September 22nd, 2009 §
Your phone rings… A potential customer is calling YOU for an estimate…
What is your process for taking that call?
Unfortunately, most painting contractors don’t have one and it costs them a ton of $$$ and makes them look very unprofessional!
Once you have a simple process for answering the customer call-in, it will make your life a lot easier and put you on the right path to landing more of your painting estimates!
The tip we are sharing with you today will help you:
- Improve your brand & image and stand out from the competition
- Sound more professional and trustworthy
- Quickly build a strong bond with potential clients
- Save you time
- Stay organized
- Collect the most important information and make the bidding process a lot easier
Let’s get started…
There are a few specific things you want to do and say, EVERY TIME a prospect calls you…
Here is a quick outline for creating a professional call-in - information gathering script.
- Be polite, have an up-beat attitude and answer your phone with the same greeting every time.
Example: Thank you for calling (Your Painting Business) how can we help make your home more beautiful? Followed by these questions…
- “What zip code is the home that is being painted located in…?”
Asking this question allows you to track where your business is coming from.
- “How did you hear about us?”
Again, this is a great way to track which advertising or marketing campaign is working best.
- “Are you looking for interior or exterior painting?” and “Is this paint project for your personal residence or an investment property?”
- “How long has it been since the last time (area indicated) has been painted?”
- “How quickly are you looking to have the work done?”
- “Have you begun selecting your colors yet?”
- “What is the best time to meet to give you an estimate for the project, with all of the decision makers present?”
That last question will save you a ton of time and frustration!
There is nothing worse than spending 30/45 minutes evaluating a job, answering the homeowners questions and outlining the benefits of using your services, only to be told that they have to check with someone else before they can make a final decision!
Try not to do estimates unless all decision makers are going to be there.
Now all you have to do is get their address and set up a time to bid the paint job.
One more KEY question to ask is: “Do you have an email address?”
Getting an email address gives you a chance to market to them again in the future… even if you don’t land the first job.
After all, they called you for a painting estimate and that means:
- They are most likely NOT DIYers.
- They are willing to pay a painting contractor to do the work for them, and
- Your advertising and/or marketing was affective!
It is perfectly fine to send special offers or promotions to people who asked you to do an estimate for them, regardless if they accepted your initial bid or not!
Following up with your NO’s a few times a year, with different offers and special promotions can skyrocket your profits!
Hope this helps improve your “Customer Call-In” process.
What do you think of the tips we are sharing on this blog?
Please leave us a comment…
September 21st, 2009 §
We get emails from time to time asking us “What’s the right way to bid paint jobs?” is it by the square foot… by the hour… Time and materials… By the project…?
To be honest, “what might be right for you may not be right for some…”
Those lyrics from the hit TV show Different Strokes, apply just as well to painting contractors trying to figure out how to bid paint jobs!
Let me explain it like this:
A Large painting contractor who has three trucks, 10 employees, an off site office/workshop, etc. can look at a paint job and bid it at $3500…
However, the person down the street running a small “owner operator” painting business from his home, may look at that same job, and bid it at $2200…
Both paint contractors are capable of doing the work and providing a quality finished product, so which bid is the right one?
The answer is they are BOTH right!
The reason small painting business owners are able to charge less for the same work, is that their overhead is so much lower. In the example above, the large painting contractors has a lot more expenses to cover.
Figuring out what rate you need to charge, comes down to “knowing your numbers“…
Here is a simple way to figure out YOUR numbers:
First - Calculate all of the expenses associated with running your business, but not directly related to the producing of the paint job.
For Example: (indirect expenses)
- Utilities
- Your Salary
- Insurance
- Rent
- Equipment
- Phone, Office Supplies, education, etc
Second - Calculate your direct expenses associated with producing the actual work…
For example:
- Materials & Sundries
- Employee Wages
- Any Miscellaneous expenses
Third - Add up the total of each to get your Total Expenses and becomes your break even revenue amount.
Fourth - Add in your % of profit (how much is up to you) to the Total Expenses. This ensures that your company makes money!
Lets look at a quick example:
Total Indirect Expenses $ 4550
Total Direct Expenses $ 3645
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Total Expenses $8195
15% PROFIT $1229.25
Total REVENUE with 15% PROFIT = $9424.25
Here is how to calculate your PER HOUR selling price:
Take the number of painters and multiply it by the number of hours they will work in a month to get total man hours.
Example: You have 2 painters working 40 hours per week every month. (2 x 160 = 320 man hours)
Now take your Total Revenue and divide it by the number of man hours to get your per hour selling price.
Total REVENUE with 15% PROFIT = $9424.25 / 320 man hours = $29.45 per hour.
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Knowing your numbers is invaluable and the first step to making sure you are bidding paint jobs the RIGHT WAY for YOUR business!
We hope this post helps you!
For more money making tips and ideas visit our painting business blog at http://paintingbusiness.blogspot.com/ and be sure to leave us a comment!
September 19th, 2009 §
We get a lot of emails asking for advice about how to land more paint jobs and unfortunatly there is no one magic answer.
However with that being said, there are many things you can do to give yourself a better shot at winning the prize. One of which is to “Increase the value of your offer.”
Homeowners now-a-days are value conscious and they want to get the biggest bang for their hard earned buck…
Here are three surefire ways to add value to your painting services, and increase your close rate.
- Offer a WRITTEN Warranty - This may seem really simple, yet very few painting contractors actually do it correctly.
It’s one thing to tell potential clients that you stand behind your work by listing it on the contract, BUT if you write out the details of your warranty and highlight it on a separate page, all by itself, you will get a far better response.
Take the time to create it and lay it all out on a sheet of letterhead… Make it look official, like it’s something your company takes very seriously and stands behind. (which it should be)
- Offer FREE Color Consultation - One of the biggest fears homeowners face when they decide to paint is choosing the right color.
Taking the time to put together a simple color consulting presentation goes a long way in building a relationship with the homeowner. You can outline which colors bring out which moods… You could explain how different colors have different kinds of energy… Which colors and sheen’s work good together and which are “in style.”
Gathering this kind of data is easily accomplished by spending some time at the professional paint store talking to the manager.
- Offer to Stage The Furniture for FREE - Furniture staging is a GREAT added value and it’s really easy to learn.
You can pick up one of the many books from Amazon.com or your local book store and learn all you need to know in just a few hours.
Consider creating a short report that teaches your client how to do it themselves… (you could also use this report as a free bonus give away that you include when you submit your bid.)
Consider adding these simple suggestions to your business and see what kind of a difference they will make. Growing a profitable painting business that stands out from the crowd is about being creative and doing things that the average contractor doesn’t do.
It’s all about customer service… Providing a better value and a better customer experience.
These simple tips will help you stand out from about 95% of painting business owners in the field.
We love to hear from you so please leave us a comment about how these tips may have helped your business!
September 18th, 2009 §
To learn the process of how to bid paint jobs through trial and error can be a long, confusing and very frustrating process…
In fact, many painting business owners’ never really figure it out and are forced to drop their rates just to keep money coming in.
If you are having trouble figuring out how to bid paint jobs, these four proven steps should help you close more sales… at much higher prices.
Step 1: Take the time to do some competition research - Knowing what other painting contractors are charging is the fastest way to get a feel of your market.
Understand that you are not only looking for ‘how much they are charging” but rather (and more importantly) the process they are using to sell the paint job.
One painting contractors price may be way different than another but that doesn’t mean one is the right price and the other is not. It’s important to “know your numbers” because that’s ultimately what you will need to base your ‘base’ price on.
I’ll talk about this in more detail in future posts…
Step 2: You must come up with simple formulas that allow you to bid the work accurately - Guessing wont get the job done, at least not in this new economy. When you have a specific formula that allows you to calculate your measurements, the rest of the process is much easier.
Step 3: You must write up the estimate in a way that communicates value to customer - Simply writing a price on the back of a business card may work sometimes, however it is very unprofessional and will cost you a ton of money.
It is much easier to sell at higher prices when you take the time to create a well written estimate that details the scope of work being bid on. Using a written estimate also gives you the opportunity to communicate the value of your services, which will help you sell the job.
Step 4: You MUST Follow Up - Follow up is very important! Why would you spend the time doing an estimate for someone and never follow up? The follow call is not meant to try and pressure anyone into anything… It’s meant to gather more information and to remind the homeowner why your painting company is the best choice.
If you find that you are having trouble learning how to bid paint jobs, or don’t have time to figure out how to do each of these four steps on your own consider giving the The Bid to Win Estimating System a try…
It has a 96% customer satisfaction rate and has already helped thousands of painting contractors like you, master the process very quickly… Each step is laid out in easy to understand detail with templates and examples.
February 7th, 2009 §
There is a lot more that goes into bidding paint jobs then coming up with a price…
It’s a fact that only about 5% of home owners shop price exclusively and in most cases these are the worst kinds of customers. They seem to complain the most and be the hardest to satisfy.
So why is it that the majority of painters in the field fight to underbid each other to get this work? It’s lack of knowledge.
Don’t get me wrong, coming up with the price is important but not as important as making an emotional connection with the home owner.
Listen, regardless of the price, no one wants to buy a paint job. No one wants to spend money on having painting done…
What people want is the feeling the new color will give them. They want the feeling of pride, the felling of peace and serenity and they want to work with someone they know, like and trust.
Home owners want someone who understands what they are looking for and who can help them make their vision come to life.
If you go into an estimate thinking price is the only factor the home owner will consider you already lost! You may indeed land the job but chances are it will be for significantly less than what you could have made if you would have spent more time connecting and building the relationship.
Let me illustrate my point.
I am what you might call a fishing junky… seriously any time I can get on the water - I’m there! I don’t care if it’s Bluegill, Bass, Bone fish or Tarpon, count me in!
Anyway, I’m always on the look out when I’m doing an estimate for anything remotely associated with fishing or being on the water… A picture, a boat in the driveway, knick-knacks, anything I can use to make that emotional connection.
If there is nothing around that relates to my interests I will draw from interests of friends and family. For example I don’t know much about knitting, but my grandma loves that hobby.
I would say something like, “Wow, did you knit that throw blanket yourself?” which starts the conversation… Next, I would tell them about how “my grandma believed in me and encouraged me to start my own painting business and the lessons she taught me about putting the customers first!”
See how powerful this simple “emotional connection” strategy is?
Far too often painters are in too much of a hurry to get in and out that they skip the most important part of the process!
Remember, home owners would rather do business with someone they know, like and trust so do your best to be that person.
February 2nd, 2009 §
It may have to do with how you’re writing your estimate.
Without a doubt bidding painting jobs is one of the biggest problems facing painting business owners… In fact the problem is so big that most never figure it out!
Even those who do eventually figure out a set of formulas that consistently produce a competitive price, the way they write up and present the estimate is causing them to lose over fifty percent of the work.
I have talked with countless painting business owners over the years who ask me for advice about how to close paint jobs NORTH of 50% and this is what I tell them.
- Bidding paint jobs isn’t as much about price as it is about relationships and communication.
So, So, SO many painting business owners have brainwashed themselves into thinking that homeowners shop price, so they keep cutting their prices until they go out of business. (You’re not cutting your prices, are you?)
Think about it this way… no one wants to spend money on having their house painted, do they? No way! What they want is the feeling the new look and color is going to give them. What they want is the FEELING it will give them! …And they will pay a premium to the painting business owner who is able to communicate their ability to give that feeling to them.
Get involved with the project, make an intimate connection with the home owner, ask good questions to find out their motivation for wanting the work done in the first place, then “paint them a picture” about what it will look and feel like when they’re standing in their NEW room.
- Write up your estimate and highlight the added value you offer and all of the benefits of having you do the work.
For example you can highlight the fact that you offer a warranty of some kind (you do don’t you) or how the paint you use is ‘environmentally friendly’, or whatever it is you do.
You can also educate them about why they should NEVER hire the lowest priced painter to do the work
- Itemize the process from start to finish so they know what to expect… Be specific. The more detailed you can be the better. A home owner is going to feel a lot more comfortable dealing with someone they feel has their best interests at heart.
…Always under promise and over deliver, NEVER the other way around! The last thing you want to do is simply write a price on the back of a business card and say call me!
It may take a bit longer to write up an estimate this way but it’s a fact that you WILL land a lot more jobs.
Obviously there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to the process, but gaining a working knowledge of the bidding and estimate writing process is vitally important to your success.
There are many ways to give yourself an advantage in your market place that will allow you to paint at a premium even in the slowest economy.