Sell Faster With Fresh Paint

Painting Companies Share What Colours Work Best When You’re Looking To Sell

Curb appeal is a huge part of the process of selling your home, for better or for worse. On the one hand, you need a welcoming, inviting, and eye-catching property; on the other, bold styles can turn off potential buyers. Painting companies understand this challenge all too well, and have insight and expertise to offer when it comes to exterior painting for your home before you sell.

Painting companies recommend these tones and colours when updating your home’s exterior so you can sell quickly:

White

The human eye is naturally drawn to light, and white surfaces are no exception. A home perpetually stuck in the shade will really benefit from a coat of white paint; it’ll make the building seem larger while drawing in more light. You can also add a bit of subtle “pop” to a home with a carefully selected trim colour—make sure it’s noticeable, but not too bold, and your home will really stand out!

Neutral Tones

They’re not bright, but they’re not dark, either—neutral tones are somewhere in between, and are more common on newer homes. Here’s a tip: if you want a neutral tone that’s ahead of the curve, take a look at new housing developments in your area and match their exterior painting tones. If you’re looking to set your own style, and not chase another, tans, clay tones, grays, and beiges can easily be combined and used as accents to create a look that’s all your own.

Dark Hues

Heavier, darker, richer tones are commonly found in older established neighbourhoods. Think of all the times you’ve walked or driven through these places; white or beige seem almost too bold or out of place next to these colours. A lot of older, more traditional homes come in deep blues, warm reds, or rich browns. These colours are bold in their own right, but still manage to come across as subdued and welcoming.

Of course, as much as you can rely on these colour choices for quality results, there’s one tip that can’t be stressed enough:

Know Your Neighbourhood

Your home and your neighbourhood should inform the colour you choose for interior painting more than anything else when you’re looking to sell. As mentioned earlier, a home with modern colours in a more traditional neighbourhood will stand out, and not in a good way. As much as it might suit your personal style, remember that you’re trying to cater to would-be buyers, and plan accordingly.

Keep this in mind when you start your exterior painting project, and you’ll have a good idea of what’s going to look good and what’ll sell. But if you have any doubts, always remember that you can contact local painting companies to take advantage of their expertise and experience.

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Why Your Painting Customers Aren’t Loyal

Does it make you mad when a customer totally forgets about you? When a customer turns around and hires another painting contractor even though they sung your praises just a few short months ago?

It doesn’t make any sense, does it? Why would a customer make the risky decision to work with a total stranger over a painter they already know, like, and trust?

Here’s the answer: It’s a psychological phenomenon called Cue Dependent Forgetting.

Cue Dependent Forgetting is the inability to recall information because the conditions which were present at the time the memory was stored are not present when the person attempts to recall a memory.

But the good news is this: Although the lost memory cannot be remembered after a certain amount of time, it will come back under the right conditions.

Retrieving memories after a certain amount of time has passed without any relevant “cues” is like trying to find a book in a library without knowing the title of the book or author’s name (or in your case the company name and owner’s name.)

The book is certainly in the library, just like your company is online or in the phone book, but neither can be found without a little help.

You see, this is why painting customers forget you. Because the “cues” that led them to seek you out in the past are no longer present. After the project is complete, your business card goes in the trash can. The estimate and invoice are filed away in the attic or basement.

Without a steady stream of “cues” to aid their memory, your customers simply forget you. Any hopes of retaining the bulk of your client base is hopeless without some sort of calendared “cue” system.

Without a strong following of repeat and referral clients, you are left to virtually “start over” year after year and this leads to stagnant sales, unpredictability, low profits, and higher marketing expenses.

Yes, you can retain a “smattering” of clients who have memories like elephants and “Rain Man,” but these are exceptions to the norm. In fact, if your sales have not continually grown since year one without exception, mathematically, you are losing more customers each year than you are serving.

However, all is not doom and gloom. Consistent newsletter marketing is your cure for “Cue Dependent Forgetting” and all the damage it causes to your bottom-line profits. Newsletter marketing prevents the hard-earned equity from slowly “leak out” of your customer list month after month.

Newsletters remind customers that you are their painter of choice. They can turn a “slow leak of equity” into a steady stream of predictable revenue and referrals for very little time or money.

Using emailed and U.S. Mail newsletters, reach out to your past customers each and every month. If you rely upon email alone, you may be failing to reach up to 93% of your customers depending on open rates and actual consumption.

With the average American getting 80-120 emails per day depending on which study you believe, being in the mailbox where only 2.3 pieces of mail are received on average each day ensures you are more likely to actually connect with your past customers.

Newsletters should have very little to do with painting. Instead, they should focus on establishing a personal connection between the owner, company employees, and the customer.

Include articles that make a connection and reveal your personality along with helpful tips for the home, self-improvement, recipes, trivia, history, and the sort of items you’d actually see in a publication that was “for sale” and read for fun and enjoyment.

Highlight customers, ask for and publically reward referrals, showcase projects, and welcome new clients. Also include a monthly offer, but don’t make the newsletter overly about selling. Newsletters are about “planting” the seeds for sales. Use stand-alone promotional campaigns for “harvesting” the fruits, but do not confuse the purpose of your newsletter with other marketing vehicles.

In closing, don’t be upset if your customers aren’t loyal. Don’t be mad if your percentage of repeat and referral business is below 50-70%. It’s not personal… it’s psychological.

Now that you know Cue Dependent Forgetting is the reason your customers aren’t coming back to you in droves, fix it. Put together an email newsletter and snail-mail newsletter template and get your content out the door monthly.

And do it NOW… before you forget yourself

Brandon Lewis is the Director of the Marketing Department for the Academy for Professional Painting Contractors. The APPC provides done-for-you newsletters along with tons of other turn-key marketing and sales systems exclusively for repaint contractors. To request your free Maximum Repaint Profits written report, CD, and video training series, visit www.PaintersAcademy.com or call 423-800-0520 to request it by phone.

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Surprising Houzz Facts Painters Can’t Ignore

If it has been a while since you last explored marketing your painting business on Houzz, it is probably time to take a second look. Their recently published report, Overview of U.S. Renovation in 2015, is packed with compelling information that demands giving it another chance. Here are 7 of the most important Houzz facts for painting contractors from the report:

7 Houzz Facts

Is Houzz the biggest online marketing opportunity you’re currently ignoring? These Houzz facts explain why it just might be:

1. Search engines like Houzz. According to Alexa, 22.50% of traffic to Houzz is referred by a search engine.

    

2. Houzz users are affluent. 33% report an annual income over $150,000 with another 29% earning $100,000 to $149,999.

    

3. Houzz boasts more than 7 million high resolution pictures of home improvement and design projects. This includes pictures of thousands of painting projects.

    

4. The average home size among Houzz users who start a renovation project is 2,570 square feet.

    

5. 85% of Houzz users who start a renovation hire a professional contractor at some point during the project.

    

6. Houzz currently boasts 40 million unique monthly visitors. By comparison, Angie’s List draws an average of 12 million unique monthly visitors.

    

7. 90% of Houzz users are homeowners. Of this group, 89% own single family homes, with the remaining 11% living in townhouses, condos, or duplexes.

What does this all mean? Houzz users are affluent, own large single family homes, and routinely hire contractors to help with home improvement projects. It is the most heavily visited site specific to home improvement services, drawing more unique monthly visitors than Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor combined.

Our take? Unless your painting business can afford to ignore local wealthy home owners ready to hire a contractor, you can no longer afford to ignore Houzz.

Need help building a presence for your painting business on Houzz? Contact the contractor marketing experts at AltaVista Strategic Partners for a free consultation!

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Aaron

Vice President of Digital Marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners

Aaron Hockel is a partner and the vice president of digital marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners, a full service marketing agency working exclusively with commercial and residential contractors. AltaVista specializes in marketing campaigns designed to generate top of funnel sales leads. Their services include email marketing, direct marketing, search engine marketing, and social media marketing. As a proud PDCA member, Aaron and the team at AltaVista currently work with more than 40 painting contractors around the country.

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Quality And Consistency With Ottawa Painters

Avoid These Common Interior Painting Mistakes With Help From Ottawa Painters

Fixing bad paint jobs is a common challenge faced by many Ottawa painters. Homeowners with little painting experience sometimes take on ambitious jobs and wind up in over their heads. That’s when they turn to an interior painting business to fix flaws and save the day. To ensure that your home gets the best, trust in professional and experienced painters. Here are a few common causes of bad paint jobs with inexperienced painters:

Not Enough Paint

Ottawa painters know that all of the paint needed for a large job needs to be bought at the same time from the same paint store. Getting all of the paint at once helps reduce the risk of inconsistent paint quality and tone. Going to different stores or even the same store at different times may lead to other staff mixing the paint differently or making a mistake, leaving you with cans full of different sheens and colour hues. It is also important to buy extra paint to avoid running out in the middle of painting, and to use for touch-ups later.

Uneven Coats

The same number of paint coats must be applied throughout the interior painting job. If not, the paint will be noticeably inconsistent—some walls or sections will invariably wind up darker than others. Professional painters are very cautious when painting to avoid inconsistencies in the finished paint job. This is why buying extra paint is important. You don’t want run out and try to stretch out the last few drops!

Poor Application

Although painting a wall may seem easy, there is a professional and consistent painting method that should be used to ensure that it’s done well. From their experience working in the interior painting business, Ottawa painters know how to apply paint with the quality and consistency you expect of a professional painting company. This professional method of painting will leave walls looking flawless.

Interior painting jobs—especially when covering a large area of a home—can be difficult to do well if the right techniques are not being used. To avoid a bad paint job, consult with Ottawa painters in the interior painting business for their painting expertise.

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Painting Business Prep 101

How To Prepare Your Home When You Hire An Interior Painting Business

So you’ve hired an interior painting business to give your home a whole new look. What’s next? Even though the professionals will take care of the painting, there are still a few steps you need to take in order to make sure it’s ready for them to work as quickly and efficiently as possible. Here are all the things you need to do in order to prepare for the interior painting business you’ve hired.

Clear The Walls

First and foremost—and perhaps most obvious—everything needs to come down from the walls. An interior painting business can take care of the holes from paintings and shelves, but first those things will need to be taken away and stored somewhere safe.

Move Furniture

Next, the furniture will need to be moved away from the walls. Most people elect to move everything to the center of the room, though for extra safety you can keep it in a room that’s not being painted. You can always ask the interior painting business you’ve hired if they’ll bring covers for any furniture you leave in the room; otherwise, that’s something you’ll need to consider investing in.

Washing

Another important thing you’ll need to ask the interior painting business in advance is if they are going to prepare the walls themselves or if you should do so before they arrive. If you wash the walls yourself, be sure to give them plenty of time to dry.

Cleaning

Thoroughly cleaning the rooms that will be painted is key. Sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting are extremely important since the painters may stir up loose dust in the room as they move around, and you absolutely do not want dust sticking to your brand new wet paint. This tip goes double if you’ve done any sanding on the walls prior to the painting day.

Window Covers And Curtains

Lastly, if possible, you should remove all the curtains and blinds from the room that’s being painted. Even though it’s very unlikely the interior painting business you hired will get any splatter on them, they can be very difficult to clean, so it may be better to err on the side of caution.

While these are the general steps you’ll need to take to prepare your home for painters, you may still want to give an interior painting business a call to double check and confirm that that’s everything you’ll need to do beforehand. It may seem like a lot of work now, but imagine how wonderful your house will look with a fresh coat of professionally applied paint!

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Autumn-Inspired Interior Painting Tips

Seasonal Colours That Look Great Year-Round

The only thing that makes saying goodbye to summer bearable is saying hello to fall. With colourful leaves, cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice, and everything in between, fall just seems to effortlessly evoke a sense of tranquility that most of us need after a hot and busy summer. Fortunately, there is a way to maintain this feeling of comfort year-round—by choosing a fall palette for your next interior painting makeover. From vibrant apple reds to dark, rich browns, here are some of the top autumn-inspired interior painting colours and how you can include them in your home.

Orange

There is perhaps no colour more synonymous with fall than orange. From flowers to pumpkins to autumn leaves, orange is a perfect shade to include either in your autumn-inspired house painting or to use as an accent colour. By choosing warm or rustic shades of orange you’ll create a cozy and welcoming space that lets every season feel like fall.

Yellow

Yellow is a popular interior painting colour for spring, summer, and fall, so shade and tone are very important for choosing the right look. For a space that is meant to be autumn-esque, you’ll want to choose yellows from the warm end of the colour spectrum—think gold, Dijon and marigold.

Red

Red is a no-fail interior painting colour for fall. Because it’s an inherently warm colour, almost any shade will work. Last year, Marsala red was Pantone’s colour of the year; with its red-brown shade, it’s still the perfect colour for any fall or winter theme. But if you’re opting for red in your house painting, you might also draw inspiration from apples, autumn leaves and/or wine. It is important to note, however, that red is primarily an active colour, which can stimulate the senses. As such, it’s a great fit for busy spaces such as living rooms, hallways, and offices.

Brown

Shades of brown can easily add depth and richness to any room. For an autumn-inspired look, choose browns that have undertones of red instead of grey.

Their warm and welcoming nature make fall colours ideal for an interior painting palette. At the end of a long day, there’s nothing better to come home to than a cozy and inviting space, and by choosing autumn-inspired shades, you’ll create a milieu that does just that. Saying goodbye to summer might be bittersweet, but with a home that evokes all the best feelings of fall, you might not even notice.

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SHERWIN-WILLIAMS SELECTS ‘POISED TAUPE’ AS 2017 COLOR OF THE YEAR

The “new” neutral, Poised Taupe is classic yet modern and the perfect balance of warm and cool

 CLEVELAND (AUGUST 29, 2016) — Sherwin-Williams announces Poised Taupe (SW 6039) as the 2017 Color of the Year. A modern take on a timeless classic, Poised Taupe signals a new direction in society’s ever-growing thirst for beautiful neutrals that bring warm and cool tones together to create one irresistibly versatile color.

“Poised Taupe celebrates everything people love about cool gray as a neutral, and also brings in the warmth of brown, taking a color to an entirely  new level. Not cool or warm, nor gray or brown, Poised Taupe is a weathered, woodsy neutral bringing a sense of coziness and harmony that people are seeking,” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams.

As the Sherwin-Williams team traveled the world to identify the latest trends and make this year’s selection, it became clear that neutrals are beginning a transition from the monochrome gray of the past five years to a more complex taupe and brown.

In a recent homeowner survey conducted by Sherwin-Williams, nearly 40 percent of the respondents agree that they would like to incorporate warmer neutrals, such as warm grays, taupes or beiges, into their home décor. Additionally, more than two in five people identified taupe as a timeless neutral they would choose. Move over cool toned colors. A new trend is here.

The well-lived life in the home

Drawn from the Noir palette, one of four palettes in colormix™ 2017: The Sherwin-Williams Color Forecast, Poised Taupe addresses the search for authentic spaces that recharge the spirit in uncertain times and where perfection can seem like the ideal.

“Consumers yearn for spaces that feel welcoming and hug them as they enter. Earthen brown combined with conservative gray, creating Poised Taupe, embodies all of these emotions,” says Wadden.

With its cool-yet-warm vibe, Poised Taupe is an ideal backdrop for a wide range of color combinations, from pastels to brights to jewels. For example, when paired with the faded indigo of Stardew (SW 9138), it creates a charming palette reminiscent of a French countryside. Used in tandem with vibrant Rave Red (SW 6608), it evokes the natural feel of red-stained bedrock. And with the deep teal of Marea Baja (SW 9185) and sunny hued Bee (SW 6683), it transforms into a super-graphic look.

 A warming trend is coming to commercial spaces

In 2017, the subtle shift to warmer colors reaches commercial spaces too, which tend to move in more conservative color cycles than residential or designer directions. Influences such as natural or organic materials, weathered and worn finishes and global cultural preferences have suggested alternatives to the primarily gray existence that has been the star of commercial color direction over the past five years.

“Since commercial color direction tends to enjoy longer lifecycles, Poised Taupe is on the forefront of this trend, offering the ability to endure over time, yet complement a wide range of designs,” says Wadden.

Aligned with this burgeoning trend of moving away from the stark, cold and barren commercial environments, Poised Taupe gives developers, builders and interior designers a warm color that offers dimension and complexity, but is neutral and subtle to work with for nearly all aesthetics.

Anchored by the 2017 Color of the Year and taken from colormix™ 2017: The Sherwin-Williams Color Forecast, a new set of commercial neutrals such as Mudslide (SW 9113), Sealskin (SW 7675), Casa Blanca (SW 7571) takes their place in center stage, showcasing the best of 2017 and the beginning of the warming trend that patrons crave.

Poised Taupe is truly a color poised to go in many directions.

For more information visit SWcoty.com.

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There’s Never been a BETTER Time to Market a Painting Business

I’m not sure where you are right now, but here in Denver, CO, things are smoking hot, and I’m not talking about the weed, but there has truly never been a better time to market a painting business.  While it is true, people are lighting up here in the Mile High city, but I’m referring to the construction and remodeling industry.  Everywhere you look there are cranes, dump trucks, ladders, and tool belts.

If you are in the remodeling business, you better be busy, or you have done something tremendously wrong.  But does that mean you can stop marketing your business? Unfortunately, you might be one of the many contractors that I meet that are proud to say that you rely on “word of mouth” advertising for your business as the ONLY type of advertising, but let me tell you, here has never been a BETTER time, to market your painting business.

Walls by Design, my painting business, has been in business for over 17 years.  Before that, I ran a painting business in Northern Illinois, right outside of Chicago, during college.  So, I have seen an economic cycle or two, and if I know one thing for certain, what goes up…will come down.  So we need to make hay while the sun is shining (should I throw in another cliché?). I think you get my point.  It is important as painting contractors, to make as much money as we can, because this is a cyclical business, and we all know the other side of things.

That is why it is so important for you to market your painting business now…and always!  Did you know the average painting contractor in the US makes less than $30,000 a year?  The sad reality is that that might even be their gross sales.  They may have to pay for gas, insurance, and a cell phone out of that.  I believe it is because the average painting contractor does not understand how to market a painting business.

Why is it BETTER?

You may be asking right now, “But why is now the best time to market a painting business?”  And you also may be thinking: “Things just keep getting more and more expensive.  In the old days, I would just put up an ad in the Yellow Pages, and my phone would ring.”  True, some things are more expensive, like the yellow pages, but no, marketing is done differently today than it was done in the past…but THAT is the good news!  Let me tell you why.

Never before has it been so easy for a painting contractor to connect with homeowners through social media and email marketing.  Never has it been easier to track the marketing dollars that you spend.  Never has it been easier to stand out in all the noise through a website and video.  Never have the tools been so readily available to the average person.  BUT, in order to take advantage of it, you have to take action.  Most people have iPhones, and that is a powerful weapon in marketing.  But with great power comes great responsibility.

If you are on the fence, let me tell you three ways that you could start marketing your painting business today, AND book actual work within the next 30 days for little to no money.

1. Build a website on WordPress

   Back in the day, you used to have to pay a web developer thousands of dollars to build a half-good website, and then, if you wanted to change something, you would need to pay AGAIN to add copy, pictures, or do a correction. Today, you can buy a template (I use Template Monster) for less than $100, add your logo, pictures, and copy, and have an amazing website.  I hire a virtual assistant company to do all the tech pieces, and I write all the copy, make changes, and add pics.  Check out my site at com to see a site that cost me less than $400.

2. Create a video FAQ page

   Last summer when we were screaming busy, I got a call from my office manager to tell me a lady had just given her $500 to hold a spot on our calendar (she had called in two separate times, and our backlog just kept getting worse).  I was amazed and could not wait to find out why.  When I went to do the estimate, I asked her why she felt so confident in us that she would give us a deposit without even meeting me.  She went on to tell me that she had watched ALL my videos, and just felt like she knew me.  You can do this so easily with an iPhone or smartphone.  Come up with a list of frequently asked questions, get a tripod, and start recording.  Check out some of my FAQ videos on my website to get an idea of how easy it can be.  I think I recorded almost all of these in one afternoon.

3. Record video testimonials.

   When you finish a project, and your customer is excited about the project, it is a great time to ask:  “Would you mind doing a quick 15 second testimonial video for me?”  Then grab your phone and hit record.  If they don’t know what to say, just ask them”

• How did you hear about us?
• Why did you like working with us?
• Would you recommend us to a friend?

They will most likely go on about you for a minute of two…as long as you have done a good job. The first ones will be the hardest to do, because you are not used to asking.  You may get some people that say they are not comfortable in front of a camera, and that is okay, you just need about three to get going.  Once you have them, put them on the front page of your website for social proof.  People love to see testimonial videos.

4. Facebook Live

   I know I said three, but this is your bonus for sticking with me. Commit to a recording 6 videos a week (one per day) on Facebook Live.  Yes, more video.  Video is hot right now, and Facebook is giving a lot of weight to posts thru Facebook Live.  Just prepare 2 or things to say about projects you are working on, about trends in the industry, or about a maintenance tip…but DO NOT SELL!!  No one likes that, and no one will share if you are saying: “Buy my stuff!”  Keep the video to under 3 minutes.  If you do it consistently and have good content or are funny (appropriately funny), people will comment and share it.  Here is an example of a designer friend of mine, Rachel Moriarty, who I learned this from.  She is just finishing her 30 day challenge of using this format and she sold 4 projects!!  Go Rachel!

Now go and take some action.  You can’t make money if you don’t sell anything, and you can’t sell anything if no one knows about you.  Take an interest in marketing your painting business, and it will repay you in spades.

Like I said…there’s never been a better time to market a painting business.

 

 

 

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Nick May

Owner at Walls by Design

Nick owns Walls by Design, based out of Denver, CO. Nick started the business in 1999 with one employee, and has grown it to be one of the largest residential interior painting business in Colorado. Nick believes in systems, team building, and marketing…not necessarily in that order. When Nick is not working with his team, on systems, or marketing, you can find him playing soccer or podcasting. Nick also hosts a successful interior design podcast called The Chaise Lounge where he shares the stories of some of the most successful designers in the industry today.

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