What Does It Mean To "Buy Janitorial Leads"?

Janitorial companies who are just starting up might be new to the idea of generating commercial cleaning leads. So first, here is a quick summary of what lead generation does, why it's necessary, and how companies get it done.

• Attracts interest - It draws the attention of companies who are interested in a janitorial service.
• Determines their needs - Logically, they wouldn't be interested in a particular service if they didn't have a need for it.
• It indicates opportunities - It gives a tangible and measurable form to your sales chances.
• Gain insight on what to offer - Knowing the needs also implies that you'll know how to address them.
• It's either outsourced or done in-house - The costs and requirements needed for even a decent campaign ranges from the necessary tools to the necessary starting information. Cost-efficiency and results usually affect the final decision between the two types.

Now with regards to the last item on the list, some companies make the mistake of assuming that leads can just simply be 'bought'. The truth is you don't buy leads in the same way you buy any other B2B product. You're actually buying an entire process.

You see, like you, generating leads is more of a service than a product. When people say they're 'selling leads', they might very well be just saying that they're selling contact data. And in case you've forgotten, those aren't always sufficient enough to be called qualified leads.

But then again, perhaps this is because so many sales personnel have varying differences on defining what a lead is. Perhaps even the above list doesn't necessarily reflect what they're looking for.

For now though, it's still very important to remember that leads are generated by a process. Below is the process in its entirety:

• Contacting a prospect - Some people would prefer cold calling. Others would try email marketing. Either way, the point is just simply to check for interest and nothing more. It's now common knowledge that attempting sales from a random encounter is an increasingly ineffective (and irritating) model.
• Qualifying them - If they've shown an interest and are willing to talk more, that starts the long qualification process. Needs are discussed. Problems regarding the cleanliness and maintenance of the work place are brought up. Ultimately, the goal is to direct a prospect to a sales representative (for example, they might set an appointment).
• Presenting the qualified lead - Once the lead is qualified, information about them is relayed to sales and it's now up to them to pursue the opportunity.

Further details about the process might be specified by sales as well. But the fact is, they need to concern themselves with the process and not presume they can just focus on the results. They're not exclusive. If you want something is made in a certain way, you need to know the process of actually making it. In the case of janitorial service leads, you can't simply just say you want to 'buy' them. You'll have better luck trying to buy (and understand) the process which creates them.