Your Dream Client

Your “Dream Client”

Identifying your “Dream Client” is critically important.  The process of defining your Dream Client pushes you to become far more clear and specific about the nature of your business and your marketing focus.  The creation of your Dream Client allows you to identify exactly the client with whom you want to work the most.   This simple yet powerful concept will empower you to make better decisions for your business as well.
Highest Profit, Most Enjoyable, Best Client Relationship, Least Problems, Most Referrals

For instance, knowing that X is your Dream Client, helps you stay focused upon their issues, needs and likes/dislikes.

You can make better decisions about where to spend your marketing dollars and your efforts.

Who do you want as your Client?

What are your most profitable services?

What frequency is most profitable?

What is the “3-D Picture” of your Dream Client?

  • Home Value $XXX,XXX.00
  • Bedrooms/Bathrooms/Square Footage
  • Age of Home
  • Services Provided—Cleaning with Carpets, Windows & ?
  • Household Income
  • Dual Income or Single Income Couple
  • Children
  • Pets
  • How many cars
  • Professions or Careers of Homeowners
  • Own Additional Homes
  • Travel Volume per month
  • Pay by Credit Card; Pay for service in advance–# of months
  • Phone Estimate or In-Home Home Health Audit
  • How many Affiliate Services Used in One Year

Here are some examples of actual Dream Clients

Actual Dream Client (middle-income buyer)

$195,000 Home

2BR/2Bath

1780 sq. ft.

Weekly Service is $105 (averaged)

5 year old home

Weekly Cleaning with Windows 2X/yr., Carpets 1X/yr.

$78,000 Annual Income

Dual Income-Both Full-time

2 Children under 10—daycare or school full-time

1 dog

2 cars

Teachers, Engineers, Computers, Office, Paralegals

No additional home

Travel less than 2 weeks per year

Pay by Credit Card (pays two weeks in advance)

Phone Estimate

Uses 3.5 Affiliate Services per Year—painter, landscaping, lawn service, pest control, carpets are the most commonly used

Refers 3 or less new Clients per year

Residential Cleaning Service Owner loves this and only hopes to improve this Dream Client by:

  1. Increasing Carpets to 2X/yr.
  2. Pay by Credit Card with one month in advance
  3. Uses 5 Affiliate Services
  4. Refers 5 or less new Clients per year

So now the Owner has a focus upon which to work in terms of what they are targeting as their best Clients, along with “stretch goals” upon which to focus with their existing Dream Clients in order to maximize annual revenues from these current Dream Clients.

Actual Dream Client (Affluent Buyer)

$550,000 Home

5BR/3.5Bath

3450 sq. ft.

Weekly Service is $265 (averaged)

10 year old home

Weekly Cleaning with Carpets & Windows 2X/yr., Pest Control monthly, Outdoor Pressure Washing 2X/yr., Two cars washed/detailed 12X/yr.

$310,000 Annual Income

Single Income

2 Children—16 or older

2 dogs

4 cars

Business Owners, Lawyers, Doctors, Executives, Old Wealth

2 Additional Homes

Travel 8 weeks per year

Pay by Credit Card (pays 6 months in advance)

52% are Gold Plan Service Clients (Silver, Gold, Platinum)

24% are Platinum Plan Service Clients

Phone Estimate

Uses 6.5 Affiliate Services per Year—painter, landscaping, lawn service, pest control, carpets, party servers/bartenders/valet parkers, and home theater or computer tech support services most commonly used

Refers 3 or less new Clients per year

Provides team members $500 Holiday Cash Bonuses annually

Residential Cleaning Service Owner loves this and only hopes to improve this Dream Client by:

  1. Pay by Credit Card (pays 9 months in advance)
  2. 35% are Platinum Plan Service Clients
  3. 60% are Gold Plan Service Clients
  4. Use 8 Affiliate Services per Year

Redefine Your Brand

Redefine Your Brand

Over the next year I want you to seriously consider the first word of this chapter title redefine.  Think about it, did you know, there are residential cleaning companies that focus purely on cleaning churches.  There are cleaning companies that do nothing but cleaning funeral homes out.  About the company, whose tagline is “serving the downtown eight lead.”  How about positioning yourself as home health experts would keep your home clean, sanitized and healthy.  Did you know that there is an SI seek his to describe businesses that refer to themselves as a state cleaning.  We don’t clean homes, we only clean estates.  Now coming from the five-star hotel background myself about this one.  Graceful, elegant, charming company providing turndown service and a minute he services for the affluent homeowner.  In other words, what are your brand, who are you who you trying to serve and wire you in business.

We’ll deal with Nick is in your unique selling proposition in the next chapter.  So for now, I want to focus on the bigger issue of the branding of your company.

Redefining your brand encompasses many factors.  First, wire you in this business?  There are almost as many answers to this question as there are registered owners of residential cleaning companies in America.(24, 164, at last count(.

I love cleaning!  I am in this business to build a great company.  I am in this business to build a great company and by other companies or to start other divisions or other companies.  I am in this business to build it and sell it.  I am in the business to build it and pass it on to my children.  I want to build it and start a franchise.  I want to build my business, and then license the systems I’ve created or create a consulting firm.

Earlier I mentioned briefly, the idea of commodity.  Commodity thinking again has a powerful place here when you think about branding your company.  The commodity minded owner will tend to have the following beliefs:

1.  Timebase labor and pricing.  Exchanging time for money.

2.  Using coupons for nominal amounts such as $10 off the first visit.

3.  Price consciousness versus value orientation.

4.  Doing the work yourself.  Struggling to get out of the employee mentality.

5.  Technician focused, that is, managing the minutia or the details of the day-to-day grad.

6.  Today focused.  Lacking the proactive skill of envisioning this week, next week, next month.

7.  Working harder, not smarter.

The more entrepreneurial, owner will have the following beliefs:

1.  Value based upon results of services, not just time served for my.

2.  Values attraction marketing for pre-qualifying potential new customers.

3.  Services and multiple offers focused.

4.  Values development of passive revenue for the company.

5.  Focused on growing the business.

6.  Tomorrow focused, being proactive rather than reactive.

It is an example of the value minded business owner in residential cleaning.

The value oriented business owner asks they are prospective customers.  The following questions:

if we were able to give you back six hours per week, what would that mean to you?

If your child’s toys for sanitized every week, will that do for you?

When we win your trust over time and you believe are cleaning crew, what would that mean to you?

What are your top three reasons for contracting a cleaning service today?

Revisit your business plan, as it relates to your brand.

Is my goal for being in business still clear?

Am I laser focused on how to make money?

Am I crystal-clear on my target customers?

Am I maximizing profit potential from every customer based upon my brand?

Am I leveraging every current customer for referrals for new business?

Am I exhausted, risking burnout, working harder rather than smarter?