Painting Contractors: How to Get Free Leads
Hi there, Greg here from DYB Coach.
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Today I wanted to share with you a couple of ideas, which won’t cost any money, but will generate leads for your business!
I just had a great conversation with a new member of ours, in a strategy call, one of the questions were,
“How do I get leads when I don’t have a ton of money to spend?”
You are out there grinding, painting every day, doing estimates, and trying to sell jobs, but there is one simple thing that you can do.
You may have heard this before, it is not a new idea, and I am just here sharing it with you.
Don’t Be Afraid to Tell a Client That You’re A Fairly New Business.
When you first start a job, and you are working with new clients, don’t be afraid to tell them that you are a new business.
Tell them that at the beginning of the job, and that you really want to knock their socks off and do a great job for them and at the end of the job, let them know that you are going to ask them for some leads.
Do A Great Job, and Let Them Know You Will Ask For A Referral.
Let them know they don’t have to think about it right away but over the course of the job, they can think about some people that they may know.
Maybe it’s a family member or a friend, a neighbor, somebody they have a conversation with, a colleague.
It could be anyone that they talked to about this paint job and that could potentially need some work done – it could be a bathroom, a door –something to get yourself in the door.
Let them know ahead of time, and do not put them on the spot.
Tell Them About Your Referral Program.
Make sure you go above and beyond with your customer service, and when you know that you’ve wowed this customer and you’ve done a great job, at the end of the job, say,
“Hey Mrs. Jones, remember what I first discussed with you, when you gave me the job, that I was going to ask you for a referral?”
“Well, we’ve come to that time now, and correct me if I am wrong, it seems like you are very happy with everything that we’ve done, is there anyone that you can think of that could use our services?”
“Maybe it’s in the future, maybe it’s tomorrow, but anybody that you could think of that would be an opportunity for us, I would really appreciate it!”
“If you can give me a name and I book an appointment, I would give you a $25 gift card to Starbucks”…wherever the place is that is your choice to share with the client as a token of gratitude. People are willing to do that.
So, make sure that you take the time to explain that to them in the early phases of the job, so they know that the expectation is there, and you are not putting them on the spot.
Talk To the Neighbors.
Another thing that I would really recommend is that, when you are painting a home in a neighborhood and there is a ton of homes nearby, pay them each a visit.
Take a minute and walk over to the neighbor’s house and tell them what you are doing.
Say “Hey, we are painting over here, I notice that your exterior is looking like it may need a little help, maybe it is not something that you are considering, but I am happy to give you an estimate for that”
“Just food for thought, it’s something that I noticed, this could save you a lot of money if you consider doing this work now, and I just wanted to throw that offer out there for you”
Stop by the houses that are adjacent to where you are working, because I don’t know if you have ever heard ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ but it is a real thing and people definitely get the bug when their neighbors are getting work done and they realize and remember that they wanted to have something done for their place too.
Bottom Line
A couple of things to keep in mind: ask for referrals when you are doing work, a simple business card could do a lot for you.
It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, you don’t have to spend a ton of money, $25 for a lead at the most, not too much.
These are small things that you could do that would generate a ton of business for you, when you are getting started and you don’t have a ton of money.
I hope this was helpful to you guys, and remember, you can do this!
Again, these are not new ideas and I am just sharing stuff with you that has worked for me, take care, thanks again.
