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The Cleaning Authority, founded by Steve Robinson, is an International Company offering residential franchise opportunities throughout the US and Canada. We invited Steve to talk us through how he created the firm and helped to drive it to its current success.
The Cleaning Authority was founded in 1989 with my business partner Tim Evankovich. Together we purchased an existing mom and pop residential cleaning service based in Columbia, MD. At the time of purchase we had approximately 250 customers. We spent the next 7 years working in the trenches learning the business from the ground up. In 1996 we decided to franchise the business and offer our system to others throughout the US and Canada. Company: The Cleaning Authority Name: Steve Robinson Website: www.thecleaningauthority.com
Through our hard work and dedication we were able to grow the company from one small location to an International Franchise Concept with 200 franchise locations servicing over 92,000 customers grossing over 200 million per year in sales. The firm’s phenomenal growth is testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved. One major challenge we encountered was the strong competition in the residential cleaning market. We differentiated the Cleaning Authority by employing an aggressive marketing strategy, by sending out over 1.2 million pieces of direct mail pieces per week to potential customers on behalf of our franchisee’s through our affiliate company in Oklahoma. By utilizing this method of advertising our franchisees were able to scale their businesses very quickly. Another unique feature was that we invested heavily in technology, developing a state of the art web based software system. Over the years we have invested over $7 million in this system, which allowed us to better support our franchisees, managing every aspect of their business. This led to the development of our call center. We have 30 call center operators who are able to act as an extension of the franchisees local office staff. This ensures that if the franchisee is not available, customer calls will be directed to the call center and customers will never be put through to a voicemail system during working hours. Phone calls from all of our direct mail campaigns are also directed to the call center , which helps to maximise the success of the marketing dollars. Another unique advantage that we put into place a few years ago was to hire some of our most successful franchisees to be the front line representatives to help other franchisees with questions about their day to day operations. So they split their time between running their own franchise territory and helping others that encounter the same daily challenges. Within the franchising industry it is unusual to find franchising representatives who are actually franchisees themselves, in most cases other franchisors hire staff who have no prior experience in their particular industry. The Cleaning Authority’s approach has been extremely successful in helping all franchisees to get the most out of their business. Ultimately, what has set us apart was our dedication to innovation. We were always trying to challenge the norm, always looking at every issue in a different
46 Acquisition International - February 2016
way. Whenever we came across a process, we were always asking why it was that way and how we could invert it, so as to better support our franchisees and build upon our success. We pushed boundaries and invested in technology. Other firms used their technology as a barrier between their franchisees and customers, we used technology to get closer to them, offering greater support and an easier means of communication. Our innovation extended beyond our internal processes and into how we recruited franchisees. We used franchise sales consultants, which are companies who represent a number of franchise firms in a number of different sectors, from auto repair to yogurt stores and everything in between, offering potential franchisees the chance to choose a franchise which best suits them. While this is a common practice in our industry, we approached it in a unique way. Many franchise companies would try to lower the price as much as possible, so that they would pay the franchise consultancy firm the least possible. However, we turned this around and paid the most, so that when the consultants sent us a franchisee they made more money than sending them to other companies, which helped encourage them to send us the best candidates. This is particularly vital because ultimately our people are what has helped make The Cleaning Authority the success that it is today. When looking for potential employees I always look for people who are passionate, dedicated and loyal. Without any one of these three qualities I do not believe it is possible to have a successful working relationship. I need my staff and franchisees to work hard and be in it for the long haul so that we are able build upon our present success. In 2014, The Cleaning Authority’s success caught the eye of PNC Riverach Capital, a private equity firm based in Pittsburgh, PA, and they purchased the majority share of The Cleaning Authority. My success in hiring great people is highlighted by the fact that since selling the company and stepping down as CEO, the majority of the staff have remained at the firm. The former Vice President, Rob Weddle, has taken over my responsibilities as CEO. The Cleaning Authority is moving forward and continues to get better every day. Although I have stepped away from the day to day operations I still remain a shareholder and will continue to be on the Board of Directors. I am proud to still be associated with the company and am pleased with everything we achieved during my time at the helm. I am confident that future of The Cleaning Authority is in great hands. Moving forward I have several exciting projects in the pipeline which will present me with a number