How to sell an experience, not just a fresh coat

By Kevin Hoffman

When Tanner Mullen walks into a home to deliver a painting estimate, he isn’t just thinking about square footage, labor hours, or how many gallons of paint it will take. He’s thinking about the homeowner’s motivations, anxieties, goals, and even their schedule.

“The game isn’t painting anymore,” Mullen says. “It’s everything but the painting.”

That line isn’t just a clever turn of phrase. It’s the cornerstone of Mullen’s approach to what’s called “value-based selling”: a strategy that prioritizes the customer experience over the product itself.

As Mullen sees it, contractors who don’t adopt this mindset are going to be left behind. Especially if we see a recession.

“If you don’t learn this, you’ll be obsolete,” Mullen warns. “You’re going to be confused and you’re not going to have a pattern to go by on how to increase your closing ratio.”

Beyond brushstrokes

Mullen describes value-based selling as providing “value beyond the core offer that you as a business provide.”

Whether it’s a homeowner trying to move in quickly, or a client overwhelmed by color choice, Mullen believes the contractor’s job is to listen first and sell second.

“We value different things in all areas of the way we do business. And that’s from our life experiences,” he explains. “People aren’t just buying coverage. They’re buying peace of mind, time saved, and a smooth experience.”

That experience begins during the estimate.

“If your customer is giving you a tour of your home, you are not selling,” he says. “In other words… when I go into a house, that becomes my domain in that hour and I show them the things that they don’t already know.”

The power of specialization

Mullen’s advice for contractors just starting out? “Anyone doing under a million dollars of revenue should pick one service and get really good at that service.”

It’s called “nicheing down,” and it can really help separate you from the pack in a competitive market.

“Painting contractors will be generalists,” Mullen says. “They’ll do commercial new construction. They’ll do cabinets. They’ll do interior painting, they’ll do exterior painting… and then they’ll do accessory items like fences and floors. These are so many different things you can do. Specializing is incredibly important.”

Mullen’s own company, Premium Painting, has spent eight years focused strictly on residential repaints.

“Even after eight years, we’re still refining and dialing it in,” Mullen says. “That’s the difference between dabbling and mastery.”

Want vs. need

One of the most important aspects of value-based selling is to distinguish between want-based and need-based customers.

“A want is simply just—I can live without this. Nothing will happen if I don’t do this. I won’t incur any cost if I don’t do this,” he says. “A need is because if you don’t do it, there’s further damage or it’s going to stop something from happening, which could be a move-in.”

For want-based clients, Mullen emphasizes design and collaboration. “The entire focus is on color and creating a color consultation and getting them samples … so the customer doesn’t feel like they have to make a decision by themselves.”

On the contrary, for need-based clients, the focus should be on logistics and peace of mind.

“You’re not paying for painting,” Mullen says counter-intuitively. “You’re paying for a smooth move-in.”

Realtor workarounds

One of the most common reasons clients hire painting contractors is because they are either selling a home or buying one.

That means they likely have a realtor, which means a third-party between you and the home, adding to the jumble of trying to coordinate.

Mullen remembers a particular client who seemed frazzled and overwhelmed. She was working with a realtor who didn’t seem to have the time of day for her.

What value did Mullen use to complete the sale? Empathy.

“A lot of painters forget what it’s like to buy a home,” he says. “Most of these folks never wanted to paint. They were hoping the house was already a color they could tolerate. They’re not buying a paint job. They’re buying peace of mind.”

That’s the key difference, Tanner says, between a move-in customer and someone repainting the home they live in. The motivations are totally different—and so the sales approach should be, too.

“Painters often make the mistake of treating both the same,” he explained. “But someone moving in? They’re not excited to hire you. They’re just trying to survive the process.”

So how does a contractor turn that indifference into loyalty? By shifting the pitch.

“Don’t sell painting,” he said. “Sell a smooth move-in. Tell them: I can make this a wonderful journey into your new home.”

That mindset shows up in the details. As the painting contractor, you should ask when the movers are coming. You can offer to refund the customer’s deposit if the home purchase falls through. Schedule the job now—not after closing—so you’re not booked out when it’s too late.

And when a realtor seems to be a roadblock? “They’re just the middleman,” Tanner said. “Most don’t know the job can be quoted virtually. But we do it all the time.”

Mullen’s system uses square footage pricing and photos to send a same-day quote—no house visit needed.

“In that moment,” he says, “it’s not about the price anymore. It’s about the experience. If all they have to compare is numbers, they’ll choose the cheapest. But if you’re the only one talking about how easy the process will be—how you’re ready to go the day they close—you’ve already won.”

Learn to listen

“Your customers will lead you to the sale,” Mullen says. “I want to build so much confidence that I am the right fit that they have a really hard time choosing. And if they choose someone else, great. I did my job.”

This philosophy, he adds, “is not optional if you want to have consistent results.”

Mullen now shares this message on his podcast (“Contractor Secrets”) as well as a popular backend tool, DripJobs (“DripJobs helps contractors put this value-based process on autopilot—from lead intake to follow-up, proposals, and beyond.”) Value-based selling is at the heart of his message to painting contractors.

“Start every interaction with a new customer… with ‘What’s the story?’” he says. “You listen and then you provide value in relation to what’s most important to them. It’s a very simple equation, but the key here is just actually caring.”