By David Holly, The Ashkin Group

This article is the first in a series of Green Selling Tips covering several categories of equipment. In the series, we’ll discuss vacuum cleaners, carpet extractors, automatic scrubbers, buffers and burnishers, as well as some more specialized and unique types of equipment. In this issue we’ll discuss some general topics and tips that are important for your Green Equipment sales efforts.

As always, in these Green Selling Tips, I’d like to encourage you to review Building the Bundle (DestinationGreen Issue 2). Your customers and prospects are looking for a complete solution to their Green Cleaning needs; it is important that you approach this from a program perspective. Not only will this better serve your customers’ needs but, will offer you an enhanced revenue and profit opportunity.

It’s also a good idea to review The Pilot Process (DestinationGreen Issue 3), as equipment sales usually involve some sort of demo or trial to close the sale. In fact, bundling a floor care system with a scrubber or burnisher Pilot Program can be a very effective tool for building an effective system or bundle for your customer. We’ll talk about that in more detail in coming segments.

Let’s begin by discussing the specifics of what makes a piece of equipment green. If you are a regular reader of this column, one of the first things you’ll notice is the lack of independent standards.

When we talked about green cleaners and floor care, we pointed you towards the GS-37 and GS-40 standards from Green Seal. Even products not yet covered by these standards could be evaluated using VOC standards promulgated by California. Janitorial paper is covered by standards published by Green Seal and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unfortunately, the only standards relating to equipment at this time are limited to vacuum cleaners. This is the CRI (Carpet and Rug Institute) Green Label Program. We’ll discuss that standard in more detail in a later article devoted to selling vacuum cleaners.

The lack of industry standards relating to green equipment need not be a barrier to selling your green equipment. In fact, if you are willing to make the effort, this can be a fantastic opportunity! Rather than simply saying, “My scrubber meets the XYZ-55 standard, like 25 of my competitors”, you can lead your prospect through a demonstration of exactly why your scrubber is a better green alternative than the competition. To understand how you can do that, let’s start with our working definition of Green Cleaning, and look at how it relates to equipment.

Green Cleaning is simply cleaning to protect human health and the environment. As a Green Sales professional, you already understand that this is not an either or proposition – both human health and the environment must be protected to say we a cleaning green. Let’s look at how equipment can impact each part of this equation.

Cleaning Equipment Protects Human Health
Clearly, the most significant way that your equipment will protect human health is for it to effectively do what it was designed to do. A vacuum cleaner should pick up dirt, dust, and small debris. Equally important, the vacuum system must retain that material – not sending fine dust particles through the filter system back into the air. An automatic scrubber should effectively clean the floor while picking up all the spent solution, preventing the possibility of slip fall accidents. Carpet extractors must remove the soil and dirty water from the carpet, allowing the carpet to dry quickly enough to prevent slip falls as well as the growth of mildew or mold.

Not only should the equipment be effective, it should also be efficient. Central to the green concept is the reduction of waste. We are also concerned about not wasting time in the cleaning process. An incredibly effective extractor that removes 99% of the moisture from the carpet, but only allows the completion of 100 square feet in a shift is not an efficient use of time. Less carpet will be cleaned; meaning the overall impact on the health of the building’s occupants is degraded.

The engineers who have designed and built the equipment you sell have conducted many tests and developed charts and graphs that demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the equipment. To be a Green Equipment sales pro, you need to understand those tests and results. Make the effort to talk with the engineers or R&D people to understand why the piece of equipment you are selling will have a more positive impact on human health than the competitors’ offering. I stress talking to the engineers or R&D people vs. the marketing folks for a reason. I have nothing against marketing people – I am one, but to sell Green Equipment you need to go beyond features and positioning statements. You need to understand the underlying data that support the claims so you can effectively communicate the advantages of your offering to your customer. Buyers are becoming better educated in green purchasing. To stay ahead of your competition, you need to be better prepared than you were in the past.

An often overlooked part of protecting human health is the health and safety of the person doing the work. We tend to focus on the building occupants. The impact of equipment design and construction on the operator can be profound. Consider the ergonomics, how comfortable is the piece of equipment to use? Uncomfortable equipment at best will not be used – leading to poor cleaning results, and at worst can actually injure the operator. Your ability to demonstrate the positive ergonomics of your equipment while explaining the advantages will set you apart from competition.

In the same vein as ergonomics, you need to consider how easy the equipment is to use. Are the controls well labeled? Are they intuitive, easy to reach and activate? What sort of training is required to properly and safely use the equipment? How readily available is that training? Again, your ability to effectively demonstrate the ease of use will make your green equipment stand out. Consider offering on-site training sessions for supervisors and even the cleaning crew.

You might consider taking the next step by creating a simple training video that your customer can use with new employees. Use your home video camera on a tripod to tape yourself conducting a training exercise and give a copy to your customer. This can be a very effective sales tool.

We will go into more detail on selling to protect human health for each type of equipment in subsequent articles. In the next issue of DestinationGreen, we will examine the impact your Green Equipment can have on the environment.

Good luck selling your Green Cleaning program.  Remember, customers are going to buy green products from someone, and The Ashkin Group would prefer that it’s from you!

About The Author:
David Holly oversees the development and implementation of all new technology solutions for The Ashkin Group. Also, he has partnered with The Ashkin Group in the creation of Green Cleaning University (GCU), an online professional development tool and extensive resource of information about Green Cleaning and healthy building maintenance. Holly's past experience includes: Vice President of a regional BSC, Director of Sales & Marketing for S.C. Johnson Professional, and Marketing Director for Multi-Clean.