Approved contractors lists

superfly_2

Hi,
As previously posted I am buying a carpet cleaning company. The company has mainly been dealing with residential customers but my plan is to secure some business customers on regular contracts. i aim to target hotels, pubs , clubs, nursing homes etc..But a lot of these places work on approved contractors lists and my question is how i go about getting on there?
What is the best approach, cold calling at thier premises, calling by phone to arrange a meeting or are there any other ways of getting on there.
TIA
Superfly

Astaroth

Ultimately there is almost no difference at all from attracting private customers as it is corporate as ultimately it will be a person that you are selling to. Some will respond better to direct mail, others telephone.

The one key thing to do is make sure you get through to the right person especially for DM. If I receive a letter or such about cleaning services I am going to put it in the bin rather than tracking down the person who handles our cleaning contract and sending it on to them.

If you are talking about larger corporations then check their websites as they frequently have a "suppliers" information page on how to put up a tenure for business

superfly_2

thanks for your reply, I suppose the hard part is finding out the person that i should be dealing with.

shinkyshonky

superfly wrote:

thanks for your reply, I suppose the hard part is finding out the person that i should be dealing with.

I totally agree ,always find out who the person is in charge,

Here is a tip, large businesses it is usually a director of procurement or a facilities manager,SME`S (Small to medium businesses it is usually the office manager)
and 9 times out of 10 it is best to call, when you get through always confirm that you are speaking to the correct person before you pitch, so many people out there always pitch the wrong person,and never be afraid to ask to meet, most procurement/office managers are always on the lookout to see who provides a good service, being cheap dosen`t always get the contract

if they ask for further info always ask if you can email, try and get a pdf of yor services , as they can print this out, and it ooks professional
last resort post, and always ask if you if you can give a follow call

I am about to go down the same route,i.e cold-calling/pitching for business
starting on my own after so many years , but offering a different service,
it`s hard, but the more you do it, the more you`ll enjoy and learn

stitchup

You could also try your luck with free adds section of local papers and you would be surprised at the response you get from advertising in church parish monthly books, that doesn,t cost a lot either for a medium sized add.

superfly_2

good first post stitchup, thanks for that