ChatGPT for Decorators:5 Prompts That Get You More Quotes, Better Reviews and Less Admin
ChatGPT for Decorators:
5 Prompts That Get You More Quotes, Better Reviews and Less Admin
You became a decorator because you’re good at the work — at preparing surfaces properly, applying paint beautifully, and leaving a room that looks exactly how the customer imagined it. You did not get into it to spend evenings writing quotes that don’t win jobs or chasing reviews that feel awkward to ask for. These five prompts change that.
The difference between a decorating business that grows and one that stays the same often has nothing to do with the quality of the work.
It has to do with the quote. A decorator who sends a detailed, professional written quote wins significantly more jobs than one who texts a price — even when the price is identical. Research from the Federation of Master Builders consistently shows that customers choose the most professional-looking quote, not the cheapest. And “professional-looking” means clearly structured, detailed enough to inspire confidence, and specific enough to demonstrate that you actually listened during the survey.
The challenge is time. After a full day on the brushes and a site survey in the evening, writing a professional quote from scratch takes 45 minutes. So most decorators either rush it or send something that undersells the quality of their work.
These five prompts solve that. Built on the CRAFT Method, they produce a professional decorator’s quote, a follow-up, a review request, a trust paragraph for every quote you ever send, and a job ad for a second pair of hands — all in under two minutes each. No tech skills. No jargon. Just time back in your week and more jobs won.
Thank you for having me over to look at the job, Mrs Hartley. Here’s my quote for the hall, stairs, and landing at 14 Maple Drive.
Work included: Full preparation of all walls and woodwork using Zinsser BIN primer where required. Two full coats of your chosen Farrow & Ball finish to all walls, ceilings, skirting boards, doors, and door frames. All areas left clean and tidy on completion. Paint supplied by client.
Not included: Paint supply, moving or covering of furniture (please have accessible for start date).
Investment: £900 including all labour and materials (excluding client-supplied paint). 50% deposit on start date, balance on completion.
Start date: Monday 28 July. Estimated 3 working days.
Happy to answer any questions — please just give me a call. To confirm the booking, a 50% deposit secures your slot.
Kind regards,
Tom Davies Decorating
Before you start: what you need
Go to chat.openai.com and create a free account. Two minutes, no payment required. The free version of ChatGPT handles everything in this guide without any limitations for these tasks.
Prompt 1 — The Decorator’s Quote Generator
A professional written quote does something a price on a text message cannot: it shows the customer that you are methodical, thorough, and professional — before they’ve seen a single brushstroke. When a homeowner has three quotes on the kitchen table, the most detailed and clearly structured one wins most often. Not always the cheapest.
This prompt takes your survey notes — however rough — and produces a complete, clearly structured quote with scope, what’s included, what’s not, price, payment terms, and a confident next step.
You are a professional decorator [/ painter / painting contractor] writing a formal job quote for a customer. My business: [Your name] Decorating [/ Painting], based in [your town/city]. [One sentence about your business — e.g. "a sole trader with 12 years’ experience in domestic and commercial interior and exterior decoration across South Yorkshire" / "a small decorating company with 2 painters covering residential and light commercial work in the Birmingham area"]. Customer: [Customer name], at [property address or brief description — e.g. "a 4-bed detached in [area]" / "their office premises in [town]"]. Rooms and work required: [List each area and what is being done — e.g.: - Hall, stairs and landing: walls 2 coats, woodwork gloss, ceiling emulsion - Kitchen: walls 2 coats, ceiling, new handles and architrave painted - All woodwork: filled, sanded, and undercoated before top coats] Preparation method: [e.g. "Zinsser BIN primer to all bare wood and stained areas, sugar soap wash to all surfaces" / "light sand and wash only, surfaces in good condition" / "full strip of existing wallpaper to 2 rooms"] Paint: [e.g. "Farrow & Ball Pointing throughout, client supplying" / "Dulux trade white matt, included in price" / "client to choose, I will advise on quantities"] My price: £[X] / $[X] [including / excluding] paint and materials. Payment terms: [e.g. "50% deposit on start, balance on completion" / "payment on completion" / "staged: 30% on start, 40% midway, 30% on completion"] Start date and duration: [e.g. "Monday 28 July, approximately 4 working days"] Write a professional quote email I can send directly to the customer. Include: 1. A warm opening referencing the specific job and property 2. Scope of works — a clear list of what IS included 3. Exclusions — a clear list of what is NOT included (paint if client-supplied, furniture moving, etc.) 4. My price, payment terms, and start date clearly stated 5. A confident, warm close that invites them to confirm Tone: professional, warm, confident. Sound like a decorator who takes pride in their work and their business. Not corporate. Not salesy.
Prompt 2 — The Quote Follow-Up
You sent the quote four days ago. No reply. You don’t want to seem desperate but you also can’t hold the slot open indefinitely — you have other customers waiting. Most decorators either send nothing (and lose the job to someone who followed up) or send something too passive (“just checking if you got my quote”) that signals lack of confidence.
This prompt writes a follow-up that is professional, creates genuine urgency around your diary, and wins a significant proportion of jobs that have gone quiet.
You are a professional decorator following up on a quote sent [X] days ago. My business: [Your name] Decorating, [town/city] Customer name: [First name] Job quoted: [Brief description — e.g. "full interior decoration of the hall, stairs, and landing" / "exterior repaint of the front and rear elevation"] Quote amount: £[X] / $[X] My next available start: [e.g. "I have a slot available from Monday 4 August — after that my next availability is late September"] Write a short, professional follow-up email or message (under 100 words) that: - Opens warmly and references the specific job — not just “just following up” - Checks whether they have any questions about the quote - Mentions my upcoming diary clearly and naturally — I want them to know that the slot genuinely won’t stay open - Ends with a simple, confident invitation to confirm Tone: warm, professional, confident. Not desperate. Not pushy. Do NOT open with “just checking in” or “just following up” — these phrases signal uncertainty. Open with something more direct and specific to the job.
Prompt 3 — The Google Review Request
You finished the job. The customer walked around the rooms with you, said “it looks absolutely beautiful, you’ve done a brilliant job” — and you packed up and left without asking for a review, because it felt awkward and you forgot about it by the time you got to the next job.
Six months later your Google profile has nine reviews. The decorator three streets away has fifty-one. Customers looking for a decorator on Google Maps will almost always choose the one with more reviews, even at a slightly higher price. This prompt makes asking take 90 seconds — and you send it while the customer’s excitement about their newly decorated room is still fresh.
You are a professional decorator sending a review request to a happy customer. My business name: [Your business name] (exactly as it appears on Google Maps) Customer name: [First name] Job I completed: [Brief description — e.g. "the full interior redecoration of their hall, stairs, and landing in Farrow & Ball Pointing" / "exterior repaint of their Victorian terrace in [area]"] Anything specific they said: [e.g. "they said they were thrilled with how the colour turned out" / "mentioned they’d already had three compliments from neighbours" — or leave blank] Write a short, warm text message or email (under 75 words) asking them to leave a Google review. It should: - Thank them genuinely for choosing me - Reference the specific job so it feels personal, not a generic mass message - Ask directly but warmly for a Google review - Include: "If you search [My business name] on Google, you should see a 'Write a review' button" - End with my first name Tone: warm, genuine, like a message from a craftsperson who is proud of what they’ve made for someone — not a marketing email.
Prompt 4 — The “Why Choose Us” Trust Paragraph
This is the prompt most decorators never use — and it is one of the highest-leverage things you can do for your conversion rate. A “Why Choose Us” paragraph added to every quote tells the customer, before they meet you in person, why they can trust you with their home.
The difference between a quote with this paragraph and one without is the difference between a customer who is comparing prices and a customer who has already decided they want you specifically. You run this prompt once, save the output, and paste it into every quote from now on. It takes four minutes to set up and pays for itself indefinitely.
You are a professional decorator writing a short “Why Choose Us” paragraph to include in every job quote. My business details: - Business name: [Name] - Years in business: [X years] - Location and area covered: [e.g. "Based in Sheffield, covering South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire"] - Specialisms: [e.g. "domestic interior and exterior decoration" / "heritage properties and period features" / "commercial fit-out and office decoration"] - Memberships or qualifications: [e.g. "Dulux Select Decorator" / "Checked and vetted on Checkatrade" / "Guild of Master Craftsmen member" / "PDA member" — or leave blank] - Insurance: [e.g. "£1m public liability insurance" — or leave blank] - Something that makes me stand out: [e.g. "we send before-and-after photos on completion of every room" / "12-month guarantee on all workmanship" / "we’ve maintained a 5-star Google rating for 7 years" / "family business, third generation decorators"] Write a “Why Choose Us” paragraph of around 80 words for inclusion in every quote I send. It should: - State my experience and credentials factually and confidently - Include my standout differentiator naturally - Sound like a real person who is proud of their business and their craft - NOT use hollow phrases like “second to none”, “exceptional quality”, or “the best in the business” This will be used in every quote from today, so it should be broadly applicable across job types.
Prompt 5 — The Job Ad for a Second Decorator
You’re turning down work. You need a second pair of hands — a qualified decorator, an improver, or a reliable labourer to cover the prep work while you finish the detail. You post something on Facebook that says “decorator wanted, good rates, must be reliable” and you get three messages from people who are none of those things.
A job ad is a piece of marketing. It has to make the right person want to work with you and the wrong person self-select out. This prompt writes one that does both.
You are a decorator writing a job advertisement to attract a qualified candidate. My business: [Your name] Decorating, based in [town/city]. [Brief description — e.g. "a busy sole trader specialising in domestic interior and exterior decoration across West Yorkshire, established 11 years" / "a small decorating company with 2 decorators taking on a growing domestic and light commercial workload across the Bristol area"]. Role: [e.g. "Experienced decorator for regular subcontract work" / "Improver / second year apprentice for ongoing domestic interior and exterior projects" / "Labourer / prep person for busy domestic decorating workload"] What I can offer: - Pay: £[X] per day / per hour - Van [provided / not provided — own transport required] - Type of work: [e.g. "mainly domestic interiors, occasional exteriors, no commercial" / "mix of domestic and light commercial"] - Hours: [e.g. "Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 4:30pm" / "flexible, project-based"] - Start: [e.g. "immediately" / "from September"] What I need: - [Key requirements — e.g. "Minimum 3 years’ decorating experience, own tools, clean reliable vehicle, attention to detail, comfortable working independently as well as alongside me" / "Some experience preferred, keen to learn, physically fit, reliable, own transport essential"] Write a job ad of around 160 words for posting on Indeed, Facebook, or a local trades group. It should: - Sound like a real person runs this business and cares who joins - Be honest about what the work involves and what makes it good - Be direct about what I need and won’t compromise on - End with a simple, direct instruction for how to apply
Why these prompts work: the CRAFT Method
Most decorators who have tried AI and found it unhelpful made the same mistake: vague instructions produce vague output. Type “write me a decorator’s quote” and ChatGPT produces something so generic it could describe any job at any property anywhere. The five prompts above work because they are built on the CRAFT Method — a five-part structure that gives ChatGPT the specific details it needs to produce something that sounds like your business.
Start with your next quote
The fastest way to see what this does is to use it on a real quote you need to send today or tomorrow. Take your survey notes from the last job — or the next one — and paste them into Prompt 1. Read what comes back in 90 seconds and compare it to what you would have produced after 45 minutes at the kitchen table.
Most decorators who try this have the same reaction: the quote is better than anything they would have written manually, it includes sections they always mean to include but often skip when they’re tired, and it took a fraction of the time. Then they send it, and they win the job.