Refinisher's Warehouse Newsletter
April 2009
Printable Copy

IS BUSINESS A LITTLE SLOW ???? ARE YOU JUST WAITING FOR THE PHONE TO RING??????? HAVE YOU STOPPED CONTACTING YOUR PREVIOUS CUSTOMERS??????.

You HAVE TO make the phone ring. You HAVE TO contact your previous customers. You HAVE TO make business pick up. How?? When business was easy, you saw the unlimited potential that this business offers. The business still has unlimited potential, you just have to work just a little smarter. Just by taking a look around your community, you find all sorts of countertops with burns,cuts, stains and other damage, that NEED updating and repair. Bathtubs and showers are cracked, chipped, dull or just plain old and ugly. Ceramic tile that is chipped, cracked or just the wrong color for today’s modern home. You are the one that can take care of all these problems.

We, as a profession and as a nation, have had slow periods before and when that happens we just need to go out and find the work. TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR MARKETING STRATEGIES. When was the last time you sent out a marketing brochure? Made a sales call? Called on previous customers for referrals? Marketed new areas? You must continue to market yourself and your service, even during the good times. When was the last time you called on new, previous or existing customers in these areas: Apartment Complexes, Homes, Hotel and Motels, Restaurants, Retail Stores, Property Managers, Professional Offices, Commercial Buildings, Realtors, Interior Decorators? This is only a small sampling. Business really is everywhere. One of my long time customers, E. Charles in Georgia told me that he was passing out flyers in neighborhoods using the shot gun approach ‘putting them on every single house, in every neighborhood’ Then he got a‘flash’ he saw a lot of “Foreclosure” signs, then thought, ‘put the flyers on them’. So he did. He put the flyers on just the “foreclosure” homes and in a very short period of time he had 4 or 5 investors that were buying properties and those 4 or 5 investors provided him with several new jobs!!!! So now he has his sights on the “foreclosure” market. A lot of the homes on the market need work, and Realtors know that distressed properties take longer to sell than ones that are fixed up even a little, even with the reduced prices. In a slow market, Investors want to fix up a house, to look its best, without spending a fortune. Sooooo, what are you waiting for?? Hit the streets and drum up the business.

This might sound a little off, but with the slow down, now might be the time to re-tool, by that I mean clean house and re-organize yourself. You might think about the new marketing CD, with the proposals, hold harmless agreement, post cards, door hangers, caution cards and fliers. Several hundred dollars worth of material for $24.95. You insert your name, address and telephone number and its ready to go. So while its slow spruce up your paperwork. Make an impact on those investors and Realtors. As always, Thank You, for your business.

HELPFUL HINT:
Customer E. Charles also passed along that since he has a very large shoe size, he can’t find shoe covers that fit, so what does he do? He gets the plastic grocery bags, and ties or tapes them on his shoes when he’s spraying. Keeps his shoes clean and paint free and his customers floors clean. And they are FREE. When he goes to the market he just asks for a few extra and they give him what he wants.

SALE PRICES !!!!!!!
Must haves: Chrome Drain Caps; they glue right on top of the old pitted and rusted one, and it finishes off the tub you just refinished. Till the end of May only !!!!, they are $19.75. You really should have a couple of these in your tool box.

Stone Coat granuals. Till the end of May only !!!! the complete set of 9 color combinations for $65, that’s a $45 savings over regular prices. These are the granuals you add to 7000 clear to create the look of Corian™.

CLOSE OUT ITEMS:
Grout colorant and Sealer: I have a couple gallons of this left; when this is gone we won’t get anymore. If you don’t buy the stuff I can’t stock it. If you want it, better get it now. Cause when its gone, its gone.!!!

GoJo hand cleaner, great for removing our coatings from your hands, only a few tubes left, at $4.85. When there gone, they are gone, if you don’t buy em I can’t continue to stock em.

SuperGlass™ 2000:
A while ago I told you that we were discontinuing this line. I still have just a couple of gallons of Almond left along with the catalyst. I also have some of the “Hammer” left. If you used the 2000 call me for details.

NEOTERIK RESPIRATORS:
Are you one of the people that Neoterik left hanging? I have some odds and ends left, and a couple of the MK32 half mask respirators. Give me a call for reduced prices. We have a NEW supplier for positive air supplied respirators and cartridge respirators, so don’t worry we still have respirators.

A NOTE FROM DON:
Have you been contacted recently by a supplier wanting you to try their waterborne refinishing product. Well it’s an epoxy, which means it’s very porous and will turn chalky in a very short period of time. Our R&D is working on waterborne, but at this time, NO ONE has a GOOD waterborne product, NO ONE !! At this time, it’s the hazardous contents in our solvent based coatings that make our coatings so good.

Just a thought: You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try---Beverly Sills.