How to Get More Clients for a Cleaning Business: 15 Practical Ways
How to get more clients for a cleaning business: 15 practical ways to get found, win more quotes, turn one-off cleans into regulars and win office work.
How to get more clients for a cleaning business? Fix the leaks before you buy more attention: make it easy to find and book you, reply to every enquiry within the hour, turn first cleans into fortnightly regulars, ask every happy client for a review and a referral, then fill the gaps with partners and office contracts.
Key takeaways
- Most cleaning businesses lose more clients through slow replies and unfollowed quotes than through a lack of marketing.
- A regular client is worth many one-off cleans. Ask for the next booking before you leave the first one.
- Reviews and street density do most of the marketing for a local cleaner.
- Estate agents, short-let hosts and property managers can send repeat work every month.
- Track enquiries, quotes and regulars in one place so you can see which of these 15 ways actually works for you.
If you are still setting up, start with our guide on how to start a cleaning business, which covers your first ten clients. This post is for cleaners who already have some clients and want more, steadier work.
What you need before you start
- A clear price list or price range for your main cleans (standard, deep, end of tenancy, office).
- A way for clients to book: a booking link, a WhatsApp Business number, or both.
- A list of every past client with their phone or email, even if it lives in your phone’s contacts today.
- 30 minutes a day to reply to enquiries and follow up quotes.
How to get more clients for a cleaning business: the 15 ways at a glance
The 15 ways fall into five groups. Start with the ones marked free; they usually bring work fastest.
| Group | Ways | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Get found by people searching now | 1. Google Business Profile · 2. Reviews · 3. Show prices · 4. Online booking with deposit | Free |
| Win more of the enquiries you already get | 5. Reply within an hour · 6. Quote from photos · 7. Follow up quotes twice | Free |
| Turn one-off cleans into regulars | 8. Offer a regular plan · 9. Book the next clean · 10. Win back past clients | Free |
| Grow through referrals and partners | 11. Referral reward · 12. Agents and hosts · 13. Fill your streets | Low |
| Go after bigger work | 14. Offices and commercial clients · 15. Seasonal and specialist cleans | Low |
Get found by people searching right now
1. Complete your Google Business Profile
When someone searches “cleaners near me”, the map results show first. Fill in every field: services, service area, hours, photos of real jobs and a short description. Use your real business name; Google’s guidelines for representing your business say not to add keywords or locations to it (checked on 1 October 2026).
2. Ask every happy client for a review the same day
Send your review link within an hour of a clean the client has praised, while they are still pleased. Google’s own tips to get more reviews suggest sharing a direct link or QR code and replying to every review (checked on 1 October 2026). Never buy or write fake reviews; in the US the FTC’s rules on endorsements and reviews treat fake reviews as deceptive. Our guide on how to get customer reviews has message templates.
3. Show prices, or at least a range
“From ₦25,000 for a two-bedroom flat” or “From £60 for a standard clean” answers the first question every client has. Hidden prices send people to the cleaner who shows them.
4. Let clients book and pay a deposit online
A booking link lets people book at 11pm without waiting for you. A deposit cuts last-minute cancellations, which matters when you have paid a cleaner’s transport. Our post on how much deposit to charge clients helps you set the amount.
Win more of the enquiries you already get
5. Reply within an hour
People looking for a cleaner often message several at once and book whoever answers clearly first. Reply with three things: a price, the next free slot and how to book. For example:
“Hi Chiamaka, thanks for reaching out. A deep clean for a 3-bedroom flat in Ikeja is ₦45,000. We can come on Thursday at 9am. Book here: [link], or reply ‘yes’ and we will confirm.”
Put your WhatsApp number on everything with a click-to-chat link from our WhatsApp link generator.
6. Quote from photos or a short video call
Driving across Lagos traffic to quote a job you might not win costs half a day. Ask for photos of each room, or a five-minute video call, then send a written quote the same day. Our quote and estimate template gives you a clean layout.
7. Follow up every quote twice
Most unanswered quotes are not a “no”; the client got busy. Follow up after two days (“Still want Thursday? I can hold it until tomorrow”) and again after a week. Stop after the second follow-up.
Turn one-off cleans into regulars
8. Offer a regular plan at the end of every first clean
Offer weekly, fortnightly or monthly cleans at a small discount to your one-off price. Regulars give you predictable income and fill your rota, and they are what grows your customer lifetime value.
9. Book the next clean before you leave
“Shall we put you down for the same time in two weeks?” is the easiest sale you will make. Send the confirmation before the cleaner leaves the building.
10. Win back past clients
Message every client who has not booked in 60 days. Keep it short and personal: “Hi Mr Bello, it has been a while since we cleaned your flat in Yaba. We have Saturday slots this month if you would like a refresh.” Past clients already trust you, so this is the cheapest work you will win.
Grow through referrals and partners
11. Run a simple referral reward
Give an existing client a free add-on (inside the fridge, oven or windows) or a discount on their next clean for every new regular they send. Tell them about it at the end of a clean they loved.
12. Partner with agents, landlords and short-let hosts
Estate agents, property managers, landlords and short-let hosts need cleans between tenants and guests, often at short notice. Offer them a reliable turnaround and a simple monthly bill. One good property manager can be worth ten household clients.
13. Fill the streets you already clean
Once you clean one home on a street or in an estate, drop a short note to the neighbours: “We clean on your street every Tuesday.” More clients close together means less travel and more cleaning hours.
Go after bigger work
14. Pitch offices and commercial clients
Small offices, clinics, salons, gyms and churches need regular cleaning. Walk in or call, ask who handles cleaning, and offer a free walk-through and written quote. Commercial work pays less per hour than some home cleans but fills weekday mornings and evenings.
15. Sell seasonal and specialist cleans
Plan offers around the moments people need a big clean: end of tenancy, after building work, before Christmas, Easter or Sallah visitors, and the busy December short-let season in Lagos and Abuja. Specialist cleans also introduce you to clients who may become regulars.
Worked example: what faster replies and regulars are worth
These are example figures for a cleaning business in Lagos, to show how the numbers add up.
| Item | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries per month | 40 | 40 |
| Booked first cleans | 10 (25%) | 14 (35%) |
| First cleans that become fortnightly regulars | 3 | 6 |
| Price per regular clean | ₦35,000 | ₦35,000 |
| New regular income added per month | ₦210,000 | ₦420,000 |
The only changes are replying within an hour, following up every quote twice (ways 5 and 7) and asking every first-time client to book again (ways 8 and 9). If a regular stays for 8 months on average, each one is worth ₦560,000 (₦70,000 a month × 8). Three extra regulars a month adds ₦1,680,000 of future income without spending more on marketing.
Now compare that with paid flyers. If ₦60,000 of flyers brings in 2 new regulars, your customer acquisition cost is ₦30,000 per regular, which is still worth it against ₦560,000 of lifetime value. Fix the replies first, then spend.
The same logic works anywhere. A home cleaner in Manchester charging £60 for a fortnightly clean (example figures) who turns three end-of-tenancy clients a month into regulars adds £360 a month of repeat income from each month’s new regulars.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Chasing new leads while past clients go quiet. Win-back messages (way 10) cost nothing.
- Competing only on price. Clients who pick you for the lowest price leave for the next lowest price.
- Taking every job, everywhere. Jobs spread across a city burn hours in traffic. Group clients by area.
- Forgetting to ask. Most clients will refer or review if asked at the right moment; few do it unprompted.
- Keeping everything in your head. Without a list of enquiries and quotes you cannot follow up or see what works.
For a wider view of client-getting for any service business, see our guide on how to get clients for a service business.
How to do this in startbuddi
startbuddi keeps your enquiries, bookings, clients and payments together, so the 15 ways above become a routine rather than a memory test. See how it fits a cleaning business on our cleaning business software page.
- Set up a booking page. In Bookings, create services such as “Standard clean” and “Deep clean”, set prices, and turn on “Require payment to book” for a deposit through Paystack or Stripe. Share the link on WhatsApp, Instagram and your Google profile. Clients get confirmation and reminder emails.
- Answer every enquiry from one inbox. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, email and website chat messages land in the CRM Inbox, so nothing sits unread in a personal phone. On the Growth plan, Chip, startbuddi’s AI assistant, can reply when you are on a job.
- Track every quote in a pipeline. Create stages such as “Enquiry, Quote sent, Booked, Regular” so you can see which quotes need a follow-up today.
- Rebook and win back. Use the “Follow up to rebook” message after a clean or a no-show. In Automations, you can also set up an automation that sends a WhatsApp message asking for a review when a booking is completed (you’ll need a WhatsApp message template approved by Meta first). Automations are on paid plans.
- Bill regulars without the admin. Set up recurring billing in Money Manager for monthly clients, or send a payment link after each clean.
A free plan is available, so you can set up your booking page and inbox before paying anything. Compare plans on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How can I get cleaning clients fast?
Message your past clients and personal contacts first, then complete your Google Business Profile and reply to every enquiry within an hour. Past clients and quick replies bring work within days, while marketing and reviews take weeks to build.
What is the best way to advertise a cleaning business?
For most local cleaners, a complete Google Business Profile with recent reviews is the best free advertising. Add flyers in streets where you already clean and partnerships with estate agents or short-let hosts. Paid ads work better once your replies and follow-ups are fast.
How do I get commercial cleaning contracts?
Start with small offices, clinics, salons and gyms near your existing clients. Ask who manages cleaning, offer a free walk-through, and send a written quote with a clear scope, schedule and monthly price. Reliability and clear communication win commercial clients more than the lowest price.
How do I keep cleaning clients coming back?
Book the next clean before you leave, offer a regular plan at a small discount, and keep the same cleaner for each client where you can. Check in after the first few cleans and fix any complaint the same day.
Should a cleaning business ask for a deposit?
Yes, especially for deep cleans, end-of-tenancy cleans and first-time clients. A deposit reduces last-minute cancellations and covers your costs if a client is not home. Take it when the client books online, so it is not an awkward conversation at the door. --- Turn more enquiries into regular cleans. Get a booking page, one inbox for WhatsApp and Instagram, and a simple pipeline for quotes. Start free with startbuddi, or download our quote and estimate template to send better quotes today.
Omolola Akiyode is the operations and project manager at startbuddi, leading cross-functional projects and the content that helps founders get set up. Omolola writes about projects, websites and getting found online, and turns complex ideas into clear, practical steps.
Runs operations and projects at startbuddi
