How do painters win when a homeowner is collecting three bids?
When a homeowner is comparing bids, the painter who follows up, explains the bid, and is easy to reach often has the edge over a bid that is only a price on paper. Three bids on the kitchen table can look alike at first glance, and the homeowner often cannot tell why one costs more than another. The painter who calls back to walk through the numbers gives her a reason to choose that has little to do with being the cheapest.
Why do homeowners collect three painting bids?
A homeowner may paint the outside of a house only a few times in all the years she owns it, so she often has no feel for what the job should cost or how long it should take. Asking three companies is how she was taught to protect herself, and a friend or a parent has probably told her to do exactly that. Collecting bids is how a careful person makes a decision she does not feel qualified to make.
That is worth keeping in mind when you walk up to the door with your tape measure. The homeowner is looking for a painter she can trust with her house for a week or two. The price is simply the part of that decision she knows how to compare.
What does a homeowner see when three painting bids look alike?
A homeowner has three bids for the outside of a two story colonial spread across her kitchen table. One is a single page with a total at the bottom. Another lists the prep work, the number of coats, and the paint it will use. The third came by email with a total and a line that says to call with any questions. The totals are far enough apart that she wonders what she is missing, and nobody has explained it to her.
When bids are hard to compare, people fall back on the one number they understand, which is the total. A painter whose price includes more careful prep can lose to a cheaper bid because the difference was never put into words the homeowner could follow. A bid that says plainly what is included gives her something to weigh besides the price, and a conversation about it gives her a reason to trust the painter who wrote it.
Why does following up on a painting bid help you win it?
Plenty of homeowners do not decide the day the last bid arrives. They wait for a free evening, talk it over with someone at home, and put it off while the weather or the budget settles. During that stretch the painter who checks back is the one who gets to answer whatever is holding things up, whether that is a color question, the start date, or why his number is higher than the other two.
A follow-up call also shows the homeowner how you run your business. If you call back when you said you would, she has a fair reason to believe you will show up on the day you promised and finish when you said you would. The question of when to call is its own subject, and it is covered in how long to wait before following up on a quote.
What does being easy to reach look like to a homeowner comparing painters?
A homeowner with a question about your bid will often ask whoever is easiest to reach. If she calls and hits a full voicemail box, or sends an email that sits for three days, she turns to the next bid on the table. The painter who answers, or who calls back the same day, gets the conversation, and that conversation is where a higher price gets explained.
This is hard for a small painting company, because the owner is usually on a ladder or walking another job when the phone rings. Calls and messages keep coming in during the workday, and the ones that go unanswered rarely wait politely for the evening. Some of the bids a painter loses go to whoever happened to answer first, and the owner never finds out why the homeowner chose someone else.
What a fix looks like
In a painting business that has fixed this, the owner checks one list over coffee and sees every open bid with the homeowner's name, the house, the amount, and the day it went out. When a homeowner calls with a question about the prep while he is up a ladder, whoever answers can pull up her bid and set a time for him to call back, and he calls that afternoon with the numbers in front of him. Bids that have gone a few days without a reply come up as reminders, so the check in happens in the busy weeks too. More of the answers he gets are a clear yes or no, and fewer bids end in silence.
The Home Service Guild Marketing Operations System provides that list, an alert on each new inquiry, and follow-up reminders on open quotes as part of following up on every inquiry and quote.
Questions owners also ask
Should a painter lower the price to match a cheaper bid?
Hold off until you know why the other bid is cheaper. Ask the homeowner what she is comparing and explain what your price includes, because the two bids may not describe the same job. Some homeowners will still choose the lowest number, and you will not know which kind she is until you have that conversation.
What should a painter do after losing a bid?
Thank the homeowner and ask kindly what decided it, since the answer can tell you something useful about your price or your timing. Then keep her on your list of past contacts. Her house will need painting again, and the company she chose this time may not be the one she calls next time.
Is it worth following up on a small interior painting bid?
Yes. A homeowner who hires you for one bedroom is often deciding whether to trust you with the rest of the house. A small job done well, and a follow-up that shows you were paying attention, puts your name first when the bigger project comes up.
