Check out Current and Back Issues!

the daily grind
Photo By isaac cherry
Chugging through Chattanooga
By Jerry Rabushka,
Associate Publisher
“I wondered
why they would
take a brand
name of over
100 years, so
well-known
and respected,
and change it
to something
no one had
ever
heard
of.”
2
I was driving through Chattanooga on my way to Chattanooga Paint
and Decorating, when suddenly I had to screech to a halt, make a
U-turn and pull over. Wow! It’s an out of business hardware store
with a rusty Gray Seal sign! Pictures must be snapped!
I’d never heard of Gray Seal growing up. I’m not sure if it was in
St. Louis then, or if it even is now. Several trips to Louisville later, I
had often seen its headquarters next to the Louisville Slugger plant.
Someone painted a faux window that had been “shattered” by a
baseball on the side next to the Slugger building. Louisville was,
for a long time, a huge paint city: Gray Seal (1912), Kurfees (1897),
Devoe (1754) and Porter (1921) were all headquartered there.
After opening in Louisville, Porter Paints’ next stop was St. Louis.
That was long before I was around, but Porter does have a long-time
local connection. I remember one Porter Paints store pretty specifically,
actually I remember riding by and feeling connected to the orange
and white stripes. I’m not sure if I was ever in that store or not. And I
remember a Glidden Paint on Brentwood Boulevard. I wasn’t in that
store until 2004, and I can’t remember then if it was Glidden or Dulux.
I remember Dutch Boy, and perhaps some local brands...who in St.
Louis didn’t have a leftover can of Brod-Dugan in the basement?
We painted my bedroom a color called “Orange Ice,” when I was
five or six years old. Next time we painted it I was in high school
and I did it myself. Can’t remember the color or the brand.
Perhaps the most ill-conceived move by the British since the Stamp
Act was when Glidden’s then owner Imperial Chemical Industries
(ICI) changed the store names to Dulux. Something was so wrong
about driving up that same Brentwood Boulevard and seeing the
name Dulux where Glidden had been for so many decades before.
I wondered why they would take a brand name of over 100 years,
so well-known and respected, and change it to something no one
had ever heard of. So, apparently, did everyone else. In a very rare
move, ICI publicly acknowledged that it had messed up its American
experiment.
Oh, and Pittsburgh! I was fascinated that my little AM radio could
get stations out of town and I used to listen to Penguins hockey on
1020 KDKA. Seriously, I did. Pittsburgh Paints was
a regular advertiser (hint!). I just found that radio
again, too; we’ll see if it still takes me to Pittsburgh.
It probably won’t tune back in to the ’70s.
Once around 2000 I was in Walnut, Iowa, a
dying town of 900 saved by conversion—into an
antiquing destination. I saw an old Devoe Paint
sign salvaged from some lumberyard in Nebraska.
I wanted it, but at $42 I left it in Walnut. Here
in St. Louis, our old Panda Paint factory is
occupied by a coffee house, an art gallery and a
performance space, with more to come. A faded
Panda still guards the outside corner.
Diamond Building Supply is closed in
Chattanooga, but when I saw the rusty Gray
Seal man, I had to snap him while he was still
smiling. tpc
High Hide
Pro paint
FROM A BRAND
YOU CAN TRUST.
KILZ® PRO-X Paints
• 100 Series
Production-grade paint for hide,
sprayability and easy touch-ups.
Only available at
• 300 Series
Specification-grade paint for
exceptional hide, versatility
and superior touch-ups.
www.kilzpro-x.com
Contents
Departments
Features
Mold Control for Painters
Supplement to
The Paint Dealer November 2014
6
the daily grind
2
Paint and Penguins.
An expert talks bold about mold.
Tools to Compete
8
The best weapon in your tool box
might just be you.
The Best Business
20
“Tools” for Contractors
Another expert helps you grow
your business.
Check out our Brand New
website at tpcmag.com
big bucket news
18
Awards, service and opinions.
Junk for your trunk
22
Make room for some new products!
Cover photo by
Jerry Rabushka,
in front of the
old Diamond
Building Supply in
Chattanooga, TN.
ad index
3M.......................................................11, 24
3m.com
Kelly-Moore Paints..........................................9
kellymoore.com
Allpro..........................................................13
allprocorp.com
Kilz..............................................................3
kilzpro-x.com
American Promotional Products......................10
app-co.com
Pratt & Lambert..............................................5
prattandlambert.com
Bizpinion.....................................................17 Purdy..........................................................10
tpcmag.com (Bizpinion banner)
purdy.com
Gardner-Gibson..............................................7 Richard’s Paint.............................................15
gardner-gibson.com
richardspaint.com
Gildden Pro.................................................23 Thompson Moser Consulting...........................14
gliddenpro.com
thompsonmoser.com
4
Uncompromising
quality and
unparalleled results.
It won’t take long to see that Pratt & Lambert® paints are unlike other professional paints. Accolade® Paint + Primer is a rich, luxurious paint
that goes on smoothly and provides an ultra premium finish with excellent hide. RedSeal® Self-Priming Paint is the perfect combination
of quality, value and durability. And RedSeal® Supreme offers all the benefits of RedSeal, plus it has achieved GREENGUARD GOLD
Certification* for indoor air quality. For the kind of professional results that never compromise.
Visit your local Pratt & Lambert dealer today to learn more. Find a dealer near you at prattandlambert.com/store-locator.
prattandlambert.com
*For more information on GREENGUARD Certification, visit ul.com/gg.
© 2014 Pratt & Lambert Paints
36159_SW_PL_Accolade_Contractor_Ad.indd 1
7/8/14 3:32 PM
Mold Control
for Painters:
5 steps for safe success
S
ooner or later every painter comes across
moldy surfaces. It’s what you do about it that
says the most about the kind of tradesperson
you are. Simply running the roller or brush
over black and grey ugliness is often the easiest
option, but it’s far from ideal. Mold always indicates
a larger problem and that’s why your clients need
someone who understands the
by Steve Maxwell basics of safe, effective mold
control. It’s not always your
job to remedy the conditions that led to mold in the
first place, but you should know how to use today’s
best practices and products for killing mold and
removing mold stains when you find them.
Step #1: Examine the Situation
Start by looking at how large an area of mold
is involved, and what the cause may be. Anything
bigger than a sheet of plywood is probably something
mold abatement professionals should tackle. And if a
sewage backup is involved in the mold growth, definitely don’t get involved in mold control or painting.
Bacterial contamination in cases like these pose their
own risks that go beyond mold hazards. You need to
keep yourself safe.
Step #2: Get Rid of Moisture
Mold only grows when surfaces get wet and stay
that way. Without moisture, mold simply can’t grow.
That’s why a permanent mold solution always involves
creating dry conditions. If mold is present you need
to find out where the excess moisture is coming from
and how to stop it. As a painter this probably won’t be
your job, but your professional reputation will suffer if
mold comes back too soon because ongoing moisture
problems remain. Fans and heat are the obvious
choices for drying a temporarily wet area.
Step #3: Make Removal
Recommendations
It’s practical to kill mold on some surfaces, but others
6
really should be replaced. Removal and replacement of
mold-affected drywall, ceiling tiles, carpet and other
non-structural materials is usually the best option, and
you need to understand this as you’re assessing new
jobs. Structural and otherwise costly-to-replace areas
can be treated.
Step #4: Kill Mold and Discourage
Regrowth
As a painter you can and should kill simple areas of
mold growth before painting, but how you do it matters.
In its technical guide “Mold Control: A Brief Guide to
Mold in the Workplace,” OSHA warns that “the use of
a biocide, such as chlorine bleach, is not recommended
as a routine practice during mold remediation.” This is
where common practice is actually a mistake.
Sure, bleach can kill mold on hard surfaces, but it simply isn’t effective on porous surfaces. Bleach and water
solutions can’t penetrate deeply enough into wood or
concrete to kill the roots of mold. And as toxic as bleach
is at first, it actually offers no residual protection when
new mold growth starts because it dissipates as a gas.
Bleach-free, registered fungicides are a better choice
because they break the mold cycle. One of the most
widely available EPA-registered mold-killing products
right now is Concrobium Mold Control (www.concrobium.com; 866.811.4148). It’s a unique, odor-free liquid
that kills mold and mold spores by mechanical action,
physically crushing all parts of the mold organism as it
dries. That’s how a non-toxic product can still kill mold
without harming people, plants or pets. Mold Control
doesn’t affect paint adhesion and it remains in place to
provide residual mold prevention.
Step #5: Remove Mold Stains
This isn’t always necessary since you’ll be painting
over the dead mold, but sometimes getting rid of stark
mold staining means better hiding and paint coverage.
Old-fashioned treatments for removing mold stains
include chlorine bleach, hydrogen peroxide or oxalic
acid, but these can be
toxic and potentially damaging to surrounding surfaces.
An oxygen-based product from Concrobium called
Mold Stain Eraser gets rid of mold staining, typically
without scrubbing. It also doesn’t lighten the color of
surrounding surfaces if you spill any. All it gets rid of is
mold stains. tpc
Steve Maxwell i s a working trades man who ha s
covered remodeling, painting and construction issues
s i nce 1988. Watch, read a nd lea rn from Steve at
www.stevemaxwell.ca.
7
Tools to
Compete!
Your most competitive tool might just be you!
I
f we assume most painters are good, and that
includes you, what can you do to move from “yep
that’s good” to “wow that’s awesome!” Is it any
different in a home vs. a commercial setting as to
what people expect or what they find impressive?
I know a man who is a performance artist—actor,
singer, comedian, and he’ll teach the craft as well.
It’s how he makes his living. To him, there’s more to
performing than just going on stage—if you’re not
a big name, but
By jerry rabushka, editor
make a living as
an entertainer, you have to do a lot of your own work.
Building relationships, booking, etc. And just like
with painters, if whoever hires you doesn’t like you,
there are plenty of others that can take your place.
This particular artist teaches that you should be the
celebrity the entire time you’re at the venue, from
when you walk in the door to when you walk out at
the end of the night, and even if you “party” later on.
People want to feel you’re special and they made a
good choice in hiring you.
No reason you can’t make that same impression as
a painter. That impression,
actor, painter, whatever your
profession, is about how you
relate to people in the performance of your craft.
How do we know you’re a
good painter? Because you
read The Paint Contractor
and thanks to our advice and
product introductions, you’re
getting better by the page. But
there are lots of good painters
in your town. There might be
one down the street, down the
block, or—GASP—if that isn’t
Jasper’s QuickPaint working
on that house I just put a bid
on last week!
So our question for this
article wasn’t so much how
you can be a good painter, but
how you can be a really good
painter! Remember the difference between first and eighth
place in the Olympics can be
three seconds, but someone
takes home the gold and gets
millions in endorsement fees,
Have a good attitude before
the job starts! PPG photo.
8
American
Promotional Products
Customizable Promotional Products
That Feature Your Company LOGO!
• Apparel • Outerwear • Drinkware
• Office Supplies • & More
Name Brands with Quality for Less!
and three seconds later, someone doesn’t.
Michelle Neuhauser, Brand Manager for Pratt &
Lambert, offered us some starting advice. We’ve said
this before, and it’s worth saying again: a lot of being
an exceptional painter has nothing to do with painting,
and everything to do with you being you.
Even before you prep…
FREE SHIPPING with orders over $199
(Only for apparel)
1-800-858-8589
www.app-co.com
Free Embroidery
Paint Dealer customers use special
discount code PD1 for special discount
Crossing
the finish
line first
with less lint!
Available in various sizes
Introducing Purdy® Marathon™ Roller Covers
Continuing our track record of excellence, Purdy® Marathon™
roller covers help set a personal best in quality, providing a
smoother finish with less lint. Delivering
Marathon
enhanced durability and consistent performance
Marathon over time, they go the extra mile by
lasting longer and painting further
Durability
with fewer trips to the bucket.
1
™
2
™
Productivity
Durability. Performance.
Purdy Marathon™ Delivers.
See the
advantages
®
Visit Purdy.com to rate and
review Purdy Products.
10
“A quality paint project, whether in a residential or
commercial setting, starts before the first can of paint
is opened,” Michelle tells us. “Communication and
professionalism are key and the painting contractor who
masters these will have the edge over his competition.
Find out upfront how your customer wants to be communicated with and how often. Do what you say you will
do. Show up and finish on time. Stick to the estimate
and communicate anything that might cause it to go
over. Leave the home/commercial space as clean as you
found it. Disrupt home or business activities as little as
possible with your painting.”
Do you ever get to paint? Finally! And use the best!
“Invest in products that will deliver a smooth, uniform
finish in less time,” Neuhauser recommends. “This
will result in fewer callbacks, more referrals and the
opportunity to take on more work and earn more money.
Everyone wins. For commercial jobs, look for products
that are MPI (Master Painters Institute) certified.
When using a product with this accreditation, you can
reduce the time needed to research and prepare bids,
saving time and money getting large commercial and
residential jobs.” If a product is MPI certified, someone’s
already studied it up, plus your customers can rest easy
knowing that there is some third party commendation.
Dan Claybaugh, vice-president of marketing at KellyMoore Paints, agrees that “who you are” can put the
icing on “what you do.” Give them more than they asked
for!
• “You are providing a service,” he said. “You are
servicing the account. Ultimately to have a finished
product that is good as the baseline; the wow factor
“Do what you say you
will do. Show up and
finish on time. Stick to the
estimate and communicate anything that might
cause it to go over.”
is part of providing unexpected results. Show up on
time, clean up well, provide an added value service—
for example, come back and check in again in 4-6
months; on exteriors, provide a house washing after
one year.” Providing color consulting services is also
a plus, he added.
• “On commercial jobs time is money,” he reminds
us. “Be on time and be efficient with a neat crew. Provide quality results at a fair price.” Make sure if you
get called back it’s for more work,
and not having to fix something.
With that in mind, we’re back to
the mantra of “use a quality product.” Not just any quality product,
but the quality product designed for
your job. This is a big difference!
Cook a steak to perfection and serve
it to a vegetarian. You may have
provided a quality product but it’s
still getting sent back back to the
kitchen. “Using premium quality
materials is key critical to results;”
says Claybaugh. “Keep in mind: most
of the cost of a quality paint job is
not the materials, it’s the labor.”
If your customer asks why you have
to use the “expensive paint’” remind
them that quality materials cut down
on application time and they will
last longer. “Use durable premium
products that hold up to the rigors
the space demands—no flashing, rub
off or fade,” he recommends.
If they watch, charge
more. If they help...
There might be an argument with
some customers that want to spend
$10 less on a gallon. If the paint job
costs $5,000, they gotta cut corners
somewhere, right? Well, let’s say you
pay $5,000 for a speaker at an event,
but you keep him in the dark to save
$10 on the light bill? You’re still out
$5,000. For that extra ten, you might
have even seen the show!
“Some homeowners, property
managers and contractors, seem to
discount the quality of the products
they are using in the painting process,” said Neuhauser. “The applicators used and the paint itself all come
into play here. As the adage goes,
‘You get what you pay for.’ Quality
products deliver quality results.”
ScotchBlue™
Painter’s Tape
Delicate Surfaces
For use on walls,
cabinets, wood
floors and freshly
painted surfaces
(24 hours old)
Provides
edge-to-edge
protection
for improved paint
bleed performance
ScotchBlue™
Painter’s Tape
Multi-Surface
For use on
baseboards,
trim, metal
and glass
©3M 2014. All rights reserved.
3M, Edge-Lock, ScotchBlue, the BLUE
color of the tape and the Plaid Design
are trademarks of 3M.
ScotchBlue.™ See what you can do.
TM
11
Focus, focus!
Read the label, they say! But sometimes that’s hard work. You can’t tell
by the label what’s in the can, and the “fine print” is so fine you can’t read
it anyway. Kelly-Moore Paints, along with making sure its painters were
happy with what’s IN the can, wanted to make sure they
were cool with what’s outside of it as well.
“The Kelly-Moore initiative was a re-design of
the brand look and feel, not a ‘re-label’ exercise
with different name/same product,” said VP
Marketing Dan Claybaugh “After several focus
groups with contractors, we learned that the labels
needed to be designed to be more user friendly, readable, and bi-lingual, as well as be visually appealing with
visual color coding to identify what’s in the can. The back panel was redesigned
to provide icons on critical product information such as dry times, application and
coverage. In addition, a QR code was added that takes users to our Tech Data Sheets
for more complete information.”
Same with your applicator,
Neuhauser continues. Don’t talk your customer into a
premium paint and put it on with a bargain basement
brush. “If you’re using a lower-grade roller cover
that’s prone to leaving lint behind, the finish won’t
be as smooth,” she said. “Additionally, if you’re using
poor quality paint, you might find yourself having to
apply multiple coats, which could end up costing more
money and time in the long run. By investing in higher
quality, durable paint like Pratt & Lambert Pro-Hide
Gold or premium paint like Pratt & Lambert Accolade
you’ll be able to achieve excellent hide, smooth application and superior touch-up the first time.”
Hire me…umm…please?
All this is well and good. You’re a great time, a nice
person, and you’re using the best products for the
best job. Plus you’re checking up on your job a half a
year later—except if you don’t get the job and you’re
sitting at home telling your kids to get a second job,
and fast. How do you get
these jobs? To start,
be cool, be awesome,
be what you want
someone to think
you are, just be
that. Then make
su re people ta l k
about you behind
your back. “Developing a robust line
of referrals through
word of mouth is
the best way to get
12
continued business,” Neuhauser explains. “This way,
customers will be calling you.” It’s a great feeling when
the phone rings and someone wants to spend their
money with you—and you didn’t even ask! How?
“At the end of every job, meet with your customers
to make sure they are completely satisfied with your
work,” she said. “Provide them with referral cards to
pass along to their friends and employers. Consider
offering a referral fee if someone they know hires you
based on their recommendation. Ask your residential
customers where they work and who they know that
might be interested in your painting services. They
may be good friends with the owner of a local business
and be willing to provide an introduction.”
Plus—and you knew
we were going to say
this eventually—go
online. “You can also
promote your business through service
review/rating sites like
Angie’s List. If you’re
doing an exceptional
job, your customers can
tell the online community,” said Neuhauser.
And then, try some
social media! Make
it fun. “Spread the
word about your services through various social
media platforms like Facebook and Twitter,” Neuhauser
recommends. “You can post pictures of completed jobs,
keep your followers/fans informed on upcoming projects
“Building relationships
with designers is a great
lead source for a
painting contractor.”
Photo provided by Kelly-Moore.
and communicate to those who might
be looking to hire in the future.”
Spend a little time and get a website that sets you up as someone who
is knowledgeable about painting.
And again, someone that people
like. We’ve hit on this about a dozen
times, but who wants to give their
money to a crab cake?
Designs on your success
The other way to get the jobs is to
figure out who is hiring. No point in
spending a year talking to Jillian if
it’s Joanna that makes the call. If you
want to get into a commercial business, find out how they make their
decisions, and without getting too
pushy, how to get yourself considered
for the next paint job. One way is to
get involved with designers, and get
on their list of go-to painters for their
projects. “Many times businesses
use professional design services that
specify color and product,” said Neuhauser. “Networking with the local
design community can improve the
likelihood of gaining business in this
category of business.
“Building relationships with
designers is a great lead source for
a painting contractor,” said Claybaugh. “Understanding the needs
of the designer is critical in building
the relationship and trust from the
designer.”
Plus, adds Neuhauser, they need
you! “Designers are always looking
for quality and reliable painting contractors to help bring their visions to
life. Often, when they find a contractor they work well with, they tend to
be loyal because it eliminates stress
from dealing with a new person.
Research local designers in your area
13
Consulting Group
"Amplify the future of your business"
“Our web design department stays up to date
on current technologies and developmental
tools, that make updating and maintaining
your website a breeze!”
1-877-841-9352
thompsonmoser.com
[email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @thompson_moser
“Being a contractor is
not just about painting,
it's about the business
behind the painting.”
and give them an introductory call to
discuss how you can work together.
Make sure to educate yourself on the
work the designer has done beforehand so they feel a more personal
connection to you. They will appreciate the extra time you took.”
Note the words “work together,”
because they will be important in
ensuring you work together more
than once. “Once you establish a rapport with a designer and head to your
first job, keep an open mind,” said
Michelle. “Many times the designers
already have a paint brand they want
to use and will likely request you use
it. Their selections are very deliberate. However, if you feel the quality
of the paint selected will compromise
the quality of work you are able to
do, it is always appropriate to voice
your opinion.”
What’s HE doing there?
Oh, back to Jasper’s QuickPaint.
The guy who got the job you were
supposed to get. Looks good, doesn’t
it! Now he’s got all those references,
and he’s got a whole winter/summer/
whatever’s worth of work off that one
job. Not only is he a good painter,
he’s a good business guy.
“Being a paint contractor is not
just about painting, it’s also about
the business behind the painting,”
says Neuhauser. If you’re not getting jobs you know you’re qualified
for, there’s a disconnect between
what you’re telling your potential
customers and what they’re hearing.
“Stay informed on the latest painting trends, new paint products and
new ways to reach your customers,
whether that’s through social media
or through other online channels,”
15
The NEW
tpcmag.com
Now the Industry’s
Top Media Website!
Easy to read!
Easy to use!
Easy to subscribe!
Great looking design!
coNTracTors:
Check out Current
and Back Issues!
MaNufacTurErs:
a GrEaT place for
Your digital ads!
16
she recommends. “And remember, your customers
should be at the center of all you do. Ask your local
paint dealer about attending a product knowledge
session in their store and keep in touch with your local
paint manufacturer’s rep for product knowledge. Join
Angie’s List and read the reviews about other painters
in your local area—and maybe even beyond your area.
Search online for additional reviews of painters. Read
the good and the bad reviews. Understand what is
important to customers, what they don’t like and make
adjustments to your business model and materials.”
Claybaugh adds some pointers of his own for getting
and keeping clients. “Paint contracting is a serviceoriented business,” he reminds us. “Look to other
service industries for ideas in improving your appeal
to your customer base. You might consider added value
services such as a six-month inspection of the exterior
paint project to make sure the finished product is in
good shape. Or consider a house washing after one
year as a courtesy to your customer. While these are
add-on services, you still must be delivering the basic
services of being on time, being presentable, being
clean and neat work site and providing a job portfolio
of projects with references.”
Give it a try, and let us know how it works!
prattandlambert.com, kellymoore.com tpc
Looking for extra CASH? Bizpinion is currently
in need of Contractors and other skilled trade
professionals for a variety of PAID online
research studies.
Share your opinions with the companies that
are shaping the trends, products and services
of your field and the marketplace.
Join the Bizpinion Research Community
today and receive CASH for participating
in paid surveys!
Registration is FREE!
Visit The Paint Contractor's website,
www.tpcmag.com, to get started!
REE!
BIG BUCKET NEWS
What do you think? Get paid for it
ontractor's website,
om, to get started!
Wondering about the ad on page 17? We asked the company for
a little bit of explanation—can you really make money by taking a
survey? Bizpinion’s Bill Parker explained how it works:
Bizpinion, a leading market research services firm, is actively looking for
contractors and other skilled trade professionals to take part in a variety of
paid market research surveys. Joining the Bizpinion Research Community
is absolutely free and registration takes only a few minutes to complete.
By participating in our paid surveys, you’ll help the companies whose
products and services you use every day understand ways they can better their offerings for you. and you’ll receive cash for every survey you
successfully complete. You’ll never be asked to make a purchase and all
of the basic information you provide is always kept confidential. Your
information will never be sold. Join the Bizpinion Research Community
today and start earning cash for participating in brief surveys! Now go
click and tell ’em what you think at the new tpcmag.com!
It’s popular!
BLACK+DECKER’s 20V MAX* Lithium Cordless Drill with
AutoSense™ Technology has won the Grand Award for the Home category in Popular Science’s 2014 Best of What’s New Awards. Each year,
the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search
of the top 100 tech innovations of the year; breakthrough products and
technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The
20V MAX* is a drill designed to intuitively understand when to stop
screws that are flush with the work surface.
“For 27 years, Popular Science has honored the innovations that
surprise and amaze us—those that make a positive impact on our world
today and challenge our view of what’s possible in the future.” said Cliff
Ransom, the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief.
“The Best of What’s New Award is the magazine’s top honor, and the
100 winners—chosen from among thousands of entrants—are each a
revolution in their field.” blackanddecker.com
Register your tools
Festool is offering a new service to keep your tools going! The
company’s SERVICE All-Inclusive means that every Festool power tool
comes bundled with an industry-leading package of offerings to support
you and assist with any problems you might encounter with your tool.
“Don’t forget to register your tools with us to make it easy to use these
services when you need them,” the company encourages.
Benefits include:
• Faster repair service.
• A record of your purchase in case your tool is lost, stolen or
damaged.
• You are automatically entered into a monthly sweepstakes where
you have a chance to win more tools!
• Access to videos for demos and tips to help you get the most out of
your investment.
Register your tools at festoolusa/account/register-tools/. To register
faster, have your tool nearby or have easy access to the model and serial
number. tpc
18
Where professionals turn for
products and information.
Get seen!
“The magazine is very informative and professionally
done.”
—Rusty Hand, Vogue Painting
Get heard!
“I enjoy reading TPC because it is very valuable to me to
read about other painting contractors around the world: to
find out how they deal with problems, conduct business,
and to generally get a sense that I am not alone.”
—Coby Cohodas, Dunbar Painting
Get bouGht!
“I always look forward to reading the great topics
and keeping up to date.”
—Luis Carillo, Aztec Painting
Call today!
Watch your sales grow!
hans MuGler
[email protected]
314.984.0800
sue oden
[email protected]
417.207.0486
Melissa bieGener
[email protected]
314.239.8248
The Best Bus
for Contract
By Katie Frohnapple, category manager, Painter’s Mate Green® brand painter’s tape
Y
ou’re a painter, and a good one. Jobs are done correctly and customers are
happy. So where is the business? And why are profit margins so low? If you’re
asking these questions, it’s a good bet your marketing and organization skills
need upgrades.
Be seen
Advertising is the lifeblood
for a painting contractor. A
sign in the yard and on the
truck, flyers, business cards,
word of mouth—these are the
old-school, tried-and-true methods for drumming up
business. Larger painting businesses traditionally have
gone to greater lengths, augmenting these methods with
TV, radio, newspaper and online advertising. Today, with
a low-cost-investment, painting contractors of any size
can expand their reach exponentially via social media.
LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook and so many more
social media platforms have proven their usefulness in
delivering painting contractors to potential customers.
LinkedIn, in particular, is a great asset for connecting
with potential customers and associates, and promoting
a painting business.
Websites geared toward home improvement as well
as rating sites are fertile fields for promoting work and
obtaining new business. Houzz.com is a good example.
The site, a platform for home remodeling and design,
boasts of connecting millions of homeowners, design
enthusiasts and home improvement professionals, and
reportedly offers the largest residential-design database
in the world. Courtesy of Houzz.com’s “Find a Pro” tab,
users can search for home improvement professionals in
any category and location. Painting contractors setting
up shop here have an abundance of potential leads.
Beyond that, the site takes questions from visitors seeking advice. This gives painting contractors the opportunity to provide expertise and suggestions, positioning
them as knowledgeable professionals in their field. They
can also use this platform to showcase projects.
Positive ratings on sites such as AngiesList.com and
HomeAdvisor.com go far in attracting customers and
20
showcasing your work, as does Yelp. Be sure to monitor
any sites with content related to your business in order
to make timely contributions and updates, and quickly
respond to questions, comments and reviews.
Painting contractors promoting their business online
should go beyond listing basic company contact information. Post photos that show off your best projects.
Include images that indicate expertise—designs, difficult surfaces, tricky corners, heights, etc. Encourage
feedback by asking questions and keep conversations
light and entertaining.
Be the expert
You’ve worked to establish a good professional reputation. Put such knowledge and experience to work to help
the business grow. Consider well-known names in your
business, advises Dun & Bradstreet in a presentation on
marketing for small businesses. How did these people
become experts? By promoting their accomplishments
and knowledge. Boost awareness of the business by
speaking, writing, providing testimonials and offering
availability to be interviewed.
Share tips, tricks, and detailed helpful advice and
observations in blogs and on social media platforms.
With a little know-how, podcasts are an option. Find
websites related to painting and ask about contributing,
or seek out reputable sites that target communities
where you’d like to expand your business.
Offer information on color selection, budgeting and
other topics that, as a painting contractor, you feel
customers should know. Explain the different types
of paints and coatings. Explain how a good paint job
can enhance property value. Explain the importance
of using the correct tools for the job. What types of
sprayers, brushes and rollers work best with various
surfaces and paints? Clue readers and listeners in on
iness “Tools”
ors
Proper marketing and organization of
your painting company can pay off
with new customers and more business
products that will improve productivity and quality
in a painting job, such as Painter’s Mate Green® brand
painter’s tape. The tape is ideal for protecting areas
from paint and the high-quality paper helps to prevent
paint bleed and gives crisp paint lines. Your audience
will appreciate the knowledge you bring to the table on
topics like these.
Organize to handle business growth
To properly handle the expected business growth
from your increased marketing efforts, organization is
vital. Running a painting business, scheduling employees and projects, estimating, billing and collecting…
all of it can test your organizational and multitasking
abilities. Simplification is an ideal route to organization. Start by removing the clutter. Clean up old office
equipment and furniture. Sell it, recycle it—just get it
out of the way.
Paper clutter is cited as the number one problem for
the majority of businesses, according to a study by the
National Association of Professional Organizations.
Another study reveals that a person on average spends
4.3 hours per week searching for papers. These hours
come at the expense of productivity, workplace effectiveness, creative thinking and other business essentials.
Mishandled paperwork, according to the Small Business
Administration, represents the biggest burden to small
businesses, standing in the way of servicing customers
and improving the bottom line.
Start with the paper. Take the time to go through
filing cabinets and shred any irrelevant or out-of-date
documents. Recycle old periodicals. Then take on
email—an unruly inbox can be as frustrating as a
mystery stack of papers.
Manage your information
It used to be called a filing system back when paper
was the currency of day-to-day business. Today, with
email and so many electronic forms, receipts and files,
the term is information management system (IMS). Do
some research on commercially available IMS software
that can store and organize electronic documents.
The time spent upfront will pay off handsomely when
important documents can be accessed in seconds and
your paint contracting operation can conduct business
in a cleaner, more efficient—and paperless—manner.
The IMS can be backed with software programs for
billing, customer and employee management, as well
as estimating. Some programs offer suites of software
that, once set up, handle all of these tasks. Think of
the headaches saved at tax time if all of your expenses,
income figures and receipts are collated and stored
automatically.
Associations—your one-stop shops
A collection of like-minded business owners, backed
by industry and service professionals, can provide the
resources and expertise that painting contractors need
when tackling marketing and organizational tasks.
Networking through an association brings together
business owners and managers, allowing them to share
common problems and solutions as well as ideas for
improving productivity, profit margins, and much more.
Through surveys and reports, associations provide
information on industry standards and best practices.
Want to know why Painting Contractor A is more
successful than Painting Contractor B? A glimpse at
best-practices data provides the answer and offers a
roadmap for your business to prosper.
Associations provide news, insight and guidance on
new and potential regulations or policies that can affect
individual businesses. They also advocate on members’
behalf to regulators and elected officials. Training is
another area where associations shine, offering seminars,
skill-building courses and more. Association-sponsored
events also serve an educational purpose, keeping members current on new products and innovations.
When evaluating potential associations, according
to the Mobile Marketing Association, determine what
your business wants to achieve by joining, and what
resources are needed on your end to realize an effective
membership. Then choose the association or associations
that align most closely with those goals and costs. With
these tips, you can spread the word and reap the benefits
of increased business. At the start, doing so takes time
and money—not to mention some serious thought—but
the payback can set your business up for long-term,
sustainable success. tpc
21
junk for your trunk
Sponsored by
ld
Festool’s popular “Toolie”
makes its return for a limited time.
Equipped with popular drivers
for making adjustments to many
Festool tools and accessories,
it’s the perfect size to stow in
an apron pocket, a toolbox, or
inside a Systainer. All tools fold
neatly into the handle and are
easy to retrieve with the quickaccess green slide. This item will be
available in limited quantities, while
supplies last. festoolusa.com
Constructed from blue spring
steel, AMES taping knives
provide a professional,
smooth finish and resist
rust. Available in 8, 10 and
12-inch widths, the lightweight and flexible knives
are tapered to make it easy
to evenly tape in tight corners
and spaces. The handle profile
improves blade control, and its ergonomic contour improves the comfort level and
reduces fatigue on the user, making these knives
a lasting addition to your tool box. amestools.com
s gold pr
o
Go
For over 40 years the
ALLPRO Professional
Gold Series Gold
Pro has been the
go-to cover for the
professional painter.
It provides high paint
capacity, complete
coverage, and mat
resistance for smoother
results with all flat to satin
paint, stains, and waterproofing treatments. Gold Pro
s
ie
er
Products You Can Trust.
From People You Can Trust.
a ll
procorp.com
The ProScribe tape measure features a retractable 1-1/2-inch rigid
scribe guide and centering pin to help you
measure and mark. You
can also easily position
a case knife or carpenter’s pencil against the
tape's metal tip to cut/
score or mark the desired
width. The ProScribe’s oversized tip features two front-facing magnets,
allowing it to easily connect with any metal
object. swansontoolco.com
22
is made in the USA
and available exclusively through your independent ALLPRO retailer.
Visit us at www.allprocorp.
com to find an ALLPRO
retailer near you and experience Gold Pro for yourself.
California Paints’ Universal
Primer is a quick drying, high
performance 100% acrylic
latex interior/exterior primer
formulated to block most
bleeding type stains while
sealing porous surfaces
for excellent holdout and
good adhesion to properly
prepared hard and glossy
surfaces. Hides common stains
such as crayon, graffiti, greasy
spots, water stains, rust, smoke stains,
cedar and redwood bleed. Use it on a wide
variety of surfaces. californiapaints.com
© 2014, HOMER TLC, Inc. All rights reserved.
COMPARED SIDE
BY SIDE, YOU HAVE
TO GO WITH GLIDDEN
PROFESSIONAL.
EXCLUSIVE NEW LINE OF GLIDDEN
PROFESSIONAL ULTRA-HIDE
®
®
1. 220 – BETTER COVERAGE THAN THE LEADING COMPETITOR
2. 440 – GREAT HIDE AND FLOW
3. 770 – EASY APPLICATION
Juan Ibarra–Las Vegas, NV
homedepot.com/GliddenProfessional