How to Get Commercial Cleaning Contracts: An Outbound Playbook for Cleaning Companies

Across two commercial cleaning programs, our BDRs made 42,618 calls and set 349 sales appointments. One was a pilot for seven Jan-Pro franchises, each selling in its own metro area. The other was for Moponic, a veteran-owned janitorial company in Austin and Fort Worth.

Those programs showed us where commercial cleaning contracts come from. Most start with a conversation with the person who manages the building, ideally before their current agreement comes up for renewal. This guide covers who that person is, how to reach them, what to ask and how much calling it takes.

The short answer

Commercial cleaning companies win contracts through four main channels: referrals from current clients, public and private bids, purchased leads and direct outreach to facility decision-makers. Referrals close well but can't be scheduled. Bids are open to everyone, so price often decides them. Outbound calling is the channel you control. You pick the buildings, reach the property or facility manager and book a walkthrough so you can quote. A steady contract pipeline needs that outreach running every week, including the weeks your crews are busiest.

Where commercial cleaning contracts come from

We're biased toward the last row. Making phone calls is what we do. But it's also the only row where you decide which buildings you go after and when. Keep the others running. Referrals and bids fill gaps, and outbound sets the pace.

Who to call for a commercial cleaning contract

The buyer changes with the building.

For Moponic, our callers worked through property managers, facility directors and business owners across Austin and Fort Worth. The person who answers the phone is rarely the buyer, but they almost always know who is. Ask by role. Who handles janitorial service for the building? gets you a name faster than asking for the decision-maker.

Build the list before you dial

A good call list is narrower than most cleaning companies expect. Decide which contracts you want, then pull the buildings that fit:

• Building types you clean well and profitably
• A size range, in square footage or floors
• Your service area, meaning how far your crews can travel at night
• The cleaning frequency you prefer, whether nightly, three times a week or weekly
• Exclusions, such as sites that only buy through public bids

Then record what you learn on every call: the decision-maker's name, the current provider, when the agreement renews and roughly how big the space is. That makes the next round of calls better. The Jan-Pro program did this as it went, verifying and updating contact details and decision-maker names for future campaigns.

What to say on the call

The goal of the call is a walkthrough. Nobody signs a cleaning contract over the phone, and nobody should be asked to. You want enough information to know the building fits, and a time on the calendar to see it.

A simple opener:

Hi, this is [name] with [your company]. We clean offices and medical buildings in [area]. I'm trying to reach whoever handles the janitorial contract for your building. Is that you?

Then qualify with five questions:

1. Who handles cleaning decisions for the building, and is anyone else involved?
2. Are you working with a cleaning company now, and how is it going?
3. Is that agreement on a term, and when does it come up for renewal?
4. Roughly how much space is it, and how often is it cleaned?
5. Would you be open to a walkthrough so we can give you an accurate quote?

Question 2 does most of the work. Listen for service problems: missed cleanings, crew turnover, tenant complaints. A manager who mentions one of those is a strong candidate for a walkthrough.

If the timing is wrong, say so and set a follow-up. A building under contract until next fall is a lead for next summer. Note the renewal date and call 60 to 90 days before it.

For openers and objections in more depth, see our guides to the first seven seconds of a cold call and responses to common objections. For when to call, see what we learned from 40,000 outbound calls.

How much calling it takes

This is the part most cleaning companies underestimate.

The last row is our arithmetic from the published totals, not a target. Your number will depend on your market, your list and your offer. In these two programs, it took between roughly 90 and 140 calls to set one appointment.

That's why the calling stops in so many cleaning companies. Moponic is a good example. The company was built lean to run crews well, and reaching its growth targets meant thousands of calls a month to property managers, facility directors and business owners. Hiring an internal sales team would have changed the business, so it brought in an outside team for the calling. You can read the Moponic case study for the details.

Running outbound for a franchise system

Franchise systems add a layer. Jan-Pro's franchisees each sell in their own metro area, with their own ideal customers, sales reps and qualifying rules. One national script would have flattened all of that.

The pilot ran across seven franchises. Every call was targeted to a specific metro area, every appointment went on the local rep's calendar, and each prospect was qualified against that franchise's requirements. The calls kept the local feel of each office. That produced the 220 appointments above. If you run a franchise system, plan for territory-level lists, calendars and qualifying rules from the start. The Jan-Pro case study has the full story.

Should you do the calling in-house or outsource it?

Both work. The deciding factor is who will make the calls every week.

Keeping it in-house makes sense when you have a salesperson whose job is prospecting, not running crews or doing walkthroughs, and when you're targeting a small, well-defined area you can manage closely.

Outsourcing makes sense when the owner or operations manager is also the closer and the calling stops whenever the crews get busy. It also fits when you want to cover more territory or several franchise markets at once. Our US-based B2B appointment setting services handle the calling, qualifying and booking, and your team runs the walkthroughs and proposals. If you only want the calling, see our B2B cold calling services.

Either way, do the math from the value of a contract, not the cost of the calls. Take the annual value of a typical contract you win, multiply it by how many years clients usually stay, and compare that with what it costs to produce the walkthroughs that lead to one win. Our appointment setting KPI guide has the formulas, and our pricing page explains what drives the cost of an outsourced program.

Common questions

How do I get my first commercial cleaning contract?

Start close to home: referrals, your current clients and small offices you can serve well. Outbound calling pays off once you can handle the work you win and someone has time to do walkthroughs and write proposals.

Does cold calling work for commercial cleaning?

Yes, when it's consistent and targeted. In the two programs above, our callers reached decision-makers on 18% and 21% of calls and set 349 appointments between them.

Who should I call to get a commercial cleaning contract?

Usually the property manager for multi-tenant buildings, and the office manager, facilities director or owner for owner-occupied sites. If you're not sure, ask the front desk who handles janitorial service.

Should I buy commercial cleaning leads?

Bought leads can fill a gap. Before you buy, check whether each lead is sold only to you, how it was qualified and whether a meeting is already booked. A name and a phone number still need the calling work described above.

How long does it take to win a contract from outbound calling?

Contracts lag behind appointments. Each one moves through a walkthrough, a proposal and often the notice period on the prospect's current agreement. Judge the first months on walkthroughs booked and proposals sent, and judge contracts after that.

We make phone calls for a living, and commercial cleaning is one of the industries where we've seen the phone work well. If the calling in your business keeps slipping when the crews get busy, tell us about your market. We'll talk through the buildings you want and whether a program makes sense.