Chemicals: Selling the Benefits of Green Cleaning

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While my title is vice president and general manager of Enviro-Solutions, in many ways one of my primary functions is that of trainer. I work with distributors and distributor sales reps (DSRs), teaching them how to discuss the value of green cleaning with their clients. This training, in turn, then helps make it easier for them to market and sell environmentally preferable cleaning products to their clients — in addition to helping them become the local green experts and solutions provider.

Although marketing green cleaning products is not entirely different from marketing other types of jansan supplies, there are specific issues to consider. For example, how often have you been questioned whether green cleaning products cost a lot more than conventional cleaning products? Or how often have your clients told you that they want to go green but they believe “green cleaning products do not perform as well as conventional products”?

These are not the typical questions encountered when marketing, say, a vacuum cleaner or floor machine. Green cleaning is both a concept and a product line, and as such distributors must address the bigger picture of Green cleaning: how it helps protect health and the environment while meeting their clients' cost and performance needs.

To do this requires “bundling” the benefits of the green cleaning offerings. Bundling helps clients see the whole picture when selecting an environmentally responsible cleaning product. For example, if a green cleaning product does cost more than a conventional one, end customers have other variables to consider in helping them assess the product's total value.

The benefits bundle should include the following information for each product:

• Actual cleaning performance
• Price
• Environmental and health benefits
• The value of the distributor or DSR as an expert on Green cleaning

Seeing Is Believing
Of course, with some end customers, we can discuss the benefits of Green cleaning products until we are blue in the face and get nowhere. This is why bundling the benefits of the products should include a demonstration of the products as well. For a demonstration to be truly effective, however, the end customers and cleaning workers should try out the products themselves, rather than be shown by the distributor or DSR. .

Have them select a problem cleaning area and use their current, conventional cleaning products to clean the area. Then have the cleaning workers use the Green cleaning product and compare the results. We refer to this as the "Green cleaning challenge,” and it allows for a side-by-side comparison of the two products.

The big benefit with this approach is that the products sell themselves. To help ensure success with this process, however, the distributor or DSR should do the following:

• Check to see that power, water, and equipment are available to conduct the challenge properly.
• Know what kind of soil and surface you are dealing with.
• Make sure that the cleaning areas, if different, are still comparable.
• Be prepared; even under the best conditions unexpected problems can materialize.

Follow these steps, become the local Green expert in your community, and see yourself grow incremental business.

By Mike Sawchuk, vice president and general manager of Enviro-Solutions, Ontario, Canada.

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