It probably comes as no surprise that more than 73 percent of the cleaning contractors in a recent survey said they base their bids on a combination of three factors:
1. The square footage of the building
2. How much time it will take to clean the facility
3. How many people will be necessary to service the location

However, what is surprising is that "about half of the BSCs questioned do not follow up with prospects if their bid was not accepted," says Jolynn Kennedy, Marketing Director for Tornado Industries. "That feedback could help them win the next bid."
 
Among the other findings of the survey were the following:
• Sixty-four percent of responders said they base their bids on what they are charging current customers and not necessarily on current rates charged by other cleaning contractors in their communities.

• Forty-seven percent of responders said they do not ask customers how much they are currently paying for cleaning services; 40 percent said they sometimes ask; 13 percent said they always ask.

• As to presenting their bids, 60 percent of responders said they make appointments with customers and hand deliver their bids; a third send bids via e-mail; the rest deliver bids using a priority or overnight delivery service.

• More than half of responders said their contracts are either annual or on a month-to-month basis; a third have only annual contracts; the rest have only month-to-month agreements with their clients.

• Finally, more than a third of responders said they submit three or four bids per month; 27 percent submit one to two bids each month; the rest indicated they submit fewer than ten bids per year.