Which Comes First?

I often hear painting contractors tell me that they can’t afford to market their business. I’ll do that when I start making money, they usually say. And how do they expect to make money if they aren’t advertising? They don’t have an answer to that question.

Such contractors reverse cause and effect. They seek the effect—leads and the money they generate—without enacting the cause—advertising.

When I point this out, they usually respond that it takes money to advertise. Duh!?! Apparently they think that I am oblivious to that fact. Or maybe they think I’ve always had tons of money just sitting around.

The fact that advertising requires money does not mean that advertising must be expensive. My first advertising “campaign” cost me $20. It consisted of me going to a local print shop and having about 1,000 fliers printed. I then delivered the fliers personally. I delivered them almost daily. Trust me, it wasn’t fun, particularly in July when the temperature approached 150, the humidity level was even higher, and giant flies hovered over my head like vultures awaiting the final breath from a dying gazelle.

Over the years I’ve delivered thousands and thousands of fliers and door hangers. (I tried to get this listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, but I didn’t have the right documentation.) Marketing creates leads, and leads generate sales. Sales—if properly priced—produce profits, which fuel additional marketing.

If you don’t have money to market, find it. Because marketing comes first.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008