
worth it. I can tell you that.
So that's all I have for youtoday. Man. I hope this
information is useful hope thathelped. This episode is brought
(19:52):
to you by Universal janitorialservices if you need any
cleaning in Washington, DC Weprovide four different distinct
services, janitorial Porter,specialty floor work and also
disinfecting. So if there'sanything we can do for you in
that realm, be more than happyto help you out. If you like
this show and you'd like moreinformation about the resources
(20:13):
mentioned, definitely check outbeyond the mop show.com. And if
you felt this episode was worthfive stars, or review, or even
subscribe, I truly appreciatethat you could check it out on
any platform, Apple podcast,Spotify, Google or wherever you
listen to this podcast. Again,this episode is brought to you
by Universal and thank you foryour time I really appreciate if
(20:36):
there's anything I can do foryou. Never hesitate to reach out
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