Three Evening Sessions · In-Person Workshop
A working session for owners of commercial cleaning companies who are tired of losing bids to larger competitors on price alone. Over three evenings we work through proposal writing, walkthrough technique, pricing structure, quality documentation and vendor transitions, using your own upcoming bids as the material.
Why this workshop exists
Facilities managers see dozens of cleaning proposals a year. Most of them look identical: a logo, a per-square-foot rate, a list of services copied from a website. The companies that get shortlisted usually do a handful of things differently in how they walk a site, how they price it, and how they write it up afterward. This workshop was built by watching that pattern repeat across contract reviews, and putting the differences into a format an owner can actually use before their next bid is due. It is not theory. Each evening ends with something you can bring to your next proposal.
How the three evenings connect
You bring one real proposal you are currently working on, or a contract you recently lost, along with a floor plan or square footage sheet if you have one. Session prep is short: a one-page worksheet sent by email so the first evening starts with your material already on the table.
We break down what makes a proposal read as specific rather than generic, then work through the difference between pricing per square foot and pricing per hour, including when each model actually serves you better against a larger bidder.
Site visits are where contracts are quietly won or lost before a single number is discussed. We cover what to ask, what to point out, and how to leave a facilities manager with the sense that you already understand the building better than the incumbent vendor does.
The final evening covers building a quality assurance checklist that doubles as a sales document during the contract, and how to manage the first ninety days when you are replacing a previous vendor without disrupting the client's operation.
What the sessions cover
Structuring a written proposal so it reads as a response to that specific building, not a template with the client's name filled in. Includes what to leave out.
A walkthrough method built around questions that demonstrate you already understand commercial cleaning operations, rather than a checklist you fill in silently.
Working through per-square-foot versus per-hour pricing, and how to explain the difference to a client evaluating three bids side by side.
Building an inspection checklist that also functions as a monthly conversation starter with the client, showing them what they are actually paying for.
Managing the first weeks after winning a contract from a previous vendor, including staff, keys, supply closets, and client expectations set by the old contract.
How the sessions are run
Each evening runs about two and a half hours, in a small room with a table rather than a stage. The facilitator has spent years reviewing commercial cleaning bids from both sides of the table: writing them for cleaning companies and evaluating them as a facilities contact. That background shapes the format. Instead of slides, most of the evening is spent marking up real proposals attendees bring in, comparing pricing worksheets, and running a short mock walkthrough in the room using props like a floor plan and a punch list.
Attendees are cleaning company owners, operations managers, and the occasional business development hire responsible for writing bids. Groups stay small enough that everyone gets direct feedback on their own material across the three nights, rather than general advice aimed at no one in particular.
Who tends to get the most from it
Owners currently bidding on office, retail, or light industrial contracts who keep losing final-round decisions to larger firms.
Companies moving from mostly hourly residential or small-account work into square-footage priced commercial contracts for the first time.
Newer sales or account managers inside a cleaning company who are writing proposals but have not run a walkthrough on their own before.
Owners who recently won a contract that involved replacing another vendor and want a clearer plan for the first ninety days.
Sessions are kept small so there is time to go through your own proposal draft, not just a sample one. If you have a walkthrough or bid coming up in the next few weeks, that is a good one to bring.
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