By Steve Ashkin, The Ashkin Group

When selling a product such as a case of toilet bowl cleaner or paper towels, there is very little consideration given to the type of account we are selling to. Whether it is a school, university, hospital, nursing home, commercial office building, etc. – barrowing a line from Shakespeare, “a toilet by any other name is… well a toilet”. And whether that toilet, mirror, carpet, floor, etc. is in a school, university, hospital and so on, it really doesn’t matter when it comes to product selling. We sell the product basically the same way regardless of the account.

Many of us were taught to sell by the “show and tell” method. Always bring a new product to a sales call and it is especially effective when we have a little demo kit to magically show the customer how the product works. Find a “need”, demonstrate the product, and make the sale – easy as 1-2-3.

This elementary selling approach is valuable for all jansan sales people to master, and will always be an important skill for sales reps who work directly for product manufacturers. But distributor sales reps and sales reps working for building service contractors are different, especially when it comes to selling Green Cleaning – that is if you want to truly meet your customer’s needs and maximize your sales and commissions.

While the concept is still the same – finding the “need” takes on a whole different meaning when selling Green Cleaning programs. For the greatest success, you must clearly understand your customer’s “needs” and recognize that the “need” changes depending on the account. For example, when selling to a commercial office building housing a large calling center, their primary objective might be to increase productivity, sales and profits through creating a cleaner and healthier environment which is more conducive to making more uninterrupted calls – more calls, more sales and profits.

However when selling a school, they do not measure success in the same way as the commercial office building. So if we approach a school in terms of increasing productivity, sales and profits the school may feel that you do not understand their “needs” making it more difficult to make a sale.

The following are some of the strategies for selling to a variety of different market segments:

• Schools: The “needs” of schools are focused around improving attendance and student performance on standardized tests. For example, the Healthy Schools Campaign calculated that a half-percent increase in attendance would result in an additional $300,000 in funding for some larger school districts from the State of Illinois. Other studies, such as the Charles Young Elementary School found that after a major renovation in which cleaning was a key component, both attendance and scores on standardized tests increased. These are the “needs” that your schools would surely like learning more about, and Green Cleaning can help them.

• Universities: Interestingly, we have found that the “needs” of Universities are very different from schools, even though both have a clear educational focus. Universities compete for the top students and faculty, and a Green Cleaning program offers outstanding marketing benefits (parents for example like knowing that their kids are in clean and safe environment). Universities also see their mission as being leaders and are with increasing frequency embracing sustainability principles and green building issues. And don’t forget to ask if they are familiar with the US Green Building Council’s LEED program – if they are, then be prepared to help them with your complete Green Cleaning program.

• Hospitals: The “needs” of hospitals is measured in terms of patient outcomes. Nosocomial infections (those infections acquired in the hospital) are of critical concern in a hospital and helping to implement a Green Cleaning program could be of enormous value. But other important “needs” include reducing occupational exposures to nursing and environmental services staff, waste reduction, recycling and green issues. And don’t forget to ask if they are familiar with the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment’s (H2E) Green Guide for Healthcare – if they are then be prepared to help them with your complete Green Cleaning program.

• Nursing Homes: The “needs” of nursing homes differ significantly from hospitals because their customers use a different decision-making process for picking a nursing home. While cleanliness is and will forever remain a very important issue, but due to increasing competition, nursing homes have an increasing “need” for “marketing” opportunities that Green Cleaning can offer to help differentiate themselves from their competitors.

• Commercial Office Buildings (owner occupied or single tenant): The “needs” of these buildings focus around increasing productivity, quality, employee retention, sales and profits through creating a cleaner and healthier environment. As with the earlier example of the call center, more uninterrupted calls and happier occupants can result in more sales and profits.

• Commercial Office Buildings (multiple tenants leased space): Frequently when selling to a commercial office building with multiple tenants we are selling to a property management company. Because the property management company’s profits are not directly affected by the improved productivity of the occupants, their “needs” deal more with tenant retention, improved tenant satisfaction, reduced complaints, and marketing their property to gain new tenants. Green Cleaning can help in all of these areas.

• LEED Buildings: If you’re calling on a building in the US Green Building Council’s LEED program, they have a huge “need” for your Green Cleaning program. Depending on what your company has to offer, you can help them achieve a significant number of points, which is worth a lot towards their certification. But you won’t know unless you ask. And this includes every class of buildings discussed above. We hope you have found this information helpful. If you have any questions about any particular building segment, send your question to SteveAshkin@AshkinGroup.com. And you may want to review some of the past articles in DestinationGreen about building your bundle and overcoming common objections.

The goal of The Ashkin Group is to get schools, universities, hospitals, nursing homes, commercial buildings and more to buy Green Cleaning products. And since they have to buy them from someone, we prefer they buy them from you!

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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