painting business, painting contractor, painting, business coach, painting

What to Do When Asked, “Can You Throw That in for Free?”

“Can you do that for free?”

Or, “are you just going to throw that in for me?”

Has this ever happened to you with a homeowner?

Expecting you to do something for free or just throw something in?

It happens to us every now and then.

This is my response that I wanted to share with you.

I am Ron Ramsden and I am a DYB Coach, also a painting contractor.

Download Your FREE Checklist...

11 Interview Questions For Hiring All-Stars, E-mailed to you NOW!

business coach painting contractors

When I am out on the field some days with my crews, talking to customers, they sometimes say, “while you are here, do you mind painting a door?”

Or, “One little thing… can you patch that hole?”

They try to get away not paying for it.

They just feel like they should be able to ask this, and you’re there anyway, let’s do it for free.

Well, this is my response, and it’s worked very well in the last few years I have done it.

Offer to Write an Additional Work Order

First of all, if they ask a crew leader, he would always say, we can write up an additional work order, and they know what to charge.

Let Them Know About Your Charity Program

If they do ask, we also say we would love to do charity work, and our charity this year is… and we name the charity.

We tell them what we do for that charity and that’s where all our work goes, and they kind of get the hint that they are not that charity.

Offer to Schedule a New Estimate

We also offer to schedule a new estimate and schedule for additional work.

This usually ends the conversation, and then they realize.

We are in here to make money, it’s nice when you are starting out, to throw one of these things in every now and then, but we can’t pay the bills by doing that kind of work for customers.

If you choose to pick a charity, pick a charity that means something to you, you can also share that on social media, and other things like that, but do it from your heart.

Don’t do it for the homeowner who is looking to have a couple of extra doors painted.

Yeah, it’s a nice thing to do, but time is money, and we are here to make a dollar.

When was the last time you went to your mechanic and then he threw in an oil change?

It just doesn’t happen.

Anyways, if you want to reach out to me, please find me on Facebook, send me a message, or you can find me at ron@dybcoach.com

I would love to chat with you!

About the Author

Ron Ramsden is the owner of the successful Ramsden 1-800-PAINTING, who implemented the DYB SYSTEM, and crushed it in 2015, and now coaches other painting contractors around the nation to do the same.