how to market the better market

E

Envious Eric

New member
I just started out running a part time (hoping to go full time within a year) detailing business. I try to do as many friends and family cars that are worth it to do for a hookup price so that they will spread the word and it will just filter out and I will end up with more cars than I know what to do with, and get some nice cars to work on because lets face it, cleaning out soccermom vans get old real fast!



To help out my publication, I go around richier areas and drop some of my really nice looking business cards on the drivers trim on only the nice cars....BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, etc...Out of 500 cards I have passed out, I maybe got 10 calls, and only booked two wash and waxes, not full details on car that actually could have used a good polish and wax...I tried to explain to people that polish is what brings out shine and wax protects it, there are multiple stages of different stages that will add more and more gloss and depth to the paint. No one wanted to hear that I would have to charge a minimum 130 for a BMW for a full exterior 3 stage polish/wax job - clay, polish, wax....because it would take me about 4-5 hours of work to bring out the best shine for their car...



My question to those who have gone through this already, how did you get through it and finally break through with your business....how did you market yourself? How did you convince people what they really need over what they think they need? I can talk to someone for 30 minutes trying to tell them about car care and polishing and how a little maintaining after a full detail would be easier to do rather than full details after full details because they dont properly take care of their car. It is just tiring to tell people what they need, how much it will cost and hear them complain that I am charging too much, when I am not at all, they are just too cheap....Its almost to the point where I want to accept the 100 dollar details to help get my name out, but at the same time, 10 bucks an hour is not worth it to me for manual labor, i would rather pick up a shift at my waitering job and earn 18 bucks and hour or more.....did you guys suck it up at the start or what???
 
Location location location!



I gave up detailing on the side for some of the very reasons that you mentioned. I do family and friends cars now, and of course my own, but thats about it lately.



95% of the people around my area are what I call "old lady cleanups." They basically just want the car cleaned up quick and dirty till they get a chance to crap it up again asap. They might as well go to an automatic car wash and call it a day. These people want the job done fast and CHEAP. I would use my loweset quality products on the cars and although the customer was happy with the results, I was not. I found myself most of the time spending more time and using better products than necessary and killing the profits. The 5% of what was left are enthusiast details and now thats all I pretty much will do now. The owner can appreciate the different steps required to achieve optimum results and doesn't mind forking out 150 - 200 bucks for 5 hours of quality work. I just can't find that much enthusiast biz in my area
 
heh, i just had a thought. :)



show up in your vehicle to do the work (if you goto them) and have 1/2 of your vehicle polished & topped to 11, and the other half completely neglected. most people can't be given the tangible benefit to themselves without a frame of reference. Since many people buy cars used, they don't know what it COULD look like...



and even if they saw something super clean they wouldn't know it without a frame of reference.
 
yeah I just thought about doing something to help prove they need a good detail....showing up for an estimate, and bringing along the polisher and some polish and towel, and doing just one 1/2 a fender to show what can be done to the paint....I think that I might try that out and see if that works on some people who call for a quote
 
To me it seems what you really have to do is decide who your target market it. It seems as though you want to do work for people who REALLY care about their car correct? My suggestion would be to go to places where these people go. Just because someone owns a high dollar car doesn’t mean they care about it. I have seen a $500 Civic get better care than a 7 Series BMW. I would sit down and brainstorm where to find your target market. Look for people who use parking garages instead of on street parking, maybe put a few cards out at an apartment complex where people can’t wash their car. Talk to people at performance shops and see where the car people hang out, go there and get your name out. If you really want to figure it out break your base area into segments (things like demographic, lifestyle, income ECT.) and then compare the segments to the Autopian population. The people on this board are the most likely people to spend the money it takes to make a car nice. Once you have your market segmented, come up with a way to get close to these people. I know I’m rambling, but this is what I’m in the midst of doing. I think the success of anyone’s business really depends on how well they know their target.
 
I sometimes get people who don't understand that their car needs to be clayed and polished to run their hands over their car (rough) then mine (smooth) you'd be amazed the difference even on a car which looks ok, can still feel like sandpaper with all the contaminents loaded on the bodywork.



If you REALLY think a customer could open doors to other work then polish a car for free but dont make a habit of it,unless you get a referral from a regular then it might be nice to wash his car and not charge,but say something afterwards like 'this one's on me as a thank you for Mr Jones'



Any Golf Clubs near you ?could you target them?



The idea of doing a section of paintwork is good too.
 
toyotaguy said:
I just started out running a part time (hoping to go full time within a year) detailing business. I try to do as many friends and family cars that are worth it to do for a hookup price so that they will spread the word and it will just filter out and I will end up with more cars than I know what to do with, and get some nice cars to work on because lets face it, cleaning out soccermom vans get old real fast!



To help out my publication, I go around richier areas and drop some of my really nice looking business cards on the drivers trim on only the nice cars....BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, etc...Out of 500 cards I have passed out, I maybe got 10 calls, and only booked two wash and waxes, not full details on car that actually could have used a good polish and wax...I tried to explain to people that polish is what brings out shine and wax protects it, there are multiple stages of different stages that will add more and more gloss and depth to the paint. No one wanted to hear that I would have to charge a minimum 130 for a BMW for a full exterior 3 stage polish/wax job - clay, polish, wax....because it would take me about 4-5 hours of work to bring out the best shine for their car...



My question to those who have gone through this already, how did you get through it and finally break through with your business....how did you market yourself? How did you convince people what they really need over what they think they need? I can talk to someone for 30 minutes trying to tell them about car care and polishing and how a little maintaining after a full detail would be easier to do rather than full details after full details because they dont properly take care of their car. It is just tiring to tell people what they need, how much it will cost and hear them complain that I am charging too much, when I am not at all, they are just too cheap....Its almost to the point where I want to accept the 100 dollar details to help get my name out, but at the same time, 10 bucks an hour is not worth it to me for manual labor, i would rather pick up a shift at my waitering job and earn 18 bucks and hour or more.....did you guys suck it up at the start or what???
Click to expand...





.>..I tried to explain to people that polish is what brings out shine and wax protects it, there are multiple stages of different stages that will add more and more gloss and depth to the paint. No one wanted to hear that I would have to charge a minimum 130 for a BMW for a full exterior 3 stage polish/wax job - clay, polish, wax....because it would take me about 4-5 hours of work to bring out the best shine for their car...<



This is why your having problems!!! You do not have to explain anything until a need arises and then you may explain the solution. Ask questions, listen and then solve the need.



>How did you convince people what they really need over what they think they need? I can talk to someone for 30 minutes trying to tell them about car care and polishing and how a little maintaining after a full detail would be easier to do rather than full details after full details because they dont properly take care of their car. It is just tiring to tell people what they need, how much it will cost and hear them complain that I am charging too much, when I am not at all, they are just too cheap.<



People convince themselfs!!! You need to build report with people and this takes time.



This is why your having problems again!!! Your talking for 30 minutes, not listening for 30 minutes. People don’t want to hear about, “how they are not taking care of a car.� You need to ask probing questions to identify the want / desire.



Note: You need sale training!!! Buy some books about sales and read them a few times or better yet, sales seminars.
 
Jeremiah said:
To me it seems what you really have to do is decide who your target market it. It seems as though you want to do work for people who REALLY care about their car correct? My suggestion would be to go to places where these people go. Just because someone owns a high dollar car doesn’t mean they care about it.



I would sit down and brainstorm where to find your target market. Look for people who use parking garages instead of on street parking, maybe put a few cards out at an apartment complex where people can’t wash their car.



Talk to people at performance shops and see where the car people hang out, go there and get your name out.



If you really want to figure it out break your base area into segments (things like demographic, lifestyle, income ECT.) and then compare the segments to the Autopian population.



Once you have your market segmented, come up with a way to get close to these people.



I think the success of anyone’s business really depends on how well they know their target.
Click to expand...



This is clearly the best advice.



Stop trying to convince people and just follow these basic steps.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
This is clearly the best advice.



Stop trying to convince people and just follow these basic steps.
Click to expand...



Look through the forest, It’s a sales issue, not a business plan issue.

First toyotaguy says, just started out running a part time (hoping to go full time within a year) detailing business.

toyotaguy says, 500 cards out and got 10 Calls. That’s 2% and that’s excellent!!!

toyotaguy says, I go around richier areas and drop some of my really nice looking business cards on the drivers trim on only the nice cars....BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche

This is good too!!!



How did you convince people what they really need over what they think they need?

I could tell you verbatim however one of the “for profit dinosaurs� would undoubtably use

it in something labeled, “Secrets of detailing sales revealed� par 4. LOL..........
 
toyotaguy said:
...cleaning out soccermom vans get old real fast!
Click to expand...



Therein lies your problem. You can't turn away business just because a client has no idea what prep is...especially if you are just starting out.



I've been detailing full-time since 2001 and to this day some of my best clients are soccer moms. If you clean one minivan chances are you'll be detailing twelve of her friends vehicles that saw how great her's looked at the school bus stop. Out of those twelve friends two or three of their husbands will have a bad arse BMW or Porsche that needs to be detailed. Of those two or three husbands one will belong to a BMW club whose members will see how nice his looks and then you'll wind up detailing twelve cars from that club.



See my point??



ANY business is good business. Just charge what your time is worth regardless if it is a Honda Odyssey or a Ferrari 360. Then suck it up and detail man. :wavey
 
I dont know about you, but when I was doing it for a living I used to actually enjoy getting really trashed cars. Yes, it is alot more work, but I always enjoyed "polishing a turd". It was those details that blew people's minds. I did a guy's work truck and it truly did kick my butt. When he returned that afternoon to pick it up he swore it wasnt the same truck. It was covered in asphalt and the bedsides had scratches from tossing cones in and out along with who knows what all else. I also did a Jeep Liberty for Enterprise Rental Cars. Their "detailer" made an attempt to clean it up before it was brought to me. And the last really memorable detail that others turned down was a soccer mom's Tahoe brought to me after halloween. The cargo area was full of straw that she had hauled to decorate the porch, and there was candy crushed in the back seats. Those are just three that really stand out in my mind. Yes, it sucked working that hard for not alot of money. But out of those three I got around 14 cars to do on a regular basis. The construction worker sent me 5 customers, the soccer mom worked at a salon and sent me 4 of the other girls' cars, Enterprise always had a gem that got returned and needed it fixed in a hurry. The nice cars that have been properly maintained are more enjoyable to work on, and definately alot easier. Just keep in mind, it could always be worse. I picked a bad fixed location and ended up having to quit and I moved. Now the area I live in has the clients I would have loved, but I make too much money working in another field to change. Like everyone else has posted, it is a sales issue. You have to sell yourself. The pricing will come along with it. Have you tried quoting them higher than what you actually want and allow the customer to haggle you down? I used the "You paid 48000 for your Escalade, do you want the 48000 dollar detail or the 3 dollar econo wash with dawn detergent and an old rag?" If you have SCCA events in your area I would hit those up since they havent been mentioned yet. Enthusiasts that take care of their cars are members of the SCCA. Might pick up a few customers that you are looking for there. Might also try Harley Dealerships. They dont all have detailers, but all customers want to pick up a clean bike after its been worked on, because they wanna go ride! Just a few ideas I had on the subject. Good luck and stay motivated!
 
sorry if I was misleading, I was talking more about the getting people to pay what is really deserving for a 10 hour job....I will take on any business that comes my way, but I really am tired of doing 8 hour full details on trashed cars and van for 100 bucks because that is "what they can get from the detailer down the street"...so I do take on the bad jobs just as much as the next guy, but I was curious as to what everyone else is doing to charge $40-50/hr...



mainly, how do you really convince people that you have to charge 250 bucks for a honda accord in bad shape to someone who doesnt even care about the car, he just wants it cleaned up and waxed, but when you tell him that a wash and wax wont remove all the scratches, contaminents, and carpet cleaning isnt included in the 70 that I charge and he gets upset and hangs up



its like everyone who calls me wants a lot for a little...



and on the subject of not letting the customer talk, that is the whole basis of my phone conversation with most....I ask what they want, ask the condition of the paint, ask exactly what look are they going for, and get an overall of the car....I let the customer explain the car to me and I give a rough estimate....I SOMETIMES tell them that it could be less if I get there and its not as bad as they described, but never tell them it could be more.



just seems that I run into more people who want the cheap-o wash and wax and want to pay bottom dollar for it...I even saw a guy cruising around my area with vinyl on his truck - 35 cars and 45 for trucks and SUV's for a wash and wax....I called and confirmed that was right....you get a wash and wax from him for 45 bucks if you have an escalade or a tundra...kinda hard to compete with the cheap-o people when they have that rolling around.....granted not all detailers in my area charge that little, but those types are out there...



I know that word of mouth is the best form of advertisement. It tops flyers, ads, and handouts. How did you "busy" detailers start out....just by accepting whatever came your way for whatever amount they wanted to pay and hope they told their friends about you??? That seems like what I am going to have to do with the people who call me up.



Maybe I was just hoping that I would get more higher end customer like a buddy of mine who does charge 250 minimum to detail a car...he is in a different area (richer) however. and I know this is a slow time of year with all the rain and bad weather, but I just dont want to be struggling for a long time....I expect more faster, but maybe thats not the case....
 
only they can decide what they're willing to pay, so my salesman training says to not even ask them a question remotely like 'how much do you want to pay?' Since they aren't detailers, they are not going to inherantly understand the process or, like i said in my earlier post, probably don't even know what a quality detail job looks like for a reference point.



I'd say stick with asking them what they want from the work, explain what you can do to get them that and explain what it costs. not much else to do... Cheapness transcends all income & housing classes...
 
toyotaguy said:
sorry if I was misleading, I was talking more about the getting people to pay what is really deserving for a 10 hour job....I will take on any business that comes my way, but I really am tired of doing 8 hour full details on trashed cars and van for 100 bucks because that is "what they can get from the detailer down the street"...so I do take on the bad jobs just as much as the next guy, but I was curious as to what everyone else is doing to charge $40-50/hr...



mainly, how do you really convince people that you have to charge 250 bucks for a honda accord in bad shape to someone who doesnt even care about the car, he just wants it cleaned up and waxed, but when you tell him that a wash and wax wont remove all the scratches, contaminents, and carpet cleaning isnt included in the 70 that I charge and he gets upset and hangs up



its like everyone who calls me wants a lot for a little...



and on the subject of not letting the customer talk, that is the whole basis of my phone conversation with most....I ask what they want, ask the condition of the paint, ask exactly what look are they going for, and get an overall of the car....I let the customer explain the car to me and I give a rough estimate....I SOMETIMES tell them that it could be less if I get there and its not as bad as they described, but never tell them it could be more.



just seems that I run into more people who want the cheap-o wash and wax and want to pay bottom dollar for it...I even saw a guy cruising around my area with vinyl on his truck - 35 cars and 45 for trucks and SUV's for a wash and wax....I called and confirmed that was right....you get a wash and wax from him for 45 bucks if you have an escalade or a tundra...kinda hard to compete with the cheap-o people when they have that rolling around.....granted not all detailers in my area charge that little, but those types are out there...



I know that word of mouth is the best form of advertisement. It tops flyers, ads, and handouts. How did you "busy" detailers start out....just by accepting whatever came your way for whatever amount they wanted to pay and hope they told their friends about you??? That seems like what I am going to have to do with the people who call me up.



Maybe I was just hoping that I would get more higher end customer like a buddy of mine who does charge 250 minimum to detail a car...he is in a different area (richer) however. and I know this is a slow time of year with all the rain and bad weather, but I just dont want to be struggling for a long time....I expect more faster, but maybe thats not the case....
Click to expand...



I’m speculating on your market without the pertinent information.

You may have to curtail price / time for your market. Maybe a full detail consists of 3 to 4 hours. The marketing that your doing dictates a lot to the quality of calls your receiving. A business card is for handing to a qualified customer in (general). It has limited information, name, number and what you do, detailing. The yellow pages does the same thing but without the qualification process. If the same 500 people had something in hand that said, you charge $250 for a full detail, then you probably would of received a different caller. There is exception to all rules but in general your marketing dictates the kind of client you attract. A card in the window say’s to me you do full details for $75 -. Marketing a zone / zip code with demographic information is just narrowing the guessing game. People are still going to take a $40k + car through the swirl machine for $3. It would scare you to find out how many of them barely make that lease payment every month. If your going to market yourself this way expect those calls to be the same. I would take the objections you have been receiving and scrip responses to them, questions back to them. This takes a seasoned player to turn those calls around so do your homework. 2% is very good and I wouldn’t necessarily turn those clients away.



Note;Placing cards on cars does net you a big fish from time to time but that’s few and far between.
 
I know that word of mouth is the best form of advertisement.



Yes it is but.....................



Most say this because it’s the only form of advertising they can afford. What they aren’t telling you is how long it has taken them to acquire a customer base or how many employee’s they have besides them. Direct marketing is still the best and least expensive but you have to be a seasoned or have a natural gift. I also have seen people “over advertise�, have extreme growth and bankrupt. Some play the wholesale game and have no marketing. It’s up to you, how much you can afford and how fast you want to grow What is your cost for acquiring a customer if you need 400 customers in the next year?
 
doged said:
I know that word of mouth is the best form of advertisement.



Yes it is but.....................



Most say this because it’s the only form of advertising they can afford. What they aren’t telling you is how long it has taken them to acquire a customer base or how many employee’s they have besides them. Direct marketing is still the best and least expensive but you have to be a seasoned or have a natural gift. I also have seen people “over advertise�, have extreme growth and bankrupt. Some play the wholesale game and have no marketing. It’s up to you, how much you can afford and how fast you want to grow What is your cost for acquiring a customer if you need 400 customers in the next year?
Click to expand...



He speaks the truth! I had a few "dream customers" that had high end cars, or were meticulous about their daily driver. The bulk of my customers were car lots and auto brokers who were flipping a car. In the winter when it got slow I figured I would sell cars to take up the slack so I got my dealer's license and bought some cars to sell. Bad idea. It didnt take long for me to figure out I need to do something else. The area I was doing business in couldnt sustain me. I sold the remaining cars and decided to go mobile. It was fun being mobile and I found my current job through networking. I do like the scripted replies, but you would have to carry it off naturally or it would sound hokey.
 
Swoop411 said:
I do like the scripted replies, but you would have to carry it off naturally or it would sound hokey.
Click to expand...



They “will� sound funny if you don’t practice them repeatedly. It has to be a emotional and off the cuff delivery.



I was reviewing a start-up guide sent to me by a brother in detailing who wants to start mobile. It is interesting the Fonts are #16 and the lines are double spaced. Either it was printed for people with vision problems or they didn’t have much to say? I’m going to guess with the exhibited childish writing style someone is marketing to people with little education. The same old Dinosaur business marketing style is demonstrated throughout the book and the author constantly “pushes product�. The suggested pricing structure dictates a low ball mentality. If any of you ever pondered why this industry has it’s issues, look with-in. Someone is making a lot of money for little in return.
 
I just dont get why people are too lazy to clean their own cars, or dont have the knowledge, and take it to a detailer. Then at the detailer's they expect to have miracles performed and their wasted vehicle raised from the dead for pennies on the dollar. If you quote what your time is actually worth then they get all flabbergasted and dream up stories of your competition quoting 100 dollars or more cheaper than you. If you are not willing to do it yourself, and seek out a professional to perform the detail, then why when you are given an estimate to perform the service do you complain? When your toilet is exploding excrement all over the bathroom and the plumber quotes you 1000 dollars to fix it, then you dont even flinch? It just boggles my mind. I honestly believe that we are in the age of disposability. Disposable everything to include cars. I know this has been off topic, but I was really thinking this over. Lemme ask you guys this, have you ever had a customer refuse to pay or claim they were unable to pay after your services were performed? I had that get pulled on me a couple months ago. I fixed a customer's furnace and when I was finished and went to give them their copy of the invoice and get paid the lady suddenly screams about the ammount and that she has no money.....talk about a wonderful afternoon. Why call for service if you dont have the cash? I dont recall "charity" being in the business name.
 
Swoop411 said:
I just dont get why people are too lazy to clean their own cars, or dont have the knowledge, and take it to a detailer. Then at the detailer's they expect to have miracles performed and their wasted vehicle raised from the dead for pennies on the dollar. If you quote what your time is actually worth then they get all flabbergasted and dream up stories of your competition quoting 100 dollars or more cheaper than you. If you are not willing to do it yourself, and seek out a professional to perform the detail, then why when you are given an estimate to perform the service do you complain? When your toilet is exploding excrement all over the bathroom and the plumber quotes you 1000 dollars to fix it, then you dont even flinch? It just boggles my mind. I honestly believe that we are in the age of disposability. Disposable everything to include cars. I know this has been off topic, but I was really thinking this over. Lemme ask you guys this, have you ever had a customer refuse to pay or claim they were unable to pay after your services were performed? I had that get pulled on me a couple months ago. I fixed a customer's furnace and when I was finished and went to give them their copy of the invoice and get paid the lady suddenly screams about the ammount and that she has no money.....talk about a wonderful afternoon. Why call for service if you dont have the cash? I dont recall "charity" being in the business name.
Click to expand...



If they don’t pay then we put the dirt back!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top