Looking for help with business (Cary: for sale, houses, neighborhood)

[sacman2955]

I own a painting company and am looking for ways to generate more business, example, leads, other web sites, or companies to pay for leads, ect... Can someone guid me in the right direction, I have never had to do this because I lived in one area for a long while and had a good reputation. Thanks

[Chicky]

Judging from this message board, I would say that satisfied customers are a great way to generate leads! For example, if you get a job in a neighborhood and the homeowner is happy, give them a few flyers or business cards to the neighbors - especially if you do outdoor painting, the homes around them are likely to need paint, too. Offer an incentive for the original customer and his neighbors if they all get work done - like 10% off if three or more houses on the street get painting done the same week.

Another thing - please offer free estimates. I recently turned down several vendors that wanted to charge for estimates.

A relationship with a realtor would help. Perhaps you could offer a deeply discounted job to a realtor for him/her to 'test you out' and then get work on newly bought homes or homes being prepared for sale? For that matter, you could offer 'rebates' to any satisfied customer for any new work that it leads to.

I hope this helps; I'm only speaking from the customer's viewpoint as I have no experience in your shoes!

[HappyNCGirl]

My husband and I found a painter we adore via a flyer he left on our mailbox. He was painting a house in the neighborhood, so we saw his work. We kept the flyer and called him when we needed the house painted. We've referred him business several times, always to rave reviews when the job is finished.

Very very low cost advertising, and highly effective.

Same with our deck builder. He left a magnet on our mailbox. We gave him a call a few months later, were impressed with his design, and pricing, and hired him to build a huge deck for us. The guy is awesome and we've referred him to others as well.

Maybe we lucked out, but both these guys are top notch and reasonable.

Maybe these approaches would work for you too? Seems kind of low-tech advertising, but hey! If it works....

[J_Lurk]

We found our painter because he was the subcontractor when we had our porch built. Find some general contractors and see if you can establish a relationship with them; it may not be the highest paying business initially, but it helps establish your credibility.

[MikeJaquish]

I just Googled "Cary Painters" and came up with this list of results.

I do not see your name.
There is absolutely no substitute for your own site, that you have hosted on your own account, and that means a custom site, not a template.

[cas965]

Not sure if you are a member of the Chamber of Commerce in your area, but I would suggest that. You might also contact builders and realtors that are members of the Chamber and introduce yourself and your company to them. Good Luck.