First off, hello. I just found this site and really appreciate the advice given to others by small business owners here.

I have a small painting business with 5+ years experience as the owner, and 12 years painting experience.

I would like to market my services to remodeling companies, realtors and small management companies.

What are some effective ways I can get my foot in the door and introduce/start a relationship with these businesses?

A long running job with a large company recently ended and I would like several smaller customers rather than one large customer.

Thanks,

Damon

Hi there,

First off, I'd like to know if you have a base of customers already? Obviously you've done lots of work for people over the years, but do you have their names, addresses, phone numbers, etc stored in a database? If not, you should start.

Secondly, one approach you could take is to joint venture with them. As them if they would be willing to consider using you and your services, in exchange for you promoting them certain to your existing customers. This could work well with a realtor or remodeling company. I would advise you (if you haven't already) to collect some testimonials from past customers to verify the quality of your work as these companies will be a lot less likely to work with you if they don't know who you are or how good your work is..

The joint venture proposal should state that you've heard that Company A (or whatever the company name is) does great work and that you've thought of a great way to joint venture and make money together. After this you would get into detail about who you are, what you do, some of your history, some testimonials, what you would do for the company if they ventured with you and how it would be of mutual benefit to both parties to work together.

Of course if one of these companies does decide to take you on, you will need to return the favor and promote the company to your existing customers and others you know. This is some extra work, but well worth it as you will be a lot more likely to get work out of these companies this way.

This is just one example of something you could do. Joint ventures are a great way to get involved with new people/businesses.

Hope some of this helps,
Curtis

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Curtis's suggestion and advice is right on. Another step to take is to go to industry events in real estate, remodeling, etc.

This is where you meet your potential clients. You can exchange business cards and give your elevator pitch about what you do.

Always follow up, within a couple of days, with a phone call, email or quick note to everyone you met at the event.

I use a postcard that I had printed up at Vistaprint. All I have to do is add their name and address and drop it in the mail the next day. It serves as a reminder of having just met you and what your business and contact info is.

Don't wait for the joint venture agreement to beginning recommending the people you met at these events. That is a good way to build goodwill among potential clients and they just may send referrals your way as well. After a couple of those it should be easier to propose the joint venture.

I hope these suggestions help out a little.