Painting is Personal: Personalizing Your Quoting Process
April 9, 2019
Many painting contractors face intense pressure to provide the lowest price quote to win jobs, but doing this can eat most or all of the profit in a painting job. This is the first in a three-part series about how to earn business through trust instead of rock-bottom pricing. Future posts will cover personalizing your post-job walkthrough and following up with customers after the job has been completed.
Most able-bodied people who hire a house painting contractor aren’t looking for the cheapest solution out there – the cheapest solution is to simply paint the house themselves. But, even though they aren’t necessarily looking for the cheapest painting contractor, they end up choosing a contractor based on price. That’s because money is the easiest way to make a decision when there aren’t any other major differences.
Imagine this scenario: you go into a store to buy a speaker system. There are three of them, and as far as you can tell, they’re all similar. One has more options, another is slightly louder, and the third takes up less floor space. The smaller one is $100 cheaper than the other two. What do you do?
You could debate what’s more important to you. But if you don’t spend hours every night listening to music, and they all sound good, you’ll probably just buy the cheaper one. If none of them particularly stand out to you, there’s no point in wasting the extra hundred dollars.
Don’t Be Average
Unfortunately, this is the experience that most people have with painting contractors. Hiring a pro might sound like less of a hassle than painting the house themselves, but it’s still a hassle. Will the painter show up, or will they cancel at the last minute? Will the paint job look good after they’re done? Will they move or cover furniture? Will the painter be someone you trust in your house?
None of the contractors they call make that much of an impression. One might call back slightly faster than the others. One seems slightly more interested, while the others get off the phone as quickly as possible. They’re nice enough when they show up to quote the work, but none of them are very personable. To these customers, It seems like their house is just another job to every contractor they call.
The easiest way to get a customer to consider something other than price is to be the obvious choice for a hassle-free experience. Don’t bother telling them about excellent customer service – everyone says that. The key here is to show them instead of telling them. Here are a few tips to make a great impression.
- When a customer calls to ask for a quote, focus on the conversation and ask them detailed questions about their house and their job.
- Ask the customer what they see as the most important part of the work they’re doing. Are they trying to increase resale value? Do they want to make rooms look larger with a lighter color? Is the paint job part of a bigger renovation project – and if so, what are they trying to accomplish with that project?
- When you quote the job, don’t wait for them to ask if you do things like cover furniture or what shape the house will be in – explain all of that as part of your process.
Make it clear that you want them to feel like this task is off their plate – and on yours – as soon as they hand the job to you.
If a prospect likes you personally and felt you were ‘on the ball’ in all of their conversations, they’ll consider your company even if your price is a bit higher than the other painting contractors they called. They’ll have to consider whether it’s worth that small upcharge to work with someone who will do a good job the first time. For many of your prospects, it’s definitely worth the money to have the feeling that the problem is taken care of once they’ve given you the job.
To learn how ProPainter Websites can help your painting business gain more customers and earn more money, call us at 855-385-1134 or email us at Team_PPW@ProPainterWebsites.com.
