Business Tips for Applicators

Venetian Plaster application can be very profitable - Page 5 of 5

- Get a 50% deposit at the job start. If it's huge job, take 25%. Again, make sure you have all your contract forms in order. Contract forms.

- Technology: have it. You ought to have a computer to e-mail pictures and a good digital camera with a decent flash to take pictures. Have a good printer to print pictures for your great portfolio. It's important that your work, or our gallery pictures, look great on a laptop computer if you are showing clients a compelling slide show.

- Make sure your contacts understand how your referral fee works. On a $20,000 job, this can be $4,000 cash in their pockets. It's real money!

- Drop names. It's a nice marketing tool when beating the pavement. People will be less likely to close the door on you. Research your targets well. Try not to come in blind when selling someone on your services and product. Find out what projects they're doing. If you know something about them, use it in your opening line. Stroke their egos. Use charm and jokes. It's not unlike getting a date; except you are profiting financially from the relationship.

- This goes without saying, but be confident. Come into a project site knowing that you are the best wall finisher ever and that you will make the walls look amazing.

- Again, be persistent. It takes at least three meetings with someone to make them comfortable with you. Make an excuse for each time you see them, or call them. Say you have new samples, or you want to send them a CD with all your/our sample pictures, or you were in the neighborhood, whatever fits your personality; just keep trying until they think of you as The Plaster Wall Finisher to go to.

- If all else fails, visit our Venetian Plaster Blog to get more advice or to give it. We welcome feedback.

BUSINESS TIPS
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