Price too high?

"Your price is too high?"

We do a ton of estimates each week, myself I probably do 6-8 onsite estimates and another 15 in the office from blueprints and one thing we hear often when we call to follow up is your price is too high.

We have qualified these estimates, sent literature explaining we may not be the lowest and still it comes as a surprise we may be higher than others. Could it be prices are high? Possibly but I will bet you the other companies are too low. I am referring solely to residential painting here as commercial is about the fastest systematic way to paint meaning generally the lowest price wins.

So out of three estimates you go with the lowest one, in the end, that low price could very well turn out to be the highest, a deal most of the time is not a deal, they can be deceptive, you may get cheaper materials, low-quality paint, uninsured painters who have no workers compensation which could be devastating should someone get hurt.

We chose not to play the price game and be in the race to the bottom and sell our value we can offer.

How many companies do you call and someone answers the phone calls you back or if you get that far shows up? We know exactly how each job will turn out because we have done them over and over with the same trained staff from the person who answers your call, to our follow ups and communication and that is before the job itself starts.

If you can't get someone to call you back what do you think will happen when the job starts and if something bad happens on the site such as spilled paint, damage or an injury where do you think that company will be? The answer is they will disappear and most likely without insurance your job will not be done and it will cost you more than hiring that higher price. Everyone makes mistakes and has an accident here and there, it will happen and when it does you want the accountable company working for you not the lowballer

At this point I shouldn't be suprised when I hear this but it does , when I shop for a dervice I look for the best service first, nto that price doesn;t matter but I will certainly pay more for great service and that is hard to find

What makes for a great painting estimate

I go on about 10 estimates a week in person and not counting the others we do from blueprints in the office so I have seen it all from potential clients who could care less what I have to say other than the price to ones who I can talk to forever.

Somedays the bad ones make it a very long day but the others who turn out to be great make up for the bad generally

So what makes a great estimate on my end?
Communication is the big one here for me, if a potential client does not open up about their project or we do not connect in some way while I am there it makes for a very difficult estimate, I never find out their key needs nor did they share them with me which makes it a complete guess once we start the job and is ripe for problems and expectations not met.

Be on site, I know that sounds simple but the person making the decision should be on site, you have to connect or feel comfortable with who you hire and not make your decisions solely off of the price. We ask a lot of questions before we show up on an estimate and if the decision is based solely on price for a residential project we will refer these jobs out.

We are entering into a relationship once an estimate is given and you select us to do your work, we will be interacting over the course of your project and we like to work for great people and are selective in who we work for just as much as you are when selecting your contractor.

Know what you want and express it at the estimate, not after the job starts. At that point you should let the painters do what they are trained and experienced to do, paint. Nothing is worse than a homeowner looking over their shoulders or pulling gout a light to shine on the wall which is a big no-no. Know what you want, express it to the estimator and let them deliver it.

Snow day but not really

A snow day when I was a kid was a day to have fun with friends and not have to go to school and for some adults, this is the same just subtract school and add work in.
But when running a business is there really a day off?
Since I am writing this blog that answer is no.

A day off, while everyone is off, is the perfect day to catch my breath and evaluate things that are moving so fast on a normal day. When no one is in, customers have no demands time moves slow and I can check in on almost every process in our company and trust me there are a ton of them

We are always striving to make each process better for us and our clients, on a typical day they are all work in progress, continually updating, changing and updating.

Wehn things slow down, I can track the success of them, remove some and add others.
I bet the most changes I make come on Sundays and holidays while everyone else if off and it is most likely the least favorite of my employees when they return to work the next day as 100% there will be changes and evaluations

It may be a painting company however, we are really filling the roles of many different trades such as color consultants, psychologists for our customers and employees, human resources, delivery drivers, carpenters, cleaners and much more. Not too mention the sales aspect and accounting.  It seems as if I am pulled in so many different directions.

This is why I am steadfast on my time, I strictly enforce my available time and delegate many tasks to the appropriate person not working on the day to day tasks but managing and training the employees to make their own decisions as I would.

So a snow day to most is fun and relaxing a snow day for me actually means extra work , the normal days are less work as my team is back in.

Sorry Is For Suckers

Sorry is for suckers

I'm sorry, sorry for that, I apologize, my fault is one of my biggest pet peeves and something I correct and do not allow around the office.

Not that we do not want to be polite or the customer isn't always right but as soon as you say any of those words you have lowered yourself and gave the other person the thought they were correct and you will back down whether right or wrong.

Once you say those words you mise well have said your right even if your wrong and I will do anything you say

Sorry is self-demeaning and if you cannot lift yourself up you are going to be taken full advantage of by others

Sorry makes you seem unfit for leadership roles in some eyes

 It also sends a message that you would rather agree then be honest, over times your apologies will come across as submissive and make you a pushover for others to take advantage of. Over apologizing creates guilt and undermines your own self-esteem.

Instead of I'm sorry, say thank you for bringing that to my attention

"Just" is another one of those words,

I just wanted to reach out, I just have a few things to go over, sorry for calling but I just have a few things to talk about. If they were truly sorry they wouldn’t call knowing it is a bother. Get right to the point of the call.

Business and life can be tough enough without you purposely making it harder for yourself

What it costs to paint a bedroom in Easton,Pa

What it costs to paint a bedroom in Easton,PA

One question we get asked every day is what does it cost to paint a bedroom

Some people are shocked at the price and some understand the costs that a small company incurs on a daily basis to stay in business

Using a professional painting company comes along with many great things, a trained staff, professional painters, liability  insurance  and workman’s compensation paid on workers, crews, vehicles so if something would happen you and your family (and home) are covered. The same can not be said hiring a company who uses uninsured sub-contractors. You’re on your own there and hopefully if something would happen the insurance is in place on the company and their subcontractors

Here are some fees that are in the cost to paint a room from a professional company:

•                   Workman Compensation and liability insurance
•                                      Taxes, payroll taxes, social security unemployment  etc
•                    Costs such as vehicles and marketing
•                    Training for painters
•                      Health Insurance and benefit packages if applicable

So what does it cost to paint a bedroom let’s get to the answer?

To paint a typical 10x12 bedroom pictured above  with two coats of quality paint from Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore you will have these typical costs

 The average cost would be about $350

Add the ceilings and add $150-$200

Add the baseboard for about $125

So a typical room this size is around $350-$600 Depending on what is getting done, height of walls, any patching other than small dings, dents and nail holes. The timeframe is also important; if you need it done right away a good company is ging to be booked out 4-6 weeks, so to move you up in the schedule will come with a premium.

Do you need the absolute best materials and quality? Well then that is a premium

If price is the absolute most important thing and you need the cheapest price possible, than timing and quality will certainly be where the savings will come from, it would be scheduled when crews are free , a rainy day where scheduled exterior work cannot be done.  You may get trainees on site learning the trade or the average painter while the top craftsman are on the other jobs where the top quality was requested and paid for.

Most jobs can be done under any budget “if” that is known and spoken about at the estimate.

What we find sometimes is that is not shared, someone looking for the bottom dollar price never shares that, gets a bunch of estimates and solely picks the lowest price regardless of who they preferred while if they would of shared this with the painting company they likes most likely the project could have been adjusted to make that happen

Who we do not hire

Finding new employees is a difficult process in the first place adding to that finding painters is even harder.

It seems in this business we are lucky if someone has a drivers license, a vehicle, can pass a background check and that usually rules out 75% of potential new hires for us.

I thought I would simplify this and explain exactly what we look for and maybe it can help you in your own business. Being picky for us has been great in most ways, of course we are limited on man power but those we have are all very capable in holding their own

Top Red Flags and personality traits we do not like

• If you live in any city the people who double park when there are multiple spots in front and behind
• People who do not have the courtesy to hold the door for the person behind them AND let them go in first
• Not saying yes sir and yes ma'am , this may seem old school but we offer this respect to everyone we meet daily
• Someone who does not look you in the eye when talking to you, this always is a red flag and we do not hire those people
• No personal accountability, always blaming others or making excuses
• Asking how much they will be paid before they come in for an interview, I have canceled a few interviews because of this, we do not want money to be the number one motivating factor
• Stating you will only come in if the job pays well, again similar to the above issue
• Not showing up early, on time is late for us

We have most certainly limited ourselves as far as the total amount of painters however we have drastically increased morale and quality of work so working off our list above we will continue to be choosy who we bring into our family

Where are all the great people?

Hiring for us has been an ongoing struggle, from blaming ourselves for the failure of the people we hire to thinking there are just no good painters left around.
So what is the answer to this? Who is to blame? The answer lies in between blame and accountability.

We do everything we possible can to 

help make someone succeed, I am going to sound like my grandfather and say people are not like they used to be, not hard working and want things handed to them. I don't entirely believe that of everyone but it is prevalent today of the applicants we see. 

Some of the issues have been

• Showing up late to the interview if they show at all.
• Arriving at the wrong location
• Not dressed appropriately 
• Cursing in the interview everyone curses here and there shit I just did now but pick your spots please
• Asking what the jobs pays before coming into an interview
• Asking to be paid in cash to avoid their responsibilities

So all I just mentioned are red flags in my book and immediately you will find were not interested.

Working hard to pre qualify these leads, make sure were a good fit for each other and all share them same values as the company is a good start to avoid this.

Our values are dependability, accountability, relationships, commitment and trustworthy. You can see why the red flags are a direct violation of these values.

I was taught to work hard and that in itself is a reward but eventually the accolades, money will come. We made a stand to only have people work with us who share these goals, it has limited our company in the number of people who work with us but it has made every day and every job that much better.

We hire people who want a career in painting and will do whatever they can without question to get jobs done and be a great person to their family and company, it is the only way to feel great about your company.

 

What to expect on your painting estimate

Getting a painting estimate can be challenging in many ways from who do you call to how much it will cost. There are many unknowns which can make for a stressful time and one that sometimes makes you make unwise choices from choosing the wrong contractor to more importantly not selecting the right one.

When you call to get an estimate first did someone answer the phone who was polite and could answer most of your questions? Did they ask what your time frame was? Nothing is more frustrating then having contractors come out who can never meet your deadlines which simply wastes your time and the contractors. A simple question on their end can eliminate this.

After an appointment was set that is good for both parties did the contractor show up on time or at all?  This is my first red flag when looking for a contractor, if they are late to the consultation what makes you think they will be on time when your project is going on. If were late and I can count on one hand he amount of times I have been late we always call.

Did they arrive wearing a company shirt and dressed well? This again is important, if they show up in a dirty vehicle and dressed horribly it is a reflection on how they treat their own property. How do you think they will treat yours?

Were they writing things down or simply looking around and going to guess at your price? No matter how many years someone has in the trade writing things down is a necessity if only to be able to have notes for the painters who arrive on your project.

Once they arrive you should tell them immediately what your project consists of and walk through each area and be very detailed . This is your one shot at explaining clearly and being able to get a clear and accurate price. I will say it again failure to know expectations is the number one way a project will go wrong. We make sure this doesn't happen often by writing everything down, repeating what is told to us and giving the painters a clear scope and copy of what we wrote. This eliminates 95% of issues on job sites.

Once you get your estimate whether that is on the spot or emailed you should look it over and make sure the scope of work matches what you explained at the estimate and follow this with a phone call with the estimator. Following these simple rules can save a ton of wasted time and effort and make a decision an easier one.

Marketing tips for painting companies

Marketing is a team effort for a painting company

Running a painting company or any company for that matter has a lot of moving parts and none are more important than your marketing. Marketing does not just happen in an office sending out some postcards and slapping a sign in the yard. If you think this is the case you will be sitting in your home come the winter time wondering what happened.

So we have done our work in the office, got the lead, did the estimate and follow ups and made the sale but guess who your marketing really depends on? The painters

Marketing starts in the office but also extends to the job and that job is of the painters. Are they showing up wearing wearing clean clothes and a nice company shirt? Did they place a sign in the yard and say hello to the neighbors? Did they bring in the newspaper each morning when arriving at the job or do they show up grunt good morning and start painting because they think that is their only job. If that is the case your missing a huge aspect of your marketing which creates more work. We look for men and women who see the bigger picture, the more quality jobs we have they more work they have and working through the winter is huge to painters. If they can help decide their fate isn't that an awesome feeling?

You have one chance to make an  impression on the homeowner and hopefully a good one so they will refer you to the next customer, a referral is the best lead as it costs next to nothing to get. Why pay for leads when they are right in you hand to take if you do your work.

When arriving in the morning remember it isn't when you step on the property, it is when you pull up in the driveway, are you smoking in your truck? Put it out when your a block away and remember many people do not smoke and can smell your clothes and jackets if you place them inside the home. Quitting smoking is a better idea but if you must keep in mind other people and respect their property.

If you keep it simple here are a few tips to increase and tweak your on the job marketing:

• Know they are watching before you arrive
• Know the neighbors are watching
• A clean company shirt
• Professional workers
• Yard Signs
• Say hello and be friendly
• Ask for referrals
• Go the extra mile