Although there are no scientific studies that indicate how many cleaning bids a BSC must submit before one is accepted, many salespeople say their "batting average" is about one in five — for every five bids submitted, one is accepted.
 
One way to improve those odds is to simply take the time to find out why a proposal was not accepted.
 
"Not only does this help the cleaning contractor, it helps the clients looking for a janitorial service," says Michel Theriault, author of Win More Business — Write Better Proposals.  "By giving feedback to BSCs, clients are more likely to receive better written proposals in the future."
 
According to Jolynn Kennedy, marketing manager for Tornado Industries, written into some formal request for proposals is a provision requiring the client to notify the contractor why their bid was not accepted. Smart BSCs will always ask for this information.
 
"Usually, the easiest way to find out why a bid was not accepted is to simply call the client," Kennedy says.  "The client will often be willing to discuss their decision."
 
This feedback can help BSCs in the future, such as:
• The proposal did not provide enough background information on the BSC's company.
• The references listed were not comparable to the client's facility.
• Grammar or spelling errors were present, which can pop out when evaluating a proposal.
• The bid amount was too high, or just as bad, too low; both can kill a proposal.

"[And,] try to get a feel for how the client viewed your entire bid package," adds Kennedy. "In some cases, it's not what's in the bid that counts, but the entire presentation that is the deciding factor."