Depending on what part of the country you are in there might be what we call in the Mid West as “painting season”. There are certain months of the year that interior painting is the only option for work. This essentially cuts our work load in half. As many of you know, if you don’t have work for your painters they might go find work elsewhere. Once you’ve established a reliable worker you don’t want to lose them due to a slow schedule. In an effort to keep my painters painting in the winter months here are a few steps I take when that slower season is upon us.
Connect With Established Painting Companies
As I’ve mentioned before, we have worked with a larger painting company over the years as a way to learn the industry. This has been very beneficial and has served as a way to keep my painters busy when we start to slow down. This relationship could be something you just use when you need the extra work. For example, if a project falls through and you don’t want to leave your team without work you might be able to make a quick call and get work lined up for a few days. Check out my article on the Pros and Cons of being a Sub Contractor for more insight on how this has worked for us.
Reach Out To Past Clients
The thought of reaching out to past clients asking for work might seem a bit daunting as first, but these folks can be your best jobs. Since you have already established relationships with them the chances are high that they may want to go ahead and get more work completed with you. This is also a great way to stay top of mind with them in case they need you down the road. If it has been awhile since you’ve spoken to them, try breaking the ice with an email. It is okay to disclose that you are in your slow time of the year and you want to keep your amazing team busy.
Review Pending Quotes
Another great tactic that you should be doing on a regular basis is reviewing your pending quotes. A pending quote or estimate is one that you provided to a customer, but they did neither accepted or declined. In fact, you may have simply not heard anything back from these people. This is an opportunity waiting for you. Simply reach out and see if they are still interested in getting their project started or ask if they went with another company. Within this communication you can also ask for some feedback on your quote if they did in fact choose another contractor.
Offer T&M
I recently had a situation occur with one of our partner remodelers where the opportunity presented itself for us to do some time and material work. I stopped by their shop and just asked if they needed anything painted for upcoming projects. To my surprise, they had several doors that needed sprayed or stained. They even decided to purchase a bunch of shoe molding and go ahead and have it sprayed for up coming projects. We were able to step in and offer some ways for them to get a head start on projects, and I had the chance to keep my painters busy; I would say this is a win-win situation!
I hope that some of these tips help you to fill up a few of those days during the ‘slow season’.
Happy Painting!
