Advise Needed on Large Customers

T

tpgsr

New member
Allright so here is my question of the day for the larger scale professionals. I have several country clubs in my area, and i have a few connections to them (Customers who are board members), anyhow a few of them have told me that it might be a good idea to talk to the club managers and see if i can come in and set up a few days for working on members cars. I think you all get the idea, problem is i cant exactly get my ideas together in my mind, on how i want to approach these men. Should i offer to do their vehicles for free, or should i just bring in a portfolio of pictures, ANY i mean ANY ideas you all could give me would be great. I even thought about bringing the laptop in with a nice lil powerpoint presentaion covering the entire operation and how it will benefit the club. Oh, and is it a reasonable idea to give the club a cut of the profits? and if so waht is a good %? THANKS SO MUCH



Michael Gleeson

Diamond Detailing
 
I have a hospital and I just give the employees a 10% discount. They seen out emails to all the employees when I and running a special, they have a newsletter they put out once a month that I am in and I can set up a table in the break room to promote my business. I think by giving the employees a discount is a form of rent. As for the country clubs it gives the members one more reason to spend time there, so if there spending more time at the country club there spend more money there.
 
I have several accounts like this.



What you should do is talk to the mngr, explain to him that you will give 10% back to the club for water and electric usage.

He will then go out of his way to get you customers because that

10% will go in his pocket not to the club.



You can have pro flyers made and have them sent out to all the customers that belong to the club.



All it takes is one or two customers and then they will all start to come to you.

Just remember you are dealing with country club fokes so they are really anal and want everything perfect. One screw up and they will talk about you forever in the locker room.



Just make sure you charge them a country club rate, they have the money to pay for it.

NYD
 
tpgsr said:
Allright so here is my question of the day for the larger scale professionals. I have several country clubs in my area, and i have a few connections to them (Customers who are board members), anyhow a few of them have told me that it might be a good idea to talk to the club managers and see if i can come in and set up a few days for working on members cars. I think you all get the idea, problem is i cant exactly get my ideas together in my mind, on how i want to approach these men. Should i offer to do their vehicles for free, or should i just bring in a portfolio of pictures, ANY i mean ANY ideas you all could give me would be great. I even thought about bringing the laptop in with a nice lil powerpoint presentaion covering the entire operation and how it will benefit the club. Oh, and is it a reasonable idea to give the club a cut of the profits? and if so waht is a good %? THANKS SO MUCH



Michael Gleeson

Diamond Detailing
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Good idea but you may run into problems if you don't have a containment mat to work on. Most golf courses are REALLY fussy about their image and pools of soapy water in their parking lot are not in their best interest not to mention it's illegal. According to EPA regulations NO chemicals can be discharged into the storm sewer system and yes that does include something as simple as car wash soap. They are even starting to ban driveway car washing in a lot of places now to stem runoff into the rivers and lakes. Also, don't offer to give them a cut of your prices unless they make you a really sweet deal. You are actually providing a benefit to their business by providing a "luxury" service to their members which may further set them apart from other golf courses so only offer a cut if they bring it up. I would be more inclined to work out a deal and present it to them as a "marketing cross promotion". If they do request a cut, make sure you are charging enough to make it worth your while.
 
Michael, one thing to remember is focus on business, not on your detailing skills. It seems like it is more important to prove yourself as a businessman than as a detailer. You are afterall being recommended by board members, that should be enough to solidify your reputation for quality work. Giving the general manager incentive to let you offer these services to their customers is key, 10% going directly to him sounds like enough incentive. In my mind this isn't a bad price to pay to not have to solicit customers. Another key point is upselling, look over the car with the customer and explain that for a few extra bucks you can take care of various imperfections.



Hopefully the soapy water doesn't become an issue, you might want to look into Quick and Easy Wash which will limit the amount of water you use and actually wash a car faster without the water in all the cracks.
 
Thank you all so much for the wealth of information that you have already given me. I am going to start writing down key points from all of you that i need to take in to consideration. I knew this would be a challenge for me to land, but you guys have some really good suggestions. I will post up some replys to you all once i can absorb what has all been said. Thanks again, (and keep it coming :) )

Michael
 
I think you should meet with the manager and explain to him exactly what you do. You are selling your business to him. You want to come across as being very professional. You should let him know that you are insured, incorporated, etc. If you have your own water and generator, you should tell him. These tools will allow you to work away from everyone and out of the way. Even your appearance (how you are dressed, shirts with company Logo) will mean a lot. As far as discounts go , I don't think you need to give one. There is no need to, this is business. You are offering there club members a great service, a very convenient service.
 
NJDetailer said:
I think you should meet with the manager and explain to him exactly what you do. You are selling your business to him. You want to come across as being very professional. You should let him know that you are insured, incorporated, etc. If you have your own water and generator, you should tell him. These tools will allow you to work away from everyone and out of the way. Even your appearance (how you are dressed, shirts with company Logo) will mean a lot. As far as discounts go , I don't think you need to give one. There is no need to, this is business. You are offering there club members a great service, a very convenient service.
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Exactly. I understand the mentality of giving a cut to the club if you are gaining a huge benefit from this but until you see those big jobs you have nothing here. Also, I don't like the impression it makes when someone offers me a "cut" when doing a business deal. Leaves the impression with me that something shady is going on like a kickback. Just my two cents. If you provide an excellent service then you are enhancing what they already offer which is the benefit to them. Besides, unless you are cranking out thousands a day a 10% cut is peanuts.
 
Allright, I sat down and started to write a small quick powerpoint last night. Good idea? Bad Idea? With the cut i was thinking that it might be a good idea to offer it to them to cover expenses like water and power usage. I guess that is something that i really need to re-consider given the mixed thoughts. I have already ordered "Country Club Friendly" uniforms.

Thanks for all the help I really apreciate it.

Michael
 
UPDATE: After submitting a 10 page written proposal, and talking with several people that are close to the GM of the club, today was the day that I actually got to go set up in his office and give him a nice little powerpoint presentation. Well, it went good, he loved my ideas and how i work. Before leaving he asked that i go to my insurance company and beef up all of my coverage because the cars in the parking lot are worth more than the entire club, and that i add him to the insurance because he wants me in as soon as possible!!!!! So there you ahave it. Thanks to autopia, and all your wonderful help in getting this started, i just landed a contract worth well over 15 grand, and believe me i wont be stopping there, i am looking at the surrounding clubs already to expand to assuming that this operation is successful.



So heres my marketing pitch: Any autopians in the rochester/buffalo area that want to make some $$ feel free to pm me, i will be hiring 4-5 people for the length that i am at irondequoit CC, and will be keeping whoever wants to stay aboard as i move to other clubs :). Thanks again for all your help!



Michael
 
Great!!

but dont expand to quick, if you grow to quick you will only be hurting yourself. Take you time and grow slowly.

Every company will watch how they grow, you never want to grow to quick as it will fall even quicker.



Take your time and move the business slowly. Take one club on then when you can handle that club, move to take on another club.

taking your time will assure you that things are done right.



Hiring people is great, but if you can be at the place then your employees will start to slack, bad news travels fast so keep that in mind.
 
Our business is about quality not quanity.I have done 6 cars over this past year that were detailed at a competitor. My competitor is a multi-millon dollar corp. They are the 6th largest carwash in the industry.They are located 1/2 mile from my shop. They are the ones who drive by my shop to see what we are doing I am to busy to find out what they are doing. See when you are the leader you don't look behind you only whats in front of you. They own 1/2 of the cities strip malls. The car wash business is their hobby, not their passion. Thats their problem, they are a car wash trying to be a detail shop. It' all about money to them.Once you get into the first country club perfect it, be better than anyone else. Our business is all about retention. Without the repeat customer your days are numbered. Good luck and remember when you do what you love and love what you do and when you never do it for the money , you will always have whatever you need.
 
Congrats on the deal. What did you say in your proposal? I am in the software business and am always wondering what other industries do for proposals.



How did you figure the value of the contract at $15 K? What kind of prices are you billing?



Just wondered. Anyways, congrats on a big win!



Sam
 
Brian: The deal with this club is that i remain on the premise so long as i am getting as much business as i want (7-10 cars/day), and after that, i will be in 2x per year. I realize that employees slacking is an issue, that is why myself or my partner will ALWAYS be on site, I created a mulit tier organization chart, that way people are getting rewarded better for working harder, it makes them not slack so much. I believe that you are right about expanding slowly. For right now we are just going to take on this club, but once this one is done, i am going to try and strike into one possibly 2 more before winter hits. I know how fast both good and bad news travels, i did 2 members cars as demos, and now the entire club knows who we are and what we do. It gave us a good entrance to the market.



AutoCare: I believe the company you are reffering to is Delta Sonic. Yes i agree they are a joke, i am actually rescuing employees from there and teaching them the right way to use the tools. As far as repeat customers, we will be there 2x/year, and we will be holding an exclusive contract to do this. that does NOT mean that i will allow anything less than perfect to roll out of my care, In fact, these people are paying a premium rate (billed to their member account :)) to have us there doing the work, so in my mind they deserve better than the best!



SamIAm, Check your PM's. The value of the contract has actually gone up siginificantly, i figure average 160 - 170 per vehicle, times 200-400 vehicles. The GM thinks that we will be doing 500-600, but i dont know if that is a realistic #. 335 familys are members at 3 cars each, i will take 2-4 hundred.



Thanks again for all of the input



Michael
 
tpgsr said:
Brian: The deal with this club is that i remain on the premise so long as i am getting as much business as i want (7-10 cars/day), and after that, i will be in 2x per year. I realize that employees slacking is an issue, that is why myself or my partner will ALWAYS be on site, I created a mulit tier organization chart, that way people are getting rewarded better for working harder, it makes them not slack so much. I believe that you are right about expanding slowly. For right now we are just going to take on this club, but once this one is done, i am going to try and strike into one possibly 2 more before winter hits. I know how fast both good and bad news travels, i did 2 members cars as demos, and now the entire club knows who we are and what we do. It gave us a good entrance to the market.



AutoCare: I believe the company you are reffering to is Delta Sonic. Yes i agree they are a joke, i am actually rescuing employees from there and teaching them the right way to use the tools. As far as repeat customers, we will be there 2x/year, and we will be holding an exclusive contract to do this. that does NOT mean that i will allow anything less than perfect to roll out of my care, In fact, these people are paying a premium rate (billed to their member account :)) to have us there doing the work, so in my mind they deserve better than the best!



SamIAm, Check your PM's. The value of the contract has actually gone up siginificantly, i figure average 160 - 170 per vehicle, times 200-400 vehicles. The GM thinks that we will be doing 500-600, but i dont know if that is a realistic #. 335 familys are members at 3 cars each, i will take 2-4 hundred.



Thanks again for all of the input



Michael
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That sounds like a sweet gig. I hope it works out well for you.
 
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