Smart Cleaning School

It was GO-TIME for Bridgett and I this week! We met on Monday at a coffee shop to connect and to prepare our double showcase presentation to our MCBA group. Once we made the connection that we were both in the same business, the "business of first impressions", our presentation was like riding a bike going downhill. We selected fellow member Vernessa Hopkins and discussed how we could help her in a way that was engaging to the meeting for 40 minutes. There would be NO call-to-action to the other members except for Vernessa to incorporate the recommendations we gave her. Bridgett and I had an opening, relevant stories, and the word congruency. We both agreed that the first impression that Vernessa's written content provided had to be congruent with the first impression that her office environment provided. This set the stage for each of us to share for 10 minutes on 3-5 recommendations Vernessa could incorporate to strengthen her first impressions. The double showcase was set and it went amazing! The others were fully engaged, leaning forward, nodding their heads, and asking great questions afterward. Vernessa was very thankful. Bridgett and I were the first to ever create a showcase 'alliance' to help another. And that's what the 'A' in MCBA stands for. Other members were talking at the end of the meeting and starting to form their own strategic alliances. 

Gary Volpe couldn't make our showcase as he was taking care of his president's role in the Rotary. We met right after at his office for an estimate. I can't share details of individual estimates for privacy sake. I can say this. I was so impressed with the 15 foot high mural of the Volpe Family business through it's 50 years of operation. Gary took me on a tour of his 40,000 sqft office building and told me great stories and introduced me to associates. I wasn't expecting this, but we also went to his old building for a second estimate. This is where the title of this episode comes from. We walked into a bathroom. There was some toilet paper on the ground by the trash can. He saw me going to pick it up and he stopped me because he wanted his employees to 'see it' and do it. I said. "You knew I was going to pick it up, didn't you?" He responded. "Yep, you're a cleaning guy. I know you would." This was a great meeting and I am so grateful for Gary's time and friendship. It's amazing how this is working. I already set myself apart by being a business man who happens to clean (from Andrea Szlavic). I am an introvert who has read books to be better with people and not afraid to network and try new things. I go to new network groups on faith and knew no one. A month later, they all know me. I'm a giver in the group and now Gary is giving me a huge opportunity.  

This week was a BIB group meeting as well. We meet for breakfast in a local diner, open in prayer, discuss an educational piece, do two short 5 minute mini showcases, and connect. The group is small, but I enjoy the fellowship and you never know what will come from it! During the 30-second commercials, I used my time to help another member (just like Bridgett and I did at MCBA) and it went over really well. Another member said to me afterward, "I really appreciate how you used your time to talk about someone else. I need to get you to my house for a cleaning estimate". Are you starting to see that people hire people that they know, like, and trust!?

Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

Goal-setting is a science and an art. We covered some of the art and the emotion of why to set goals. Now it's time to dive into some science. The S.M.A.R.T. Framework is a methodology of setting goals that allows you to measure and track your progress. Without a system like this, your goals are likely just wishes. Check out my free "SMART Goals Masterclass" to get a great recap on the Why of goals and for an in-depth explanation of the SMART Framework. 

In this episode, I want you to grasp that each letter in SMART has a greater purpose. However, I don't think the letters are in the right order. For the purpose of an acronym, SMART makes sense. The true order should be RASMT.

• R = Relevant - This is the most important letter in the goal. It must get you closer to your Why! It must be relevant to your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)
• A = Attainable - The Slight Edge requires slight inputs. You need to get the ball rolling with small wins. Set your first goals small and always make sure they are realistic otherwise, you will not do them.
• SM = Specific & Measureable - This combo makes the goals easily tracked with numbers or scores. As they say, "What gets measured gets managed."
• T = Time bound  -This ties it all together and makes it accountable by giving your trackable goal  a deadline. Without a deadline, nothing happens.

SMART Examples: 

• To grow my book club to 25 members. S, M, A - This is NOT relevant to your cleaning business and there is no deadline!
• To grow my book club to 25 members by 1/31/20. S, M, T - We added a deadline, but it's not feasible to add 25 members in a week. It's not attainable. And by the way, this isn't relevant at all to your cleaning business!
• To grow my cleaning business. A, R - Now we have a relevant goal, but it's too vague. It's not specific or measurable and there's no deadline. By the way, you could literally pick up the phone and call one prospect, get a no, and say you took action that "grew" your business.
• To grow my cleaning business by $1M by 1/31/20. S, M, R, T - This is the first goal that seems to have the whole package, except one thing. It's not attainable! Thus, it's not SMART and you won't get traction!
• To grow my cleaning business by 5 new biweekly clients. S, m, A, R - This goal is relevant and specific. It's also attainable. But, there is no deadline and it's not fully measurable. It's not productive to keep a scorecard and only measure the results. Adding 5 new clients is a result. You need to understand the entire process from the initial marketing to the first message to the estimate and sales. Do you know the level of marketing activity to achieve "5 new biweekly clients"? Once you do, swap in the actions and your goal will go from 'm' to 'M'. If you control the actions, you can control the outcome!
• To create 25 cleaning leads (for 5 new biweekly clients) by 3/31/20. S, M, A, R, T - Bingo! We finally have a goal that is SMART. Do you understand why? Read these notes and listen to this episode until you do!

In my last solo cleaning business update, I was thrilled to report two successful house cleaning estimates. I had cleaned for Ellie last week and verbally, she agreed to a recurring service starting in December. The other estimate was with Erika, whom my wife connected with through the local Facebook mom's group. I felt great about the estimate and expected a second yes, but heard nothing all weekend. Of course, doubts trickle in and you wonder if she changed her mind. Here's what I did. I texted Erika on Monday morning and said this. "How was your weekend? I just wanted to check in..." I didn't even mention cleaning and she replied with "I'm so sorry, so much going on. I meant to call you. When can we get on your schedule?" I was able to schedule her family on biweekly Thursdays along with Ellie. There's a lesson here. I could have been more direct and said. "Hi Erika, were you interested in cleaning services?" I could have been less direct. "Erika, did you have any other questions about my cleaning options?" I'm sure many of you would do this and I'm NOT saying it's wrong. I just had a gut feeling that Erika is a busy, working mom and my all-important cleaning proposal got looked at and forgotten in the chaos of her weekend. Therefore, I opted to be a human and ask how her weekend was. She may have responded with something short. "Fine." There is an emotional intelligence component required here. In my experience, this type of response shows disinterest or they just had a bad weekend. Either way, I'd give them time and follow up again in a week. Erika did not do that. She responded with enthusiasm. That's always a great sign. The result was expected. I asked about her weekend and she booked our cleaning service.

My networking meetings were lively as always. I shared last time that I was voluntold to do a 20-minute business showcase along with Bridgett. I had an idea that I wanted to pitch and it went great. What if we used our showcase time together to help another member AS we showcase what we each do in our businesses? Bridgett loved it and so did Vernessa, who was the member we were going to help. We had an educational piece during this meeting where we watched a TED talk and discussed how it related to us. I had a chance to wrap up with my comments and then casually mentioned that I was going to interview James Hardy from the group on a future podcast. Several members said. "You have a podcast!" "What is it called?" Before I could answer, Eva Finlan piped up and said. "Oh, it's a really good show!" I had promoted Eva on a prior episode and shared it to my Facebook friends. She was so grateful and listened. I told them the name of this show and a handful wrote it down. After the meeting, I set up a time to meet with Eva for a 1-to-1 to connect more. I also had a quick word with Gary Volpe about his office cleaning. He had tried to get me in there, but the timing wasn't right yet. I was grateful that he was considering me. As a quick note, I also attended my first Chamber of Commerce luncheon as a new member. It was an honor to speak in front of the members and all 3 of our county commissioners to introduce myself.

Read the rest of this article at the Solo Cleaning School website

This is our second lesson on goal-setting. The first was "What is Your Why", where we saw the importance of finding what makes you tick and use that to keep you inspired. In this lesson, I want to prove to you why you need to set goals if you want to succeed. In fact, I'll let the well-known Harvard Business Review study tell you why!

• 83% of people do not set goals.
• 14% of people do set goals and succeed 10 times more than the 83% that do not set goals at all.
• 3% of people have goals and write them down. This group succeeds 3 times more than than the goal-setters that do not write them down and 30 times more than the non-goal-setters.

In a separate study of people that set goals and write them down, 40% do not go back and look at their goals! 

This is a remarkable finding. Out of 100 people, only 3 write down their goals and less than 2 (on average) write them down and review them on a regular basis. Furthermore, it is my guess that 1 out of 100 write down their goals, review them on a regular basis, and are held accountable to someone they respect to complete them.

Which of these 100 people would you like to be? If the goal-setters succeed 10 times more than non-goal-setters and the goal writers succeed 30 times more, how much more successful are the 1% that go all-in?!

I want to be a 1%'er. How about you?

Reference: The verse I quoted from the bible is Habakkuk 2:2-3

Then the Lord answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.

I started this week with a presentation cleaning assessment for Tom and Marci at Edward Jones. As you may remember, this lead came through connecting with new friends's friends on LinkedIn (2nd Connections). I was able to point out several cleaning & presentation changes that could "present" their office better on first impressions to their target client. They were grateful for the time and free consulting I suggested. Plus, it was really great to meet my new LinkedIn friend Tom McKee in person! I promised to email the proposal by Wednesday and delivered. I was very pleased with myself because I was able to cut my office cleaning proposal time by 2 hours with a better template. This will save me time in the future!

At MCBA, I shared my Edward Jones story to show what I do. It connected with the group. I also voluntold that it was my turn to do a 20-minute showcase at an upcoming meeting. This opportunity gave me an idea. What if I could use my time to help another member and let everyone know what I do? I talked to another member, Vernessa Hopkins of H3 Business Services, who also rents the meeting space to our group. She was totally game! We chatted for a few minutes and she told me her ideal client and gave me permission to walk around to do my presentation cleaning assessment. After the meeting, I chatted with member Gary Volpe of Volpe Enterprises. He said. "Your name came up yesterday. We've had our cleaner for a couple years and their quality has been declining. We're not ready to switch, but I wanted to talk to you." I offered to do a free presentation on assessment to give my impression of the condition and what the current cleaner should change. Gary was very kind to think of me when cleaning came up at his company. I look forward to setting up an estimate. He said one other thing that really made me feel special. "I had a good feeling about you when I first met. You can just tell about people. Then, I met your wife and I got a better feeling." My takeaway is this. I am networking to establish myself in the community, build relationships, and grow our business. It's so cool that I could introduce Teresa to a friend, successful businessman, and potential future client.

1-on-1 meetings are very productive. I have tried to meet with other members of my 2 networking groups at least once per week and certainly 2 per month. I met with James Hardy (a fellow MCBA member) for breakfast and had a fabulous conversation about how each of us are in the business of first impressions. James owns the Carpet Guys and has been in restoration carpet cleaning for over 20 years. He shared some stories of how vital trust and excellence are in his company. One story in particular, James shared how his company maintained a consistency and excellence from the first phone call to the estimate, clean uniforms and work truck, to the initial cleaning excellence of his equipment and the work he did. I was SO impressed with his mindset for excellence that I asked if I could interview him for my podcast at some point and call the show "Presentation is Everything". He thought it would be a great idea to get the word out on what he does and help others. I also did a 1-on-1 Mary Ann Alig of Fox Roach Realtors. She's a fellow member in my BIB meeting. I really liked the niche she serves of first-time home buyers and how she educates them fully. She also goes to church with James Hardy and they didn't know each other.

Check out the rest of this episode blog at the Solo Cleaning School

We are starting 2020 with a 4-part podcast series on Goal Setting. Recently, I was asked by Courtney Wisely of Rescue My Maid Service to be an expert on this topic. I did a live training through Zoom to 8 growing cleaning business owners in St. Louis to identify what topics connected the most. Then I refined my presentation to record a 60-minute masterclass on Goals & Accountability for Courtney's Maidivation subscription boxes. Since this content has been received so well by cleaning companies with large teams and growing businesses, I knew it would connect with my solo cleaning family! Surely, you can go to my website and watch my free 60-min masterclass or just listen to all 4 parts of this podcast series.

Why does the Why matter so much? Let's just say it this way. Simon Sinek has built an entire company, platform, and brand on helping people and companies figure out their why. In his book, "Start With Why", Simon shares the concept of the Golden Circle where the WHY is in the center and the How and What flows outward from it. His experience with thousands of individuals and companies show that those that truly start with why, achieve the most success and significance. The ones that just go for the details, tend to lose their way. Without the Why, the How and the What doesn't matter.

I learned a great exercise in San Diego at Social Media Marketing World. It's called the "5 Why's". In this exercise, you peel back the onion until you get to the real & true heart of your why. This is the vulnerable and most cherished part of you. It will create the fuel of inspiration verses the  outside need for motivation, which is more of an air pump. This concept really connected with Courtney's Rescue Retreat attendees. In fact, let me share an example from the retreat.

1. "Why are you here at this retreat?" RESPONSE: "To get my systems in place."
2. "Why?" RESPONSE: "To be able to automate my business and get to go back to Mexico for 4 months of  the year.
3. "Why? RESPONSE: "Well, really to have my business fully run so I can go back to Mexico and start a  family?"
4. "Why?" RESPONSE: "My 1st marriage didn't work and I want to start again and be a mom."
5. "Why?" RESPONSE: "I've always wanted to be a mom and raise a family and travel."

As you can see, the responses got deeper and more personal. This woman wants her cleaning business to provide the income and  time freedom so she can live her Why. By the time you get 5 Why's deep, you should have something that is highly emotional to the person and is highly likely to light their own pilot light for inspiration verses outside motivation. The light of inspiration will never go out.

Go to my Resources page to see my recommended book list including "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek. I also referenced my good friend Josh Melton of Athens Cleaning Company in Athens, GA in the Funny Papers. He co-owns this commercial cleaning company and helps other commercial cleaners nationwide get to the 6-figure income mark.

This is the last business update on my new solo cleaning business for 2019. What a way to go out! Andrea Szlavik of A2Z Realtor Pa assures Ken that he is not a cleaner who happens to do business. He is a business person that happens to clean. This is a big difference. Let's dive into this week in my business!

We had a business showcase presentation from Laney Landis this week at MCBA. She is the 5th generation owner (over 200 years in the family) of Old Village Paint. I was mesmerized at the history of this American Pre-Civil War paint company. I happened to record this meeting as I wanted to learn each member's business better. This was very fortuitous as Laney was sad she didn't have a recording of her showcase on her family company. Afterward, I told her of my bootleg recording and sold it on the black market for a can of paint. Just kidding. I sent it to her after the meeting and she was so pleased and thankful. As I've shared many times, always look to sow good seeds.

I also connected with a few other members after this meeting. James wanted to set up a 1-to-1 breakfast meeting to get to know each other's stories better. Charley wanted me to start sending me cleaning referrals. Paul wanted to connect. I am becoming a trusted face & member and others recognize that and want to get to know me better to refer me.

I met Andrea Szlavic on NextDoor last week and she added me to her realtor preferred vendor list. I was very thankful and asked if she would like to grab a coffee and connect. She opted for breakfast at a brand new local spot called Sammy's Bullfrog Cafe in Harleysville,  It was a productive meeting where we shared our business stories with each other while enjoying the new flavor in town. We discovered a common connection as well. I had attended the Growth Now Movement LIVE! Conference in Reading, PA with Justin Schenck. While at this conference, I met another Keller Williams realtor at the same office as Andrea. It's a small world, after all. At the end of the meeting, I asked her this question. "Why did you add me to your preferred vendor list without meeting me or seeing my work quality first?"  Her answer floored me and became the title to this episode.

"Because you set yourself apart by reaching out to me first on NextDoor. That told me that you were a business person that did cleaning verses a cleaning person that tried to do business. Most cleaners don't take that initiative."

As we parted, she assured me that she would get me out to her team's office in the spring for a real estate cleaning presentation. Then instead of getting in my car, I went back into the cafe and asked to speak to the owner. They were hesitant as they assumed I wanted to complain. Then I told them that I enjoyed the experience and would like to leave the cafe a 5-star review on Google. The hostess introduced me to my breakfast waitress, who was also part owner in the brand new cafe! She was very grateful and told me where to leave these reviews and asked for my cleaning business card. I left one on the cafe's bulletin board and went home.

Once I got home, I followed up by giving 5-star reviews on Google, NextDoor, and Facebook for Andrea and the Bullfrog Cafe. Andrea and Kayla (my breakfast waitress) were so thankful. Again, these are good seeds!

Check out the rest of this blog on my website to see how I got my first office cleaning lead from LinkedIn.

John Maxwell is internationally acclaimed and sought after for his gifting in the instruction of leadership development. He has spawned thousands of leaders through his system. I may never physically meet him in person, but his books and talks have mentored me for over a decade. There is one specific annual exercise that I would like to wrap up 2019 and I hope you'll join me. Check out John's blog article first!

Here's what John is doing right now and I'll quote him directly from the blog.

"I steal off to my study while everyone else is watching television or napping. There on my desk waiting for me is my appointment calendar from the preceding year and a yellow legal pad. Starting that afternoon and continuing that week up until New Year’s Eve, I spend time reviewing my calendar. I review every appointment, meeting, commitment, and activity—hour by hour—from the previous 359 days. And I evaluate each of them.
Right now, I’m in the midst of this process. 

1. I’m looking carefully at my speaking engagements and considering what I should do more of, what I should do less of, and what I should eliminate altogether.
2. I’m looking at the growth opportunities I pursued and judging which gave a high return and which didn’t.
3. I’m looking at all the meetings and appointments I had, to determine which ones I should do more of and which I should eliminate.
4. This week, I’ll also consider how much time I spent doing things that I should have delegated to someone else. (I’ll also look at what I delegated and reconsider whether I should pick anything back up or delegate it to someone different.).
5. I’ll evaluate whether I spent enough time with my family.
6. I’ll also make a list of all the things Margaret and I did together this year, and take her out to dinner one night so we can reminisce and enjoy them once again.

With this annual process, I try to account for every waking hour I had the previous year. What’s the value of that? It helps me to develop strategies for the coming year. Because I do this every year (and have for decades), I’m continually becoming more focused, strategic, and effective. Even if I have a difficult time or relatively unproductive year compared to what I desired, it’s never a loss, because I learn from it and improve upon it in the coming year."

Most people allow their lives to simply happen to them. They float along. They wait. They react. And by the time a large portion of their life is behind them, they realize they should have been more proactive and strategic. My yearly process is just one method that I use to be strategic and intentional.
I’ve found that this is a perfect time of year for reflecting and setting goals."

Here's John's advice for us for 2020 -

"Start by sitting down with your calendar for 2019, along with any to-do lists or journals from the past 12 months. Make note of each event, appointment, and activity. Then evaluate every item on your list.

1. What did you enjoy?
2. What were some of your proudest moments?
3. What did you spend too much time on?
4. What didn’t get enough of your time?
5. In what areas were you especially effective?
6. Where did you fail?
7. What can you learn from your mistakes?

Check out my full blog post with my recommendation on how to apply Think Week to your life.

This goes back to my introduction episode and going into more mindset on honoring what you currently do and have. Every seed sown comes up. The message here is simple for you to ponder during Christmastime... what are you sowing into the ground with your current job or business? What about your relationships? Every action you take will leave a ripple in the pond of your community. Which ripple are you making... one toward good will or bad? Merry Christmas to you and your family!

I don't have any new clients yet, but you will absolutely start to see the seeds being planted and my expectation of future harvest. This episode starts with my meeting with Indian Valley Chamber President, Steven Hunsberger. Steven loved my approach to meeting the other members. Although I had no intention of joining the chamber right away, Steven uttered these words. "Ken, you'd be the only cleaner." My next words were, "Steve, can I have an application?"

I also attended my first Montgomery County Business Alliance (MCBA) meeting as a member. Gary Volpe of Volpe Enterprises was the man in the middle as he shared a current situation and asked the other members to help him group solve it. I felt like I was back in Gatlinburg at the Mastermind Retreat.

Prior to the meeting, I used the common area restroom outside of Vernessa's office and MCBA location. The restrooms were maintained, but not to my standards. After the meeting, I asked Vernessa about these common areas and she connected me with Sean from the grocery store that did that cleaning work. This was my first lead for the week. I went directly to the grocery and asked for Sean. He wasn't available, but I left my business card and said I was referred by Vernessa. This is exactly like "Building My New Cleaning Network II" and "I'm a friend of Eva Finlan and she told me I should connect with you."

I was also networking at home as well. This is a big part of my strategy - 50% in-person networking meetings and 50% social media / email marketing. It was my last week of my free LinkedIn Sales Navigator trial. Since my target for new small office clients are the office managers, I tried connecting with OMs directly by friending 100 through LinkedIn. This approach was a failure as very few responded. I'm not sure if it's because they don't use LinkedIn much or they don't know me! Either way, I needed a new approach, so I shifted to something new. Over the past month, I've met over 50 local business people in the various networking groups I've attended. I added as many as I could to LinkedIn. They are now 1st connections. I did a search of 2nd connections in Harleysville, Telford, Souderton, and Lansdale. These represent the 1st connections of the new friends I've just made locally. I used a simple script, "Good morning Bill, we're new in the Harleysville area and saw we have mutual connections. Thought I'd reach out and introduce myself." I am getting excellent response from this approach as they trust me more with the mutual connection. I immediately say, "Thank you for accepting my connection request, Bill." Some would respond and message me back. I would glance at their profile and ask a question about their work, which would hopefully initiate conversation and a new business relationship. This new approach lead to two new friends this week. One was an old high school friend that connected me with a lead for commercial post-construction cleaning.  Of course, I chased this lead right away! This LinkedIn approach will change once I cancel my premium trial, but the concept is solid for growing my local network.

Check out my full blog on this episode to learn other strategies and lessons this week has taught me.