I'm working on growing my cleaning business into more commercial and post-construction work.For those who already do commercial jobs:How did you get your very first contract?Was it through cold calling, networking, referrals, subcontracting, or paid apps?what's your most effective strategies?I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences.

My first commercial contract came from direct, in-person footwork—not ads or cold calls.I targeted a busy local storefront with heavily stained walkways. I walked in during a slow hour, asked for the owner, and offered to pressure wash a small 10x10 "demo" section of their concrete for free on the spot. Once they saw the night-and-day difference, they signed a quarterly maintenance contract.If you want to break into commercial and post-construction, focus on these three things:Target Property Managers: They control strip malls, offices, and apartments. They constantly need dumpster pad washes, sidewalk cleanups, and "make-ready" turns. Stop by their offices with a business card and proof of insurance.Subcontract for General Contractors: GCs almost always hire out for post-construction final cleans. Look up local commercial builders, find their project managers, and let them know you’re available for subcontracting.Have Your Paperwork Ready: Commercial clients and GCs won't hire you without a COI (Certificate of Insurance) and a W-9. Having these ready to email instantly sets you apart as a professional operator.Skip the paid lead apps. Direct B2B networking and showing off solid before-and-after photos will get you the best results. Good luck!

Tomisin

Contributor 4

10 days ago

Solved

How did you land your first commercial contract?

I'm working on growing my cleaning business into more commercial and post-construction work.

For those who already do commercial jobs:

How did you get your very first contract?
Was it through cold calling, networking, referrals, subcontracting, or paid apps?
what's your most effective strategies?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences.

cleaning

entrepreneurship

sales & marketing

travisshepherd
10 days ago
My first commercial contract came from direct, in-person footwork—not ads or cold calls.
I targeted a busy local storefront with heavily stained walkways. I walked in during a slow hour, asked for the owner, and offered to pressure wash a small 10x10 "demo" section of their concrete for free on the spot. Once they saw the night-and-day difference, they signed a quarterly maintenance contract.
If you want to break into commercial and post-construction, focus on these three things:
Target Property Managers: They control strip malls, offices, and apartments. They constantly need dumpster pad washes, sidewalk cleanups, and "make-ready" turns. Stop by their offices with a business card and proof of insurance.
Subcontract for General Contractors: GCs almost always hire out for post-construction final cleans. Look up local commercial builders, find their project managers, and let them know you’re available for subcontracting.
Have Your Paperwork Ready: Commercial clients and GCs won't hire you without a COI (Certificate of Insurance) and a W-9. Having these ready to email instantly sets you apart as a professional operator.
Skip the paid lead apps. Direct B2B networking and showing off solid before-and-after photos will get you the best results. Good luck!

4 Replies

Tomisin
Contributor 4
5 days ago
Wow! Thank you for sharing your personal experience. I'm blown.
PestFreeCanada
Contributor 5
9 days ago
I was uptown at my uncles house and received a call from a good friend in a similar business that had a lead for me. He said to go down to see this guy who has flies in his house, he owns half of the buildings downtown and he needs someone there today. It was a Friday afternoon at 2pm, Blue Jays were in the playoffs and I wanted to watch the game. My uncle said to me (I will never forget this) "GO! This is what you want, this is business! GO GO!"
I went down and helped the guy with his flies and he said to me "My current pest guy said he was too busy and said wanted to watch baseball. You came right away and I like that" Then he called his office administrator and told her, "We are sending all of our pest control calls to Pest Free Canada from now on, I will call Matt myself and tell him we don't need him anymore". This was earth shattering to me. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I was over the moon happy!
This contact turned out to in fact own over 100 buildings downtown and it's turned into $30,000 in revenue so far since October last year. Not even a year and this contract is making me such good money. All because I said yes!
Tomisin
Contributor 4
10 days ago
I’m currently strategizing and putting a plan together around everything you highlighted. This is incredibly helpful, and I can see why these approaches work over the long term.
I especially like that they focus on building real business relationships rather than chasing paid leads. Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience. I'll definitely be back with a progress report as I start implementing these strategies. Hopefully, I'll have a success story to share with the community!
travisshepherd
Contributor 5
10 days ago
My first commercial contract came from direct, in-person footwork—not ads or cold calls.
I targeted a busy local storefront with heavily stained walkways. I walked in during a slow hour, asked for the owner, and offered to pressure wash a small 10x10 "demo" section of their concrete for free on the spot. Once they saw the night-and-day difference, they signed a quarterly maintenance contract.
If you want to break into commercial and post-construction, focus on these three things:
Target Property Managers: They control strip malls, offices, and apartments. They constantly need dumpster pad washes, sidewalk cleanups, and "make-ready" turns. Stop by their offices with a business card and proof of insurance.
Subcontract for General Contractors: GCs almost always hire out for post-construction final cleans. Look up local commercial builders, find their project managers, and let them know you’re available for subcontracting.
Have Your Paperwork Ready: Commercial clients and GCs won't hire you without a COI (Certificate of Insurance) and a W-9. Having these ready to email instantly sets you apart as a professional operator.
Skip the paid lead apps. Direct B2B networking and showing off solid before-and-after photos will get you the best results. Good luck!

Forum Discussion

How did you land your first commercial contract?