MichaelCruzhadthought ­ ing a part-time business. He was in for a big surprise.
Michael had beenworking full-time asapainter and general repairperson for the local board of education. It was an 8:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m. job, Monday to Friday. He lived in a small bungalow in a subdivision of small bungalows, close to the board offices. The exterior paint on Michael's house (window frames, eaves, and soffits) had been fading and flaking, consistent with the age of the house. Michael's next-door neighbour had recently hired a firm to paint the same areas on his house at a cost of $650.
. school board and paid $35 for enough high-quality exterior paint for his house, and completed the work himself in less than six hours on a Saturday. Looking around at hisneighbourhood, houses were the right age for painting. He could easily do two houses every weekend, could charge a fair price (a lot less than his neighbour had paid), and still make lots ofmoney.­ vincial government. Best to start off properly. Besides, maybe this could turn into a full-time business.
Part 1 Starting a New Business

Michael had hundreds of half-pageflyers printed up and hired two kids with bicycles to put one in every mailbox in the neighbourhood:
CHEAP PAINTJOBFOR YOUR HOUSE Windows, soffits, eaves and downspouts for
Here is my phone number: 855-555-3213 Done in one day. Good Work
He didn't get a single call.
Only slightly discouraged, Michaeldecided he would have to sell his service by person­ allygoingdoor-to-door. to shake. "I'm Michael, and 1 noticed the exterior paint on your house is a real mess," he wouldbegin.,: "Hey, how are you?Look, you want a really good paint job for cheap?" Or: "You interested in savingsome money on paint work?"
(onlyoneslammeddoor)andthe same list of objections to his offer:
"Thanks, but my husband (or wife) makes those decisions about the house and he (or she) is away right now."
"No, thanks, I do my own repairs and painting around the house."
"No, we have our own guy we deal with for that kind of work."
"No, I don't mind how it looks. It's not really bad enough to repaint yet."
After five days of house-to-house canvassing, Michael only managed to get one cus­
tomer. When the work was completed, the customer tried topay Michael with MasterCard. Michael explained that he only worked for cash, but they finally settled on a personal cheque. Over the next few days, the customer called Michael twice to come back because of"problems"thecustomerhadspotted. Inbothcases, theproblemwasrelated toflawsin 'swork.
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1. Identify any services Michael should be providing other than painting. Explain.
2. Discuss Michael's pricing strategy. Where would you put the price for his service?
Why?
3. .Writeabetterone. 4. Critique the sales approach Michael is using. Suggest alternatives.
5. ?Explain.
6. How could Michael encourage his one customer (and any future customers) to get