Ringlane for commercial cleaning companies

Be on the shortlist when a cleaning contract comes up for renewal

For commercial cleaning companies in Belgium and the Netherlands: who to call, which moments open the door, and how to stay in touch until the current contract ends.

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Almost every office, school and shop already has a cleaner. Buyers rarely look for a new one until the service slips or the contract ends, and then they often ask only the suppliers they already know. Cold calling in cleaning is therefore less about a quick sale and more about being known, and on the list, when that moment comes.

The market: many small firms, a few large ones

According to Eurostat, Belgium had 9,670 building and industrial cleaning enterprises (NACE 81.2) in 2024, employing 169,451 people with a turnover of about 7.4 billion euro. The Netherlands had 30,303 such enterprises, employing 140,360 people with a turnover of about 9.3 billion euro. Note that this category also includes companies that clean private homes.

The Dutch figures show how fragmented the market is. CBS counts 27,915 cleaning businesses (SBI 812) on 1 October 2026 (provisional figures). Of those, 21,910 are one-person businesses, 880 have 10 or more people and only 90 have 100 or more. In Belgium, Eurostat's size class data show 337 cleaning enterprises with 50 to 249 people in 2023. If you sell contract cleaning, your competitors range from the self-employed cleaner down the street to national groups.

Buyers differ as much. A small office decides with the owner in one conversation. A hospital, school group or public body works with a specification and a tender, often with multi-year contracts. In both countries, staff transfer rules matter when a contract changes hands: the Dutch CAO for cleaning and window cleaning for 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026 has a chapter on contract changes, and in Belgium a joint committee 121 agreement of 12 May 2003, concluded for an indefinite period, regulates staff transfer after a cleaning contract is transferred. Check the current texts before you rely on them; this is general information, not legal advice.

Who you call and what you ask

At businesses up to about 50 employees, you usually talk to the owner or the office manager. At larger organisations, the facility manager, the building manager or purchasing. In multi-tenant buildings, the property manager often decides for the shared areas.

Moments that make a call relevant:

a contract that ends within the next 6 to 12 months
a move, a new branch or a renovation
complaints about quality, missed shifts or changing staff
a new facility manager who reviews all suppliers
a price increase from the current supplier

Questions that open a real conversation:

"Who cleans your building now, and since when?"
"When does the current contract end, and how is it renewed?"
"What would you change about the service if you could?"
"Who decides on a new supplier, and does it go through a tender?"
"How many square metres, and how often is cleaning done?"

Aim the first call at one small, concrete next step. A site walk of 30 minutes or a quality check of one floor is easier to agree to than a full quote, and it gives you the square metres, the frequency and the pain points you need to price the work. Ask at the end of every call when the contract ends, even if the answer is no, and note it: that date is the reason for your next call.

For more on building these questions into a call, see how to write a cold calling script.

What slows a calling team down in this sector

"We are happy with our cleaner." Most buyers are, until they are not. The answer is to ask when the contract ends and plan the next call around that date.
Long contracts and tenders. A prospect you speak to today may only decide in a year. Without a planned follow-up, the lead is lost when the moment comes.
Price comparison. Cleaning is often bought on hourly rate. A call that asks about quality problems gives you something else to talk about.
Hard to reach decision makers. Facility managers walk the building. Calling twice at different times works better than leaving one voicemail.
Lists that age. Offices move and numbers change. Invalid numbers waste call blocks if nobody closes them.

How Ringlane works for commercial cleaning companies

Real screens from the app, with what each feature does in this industry.

Your lists, in one place

Import Excel, CSV or a Bizzy export into a campaign. Every lead shows its status, last action and next task.

In this industry: Import a Bizzy export of offices, schools, care homes or shops in your service area into one campaign per segment, so each caller works one type of building at a time.

The Ringlane lead list with status, activity, last action and next task per company.

One screen for the call

The lead on the left, the script in the middle with the company name and your own name filled in. Click the number to call from your own phone.

In this industry: Put the questions about the current supplier, contract end date, square metres and cleaning frequency in the script, so every caller asks them and nobody forgets one.

The Ringlane calling screen with the lead, the script and the arguments panel.

The answer to every objection

Common objections sit in a panel next to the script, so the right answer is one click away.

In this industry: Keep answers to "we are happy with our cleaner", "it all goes through a tender" and "you will be more expensive" next to the script, each ending with a question about the contract end date.

The arguments panel in Ringlane with answers to common objections.

One key per call, the next step planned

N (not reached) plans a new attempt the next working day, G (conversation) a follow-up call in three days, T (call back) the moment you pick. A records a meeting; X (not interested, with a reason) and O (invalid number) close the lead.

In this industry: Facility and office managers are often on the floor, not at their desk. N plans the next attempt for the next working day, and T lets you call back at the moment they name.

Follow-up on every channel

Calls and emails land in your week. You write emails in Ringlane and send them from your own Gmail; LinkedIn and WhatsApp you send yourself and log by hand. The Today view puts overdue call-backs first.

In this industry: After a conversation, send a short note about a site visit or a quality check from your own Gmail. The history with that lead shows what was said, so a colleague can pick it up.

The Ringlane calendar week with planned calls and emails per company.

Book while they are on the line

Ringlane shows your free moments in Google Calendar, adds a Google Meet link and sends the invitation. Booked meetings go to Attio.

In this industry: When the facility manager agrees to a site walk or a quote visit, book it in Google Calendar while they are still on the line. The meeting goes to Attio.

The Ringlane booking window with free moments from Google Calendar.

Your numbers, per caller and campaign

Call attempts, connect rate, conversations, meetings, the funnel and the reasons for "not interested", per person, team and campaign.

In this industry: Compare campaigns per building type and read the reasons for not interested. If "contract runs until 2028" keeps coming back, you know which leads to call again later.

Ringlane reports with call attempts, conversations, meetings, the funnel and results per member.

What one new customer takes

Based on your own rates, Ringlane calculates how many calls per week and per day one new customer per week takes.

In this industry: Fill in your own connect and meeting rates and see how many calls per week one new cleaning contract per week takes, so the planning matches what your team can do.

The Ringlane rhythm calculation and the reasons for not interested.

Real screens from the Ringlane app with demo data. No affiliation with the companies shown.

What it can bring you: efficiency, money and more

A cleaning contract usually runs for years, so one extra contract is worth more than its first invoice. The table below is an example with assumed numbers, not a forecast. Replace every figure with your own.

Example with assumed numbers: one caller, one month	Value
Call attempts	400
Conversations with a decision maker (assumed 25%)	100
Site visits booked (assumed 8% of conversations)	8
New contracts (assumed 25% of site visits)	2
Value of one contract (assumed 2,000 euro per month over 36 months)	72,000 euro

In this example, two new contracts a month are worth 144,000 euro over their term. Your figures will differ, and that is the point of measuring them. See how many calls it takes to win one customer.

Efficiency is the other half. Measure for one week how long your team spends after each call on notes, finding a date for the next call and remembering who asked for a quote. Logging an outcome with one key and having the next call planned is meant to take much of that away; measure the difference after a few weeks. Follow-up also gets done: a lead whose contract ends next spring is in the calendar, not in someone's memory. Read how to follow up leads for a simple rhythm.

Want to see the calling screen first? Try the demo.

Frequently asked questions

Does cold calling work for commercial cleaning companies?

It can, because almost every business already has a cleaner and only switches when something goes wrong or the contract ends. A call that finds out the contract end date, the decision maker and what bothers them about the current service gives you a reason to call back at the right moment.

Who should a cleaning company call?

At small businesses, usually the owner or the office manager. At larger organisations, the facility manager, the purchasing department or the building manager. Ask early who signs the contract and whether it goes through a tender.

How large is the commercial cleaning market in Belgium and the Netherlands?

Eurostat counts 9,670 building and industrial cleaning enterprises in Belgium and 30,303 in the Netherlands in 2024, with a turnover of about 7.4 and 9.3 billion euro. CBS counts 27,915 Dutch cleaning businesses on 1 October 2026 (provisional figures), of which 880 have 10 or more people.

What happens to the cleaning staff when a client switches supplier?

In both countries, sector agreements regulate staff transfer when a cleaning contract changes hands: chapter 16 of the Dutch cleaning CAO for July 2024 to June 2026 on contract changes, and a Belgian joint committee 121 agreement of 12 May 2003. Prospects often ask about it, so have a clear answer ready and check the current text. This is general information, not legal advice.

How many calls does it take to win one cleaning contract?

That depends on your own connect rate, conversation to meeting rate and win rate. Measure them for a few weeks and work backwards from the number of contracts you want. Ringlane calculates this rhythm from your own figures.

Sources

Call before the next tender, not after it