Car Club Meeting... Need Suggestions

E

eyesack

New member
Tomorrow I have my first meeting with the South Jersey Corvette Club. I see this as a huge business oppurtunity and need some advice on things like:

What to do?

What to say?

How to dress?

etc.



I met one of my neighbors and dropped my card to him, who told me he's a member and to stop by and give out some cards. They meet at a local restaurant/bar at 4:00pm and go on a cruise from there. I was thinking to bring some QD and a few microfibers and offering complimentary pre-cruise wipedowns and tire dressing for an additional fee. If things go well, I'm thinking about running discounts for all of my services to members. So, like 10 dollars instead of 15 dollars for a wash, 35 or 40 instead of 50 for wash/wax, and 100 instead of 150-200 for a detail.



I've never worked on a vette before and i've heard that the paint is very hard. Right now I have a PC that i've been practicing with, some Menzerna IP and FPII, Klasse AIO and SG, and Sonus SFX 2 and 3.



What would the best product combo be for my skills right now? I've had success at removing swirls with the IP as well as some pretty decent scratches, but i find that it takes FOREVER! i spent 5 hours with the PC just on the exterior of a badly abused accord (in my other post) and want to cut the time down. I also spent 22 hours on my mom's 90 somthing camry that had such bad oxidation the paint felt like sandpaper. I'd say i was able to get 90% of the swirls done on both cars.



Should I experiment with some compounds? I like menzerna, but i'm willing to move to something else. I just tend to stick with the first company I try, but i know there's lots of other great brands out there.



Again, i don't wanna f-this one up, and i see this as a great oppurtunity to get a big break for my business.
 
I am in the Bel Air Corvette Club in Maryland, and most of the guys in the club will detail their vette's themselves. I usually gather up their DD's and other vehicles. What will really makes me upset is bad the finishes are on the vette's. At the last show we had, the swirls and scratches on the cars that were in the show, were enough to make me puke. But again the owners still like to do it themselves.



The C5's and C6's have very hard clear coats and are usually flat paints, non-flake. Early C4's had clear coat problems from GM, so be careful if you get any, mainly 84-89. The later C4's are fairly decent, if they have been kept up. But again the clears are pretty hard, not as hard as the newer ones.



Wear your logoed shirts and bring plenty of cards. Attend the meeting as if it was a business meeting in an office. Be prepared to answer questions and have a your planner to sch appts. Complement the owners on their cars and the mods they have done. Show them marks and swirls on their cars and how you can fix these areas. Alot of corvette owners use and sware by Zaino. So if do not use Zaino, explain how the products you use are different and how the outcome will be different.



Good Luck, hopefully you will score a few customers.
 
Yeah, do your research - alot of it. Don't bother with engines, etc., stick with detailing info. Nothing's worse than not having an answer to a question (what would you do to get ink stains out of my leather seats?). That being said, the correct answer to that question is something like - "I've never run into that problem before. May I take your number/email address and get back to you?". Personally, I think your pricing is way too low but that's your business, only you know what you're trying to achieve. One caveat to that is that you'll find it difficult to raise prices later. As far as the discount goes - maybe a % off would be better - example, offer a 20% discount to club members, sounds better than "5 bucks off" and puts more money in your pocket! If there are 15 to 20 members at the meeting, maybe a free raffle for a complete detail (everyone loves free stuff). Just have them put their name and number/email on the back of your business card. Have a club member draw the raffle. This (the raffle) serves a dual purpose - First, you get to show what a great job you do (and you get photos of a Vette for your portfolio of work). Second, you have an instant potential client list for marketing your business. Oh, and make sure they know that the raffle is only for a free detail of their Vettes to avoid the older ones from bringing in their kid's daily driver that's a real mess. Just my .02. Lots of luck at the meeting!
 
As an experienced Vette detailer, I think you are charging cheap money for a detail. I normally charge minimum $300 for just a paint prep/Zaino detail. I will tell you that the clears are super rock hard and not perfect to work with. I know you have not done a Vette yet and you are in for a treat! I do a lot of work on Vettes lately and most do not want to spend the money and want the whole package and the best job for under $200. I will give you some advice and I have some questions to ask.



What are you using a PC or rotary?



What polishes are you using for correction?



What sealants or waxes are you using?
 
-PC da

-Menzerna IP and FPII

-Klasse AIO and SG

-Meg's Gold Classe on top

I've never worked with zaino but i'm willing to try as soon as i can save for some.

What processes do you use rydawg?
 
Hmmm, I had something similar happen awhile ago. A client of mine gave my card to a vette owner, the owner asked me to come to a vette meet. I went and since then I've done 16 vettes from the forum/club (and who knows how many referral cars); I approached it like I would any meet. I went in a clean car (autopian clean), but dressed normally, brought cards but didn't try to sell myself, just spoke with them about cars, detailing etc... in the end they all got cards and most got details. Just offering an alternative way to approach them; kind of casual. If you're into cars it should come naturally. I find most people don't want to be "sold", and be aware that there were always be a guy or three there that will have his own ideas about detailing...



I agree with rydawq though; vette's are harder to work on than the average car, so budget at least 20% more time if doing correction, pricing should reflect that.
 
eyesack said:
-PC da

-Menzerna IP and FPII

-Klasse AIO and SG

-Meg's Gold Classe on top

I've never worked with zaino but i'm willing to try as soon as i can save for some.

What processes do you use rydawg?
Click to expand...



Normally I will use the super IP 3.02 (which is over $100 a bottle) and you can also use the 3.01 version which aytogeek has as po83. Very good stuff and highly reccomend it. The gloss and correction it combined is excellent and above and beyond anything. Also you need an orange cutting pad. You can use the FPII as a finish polish if you need or pick up some 106ff too.



If you plan to do Vettes then you need a rotary and need to learn if you have never used one. Vettes are extremly hard and even a rotary on some of them is a task. Just make sure you do not get stuck with any 100% correction jobs.



If you are going to use Zaino then pick up some z5, z6, z8, zfx, zaio or anything else you think you may need.



I have a couple click and brags I posted on this site of Vettes I did. I will also have a new one I did and try to post it tomorrow.



Also look at some of Picus's work and he has done a ton of Vettes.



You can do some qiuck shines on them with a pc for the time being till you make some cash and buy some stuff.



Just remember if you get a bad one, you have to be prepared with a process quickly and be prepared to work hard. They look tiny, but the super rock hard clear will have you working hard for your money.



Good luck and hope it all works for you
 
thanks guys! i'm going now so wish me luck! lol i knew it'd eventually come down to the rotary issue... well, i guess it's time to save up...
 
The first thing you need to do is make sure you have the correct time and place for the car club meeting. In this case, the South Jersey Corvette Club meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month at a local restaurant in West Collingswood Heights, NJ. They did not meet on Saturday June 9th, the day you said you were going. Stop by their website and see for yourself. South Jersey Corvette Club



Some good advice for what to say at car club meetings is to try to come accross as an expert in the field of automobile appearance care. Not an expert salesman. These people have invested a ton of money into their cars and they are not intrested in getting a cheap discount price. What they need from you is professional advice about how to maintain the appearance of their classic cars.



Here are a couple of links to some of the local car shows in the South Jersey area. These listing also include links to many of the local car clubs who sponser these events.



Cruising.Magazine.Events.Delaware.NewJersey.Pennsylvania.Clubs.Cars.Motorcycles.Boats



Car Shows & Cruises

Index



Just a few well intentioned thoughts about speaking at local car clubs.
 
thanks man, and FYI, there was a meeting at Kaminski's. I was there lol. Some great cars showed up including a few vipers and a hot rod or two.
 
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