As the largest online community of professional painters, the PaintersChatRoom is dedicated to the constant improvement of our industry. The professionalism, skill and business savvy of each painter reflects on us all. To this end our goal is twofold. First, we strive to provide a forum that allows the professional to exchange ideas, ask questions of others and to express themselves on the subjects that can help them build their businesses. It is our goal to help provide such a forum in as non-threatening and professional a method as possible. Second, our goal is to provide professional painter easy access to a multitude of resources to help them grow their business. It is important to note that those of you who participate in this web site are the ones who ultimately determine its content and the level of professionalism it presents. We ask that you take this responsibility seriously, we do.

Keep up to date with the newest product developments in the industry, improve your skills at running your successful painting business, learn about new business opportunities, learn more about solving application problems, train your painters and much more at the exclusive PCRA Education site. You can also learn about application techniques that can increase your productivity and thus your profits..

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As the largest online community of professional painters, the PaintersChatRoom is dedicated to the constant improvement of our industry. The professionalism, skill and business savvy of each painter reflects on us all. To this end our goal is twofold. First, we strive to provide a forum that allows the professional to exchange ideas, ask questions of others and to express themselves on the subjects that can help them build their businesses. It is our goal to help provide such a forum in as non-threatening and professional a method as possible. Second, our goal is to provide professional painter easy access to a multitude of resources to help them grow their business. It is important to note that those of you who participate in this web site are the ones who ultimately determine its content and the level of professionalism it presents. We ask that you take this responsibility seriously, we do.

There are many ways to market your business but one of the most popular ones is direct mail. Some contractors will mail individual pieces like sales letters, postcards, etc. from lists they purchase. Others will use what is called marriage mail. An example of marriage is Val Pak, (there are many others). Many home improvement type of businesses use marriage mail very successfully. While you can only zero in by zip code, unlike individual mailing, marriage mail is much less expensive. Some contractors will use both methods. The single biggest mistake that is made by most who use either method of direct mail is to mail to a list once, harvest what leads come in and then go to the next area. Big mistake! One of the keys to successful advertising is frequency. The more times that a prospect sees information about your company the more inclined they are to remember and call you when the need arises. If you mail once and your competition mails once it becomes a race to see who can mail into an area and just happen to hit that prospect that is ready to buy at the right time. Trust me, the last one in wins and the first one is never remembered. When planning direct mail plan on sending mail to the same list several times during the year so the prospects have a better chance of remembering you. The best direct mail response is only about a 1% response rate. Frequency will more than double that return rate. If you mail 1,000 pieces and get 10 leads chances are that mailing 3,000 pieces to the same list will net you not 30 but from 50 to 60 leads. This will increase the effectiveness of your mailing and significantly reduce your lead and job cost. If you want to really increase your response different media to your mix. For example, distribute door hangers or flyers in the same neighborhood as you mail into. You can also get email lists and email marketing, direct mail and door hangers will maximize your response and decrease your overall expense of generating leads.

Everyone says that this is the information age and that the Internet has changed everything. Well in some respects, things are different especially when you consider that the World Wide Web is not ever 10 years old. One of the things that have not changed is the consumer's hunger for facts and for being comfortable when they make major decisions. For some people, hiring a professional painting contractor is a major decision and everything the painter can do to make that customer comfortable in choosing them will win sales. More and more consumers are turning to the Internet to help in the process. A company Web Site can help you find leads, stay in touch with past customers, communicate with an ever increasing number of prospects and customers and add credibility to your company. You can refer people to your site to showcase your work and let them know the quality of your work. What better way to help them visualize the end result? So, now is the time to start a Web Site, right? Where do you start? The very increased accessibility of information that the Internet affords also can make your head spin with way too much information. PCRA can help. Just tell us a bit about your company and what you want to achieve and we will build the site for you and host it. How could it be easier? We'll even help you make periodic changes to your site to keep it fresh and interesting for repeat visitors. A professionally designed and built Web Site sends the right message about your business. Don't blemish your business' reputation with an inferior web presence. Show the world that quality matters to you with a professional Web Site from us. Choose between several reasonably priced packages that include hosting and maintenance.

Consider us your marketing department. PCRA members have access to marketing programs tailored to their needs. From full service marketing programs to advertising and direct mail campaigns, sales and marketing materials, customer marketing software, professional sales representation and more. These are programs developed specifically for the professional painter. Click here to find out more.

A Web Site is a great tool to market your business. You can generate leads, showcase your work and it makes a great reference tool to use with prospects. Internet marketing is the future of business and is the most inexpensive way for painting contractors to get their name out. If you are not sure how to start or even if you already have a Web Site, Click here to find out how PCRA can help.

Do your employees look like the professional painters that they are? Do you have company uniforms that proudly carry your company's name? One of the most effective methods of increasing recognition of your company name is through logo'd apparel. Here is your one source for uniforms, t-shirts, golf shirts, jackets and more. Just Click here to check it out.

Okay, so now that you have a Web Site how do you make it work for you? There are many services and programs that can help you list your Web Site with the major search engines and most all of them work. The only problem is that it is a constant effort. You have to continuously market your site if it is to work for you. Find-A-Painter was created to help you out.

Find-A-Painter is an exclusive feature for PCRA members. We will market your Web Site for you through Find-A-Painter. We are constantly working to add links and partner with other Web Sites to drive consumer traffic to our electronic community.

If you already have a Web Site, you can still be part of this program. To join you must be a member of PCRA and show proof of insurance and state license if you work in a state that requires one.