By An appointment setter for a cleaning company has one job: put the owner or estimator in a room with the person who signs, at a building worth quoting. That sounds simple until the setter books a Tuesday walkthrough with an office assistant who wanted a one-time move-out clean across the county. This janitorial appointment setting script exists to stop that.
It is written for two readers. If you hired a setter, in-house or freelance, hand them this page. If you are the owner booking your own walkthroughs, use the same flow and skip the hand-off section. If you are still deciding whether to hire a caller at all, the freelance appointment setter vs LeadWharf comparison covers cost and management time, and the best janitorial appointment setting companies shortlist covers outside firms.
What must a qualified cleaning appointment include?
A qualified cleaning appointment includes six things: the decision-maker attending, a building inside your area, a recurring need, a known size and frequency, a start window, and the name of the current vendor with their contract end date. Missing any one of them means the owner is driving out to guess.
| Item | What the setter must capture | Why the owner needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Decision-maker attending | Name and role of the signer, and confirmation they will be at the walkthrough | A walkthrough with someone who "passes it on" usually means a second visit |
| Building in area | Full street address, checked against the territory map during the call | Routes make or break margins on recurring work |
| Recurring need | The contact's own words describing ongoing cleaning | One-off jobs need a different quote and a different visit |
| Size and frequency | Rough square footage or floor count, restroom count, nights per week | The owner can block the right amount of time and bring the right tools |
| Start window | A month or date they want service to begin | Separates live buyers from people collecting quotes for next year |
| Current vendor and contract end | Who cleans now, and when that agreement ends or can be cancelled | Tells the owner whether the deal can close now or needs a follow-up date |
The deeper reasoning behind each check, including how to score a borderline call, is in our guide to how to qualify a cleaning lead. This page assumes those checks and focuses on the words.
What is the full appointment setting script flow?
The flow has five stages: an intro as the cleaning company, a reason for the call, discovery questions, a booking with two time options, and a confirmation. Each stage has a single goal, and the setter should not move on until it is met.
1. Intro as the cleaning company. The setter speaks as part of the cleaning company's team, using their own first name.
"Hi, is this [Name]? This is [Setter] calling from [Cleaning Company]. Have I caught you at an OK moment for a minute?"
2. Reason for the call. One sentence, tied to something real: their reply to an email, a form they filled in, a referral, or a building the company already services nearby.
"You replied to our note about cleaning at [Building], so I wanted to get a few details and set up a time for [Owner] to walk the space."
3. Discovery. Ask the questions in the next section. Write answers down word for word, especially the reason they are looking.
4. Booking with two time options. Never ask "when are you free?" Offer two specific slots on different days.
"[Owner] can walk the building Wednesday at 4:30 or Friday at 9. Which is easier for you, and will [Signer] be able to join?"
5. Confirmation. Read back the date, time, address, who is attending, and where to park or check in. Tell them a confirmation email is coming in the next few minutes, and send it before dialing the next number.
"Perfect. So that is Friday at 9 at [Address], with you and [Signer]. I will email the details now, and [Owner]'s cell is in there too."
Which discovery questions should a setter ask?
A setter should ask ten discovery questions, each one tied to something the owner needs at the walkthrough or in the quote. Ask them conversationally, not as a checklist read aloud.
- "What has you looking at cleaning options right now?" The answer is the complaint the owner will need to fix, and the best opening line for the walkthrough.
- "What kind of space is it, and roughly how big?" Building type and size decide how long the walkthrough takes and who should go.
- "How many restrooms and kitchens or break rooms?" These drive labor time more than open floor does.
- "How often would you want cleaning, and at what time of day?" Frequency is the core of a recurring quote, and day versus night changes staffing.
- "What is the street address?" Checked against the territory map while they talk.
- "Who cleans it now?" Tells the owner who they are replacing and what the buyer is used to.
- "When does that agreement end, or what notice does it need?" Sets the realistic close date.
- "Who else is involved in choosing, and who signs?" Finds the decision-maker if the contact is not them.
- "Can they join the walkthrough?" Turns a two-visit sale into one.
- "When would you want a new company to start?" Confirms the start window and the urgency.
If time is short, questions 1, 4, 5, 8 and 10 are the minimum. The rest can be gathered at the walkthrough.
How should a setter handle common objections?
A setter should answer objections in one or two sentences and steer back to booking, because a long rebuttal from someone who is not the estimator rarely helps. Keep these on a card next to the phone.
- "Just email me a price." "Happy to, and to make it accurate [Owner] needs to see the space. It takes about [length]. Would Wednesday or Friday be better?"
- "We already have a cleaner." "Understood. A lot of buildings like to have a backup quote on file before renewal. When does your current agreement come up?"
- "Now is not a good time." "No problem. What day next week is better for a two-minute call?" Then book that call as firmly as a walkthrough.
- "How much do you charge?" "It depends on the size and how often you want us, so [Owner] measures first and sends a fixed monthly number. Can I set that up?"
- "I am not the right person." "Thanks for telling me. Who handles the cleaning contract, and is it OK if I mention you suggested I reach out?"
- "Send me some information." "Sure. What should it cover so it is actually useful to you?" Then offer the two times anyway.
Fill in [length] with how long your own walkthroughs usually run, so the setter never has to guess.
What should the confirmation email and reminder text say?
The confirmation email should restate the date, time, address, attendees and the owner's direct number, and the reminder text should go out the day before and the morning of. Short and plain beats branded and long.
Confirmation email template
Subject: Walkthrough confirmed, [Day] [Date] at [Time]
Hi [Name],
Thanks for your time today. Here are the details:
- When: [Day, Date] at [Time]
- Where: [Building, Address, Suite]
- Who: [Owner name] from [Cleaning Company], meeting you and [Signer]
- What to expect: a walk of the space, around [length], so we can send you a fixed price
If anything changes, call or text [Owner] directly at [Number].
[Setter name], [Cleaning Company]
Reminder text, day before
Hi [Name], it's [Setter] from [Cleaning Company]. Just confirming [Owner] will see you tomorrow at [Time] at [Building]. Reply here if you need to move it.
Reminder text, morning of
Morning [Name], [Owner] from [Cleaning Company] here. See you at [Time]. My cell is this number if anything comes up.
What goes in the hand-off note to the owner?
The hand-off note is a short record the setter sends the owner the moment a walkthrough is booked, containing everything needed to show up prepared. It should live in your CRM as well as in the owner's inbox, so nothing depends on the setter's memory. If you are choosing a system to hold these notes, see the best CRM for cleaning companies.
Hand-off note fields
- Walkthrough date, time and expected length
- Company name, building name and full address, with suite and parking or entry notes
- Contact name, role, direct phone and email
- Signer name and role, and whether they confirmed they will attend
- Building type, rough size, restroom and break room count
- Frequency and time of day wanted
- Reason for looking, in the contact's own words
- Current vendor and contract end or notice period
- Start window
- Objections raised and how they were answered
- Anything promised on the call (there should be nothing beyond the visit)
- Setter's name and the date of the booking call
The owner should then prepare with the commercial cleaning walkthrough checklist.
How do you prevent no-shows on cleaning walkthroughs?
You prevent no-shows by making the appointment specific, personal and confirmed more than once. None of these steps take long.
- Book within a few days, not weeks out, unless the buyer asks for a later date.
- Get the signer's name and invite them too.
- Send the confirmation email within minutes of hanging up.
- Send the day-before reminder from the setter and the morning text from the owner.
- Ask for a cell number, not only a desk line.
- Note entry details so the owner is not stuck in a lobby calling a desk phone.
- If the buyer reschedules, rebook on that same call with two new times.
- If someone does not show, the owner calls from the parking lot, politely, and offers two new times.
How should you score recorded setter calls?
Score recorded calls with a simple rubric so feedback is about specific behavior, not mood. Listen to a handful each week and score each line from 0 to 2.
| Area | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intro | No company name or unclear who is calling | Company named, rushed | Own name, company name and a reason, then asked for a minute |
| Discovery | Fewer than half the questions | Most questions, answers thin | Key questions asked, reason for looking captured word for word |
| Listening | Talked over the contact | Some follow-up | Followed up on what the contact actually said |
| Qualification | Booked without confirming area or signer | Partial | All six items in the qualification table captured |
| Booking | Asked "when are you free?" | Offered times, no signer invite | Two specific times, signer invited |
| Confirmation | No read-back | Read-back only | Read-back plus email sent before the next call |
| Promises | Quoted a price or promised a discount | Vague hints | Promised only the visit and a fixed quote afterward |
| Notes | Missing or late | Partial | Hand-off note complete and logged in the CRM |
A score you set in week one is your baseline. Track it over time for your own setter rather than chasing someone else's numbers.
How do you train an appointment setter in a week?
You train an appointment setter in a week by moving from listening, to role-play, to supervised calls, to independent calls with review. A practical day-by-day plan:
- Day 1: The business. The setter learns your services, territory map, typical buildings and what a good customer looks like. They read this script and the qualification table, and sit in on (or listen to) a real walkthrough booking if you have one.
- Day 2: The words. Practice the intro and reason-for-call lines out loud until they sound natural. Role-play the ten discovery questions with the owner playing a facility manager.
- Day 3: Objections and booking. Drill the objection card. The owner throws objections at random; the setter answers in one breath and offers two times every time.
- Day 4: Supervised calls. The setter makes live calls with the owner listening. Stop after each call for a quick score against the rubric.
- Day 5: Templates and tools. The setter sends real confirmations, sets reminders, and writes hand-off notes into the CRM. The owner checks every note against the field list.
- Days 6 and 7: Independent calls with review. The setter calls alone, recorded, and the owner reviews a sample at the end of each day. Agree two things to improve for the following week.
What are the compliance basics for B2B appointment setting?
The compliance basics are: say who you are calling for, know which federal and state rules cover your calls, and check with a lawyer before you scale up. This section is general information, not legal advice.
The FTC's guidance on the Telemarketing Sales Rule (checked October 2026) says most phone calls between a telemarketer and a business are exempt from the rule, and that the National Do Not Call Registry prohibition does not apply to business-to-business calls. It also lists exceptions: calls selling nondurable office or cleaning supplies to businesses are not exempt, and calls to business lines that target individuals for personal purchases are not treated as business-to-business. Where the rule does apply, the seller's identity must be disclosed promptly, before any sales pitch, and caller ID information must be transmitted. The same guidance says the rule does not preempt state law and notes that some states keep their own do-not-call registries.
In practice, have the setter name the cleaning company at the start of every call, send caller ID that leads back to your business, honor any request not to be called again, and keep a list of those requests. Recording laws are set by states, so confirm consent rules before you record.
Where do the contacts your setter calls come from?
The script works best when the person on the other end already expects the call.
LeadWharf supplies that second kind of contact. Each lead is exclusive to your company, sits inside the area you drew, has said in their own words they want regular cleaning at your frequency, and is the named decision-maker with a direct line. Your setter or you then make the booking call, using the flow above. The difference between that and a pre-set appointment is explained on the janitorial appointments page. If that would give your setter better calls to make, book a call and we will look at your area together.