Category Archives: ONLINE EXTRAS

BUSINESS BUILDERS, ONLINE EXTRAS

Social Media 101 for Painting Contractors

Sherwin-Williams offers step-by-step instructions on how to set up pages and start advertising

Stumped by social media and how it might help grow your business?

Many painting contractors are growing a successful social media presence. And your Sherwin-Williams rep can direct you to a new guide from Sherwin-Williams that will show you how, featuring specific sections on using Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other platforms, as well as an extended section on creating Facebook ads. Continue reading Social Media 101 for Painting Contractors →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Dealing with Customer Objections

Time-tested methodology can create solutions and build bonds

“Your price is too high!”

“This project is not getting done fast enough!”

“This isn’t the product we agreed on!”

As a painting contractor, you may have heard some variation of these customer objections in your career. Clearly, they can be tipping points from which your relationship with a customer could go downhill in a hurry. Or they can be a point from which you build a stronger bond with your customer, paving the path for future referrals and repeat business opportunities. Continue reading Dealing with Customer Objections →

ONLINE EXTRAS, PRODUCTS

Expert Advice For Painting Contractors Faced With Fixing DIY Taping Mistakes

Good intentions don’t always yield the best results. And homeowners may not have the know-how or skills required to tackle some of the most basic prepping and painting tasks. When all else fails and a DIY project goes wrong, painting pros are called in to save the day. In this article, we’ve outlined three common DIY mistakes painting professionals encounter with solutions for how to fix them.
Continue reading Expert Advice For Painting Contractors Faced With Fixing DIY Taping Mistakes →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Be a Good Boss

Effective management will help you retain your top-performing employees

While the labor shortage faced by many painting contractors is being addressed by a variety of recruitment strategies, keep in mind that your skills as a manager will play a critical role in an equally important retention strategy. Continue reading Be a Good Boss →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Delivering Multi-Family Solutions

Sherwin-Williams free property assessment is the first step to helping maintain, attract, and retain residents

Whether it’s unit turns, keeping a property looking new, or just dealing with common maintenance concerns, multi-family property managers and maintenance teams have plenty to keep them busy.

And that’s why a free property assessment from Sherwin-Williams can be key to making the tasks of upkeep and creating an attractive appearance of such properties easier. The property assessment is easy to get — simply provide contact info here or ask your Sherwin-Williams rep, who will develop a detailed custom assessment, complete with proposed solutions to the challenges you face. Continue reading Delivering Multi-Family Solutions →

ONLINE EXTRAS

10 Tips for Dealing with Late Pays, No Pays

From setting clear terms to offering early-pay discounts, here’s how to keep cash flowing

Businesses of any size are nearly certain to at some time face late-payment issues that can have crippling effects, and painting contractors, especially small to medium-sized shops, are no exception. In fact, research shows that 11 percent of all invoices written by small or medium-sized businesses are paid late, and 5 percent of their invoices are never paid at all and are written off as bad debt.

The impact can be devastating. After all, you might have a payroll to meet and materials to buy, not to mention a vehicle or two in need of maintenance, and perhaps an opportunity to grow your business with a new equipment purchase. And you likely don’t have the resources to spend otherwise productive time chasing down payment matters.

So how do you minimize the effect that late pays and no pays can have on cash flow, the lifeblood of your business? Continue reading 10 Tips for Dealing with Late Pays, No Pays →

ONLINE EXTRAS

5 Tips for Better, Faster and More Productive Pressure Washing

The experts at Mi-T-M share advice on getting the most out of your pressure washer

Pressure washing season is upon us and, as with any task, painting contractors are looking to maximize their equipment’s efficiency and productivity. Here are five tips to make the most of your pressure washing operations from Mi-T-M, which manufactures a complete line of pressure washers for industrial and residential use. Continue reading 5 Tips for Better, Faster and More Productive Pressure Washing →

ONLINE EXTRAS, PRODUCTS

14-inch Roller System Hits the Productivity Sweet Spot

Innovative Purdy® product helps painters get more done

The Purdy 14-inch Roller System, now complete with 14-inch roller covers in all your favorite fabric constructions, is maneuverable, durable, lightweight, and is configured in size and shape to maximize painter productivity and minimize overall painter fatigue. Continue reading 14-inch Roller System Hits the Productivity Sweet Spot →

ASK US, ONLINE EXTRAS

The Top 10 Questions that Painting Professionals Ask Time and Time Again

Long-time PPC Ask Your ProPartner™ columnist Rick Watson retired in December 2021. Before he left, we asked him about the most common questions he heard over his 34 years in the paint industry. In no particular order, here are his top 10 “ageless questions.”
Continue reading The Top 10 Questions that Painting Professionals Ask Time and Time Again →

ONLINE EXTRAS, PRODUCTS

SuperDeck® Puts Technology to Work

Product lineup delivers real benefits you and your customers will notice

The SuperDeck® product collection offers a complete care system for exterior decks, whether they’re new or old. Contractors love the easy cleanup and application features of SuperDeck products, while customers will enjoy long-lasting performance and protection, not to mention a beautiful finish.

Alex Sinclair, Director of Product Information at Sherwin-Williams, knows the superior benefits of the SuperDeck product line are no accident. Development teams at Sherwin-Williams are constantly engineering product formulations to deliver maximum benefits. Below, Sinclair discusses features and benefits of three key SuperDeck product groups. Continue reading SuperDeck® Puts Technology to Work →

ONLINE EXTRAS

Be Likeable — It Pays

Common courtesy is part of a business-building communication strategy 


Your bid offered a low price using reputable products and your workmanship is highly regarded, yet your competitor won the job.

What’s up with that?

If you’ve ever encountered such a scenario in the painting business, the answer could be simple: The customer simply liked your competitor more.

The fact is people often hire people they like, a direct result of emotions and biases they’ve formed on the basis of personal interactions. Business is often as much about the relationships you build as the services you perform. And if you’re failing to build connections with your customer on a human level, you may be building obstacles that your pricing, product selection and workmanship are unable to overcome. Continue reading Be Likeable — It Pays →

ONLINE EXTRAS

How Building a Strong Connection With Your Sherwin-Williams Rep Is a Game Changer

Commercial/Industrial Painting Contractor Sees Their Rep as a Key Team Member

According to Waukesha, WI – based Porta-Painting President & Owner Amanda Martin, there are four adjectives that best describe her Sherwin-Williams sales rep for the past 11 years, Kevin Zei: Continue reading How Building a Strong Connection With Your Sherwin-Williams Rep Is a Game Changer →