Sitting in the Dark

Winter is soon approaching, and perhaps the first signs have even begun to appear in your corner of the world. With winter, leads begin to slow. The exterior season comes to a halt. Winter is the time of year when painting contractors often struggle to keep afloat. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Too many contractors view marketing like a light switch. They turn it on and off. The problem is, they wait until it is dark to turn it on. But unlike a light switch, the results are not immediate. So they sit in the dark, waiting for the phone to ring. They don't realize that if they had left the light on all day long, the darkness would never descend upon them.

Now more than ever, marketing will make the difference between success and failure. Consumers are holding on to their money more tightly and leads will grow more precious. You need to keep your lights on or you could find yourself sitting in the dark.

I've written many times that marketing does not need to be expensive. There are many relatively inexpensive, yet effective, methods for marketing. But they need to be implemented consistently, in good times and in bad.

Next week I am offering the first of several marketing workshops. The first-- Guerilla Marketing for Painting Contractors-- covers some of these inexpensive marketing methods that are often overlooked or neglected.

Guerilla marketing, according to its founder Jay Levinson, is an attitude. The Guerilla Marketing Handbook describes a guerilla marketer as one who thinks outside of the bucket (okay, that is my phrase for it), who challenges conventional thinking regarding marketing, who takes chances. This workshop will address creative methods for generating leads. Among the topics covered are the Sign Promotion, the Winter Coat Sale, Partnership Programs, and more.

Due to the response, we are now offering a second seating for our first series of marketing workshops. Sign up today before this series fills up.