How to win work from office and practice managers
Every small and mid-sized office has someone who keeps the place running and picks the suppliers. Here is how office and practice managers buy, what they need from you, and how to get a foot in the door.
Who they are
Almost every office with more than a handful of staff has one person who keeps it running. In a law firm, an accounting practice or an engineering office that person is usually the office manager. In a medical, dental or physio practice it's the practice manager. They look after the suppliers, the kitchen, the printers and the IT, and often payroll and HR as well, so they're busy and they rarely go looking for a new supplier unless something has gone wrong.
The office manager usually chooses the supplier and handles the day-to-day, while a partner, director or practice owner signs off the bigger contracts. In a leased building there is often a second split. The building manager or facilities manager looks after the lobby, lifts and base building services, and the tenant looks after what happens inside its own space. That inside work is what the office manager buys.
Medical and dental practices buy like any other office, but cleaning is held to a higher standard because of infection control. A cleaner who already understands that has a real head start with practice managers.
What they’ll ask a new supplier for
- Your ABN and business details
- Public liability insurance with a current certificate of currency
- Workers’ compensation cover where you have workers
- Your trade licence, where your trade and state require one
- How you’ll look after keys, alarm codes and anything confidential you see
- Police checks for staff who work in the office unsupervised, which some offices ask for
- A clear price and the notice period to end the arrangement
- For a medical or dental practice, a cleaning schedule that fits the practice’s own cleaning policy
What they buy, and what they pass on
Office cleaning
Kitchens, bathrooms, bins and floors, done nightly or a few times a week, with carpet cleaning and window cleaning a few times a year.
IT support
Help desk, laptops, email, backups, printers and the network. Usually a monthly agreement with an agreed response time, plus one-off projects like an office move.
Catering and coffee
Meeting lunches, morning teas and the end of year function, plus coffee machine hire, servicing and supplies.
Plants and presentation
Indoor plant hire with regular care, signage, artwork and the small touches that make reception look looked after.
Printing and photography
Business cards, brochures, reports and signage, and team headshots for the website when new staff start.
Maintenance and small trades
Electricians for lights and power, plumbers for the kitchen and bathrooms, locksmiths for keys and access, and painting or patching when a lease ends.
How they choose who to use
Nothing to chase
The best supplier is the one the office manager never has to think about, because they turn up, do the job and send a correct invoice.
Trust with access
Cleaners and IT people often hold keys, alarm codes or admin passwords and work near client files. Office managers pick people they would be comfortable leaving alone in the office.
Quiet work
Jobs done before or after hours, or done during the day without interrupting meetings, phone calls and clients in reception.
Clear, steady pricing
A monthly price with no surprises is far easier to get past a partner than an open-ended hourly rate.
Quick replies
When the internet drops or a toilet overflows, the supplier who answers first usually keeps the job.
Getting on their list
Most small offices don't run a formal panel. They keep a short list of who to call, often inherited from the last office manager, and stay with it until a supplier lets them down or the price jumps. That moment is your opening. A larger firm, or one with several offices, may have a supplier form, a set of terms to sign or a step to get you set up in the accounts system before you can invoice. A short capability statement answers most of what they will ask.
If the office is in a managed building, ask about the building's contractor rules before your first visit, because some buildings want contractors to sign in, do an induction or work only in set hours. Safety is shared as well. Safe Work Australia says that where businesses share a workplace or the same work, each has to consult, cooperate and coordinate with the others on health and safety, so expect a good office manager to ask how you'll work safely on their floor. It's good practice to write down what you agree.
Practices add one more layer. The RACGP Standards for general practices expect each practice to have a cleaning policy aligned with the RACGP's infection prevention and control guidelines, setting out who is responsible for cleaning and how routine cleaning, unscheduled cleaning and checks on the cleaning are done. A cleaner who asks to see that policy and builds the schedule around it reads as someone who has done this work before.
How to approach them
Write to the office manager by name
Team pages, LinkedIn and the person on reception will usually tell you who looks after suppliers. A note to the general inbox tends to sit there.
Lead with the one thing you do best
Don’t send a list of every service. Offer the one job you’d do better than whoever they have now, such as a monthly IT check or a proper carpet clean.
Offer a small first job
A one-off deep clean or a single IT health check is easy to say yes to, and it lets them see how you work before they move anything across.
Have a one-page summary ready
Who you are, what you do, your insurance and a price range on a single page, so the office manager can forward it to a partner without rewriting anything.
Ask when their current arrangement ends
Many agreements roll over yearly or at the end of a lease. If the timing is wrong now, ask when it’s up and put it in your diary.
A first email that works
Hi Sophie, I run a small IT support business in Parramatta and we look after a few accounting and legal offices nearby, mostly teams of ten to thirty people. Most of what we do is the dull stuff that eats into an office manager’s week, like setting up new laptops, sorting email problems and fixing the printer that won’t connect. I’m not suggesting you change anyone. But if a second option would be handy, or a one-off check of your setup, I’d be glad to help. Would a one-page outline of what we cover and what it costs be useful? Thanks, Raj If you’d rather not hear from me, just let me know.
An example only. The business is made up.
Mistakes that cost the work
Sending a brochure of everything
An office manager has no time to work out which of your twelve services matters to them. One clear offer gets a reply far more often than a menu.
Quoting low and adding extras
A cheap monthly price followed by extra charges is the quickest way to lose the trust you need when the agreement comes up for renewal.
Ignoring the building rules
Turning up without an induction or outside the building’s contractor hours puts the office manager offside with their landlord, and they won’t forget it.
Businesses that work with office managers
Part of Sell to businesses. See every kind of business we write to on Who buys from you.
Questions people ask
Does the office manager decide, or the partners?
For everyday suppliers like cleaning, coffee and small trades, the office manager often decides. For bigger or longer agreements, such as IT support, a partner or director usually signs off. Ask the office manager how it works there.
Can I sell cleaning to medical practices?
Yes. Practices buy cleaning like any office, but they’ll want it done to their infection control policy. Ask to see the policy and quote to it.
What size of office is easiest to win?
Offices big enough to have an office manager but too small for a procurement team are often the easiest, because one person can say yes and the paperwork stays light.
Should I offer a fixed term or month to month?
Month to month with a short notice period is easier to say yes to. Once they trust you, a longer agreement can suit both of you.
Do I need to be on the building’s contractor list?
If the office is in a managed building, ask. Some buildings only let in contractors who have done their induction, and the office manager will be glad you thought of it.
Want us to write to office managers for you?
$99 a month, including GST. No contract, stop any time.