Proposal Basics for Small Commercial Cleaning Companies

By Traci Isley

Owner, A Cleaner Solution

Many of us, as very small start up companies, don’t see the need for writing up “official” proposals. Most of the time that stems from lack of good information, built up images of small novels detailing company facts that bore you, much less the client! But a proposal can be pretty simple, especially when starting out.

Take a moment to ask yourself where you’d like to see your business go. Do you want to grow? Do you dream of your own window office and scurrying employees at you beck and call? Do you simply want to make a better life for your family? Whatever the goal a proposal can help. It lends an air of professionalism that many of our competitors lack It helps to define who we are as a company, what makes us unique, why the client wants us over others. It contains information that you may not have opportunity to discuss verbally with your contact while on site.

Ok, so how do I start?? My suggestion is to develop a “skeleton” proposal that is easily adaptable to a wide variety of clients. My personal proposal is set up this way, it saves me time and energy, and helps ensure that I actually WRITE it! My standard proposal is about 6-8 pages long, easy to read and includes a cover letter, bid sheet, scope of work, service agreement, company resume, and at times other specifics that a client may require.

The cover letter: Write out the company’s address in the top left corner, and address your contact by name. I try to avoid generic “to whom it may concern” openings. It should thank the client for their time with you and for their interest in your company. Use confident language in introducing the proposal package. Instead of saying “I hope the proposal will meet you needs” say “I’m confident” or “certain” that it will.

The next paragraph should highlight the factors you most want the client to remember about your company. Examples of this could be safety policies, experience, client relations… whatever you feel makes your company special. You can start the paragraph with something like “The difference you will notice with us is…” If you write it out though, make sure you can deliver!

The closing paragraph should refer back to the information you’re presenting. “Please review at your convenience… In addition to the routine maintenance schedule I have included windows, floors, carpets, etc.” Always include your full name, phone number and company name at the end of the letter. The biggest thing to remember is to keep this short and to the point.

Next you should include the bid sheet and scope of work. This is, after all, why they are reading this! The bid sheet itself is very simple. I set mine up like this:

Bid Sheet and Scope of Work for XYZ Company

Routine Janitorial Services:

Frequency: X times per… $XXX.XX/week, month, etc.

(See attached scope of work for specifics)

Initial Cleaning Services: $XX.XX

Additional Services:

Tile floor maintenance

Carpet Cleaning

Windows

(See Attached schedule)

Next will be the scope of work. You can write the bid sheet and scope of work in a generic fashion, that you can easily modify for site specifics. I recommend a simple Excel spread sheet. Use section headings such as: Offices, Break Area, Restrooms, and Entryway. Whatever areas you find yourself commonly cleaning in most accounts. Under the heading titles list all your standard tasks: dusting between shoulders and knees, vacuum all carpet, sweep and mop all tile… you know the drill. Next add three more columns for frequency. Like this:

OFFICES	TIMES WEEKLY	TIMES MONTHLY	TIMES YEARLY
Empty trash. Replace liners when needed.

That’s it. You never have to write the basics again and can easily modify this set up for any specifics you come across!

The hard part is done! Add your company’s service agreement next. Follow that with your references and “TA-DA!!” a ready-made, easily adaptable, totally professional proposal for your business to use! Once you’ve built the “skeleton” simply use the find and replace feature on your word processing program to change the addresses and names.