Sales Trends strong, and as these people retire, it’ s like a vacuum,” Feldman says.“ We’ re just losing all this information. So it’ s really critical that if you’ re paying someone a salary, all that intellectual property is yours. You harvest it because you’ re not going to be able to leverage it in the future as you integrate new people, if you don’ t have it somewhere.”
Added-Value Selling
Feldman recommends a similar data-driven approach to selling textile services based on value rather than price alone. If, for example, you’ re selling to healthcare or hospitality clients, you need to gather information on their challenges and offer solutions that will help them achieve their organizational goals. For a laundry that provides a service for customer-owned linen goods( COG), the key is to determine how the customer can get the best value, while also ensuring the laundry nets a fair return on its investment.“ We need to find out what the customers find valuable and then quantify that and be able to charge according to what they value,” Feldman says.“ We’ re doing it the reverse way. We’ re not doing discovery. The No. 1 thing you do in sales is discover. I need to walk with the customer and figure out what their pain points are … what they value. And then I put a solution together that marries that value in the optimal way.”
The customer may say that he doesn’ t care if the COG linen wears out faster due to too-frequent washing. He’ d rather limit his linen“ par” purchases, rather than buy more goods. In such situations, the laundry needs to show hotel managers the data to prove that financially speaking, keeping pars too low isn’ t a cost-effective strategy.“ Ultimately, it’ s about enumerating the difference of the value,” Feldman says.“ It’ s always about math. I don’ t think we do a great job of articulating the math.” Laundry operators must understand customer needs and make a compelling case for the laundry’ s financial analysis. Otherwise, he says, if the proposal doesn’ t add up, chances are they’ ll opt for a lower bid. They’ ll likely conclude that the service is essentially a commodity, with price as the only differentiator. Demonstrating a laundry’ s superior value can overcome this attitude. Most customers and prospects are looking for a better deal for their laundry services.“ At the end of the day, no one wants to be‘ sold,’” Feldman says.“ People like to buy. That’ s not the same thing as selling. These are smart people that are C-levels in hospital accounts or at hotels. They want you to present them with data, and they want to choose the data that they believe tells the best story.”
Cooker also emphasized the importance of having salespeople document the value of the services they offer to customers.“ Strong salespeople quantify value wherever possible: reduced labor for the customer, fewer linen losses, compliance support or an improved patient or guest experience,” he says.“ When the conversation moves from‘ What does it cost?’ to‘ What problems does this prevent?’ the sales dynamic changes significantly. In that environment, the most professional operators typically win the business.”
Harrison says one upside in the shift to millennial and Gen Z buyers is that they tend to have a broader awareness of data. This tends to make them more amenable to value-based selling than some prospects were in the past. Another aspect of this trend is that customers today are generally more media savvy. If your company gets negative reviews online, chances are these customers / prospects will find them, Harrison says. Times have changed dramatically since the early 2000s, he says, adding that“ I don’ t think that’ s a bad thing because I don’ t think our game was all that sharp back then.” But if it’ s not sharp now, customers who find negative reviews about you are likely to do one of two things:“ One, they might not do business with you, and two, if they do, they’ re going to use it as leverage to beat you up on price.”
These trends are prompting operators to do more to verify their value. If a customer complains about your services online, you’ d better find out what they’ re saying and take steps to address their concerns, Harrison says. If you do that, and respond in detail online, in time, your complaining customer may agree to delete the negative post. Clearly, in today’ s sales environment, it’ s not enough to preach the value of your services. You must take a proactive stance against any negative online comments or risk losing business.
One creative option Harrison suggests to emphasize value is to offer clients a five-year price guarantee. They may pay a higher rate in the first year, but that rate will remain in place throughout the life of the contract. This approach can help to communicate the value of your services, he says.
Fresh Approaches
Few would question that sales strategies for textile services professionals have changed in recent years. The three reasons noted above include new approaches to social media and managing a generational shift among staff and prospects / customers. Third, the opportunity to leverage data as part of a value-based sales strategy is now more compelling than ever, our sources say.
Bottom line? Those operators who apply these smarter outreach strategies to selling are positioned for growth. TS
JACK MORGAN is senior editor of Textile Services. Contact him at 540.613.5070 or jmorgan @ trsa. org.
May 2026 • Textile Services 37