Want to make 2020 a banner year for you and your painting business? Here are five ways to help ensure your company meets and exceeds the goals you’ve set for it.
Delegate, delegate, delegate! Face it: As a painting contractor, there are some tasks you perform better than others. Some work best with a brush in their hands; others are most effective on a sales call. You can make your business more efficient by making sure you are doing most of what you do best, and that means turning tasks you don’t perform as effectively over to either staff or vendors who can. For example, you don’t like tracking the numbers? Hire an accountant! You’ll not only tidy up your books but will have a better window to identify the type of jobs that are most profitable for your business.
Train frequently. Your investments in your staff can expand your business capabilities as well as improve employee retention, so make sure you give them time to become better employees. To that end, Sherwin-Williams has a comprehensive program called Paint Your Path (AmericaNeedsPainters.com). As part of Paint Your Path, Sherwin-Williams has developed a wide array of online courses that you can share with your workers to help them strengthen their professional painting skills – from beginner-level instruction to more advanced skills. All materials are available in both Spanish and English. Visit PaintProTraining.com
Pay it forward. Be generous with advice to your peers, even those you might see as competitors. Painting contractors live in a well-contained universe. A reputation as a good guy among your peers might not seem important, but people have long memories, and business relationships are always evolving. You’ll never know when a past kindness might be remembered.
Upsell when possible. Sounds simple enough, right? Improve both your profitability and customer satisfaction with a specification of premium Sherwin-Williams products. But what you’ll also do is build a market perception as a premium contractor. Better products result in better jobs — and better profitability. Furthermore, you’ll soon be able to scratch less-desirable, low-margin jobs off your bid list, leaving those to other contractors.
Remember… it’s always tax time. Too many small business owners think about taxes only at year end, when an accountant’s in their ear telling them all the last-minute tricks that could lighten their tax burden. Here’s a tip: Keep taxes top of mind year-round, and not only will the pressures of tax season ease, but so will your tax bill. Your mySW account can help by saving every receipt and invoice you receive from Sherwin-Williams. Go to mySW.com to create your profile and connect it to your in-store account.