As a guy who has worn both pairs of shoes at different times over my 25yrs. Going from painter to painter rep & then back to painter I understand this topic completely. Truthfully, in my 8yrs being a rep I never met anyone who said "I've been dreaming of being a paint rep since I was a little boy". Most paint reps are young people trying to get a start in the working world. They are low paying jobs that don't offer a lot of great moments. It is a thankless job. Your performance is based on what you sold TODAY not that huge job you got last week and your customers only want you to be the cheapest price and be there for him when HE needs. When I was selling I would walk on job sites hoping to meet a potential customer only to get what I call the "stink eye". You know that look..it's that "who is this ahole". I agree most painters don't want to see their rep until there is a problem...have you ever thought about yourself and how comfortable you would be going to see only customer who have problems. Not a fun time for you and it doesn't build much of a relationship.
Why do new reps wanna come out to your job? Cause none of them have seen real painters work! They've heard about it in trainings and maybe seen video but all they know is what the company tells them. They usually have no field experience at all and if your gonna talk about anything but price on your next sales call you need to know something! You guys who have been painting in the field for years should be flattered instead of annoyed. You have the opportunity to help teach and share your work experience. Someone in this world thinks you are someone, and that what you have dedicated your life to has value and they wanna hear about it from you! Your on this thread because NOONE at tonight's dinner party or in the bar wants to hear you talk about fast set up time of your new semi-gloss. They don't care that you have to restrip a deck cuz you had a failure. Your rep does! A good rep can work with you just for the price of your paint. He can be a troubleshooter, generate leads and an overall ambassador for your company, giving your name out for jobs or just a "yes I know him, he has a great company" to a future customer. Agreed that not all reps are good and can do these things but thats life...I'm still looking for a trusted car mechanic lol
Why do new reps wanna come out to your job? Cause none of them have seen real painters work! They've heard about it in trainings and maybe seen video but all they know is what the company tells them. They usually have no field experience at all and if your gonna talk about anything but price on your next sales call you need to know something! You guys who have been painting in the field for years should be flattered instead of annoyed. You have the opportunity to help teach and share your work experience. Someone in this world thinks you are someone, and that what you have dedicated your life to has value and they wanna hear about it from you! Your on this thread because NOONE at tonight's dinner party or in the bar wants to hear you talk about fast set up time of your new semi-gloss. They don't care that you have to restrip a deck cuz you had a failure. Your rep does! A good rep can work with you just for the price of your paint. He can be a troubleshooter, generate leads and an overall ambassador for your company, giving your name out for jobs or just a "yes I know him, he has a great company" to a future customer. Agreed that not all reps are good and can do these things but thats life...I'm still looking for a trusted car mechanic lol
