3 Ways CRM Software Can Land You More Painting Jobs

Whether you're making a lot of sales or trying to fix a hole in your sales funnel, there's always room for improvement. And with new technology at your fingertips, getting hired for painting jobs is becoming easier than ever. Automation tools and electronic contracts allow contractors and their clients to do business much more efficiently, saving both parties a great deal of time and money. What's more, by using these resources to better manage your business, you're proving to prospective clients that you're professional and committed to quality customer care. 

Customer relationship management (CRM) software offers tools for simplifying administrative tasks, maintaining communications with clients, and staying organized. These features will not only make your life easier; they'll also give you a leg up during the sales process, putting you above the competition and landing you more jobs. Here are just some of the ways that CRM can help you get hired.

You'll lose less information.

Before we switched over to CRM, the majority of our incoming client information was jotted down on a sheet of paper. While the intention was to keep track of important contact details, this wasn't always the reality. Sometimes the information wasn't legible. Sometimes the paper would get lost, or it would be forgotten altogether. And that meant lost business opportunities. 

With CRM, these costly errors become a lot less common. The software allows you to input leads and manage information electronically, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Better yet, in keeping all of your contacts in one place, you can send reminders, set appointments, and schedule jobs with just a few clicks. 

Overall, your business will be more organized, and tedious administrative work will no longer be such a burden -- meaning more time to focus on sales.

You'll see more customer interaction.

Another benefit of CRM is that it helps contractors get more touches on customers while they're in the buying process. A "touch" refers to phone calls, emails, ad impressions, and any other instances when clients interact with your company, whether directly or passively. Touches are essential if you want to convince clients that you're the one for the job -- the more persistent and assertive you are, the more likely it is you'll stand out among the others. 

When you use CRM software, you can rest assured that your customers are receiving consistent communications from you. Many CRM products let you automate reminder emails and schedule future contact dates, guaranteeing that you're always in-touch with your customers during the most important part of the process. 

Furthermore, more interaction means a better chance of pushing indecisive clients off the fence. Reminder emails after the proposal serve to re-engage the customer after they've directed their attention to other things. Often, people will defer making a choice until they've been faced with it a second (or third, or fourth) time. Sending an automated message to check in on the client can open up a space for questions, concerns, or hesitations, which can help you guide the client towards making up their mind.

You'll learn more about what's working (and what's not).

Part of getting more jobs is knowing when and how to tweak your marketing strategy. This requires access to analytics and reporting -- tools that are available through most CRM applications. Customized reports help you direct your marketing resources to the sites that are actually bringing in business, creating a strategy that is more successful and cost-effective. 

CRM lets you track where your business is coming from and which leads are most valuable. For instance, Angie's List might be getting you a lot of estimates, but if the analytics show that your HomeAdvisor leads are most likely to convert into jobs, you know it's better to focus on the latter. Without seeing personalized marketing reports, you might be putting a lot of time and energy into a method that just isn't working. 

In understanding where your business is coming from, you can determine the best way to revamp your marketing strategy and get more painting jobs.

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