Glossary
Lead generation terms, defined plainly
The words lead sellers use, and what they mean for a cleaning or janitorial company deciding where to spend.
- Appointment setting
- Appointment setting is a service where a third party contacts prospects and books meetings on your calendar. You pay per appointment or for the setter's time, and the setter makes the first contact on your behalf. Read more
- Bid
- A bid is the price and terms a cleaning company submits for a contract, usually after a walk-through or in response to an RFP or RFQ. A good bid prices labor, supplies and overhead accurately rather than simply undercutting. Read more
- Churn
- Churn is the rate at which clients cancel or do not renew over a period. Lower churn raises lifetime value and makes each new contract worth more. Read more
- Cleaning frequency
- Cleaning frequency is how often a building is cleaned, for example five nights a week, three times a week or weekly. It is one of the biggest drivers of a contract's monthly value.
- Close rate
- Close rate is the share of qualified opportunities, such as walk-throughs or bids, that become signed contracts. Knowing yours is essential to working out what a lead is worth. Read more
- Cold email
- Cold email is a personalized email sent to a business contact who has not heard from you before. Done well, it reaches decision-makers who are not searching online for a cleaner. Read more
- Cost per acquisition
- Cost per acquisition (CPA) is what you spent to win one new client, counting every lead and walk-through that did not close. For a cleaning company it is a truer measure of lead spend than cost per lead. Read more
- Cost per lead
- Cost per lead (CPL) is the total amount spent on a channel divided by the number of leads it produced. It is useful for comparing channels only when the leads are of similar quality. Read more
- CRM
- A CRM (customer relationship management) system records every prospect, lead, bid and client in one place, with notes and follow-up dates. It stops leads being forgotten between the first call and the signed contract. Read more
- Decision-maker
- A decision-maker is the person who can approve a cleaning contract, such as an office manager, facility manager, practice manager or property manager. Reaching them directly avoids pitching to someone who can only pass a message on. Read more
- Deliverability
- Deliverability is the share of your emails that land in the inbox rather than in spam or nowhere at all. It depends on domain reputation, authentication, sending volume and content.
- Domain warm-up
- Domain warm-up is the gradual increase in sending volume from a new email domain so mail providers learn to trust it. Skipping it is one of the fastest ways to send outreach straight to spam.
- Exclusive lead
- An exclusive lead is a lead sold to one company only. It is never resold or shared, so you are not racing other providers to the same buyer. Read more
- Facility manager
- A facility manager is responsible for the operation and upkeep of a building, often including hiring and managing the cleaning contractor. They are a common decision-maker for office, industrial and campus cleaning. Read more
- Follow-up cadence
- A follow-up cadence is the planned timing and number of touches after a call, walk-through or bid, such as a call two days later and an email a week after. Many cleaning contracts are won in the follow-up rather than at the first meeting. Read more
- Janitorial contract
- A janitorial contract is an agreement to clean a building on a recurring schedule for an agreed fee, covering scope, frequency, term and termination. Recurring contracts are the core revenue of most commercial cleaning companies. Read more
- Lead credit
- A lead credit is a lead you are not charged for because it failed the provider's standard. At LeadWharf, a lead that misses any of the three checks is credited, with no argument. Read more
- Lead generation
- Lead generation is the work of finding and starting conversations with potential clients who may buy your service. For cleaning companies it includes outreach, advertising, referrals and bought leads. Read more
- Lead return policy
- A lead return policy sets out when a buyer can return a lead for a refund or credit, such as a wrong number or a request outside the service area. Policies vary widely, so read them before buying. Read more
- Lifetime value
- Lifetime value (LTV) is the total revenue, or profit, a client brings in over the whole time they stay with you. For recurring cleaning it is monthly contract value multiplied by the months a typical client stays. Read more
- Marketing qualified lead (MQL)
- A marketing qualified lead is a contact who has shown interest, such as downloading a guide or filling in a form, but has not yet been confirmed as a real buyer. It needs further qualifying before sales time is spent on it.
- Master franchise (janitorial franchising)
- In janitorial franchising, a master franchise owns the brand's rights in a region, wins cleaning contracts and passes them to unit franchisees in exchange for fees. The master handles sales and billing while franchisees do the cleaning.
- Pay per lead
- Pay per lead is a pricing model where you pay a set fee for each lead delivered, rather than a monthly retainer or a share of revenue. The value depends entirely on how the provider defines a lead. Read more
- Property manager
- A property manager runs buildings on behalf of an owner and often hires cleaning contractors for common areas or whole portfolios. One property manager relationship can lead to several contracts. Read more
- Qualified lead
- A qualified lead is a contact who has been checked against agreed standards before it reaches you. At LeadWharf that means the building is in your area, they want recurring cleaning at your frequency and job size, and you are speaking to the person who signs. Read more
- Recurring cleaning
- Recurring cleaning is cleaning done on a repeating schedule, such as nightly, weekly or monthly, under an ongoing agreement. It gives a cleaning company predictable revenue compared with one-off jobs. Read more
- Request for proposal (RFP)
- A request for proposal is a formal document in which a building owner or agency asks cleaning companies to submit a full proposal covering approach, staffing and price. It is common for larger, public and multi-site contracts. Read more
- Request for quotation (RFQ)
- A request for quotation asks suppliers for a price against a defined scope, with less emphasis on approach than an RFP. Cleaning RFQs usually specify frequency, square footage and tasks up front.
- Retainer
- A retainer is a fixed monthly fee paid to an agency or provider regardless of how many results it delivers. It puts the risk of a slow month on the buyer. Read more
- Sales qualified lead (SQL)
- A sales qualified lead is a contact confirmed to have a real need, the authority to buy and a reasonable timeline. It is ready for a sales conversation, such as booking a walk-through.
- SAM.gov
- SAM.gov is the U.S. federal government's System for Award Management, where businesses register to bid on federal contracts and search posted opportunities. Registration is required before a federal award. Read more
- Scope of work
- A scope of work lists exactly which areas and tasks a cleaning contract covers and how often each is done. A clear scope prevents disputes over what was included in the price. Read more
- Sequence
- A sequence is a planned series of outreach messages sent over days or weeks, stopping when the contact replies. Many replies come to follow-ups rather than the first email.
- Square footage pricing
- Square footage pricing sets a cleaning price based on the size of the area cleaned, usually as a rate per square foot. It is often adjusted for building type, traffic and frequency. Read more
- Subcontracting
- Subcontracting is when a cleaning company performs work under a contract held by another company, such as a larger janitorial firm or facility services provider. It can be a way into large or government contracts. Read more
- Territory
- A territory is the service area a cleaning company covers, defined by cities, ZIP or postal codes, counties or a radius. With LeadWharf, your territory is locked to you while you are a client. Read more
- Unit franchise
- A unit franchise is an individual owner-operator who buys into a janitorial franchise and cleans accounts supplied by the master franchise. They trade a share of revenue for a steady flow of contracts.
- Walk-through
- A walk-through is a site visit where a cleaning company tours the building, measures the space and learns the scope before writing a quote. It is usually the first in-person step in winning a commercial cleaning contract. Read more
Check your area
Find out if your area is still open.
Every area goes to one cleaning company. Once yours is taken, it's taken. Book a free call and find out where you stand.
- Exclusive. One company per area
- Credited. Miss a check, you don't pay
- No contract. Stop whenever you like
Calendar not opening? Book on Cal.com or write to hello@leadwharf.com.
You'll talk to Aarav Sharma
Founder, LeadWharf
What happens on the 30-minute call
You tell us your area, the buildings you want, and the smallest job worth sending a crew to.
We tell you if your area is still open, and what each lead will cost you.
If there isn't enough work near you to make it worth it, we tell you that too.
No hard sell. Nothing to sign on the call.