By Steve Ashkin, The Ashkin Group

In February we began our series on the “Key to Sales Success” --- that one strategy or critical step in the process that leads to success. In that first article we discussed the 3 Bucket Approach to evaluating a prospect needs and then to logically organize the information in a way that allows them to make a purchasing decision. If you haven’t read that article or want to do a quick refresher, simply click here.

In March we followed with an article to help you actually gather the information that later will be sorted into the 3 Buckets. The 3 Bucket Approach will help you deal efficiently with a lot of information that you find during your audit, and does so in a way that aids the sales process. And in that article we provided lots of “red flags” --- things to look for to make the process even easier. If you haven’t read that article or want to do a quick refresher, simply click here.

In this month’s article we want to provide some tips to help you actually write the report. As we mentioned in March, the level of detail is based on what you really need to do to help the prospect make an informed decision.

For example, if the building is currently in a lawsuit with the occupants or custodians alleging that the cleaning products or process has made them sick, then you should be extremely thorough and dot every “I” and cross every “T”.

In this case you may want to provide a written analysis of the ingredients in each and every cleaning product which you can generally get from the Material Safety Data Sheets and then report on the health and environmental issues associated with each. This information can be found on a number of relatively easy-to-use online databases such as Scorecard or from the National Library of Medicine.

In general, my advice is to leave these situations to industrial hygienists and others who have specific expertise in these matters. I have found that unless the customer is paying for the time and effort to do this right, it is extremely difficult to justify the necessary effort when it is simply being “covered” by product pricing and sales. While it is tragic anytime there are negative health issues associated with cleaning products or processes, but fortunately this is not commonplace.

When writing the report of your findings, think of it as an “executive summary” with “speaking points” which simply are bulleted paragraphs that make it easy not only for you to communicate the findings, opportunities and benefits; but for your prospect to be able to easily “sell” the proposal to their bosses. Helping your prospect look good to his/her bosses, peers, occupants and other stakeholders can be very valuable.

One simple approach is to present the information in a number of general areas with headers such as “opportunities to reduce environmental risks”, “opportunities to reduce health risks” and “opportunities to reduce financial impacts”. In this way each header is tied to one “leg” of the Triple-Bottom Line. And this approach is consistent with your efforts to position yourself as the “expert” in Green Cleaning and to help them implement a Green Cleaning program.

But regardless of the way you organize the report, keep in mind that typically the prospect does NOT want to read a book. Rather a few of the key findings under each area is sufficient to help convince the prospect that you have done your homework and have objectively identified opportunities for improvement. Most reports that I have written using this format are between 5 and 6 pages in length (and include pictures!) but they can be shorter or longer. Interestingly, the more I do these reports the shorter they become.

In the section on “reducing environmental impacts” you could state that you found a number of products with ingredients that were flammable, high in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that contribute to atmospheric smog formation, derived from petroleum and other nonrenewable natural resources, toxic to aquatic life after disposal, etc. (assuming it’s true). And thus opportunities exist to further reduce environmental impacts.

In addition you can include information recognizing the opportunity to reduce environmental impacts associated with product packaging if you find a large number of ready-to-use products because packaging (including bottles, caps, trigger sprayers and cardboard boxes) all have significant environmental impacts resulting from their manufacturer, as well as after use when they are either sent to the landfill or recycled.

You might also comment on opportunities to reduce the total number of chemicals or eliminate some chemicals or processes altogether. These opportunities not only can reduce environmental impacts, but often can help the prospect save money.

And remember it’s not just about chemicals. You can also identify that you found janitorial paper products and trash can liners made only from virgin materials which impacts our forests and consumption of limited nonrenewable natural resources (i.e. petroleum). As well as opportunities to reduce the number of shipping cartons, eliminating paper cores and wrappers, using large rolls to reduce waste, right-sizing liners to eliminate wasted materials, and improving product quality which can also result in using less product. Each of these are examples of opportunities to reduce environmental impacts.

In your section on “reducing health impacts” you could state (assuming it’s true) that you found products that were labeled as hazardous, poisonous, corrosive or otherwise toxic according to OSHA’s definition. In addition, you might state (again assuming it’s true) that you found products containing ingredients that were known or suspected to cause cancer, asthma, respiratory irritation, skin and eye burns, major organ damage, developmental and neurological disorders, etc.

It would be important when identifying these kinds of health findings that you are NOT suggesting that the prospect is placing occupants, visitors or product users at imminent risk of harm, since even traditional products are safe when used according to manufacturer’s directions (unless they are being misused). Rather you are factually stating your findings and identifying opportunities to further reduce risk. Or perhaps stated another way, you can create a greater margin of safety using newer, greener technologies.

And again it’s not just about chemicals. You can identify safety issues such as equipment with frayed wires and ergonomic related issues. Or vacuum cleaners that are not being maintained properly (such as the lack of high-filtration inserts) which unnecessarily increase the risk of exposure for cleaning personnel and occupants to small particles which are often contaminated with chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, mold spores and other allergens, all of which can harm health if either inhaled or ingested. Or mop buckets that are found with filthy water or scrubbers that are not being maintained properly, both of which can lead to cross contamination.

A final section can be titled “general housekeeping findings”, which can cover your findings on general cleanliness and other issues that you uncover during the audit. One of the most important parts of this section are any findings that would suggest that more and better training would be beneficial. Typically improving the process itself can result in all kinds of health, environmental and financial benefits for the prospect.

For example, this section can also cover how soils enter the building from the outside and the benefits for higher quality and larger entry way mats or establishing a school bus “idling policy” to reduce the amount of exhaust entering the building. Other general housekeeping issues include occupants with books and papers covering every inch of their floor, desk and other surfaces which make cleaning, dusting and vacuuming virtually impossible. While NOT cleaning these areas may reduce cleaning costs by saving labor, but it places all occupants at risk due to the contaminants which need to be removed from the space.

Please know that the ideas that I have shared are NOT intended to be comprehensive or complete. There will be numerous opportunities based on the findings of your audits. Just highlight some of the key opportunities and once you actually begin working with the prospect, you can and should continually strive to improve the program.

But you may be wondering where the 3 Bucket Approach comes into practice in all of this? The answer is, when you sort the information into your basic section (i.e. environmental, health, housekeeping, etc.) then simply characterize each of the opportunities for improvement as easy and no- or low-cost, hard and requiring a significant capital outlay (i.e. buying that riding auto scrubber), and finally the “stuff” in between.

Finally, it is also important that you state in your report a “disclaimer” that you are not suggesting that people are being placed at imminent risk of harm, unless of course this is true. If there are some things that greatly concern you, I would recommend that you speak to the prospect immediately and directly, and if health issues or violations of laws are involved, encourage them to discuss it with a medical professional or other appropriate person.

Otherwise, the recommended “tone” is that the building is doing well, but you have identified opportunities to create an even greater margin of safety and to further reduce the possible negative impacts to both health and the environment.

In the end, it has been my experience that the sales person who “wins” is the one that is best able to help the prospect/customer. Doing an audit, analyzing the data and providing it in a manner that makes it easier for the prospect to understand and act will set you apart from your competitors and truly make a difference for your customers and your sales.

Remember, the marketplace is going green and because of this, prospects are going to buy Green Cleaning products and services from someone. And it is my preference that they buy from you! Good luck selling.

Steve

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About the Author:

A 25+ year veteran of the cleaning industry, Stephen Ashkin is the author of Green Cleaning for Dummies and a tireless advocate for environmentally preferable cleaning products. Often referred to as the “father of green cleaning,” Ashkin has played a pivotal role in setting industry standards, promoting environmentally preferable products, and advocating for socially responsible practices.

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