Marketing for Painting Contractors

Marketing your paint contracting business does not need to be complicated. It doesn’t need to be expensive. But it does need to be consistent.

Marketing should occur year round, rain or shine, in busy times and in slow times. Leads are the lifeblood of a contracting company. Without leads you cannot sell jobs. Without jobs you can’t bring in money. Without money you can’t eat (or market).

I hear many painting contractors claim that they don’t need to market. They say that they stay busy just through referrals. This may be true, but I believe that they are fooling themselves.

Referrals are certainly a good source for leads. But referrals can also be a bane. They can create a false sense of security.

Most referrals are of a passive nature—they depend on the actions of others, and can therefore be inconsistent. If one depends entirely on one source for leads, the business can be vulnerable when that source dries up. This is even more true when that source is passive.

Insufficient leads can have many consequences beyond the obvious. When leads become precious desperation can set in. Each lead can mean the difference between eating or not. The contractor becomes tempted to lower his price or take on jobs outside of his core competency. The results are often worse than simply passing on the job.

As with any activity, consistent marketing will create consistent results. Inconsistent actions create inconsistent, and unpredictable results.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008