First edition

Monday February 7,2000

Painting & Poker
Dave Martin, Dave's Painting Petaluma, CA

   In many ways painting can be likened to a game of poker. How so you may ask? Well, with poker you usually have about four guys all bidding against each other.  Sound familiar?  Some guys can bluff pretty well, but they often don’t have the hand to back it up.  You might compare him to a guy bidding a large job without the work force to really handle it. In the end, he only hurts himself and ends up out of the game usually broke or ruins his reputation by having some very unhappy clients.

     With poker you also have the low bidders and the high bidders. This is true in painting also. Some guys will throw out a bid so low you would think they were crazy. They just want to take a hand any way they can.   I used to think this way when I first started out in the painting business many years ago. My goal was just to land any job. I used to think, “I wonder what number my competition will turn in? I need to go pretty low to get this one”. I never understood why I was having such a hard time making payroll. I had no clue that landing every  “hand” so to speak was not such a good idea.

     I think it was Kenny Rogers who sang,  “You’ve got to know when to hold them, and know when to fold them. Know when to walk away, and know when to run!”  This same advice has saved many a good painter over the years. When you give a bid you should, as they say in poker, bid your hand!   Know what number you need to turn a decent profit.  Once you give the number - hold to it.  You can’t bid someone else’s hand, so to speak. You know what your payroll and overhead cost is.  So, figure out what you need to bid and then stick to it.  What if someone under bids you? First, don’t panic. Again going back to the game of cards. The first rule of a good poker player is “never let them see you sweat.”  You need to explain to the client why you feel your holding a better hand.  Why you have four aces and they are holding jacks. You can do this by separating yourself from your competition and showing them the perceived value of your service.

     The conversation might go something like this: (Customer)  “ Looks like you’re about a $1000 dollars more than the other guy on my exterior.” (You) “That’s not surprising to me. Do you understand the difference between the two bids?”  (Customer) “What difference are you talking about?”  (You) “Well for one thing I give a five year written guarantee that my job won’t peel! I notice my competitor was not confident enough about his work to do the same. I want to paint your house right and I want it to last as long as it can. That’s why we use only the very best paint and pay special attention to every detail of the job. Let me ask you this: if you have to have your house painted again in two years would you consider that $1000 a real savings.”   (Customer) “No.” (You) “I think you’ll find that by spending a little more now- to have the job done right your going to find you really did save money in the long run.” (Customer) “I see your point!  W hen can you start?”

     In actuality, landing unprofitable work hurts you in two ways. One, you work for nothing, and two, you can’t be working on a profitable job because your guys are tied up working on a looser job.  So, next time your tempted to lower that bid just think about it like a game of poker. Ask yourself, am I bidding my hand right or will I end busted? Then stick to your game!