It’s no secret that contractors are facing multiple business pressures, from multiple angles. Within painting, there are also many areas constantly fluctuating including paint prices, labor costs, and contract prices. In speaking with a painting contractor that had done work in my house (let’s call him Jim), Jim mentioned that he was really struggling in competing against low priced painters. I guess this is not that surprising as American Painting Contractor lists “Low Priced Competition” as one of the biggest challenges painting contractors are facing today. However, at the time of our conversation, I found this surprising because when I hired him, it did not occur to me to use price as a leading reason. Let me explain.

When I was interviewing multiple painting contractors for an interior project, I knew barely anything about painting. Other than painting a few rooms over the years across a few past living spaces, I would consider myself uninformed in the world of painting skill & “know how” and had been mostly guided by the folks at the local mega hardware store (which can also be hit or miss). When each contractor came in for a walk-thru appointment, I was listening for the contractor to demonstrate a clear understanding of the task at hand and a real knowledge of the paints they would use or recommend, and why. Also, I was waiting to hear what their preparation would be like, will they be taping and laying paper extensively or simply draping a few pieces of furniture and looking to scrape the floors in case of a splatter? How would they prepare the walls? Are they simply going to start painting them or will they be cleaning them first or maybe sanding, and why?

Well, guess what? Out of about 5 appointments, three contractors performed a walk-thru in less than 10 minutes, with a written quote in hand! Candidly, I did not learn anything about the contractor or process they intended to perform. The only thing that I could figure out to that point was that the going rate was in the range of approximately $1,600. The remaining two contractors spent significantly longer than the first three (roughly 45 minutes to an hour). They asked several questions. I learned a lot about the process they intended to perform, and I felt confident they would deliver a quality job. I decided to negotiate with both quotes which came in closer to $2,400. After negotiation, Jim ended up being the second highest (the highest bid was $100 dollars more at $2,200 and Jim was at $2,100, which was not much of a difference). I ultimately picked Jim because he was the most personable and really took the time to propose ideas for paint selections, possible wood pairings, and ideas for furniture preparation and movement.

Ultimately, as a homeowner, I picked one of the higher priced contractors, not because I blindly associated a higher price with quality, but simply because you could hear and see the quality the contractor was providing simply in their conversation and project assessment, whereas the lower priced contractors barely took the time to explain anything. When writing your next quote, and figuring out how to price the job, ask yourself these questions:

• Did I educate the prospective customer on what skills will be applied and the project needs?
• Did I fully demonstrate my process, my attention to detail, and my value?
• Did I listen to the customer or was I talking more?;
• Did I take my time in answering their questions and give them time to respond to my presentation or was I rushing to get to the next appointment?

If you might be thinking “no” to or are unsure of the answer to any of these questions, chances are, you might be leaving money on the table because the homeowner will have no other choice than to remember you by the quote you left and nothing else. If you feel a strong “no” for any of these, it might be a good idea to stop writing the quote, go back to the homeowner, and calmly ask if they might have any questions, curiosities, or concerns you might have missed. Then consider writing the quote afterwards.

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The post Running a Painting Business and Wrestling with Low Priced Competitors? Here’s a Solution from a Homeowner. appeared first on HutSolver Magazine.