A Cold DM Strategy Guaranteed to Work

Slide into those DMs and grow your client list

Author

Logan Robison
September 17, 2024

Raise your hand if you’ve ever slid into someone’s DMs on Facebook to win their business 🙋. I have, and it’s landed me 7 new long-term clients just in the past few weeks. Facebook is a goldmine if you know how to use it right. Keep scrolling to learn how to turn your Facebook account into a steady stream of business.

If you’ve joined an Airbnb host Facebook group for your area (see video here) you have access to several (likely hundreds) of Airbnb hosts in your town. Now, you could do things the old fashioned way and post your business info to the Facebook group (though this rarely works) or you could take a different approach that is guaranteed to get a response from hosts.

Plan Your First Move

First, if you haven’t joined a local Airbnb host facebook group, it’s time you do. You can join as a service provider if you’re not also a host. Once you join, take a few minutes to review the group. When you see someone post about their new Airbnb on the group or share a new amenity they just added, congratulate them in the comments!

“Wow, looks beautiful” or “Congrats, that’s awesome!” goes a long way in building rapport.

When you comment on the post, don’t sell your services. Save that for the DMs.

Pick Your Strategy: 4 Approaches to Success

After you leave a kind, warm comment, head straight for the DMs. Here, you can get creative and test different strategies. I like reaching out through the DMs because it sets you apart and gets your foot in the door for real conversation. Most people promoting their business will just post in the comments without taking the time to get to know the host. That’s why you’re different.

Choose from the below strategies:

Option 1: Relationship Building

In the DMs, ask a question to start a conversation. In this approach, your main goal is to build a relationship, not close a deal. Maybe you noticed something about their listing that you’re curious about or maybe you simply want to learn more about their business.

Something like: Who did the interior designing? Where did you get this piece of furniture? Questions like these signal to the host that you’ve taken a moment to view their listing and have something nice to say about it.

Naturally the conversation will gravitate toward you and you’ll likely be asked if you’re a host or a service provider. Now is the time to showcase your stuff. Tell them about your business and what makes your company special (see notes from last edition). If the conversation is going well, offer to give them a quote to see if you can help them with their turnovers. If they say no, at least your name is top of mind for them when they do look to bring on new cleaners.

Why this approach works: this works because your main goal here is to build a relationship, not sell a service. Hosts can tell who is genuine and who is not. Only try this approach if you are focused on the long-term and not the short-term. These relationships will become priceless as you grow your network in the community.

Option 2: Cut to the chase

With this approach, you’re going to come right out a say it: “Beautiful Airbnb, congrats on the launch! Could I give you a quote for cleaning?” 

Here you are getting straight to the point. You are a cleaner and you want to win their business. Offering to give a quote right off the bat is a way to showcase that you’re serious and you take your business seriously. Although they might say no, or not even respond at all, keep following up at least 2 more times. I’ve had people who have responded only after the 3rd attempt.

Why this approach works: Hosts who are in the market for new cleaning services will find your approach refreshing. No smoke and mirrors, no beating around the bush. They need a service and you can provide it.

P.S. - while you’re here you should check out my Airbnb cleaning course - a proven way to get your business to 6-figures. Here’s a quote from a recent review: “This is such an amazing and informative course for anyone who’s ready to start their own Airbnb cleaning business… I’m so happy I found this course”

Option 3: Offer an incentive

Another option is to start off with something to grab their attention: “Beautiful Airbnb, congrats on the launch! We’re giving out a $10 gift card to anyone who lets us do an on-site cleaning quote. Could we get you on the schedule?” 

This is a great approach and is one that gets a guaranteed a response. Why? Because you are literally offering them money! People love money. Especially when it doesn’t require any work on their end.

Why this approach works: instead of asking them for something, you’re giving something 💵. It also works because it guarantees that you’ll meet this host face to face. People want to do business with people they know and trust. Doing an on-site quote is the first step. And don’t worry about spending $10 for a lead, with metrics in an Airbnb cleaning business, you could spend $100 on a lead and still make a great return on your money.

Option 4: Coffee anyone? ☕️ 

Try this approach if you want to a hybrid solution “Beautiful Airbnb, congrats on the launch! I’d love to meet for coffee sometime next week to learn more about your business.” 

People love taking about themselves. In fact, if you asked any random person on the street, they’d admit the same thing. People love to talk about themselves! So when you offer to take a host or property manager out for coffee, you’re signaling that you respect them and that you’d like to get to know them more. This is exactly what you want to signal when you are looking to do business with someone.

If they decline the coffee, no biggie. It’s worth the effort. I’ve been fortunate to meet several great property managers, hosts, landlords, etc. through coffee chats from cold DMs. Doing this has resulted in several thousands of dollars in new business for us.

Why this approach works: It’s the perfect combination (offering an incentive + building a relationship). This is a great way to get your name out there and start to become a trusted business partner for many hosts / property managers.

In summary

Now, these approaches certainly aren’t for the shy or the introverted. But then again, neither is business. If you want to grow your business and want to do it without paying for ads or posting endless content on social media, this cold DM strategy is one way to do it. With any of the approaches above, you can be sure that you’ll get plenty of responses and hopefully a lot more new business.

If you’re looking for more ways to find new customers for your cleaning business, check out this FREE list of all the ways you could get new customers for your Airbnb cleaning business. If you’re serious about growth, my recommendation is to choose 2 or 3 of these methods and go all-in! Become an expert in your chosen methods, don’t hop around from method to method. With sales, depth is better than breadth here. And if you’re really really serious about growing your business, check out our 2.5 hour video series on growing your cleaning business.

Until next time,

Logan

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