How to Get Apartment Painting Contracts (Bid on Apartments)

Apartment painting is a great niche for painting contractors because it provides consistent long-term work. You can get recurring revenue for years to come by being a property’s go-to painter when tenants move out.

Or go after exterior apartment painting jobs where the price tag can be in the hundreds of thousands.

The following guide contains effective strategies to help you land apartment painting contracts.

Let’s get started!

Cold Email Apartment Property Managers

Cold emailing can be one of the toughest painting marketing strategies to get right.

Some contractors jump into sending cookie-cutter cold emails without knowing how to write emails that actually get opened and read. This is why most contractors fail to win clients through cold emailing.

But with the right approach, you can significantly boost your sales and bring in new apartment painting leads.

Below are tips on how to get apartment painting contracts:

• Use a professional e-mail address. You’re less likely to get taken seriously if you send a cold email from your regular Gmail or other free email addresses. Get an email with a branded domain name. 
• Have a solid digital presence. When someone receives a cold email, they are likely to look up the person emailing them to ensure it’s from a legitimate business. Make sure your website is up to date and clearly presents your services. Have social media accounts with recent photos of your work.
• Start with a personalized first line. The first line of your cold email should be highly personalized to the person you are sending it to. Some examples of a personalized first line include congratulating them on a recent award, a recent testimonial they received, a comment about a recent interview they did, etc.
• Keep the email short. Don’t list all of your credentials and services in the first email. Instead, keep it short and to the point to encourage the prospect to actually read it. If they respond, then you can tell them more about yourself.

Attend Apartment Conferences

Landlords, property managers, and key players in the property rental industry benefit from networking by attending real estate and apartment conferences.

Contractors and other vendors attend them to forge new friendships with potential clients. Conferences are an excellent way to promote your painting services.

Check online and see what apartment conferences are available in your area.

Book a table and have lots of brochures and business cards with you. The brochures can show painting work you have done, reviews, and what services you offer to potential clients.

Be prepared to answer all questions potential clients might have about your business. If you get their business card, you can check back with them with a professional email a few days later.

Speak with the Property Manager and Maintenance Supervisor

Hiring for small to medium-sized projects are often handled by the property manager or maintenance supervisor. The larger jobs are often handled by a regional manager that oversees multiple properties in the apartment company’s portfolio.

While regional managers are harder to get a hold of, property managers and maintenance supervisors are there on the property, so you can simply drive over to the property and ask to speak with them.

Ask them if they are happy with their current painter or if they are interested in seeing how you can help them achieve better results. 

They may ask you for some pricing information. To show your expertise, you should be able to give them a general range of pricing. Of course, you can also tell them you have to see the apartment units to give a finalized quote. But if you cannot give them even a general idea, they may lose confidence.

To give them an exact price, always walk through a few apartment units with the maintenance supervisor so that you understand the differences between the different units and don’t get any surprises later. 

Pro Tip: After landing a few jobs with the property manager or maintenance supervisor, you can ask them to introduce you to their regional manager or whoever is in charge of CapEx projects. 

Join FB groups dedicated to Apartment Managers or Property Managers

The key to finding success on Facebook groups is to be an involved member of the group that regularly comments on other members’ posts. You want to present yourself as a helpful and considerate member before pitching your services to anyone.

Always be polite and not too sales pitchy.

When you see someone asking for painter recommendations, ask if you can send them a private message. Then, try to schedule a call with them to build a connection and learn about their requirements. 

Final Thoughts

The opportunities in apartment painting are endless. It takes far less effort to manage a million dollars worth of apartment painting contracts than it does a million dollars worth of residential painting jobs.

And with all the new apartment construction, apartment painting prices are expected to continue rising.

By using social media, emailing, calling, visiting in person, and attending apartment conferences, you can build up your client list and scale your painting company to new heights.