Little Leaks that Keep Painters Poor

I wish you could be a fly on my wall – or more accurately my phone – on a daily basis. I think you would find it interesting. Very interesting.

Imagine: Speaking with 15-20 painters or more in-depth each and every week about business growth strategies. What kind of stories to you think you would hear? What would they sound like?

Many of my conversations, especially those with long-standing APPC members, are great! They are cultivating wealth with past customer communication and turning “lily-livered-emailed-estimates” into “powerful-positioning-performances.”

These painters are investing time to build low-maintenance and no-maintenance systems that will produce profits and eliminate headaches for decades. THESE are the calls I LOVE!

However, there are the many others that make me very, very sad…

Have you ever been in a room where a faucet LEAKED continuously? Or, have you ever discovered you had a roof LEAK because you could hear the DRIP…DRIP…DRIP… of water loudly above the drywall?

When I’m speaking with painters who haven’t built marketing, recruitment/hiring, and operational systems in their businesses, I can hardly hear what they are saying to me for the constant mental “DRIP” I hear in the background…

I can hear the profits LEAKING loudly out of their business! Here are responses that I hear so repetitively that I often hear them in my sleep…

This is THE sound of painters getting poorer by the minute…

ME: “What systems do you use in the field to make sure your crew leaders can start, complete, and collect on a project without you having to leave the office?”

PAINTER: “I spend all my time running to the paint store, carrying equipment back and forth, and dealing with call backs. My days are very long – and it’s total chaos!”

DRIP… DRIP… DRIP…

ME: “How do you identify, recruit, hire, and onboard new painters for your company. What’s that system look like.”

PAINTER: “Right now, we’re 12 weeks out and losing jobs every day. I’m stuck at 8 painters. My craigslist ad and asking my men for painters has stopped producing leads. There just aren’t any good painters in my area.”

DRIP… DRIP… DRIP…

ME: “Tell me about your estimate process. How do you differentiate yourself from the competition so you can charge premium prices for your services?”

PAINTER: “I take their name and number, meet them at the job, and then email them an estimate a few days later. Sometimes I call to follow up, sometimes I don’t if I get busy.”

DRIP… DRIP… DRIP…

ME: “So, describe how you market to your past customers, the ones who are most likely to buy from you and cheapest to convert to sale from an ROI standpoint.”

PAINTER: “We really don’t communicate with them at all. Sometimes, we’ll send a Christmas card once a year.”

DRIP… DRIP… DRIP…

THESE ARE THE LITTLE LEAKS –

AND IN SOME CASES the BIG LEAKS –

THAT KEEP PAINTERS POOR!

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but leaks never seem to “plug” themselves. In fact, they only get worse as time goes on.

The longer a leak goes on DRIP… DRIP… DRIP… the more it costs. Ignoring LEAKS feels good in the moment, but repairing the damage later is gut-wrenching.

Do you have “LEAKS” in your painting business? Are you missing systems that are fundamental to building wealth and peace-of-mind as a painting contractor?

If so – take this very simple step. CLICK THIS CONTACT LINK. APPC Member and Non-Members alike. 

This “altar call” is for anyone who needs an ear to listen.

I’ve repaired a leak or two in a few painters’ buckets’ 😉 There’s no need for yours to keep dripping…

Let’s stop the leaks today – together. Click this contact link and let’s talk if you need some ASAP assistance for your painting business.

Brandon Lewis, MBA