Selling Cordless Upright Vacuums

As with almost every janitorial tool, the proof is in the pudding. Simply dropping some literature into buyers’ laps is not enough to close a sale. They want to touch and use a vacuum before buying, so there’s no better selling technique than putting the product in end users’ hands.

“Show your customers how easy it is to use,” says Cooper. “It’s a great demonstration. You just turn it on and start walking anywhere without a cord.”

A great spot for a demo is a common area where sales reps can show clients how cordless uprights handle open areas and heavy foot traffic, how easily the vacuums maneuver around chairs and other obstacles, and how well they can clean a walk-off mat. Demonstrate the productivity potential and “it sells itself,” says Cooper.

In large organizations, it may also be helpful to target someone other than the typical facility or housekeeping director.

“Many of these organizations have a director of risk management or a safety director,” says Pease. “If you make a call on that person, when you show it to them their eyes open wide because they understand the cost of slip-and-fall lawsuit.”

Finally, distributors should remind their sales staffs to discuss battery management when they are talking to buyers about cordless vacuums. With a run time of 50 to 55 minutes, these uprights can easily tackle a variety of cleaning challenges. For many facilities, however, it will be important to have a backup battery for each machine. This allows users to switch them out as needed for nearly uninterrupted workflow.

“If you’re going to deploy cordless technology, it’s more than the product itself,” says Mitchell. “It’s important to acknowledge to a customer that their workflow will be a bit different as they now have to think about where they’ll house the batteries and chargers and manage how many they have, whether they’re charged, and how they’re being maintained.”

Becky Mollenkamp is a freelance writer based in St. Louis.