Running a successful painting company. It’s more than just how to hold a paint brush or how to cut in a wall. There’s estimating, sales, marketing, accounting, managing people, and so much more. Sharing ideas about how to excel at the business side of painting is the concept behind the new PRO+ Training Series on the Sherwin-Williams YouTube channel.
The idea for the free monthly webinar series grew out of conversations that pro painters across the country were having with their Sherwin-Williams reps.
“Our sales reps have such a close relationship with our customers,” says Christine Rich, Sherwin-Williams Residential Repaint Marketing Director and co-host of the series. “They’re often hearing questions like: I don’t know how to approach social media. Do you guys have any information on that? Or, what’s the best way to bid a job? Or, it’s really tough recruiting right now. What resources do you have? These are the type of questions that keep coming up.”
Based on this customer feedback, Sherwin-Williams developed the PRO+ Training Series that debuted June 7 with Marketing 101 featuring Austin Houser, founder of Base Coat Marketing, and David Cook, owner of D’Franco Painting & Wallpaper.
“We wanted to offer something to our customers that would help them grow their business acumen so they can be as successful as possible,” Rich says. “If we can share information, we all get smarter and better together.”
What to expect
The goal is for each webinar to feature two guest speakers, including a mix of paint pros and industry experts. A live Q&A session follows the presentation. For those unable to attend live, the webinars will be recorded and posted to the Sherwin-Williams YouTube channel for on-demand viewing.
The aim of the debut episode, Marketing 101 (shown above), was to take the mystery out of marketing a painting business, to discuss common marketing mistakes and how to avoid them. Featured presenters were David Cook, owner of D’Franco Painting & Wallpaper, and Austin Houser, founder of Base Coat Marketing, a marketing company that works exclusively with painting and concrete coating companies.
Upcoming webinars:
Estimating for Business Success
- When: Wednesday, July 12, 2-3 p.m. EST.
- Who: Chris Moore, Elite Business Advisors and Shane Fast, Renew Painting of the Carolinas
Recruiting and Building Culture
- When: Wednesday, August 9, 2-3 p.m. EST
- Who: Michael Cheney, No Drip Painting and Torlando Hakes, Craftsman Painting
This article was published in the Summer 2023 issue of Pintor Pro. ©2023 Randall Reilly. Read more stories about building and improving your painting business in the Pintor Pro magazine archive.
