If you want to learn how to start a cleaning business or increase the turnover of an existing one you'll need to find out how to win cleaning contracts in the commercial sector - and forget all about domestic cleaning.

Sounds easy doesn't it?

That's what I thought until someone showed me that I was making some monumental mistakes which wasted five years of my career and cost me a fortune.

Are you making the same mistakes?

When I started in this industry 32 years ago I thought I was doing fantastically well. I was 'quoting' for half a dozen cleaning contracts every day - the trouble was, those people were not authorised to buy - they just told me that they were. I ended up having hundreds of outstanding quotes on file that I used to spend endless hours chasing for a decision - with no chance at all of ever winning any business.

Then things got so bad that I had to go out and do leaflet drops to try and get small carpet and window cleaning jobs - just to pay the bills!

Does that sound like you? I was doing that for five years before I realised that I even had a problem - let alone actually knowing what to do about it.

You see, the biggest problem I had was this - like most 25 year old lads I had no credit history and wanted (no, needed) a mortgage - but no bank would touch me with a barge pole. I even went as far as preparing a business plan and going along to see the Bank Manager all 'suited and booted'. I went through the whole patter about how I was going to build the next massive cleaning company and do you know what that bloke did - he threw me out (with a bit of friendly advice)!

The advice he gave me was basically this......................

A business of any kind is something that has a value in its own right - something you can sell or pass on to the kids. If you're planning to deliver loads of leaflets around the town offering window cleaning or carpet cleaning services you'll probably get some work - but you haven't been able to start a cleaning business, you've found yourself a short term income - and if it's an income you want, you may as well go and work for someone else.

Let's get one thing straight right now - you will never make enough money from the profit in one-off cleaning jobs. The real money is to be made from the value of your cleaning company.

I needed written agreements to provide the service for at least a year, maybe longer.

But first I had to find a way to get to the real decision maker - the person who was authorised to buy what I was offering. Only then would I be successful.

"I spent five years cleaning carpets and windows to make a living and I still hadn't got anything to show for it. I would have known how to win cleaning contracts easily if only I'd started asking the 'Killer Question' earlier................."

I was totally gutted. Five years down the drain - what a waste! I started from scratch and went to work for a small to medium sized cleaning company in Essex.

I soon realised that selling cleaning was actually my thing. I was able to get cleaning contracts easily- I was good at it - because I had found a great teacher.

It really wouldn't be appropriate to name the individual or the company here because they are still trading and I'm sure they wouldn't thank me for telling you that they built a massive, profitable cleaning company with no capital! But............

They taught me how to start a cleaning business using my Clients money.

They taught me how to get 100+ HOT leads every week.

They taught me how to convert 50% of my quotes into sales by putting the Client into a position where he can hardly say no!

They taught me how to start a cleaning business that has a value in its own right - something that the bank would recognise if ever I wanted to borrow money.

They taught me how to sell that business and still earn an income from it!

But the most important thing they taught me was how to ask the Killer Question' that would put me in front of the real 'decision maker' within two minutes of walking into a building!

Guess what? I worked for them for twelve months, thanked them for everything they'd taught me and started out on my own again.

Well, what a difference! Now I was choosing the cleaning contracts I wanted. I was getting to the decision maker within two minutes of walking into the building (just as they'd taught me), I was winning HALF of all the business I was quoting - and the Client was paying me before I had to pay anybody!

I never looked back and I went on to build a profitable cleaning business in less than twelve months(£432K turnover !!!) which I promptly sold. In fact I went on to do it four times and since I found out how to win cleaning contracts I've sold new business with a turnover in excess of £10 million! Think about that for a minute - actually sold - not filled in tender forms - sold by knocking on doors!

In October 2008 I (semi) retired when I reached my fiftieth birthday and I think I've had a fairly respectable career. It hasn't been easy (especially at the beginning) but I suppose if I have one regret, it's that I didn't find out this information earlier.