CAR SHOWS = swirl city

mirrorfinishman said:
The promotional work needs to be aimed at the owners of the show cars. And since most show car owners belong to car clubs, you would be much smarter to offer your expertise directly to car club members. You can easily do this by offering to be a guest speaker at one of their car club meetings. ....
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You need to choose the club wisely.



We had a detailer come to our club once. His presentation was OK. I think he made a reasonable impression on people.



I don’t know if he got even one job out of it. All the guys in our club are either cheap@$$%s or DIYs. They’re either not willing to pay what a real job costs or they just want to do it themselves.





PC.
 
the other pc said:
We had a detailer come to our club once. His presentation was OK. I think he made a reasonable impression on people.
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That is the goal. Create a reasonable impression, resulting in an image of being an expert in the field of detailing.



Speaking at a car club should not be looked at as an advertising or sales tool. It is basically just another way to share the knowledge and begin to market yourself as a true professional. It is a good way to build your reputation in the marketplace.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
We have a little run-what-you-brung car show (static for trophy) in the middle of town here every spring, and it was almost comical watching some of the guys carefully wipe down their horribly swirled Porsches, classic Porsches and replicas, and AC Cobras and replicas, many of them with a high-end detail spray which shall remain nameless lest we start an argument.
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Does it rhyme with Drano? :secret
 
We paid GregCavi to come to a club meeting and pass on the knowledge. He had a great presentation and we actually did hands on detailing.



Most of us are DIY'ers, but to most of us that's the fun of owning nice cars.
 
Trying to market yourself at a car show IMHO is a waste of time. Most people who own show cars won't let anyone touch them even if you can sell yourself and your services. That's one of the hardest barriers to overcome in this business. Someone who owns a $100,000 Hemi Cuda is totally different than somone who owns a $100,000 Mercedes. In the long run you're better off not touching an antique car when considering all the fragile items that could break and cost you money. I don't think anyone can go after this audience and be successful?
 
rydawg said:
so true. Dealers around me are willing to pay $85 max for a full detail. I just laugh at them:rofl
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I wouldn't laugh if all those $85 details added up to several $100,000's in the long run. It can all dd up if you play your cards right.
 
I do some work with the local car clubs and offer GC's as door prizes. I've gotten a few "show"cars out of the deal......but mostly daily drivers.



I have a few show car clients that actually have me do their show cars beacause of their age/health.



Works out well but like metioned before, most owners do their own work and that's how it is. That is their pride and joy and labor of love. So they like what they do, even if it is sub-par.
 
Its been a while since I posted here but I will toss my 2 cents in on this topic. While I wasnt just selling detailing services, I had a booth set up with products. We were at a huge corvette event in the fall and had a setup where we used a black z06 that was beat to start a demo on and as the day went on we had 5 other people that let us demo on their cars. As soon as the crowd hears the PC turn on, it is like bees flocking to honey.



I got allot of detail business but even better I sold 7000 dollars in product that day.



when i go to a show and I take my personal car, I try and let my work speak for itself if someone asks how to achieve a deep wet shine.
 
I'll be focusing on all of them. Car clubs first, then shows and other advertising

Primarily I think the product sales side of mine is where it's at with car clubs. They mostly prefer to DIY. I currently sponsor a couple of clubs.



You cannot totally ignore car shows. The detailing side may not work as well but products are another thing.
 
I agree. the DIY'ers at shows and within car clubs want to know what to use and how to use it to get the end result.
 
I've contacted a few local car clubs and the members are very interested in having me do a tech day and attend their shows. I'll have a booth set up with product and a demo car and will also do a clinic throughout the day for the DIY'ers. I also offered a 'pre-show' discount for the members of the club. I'm booked the whole week.



It can work, you just have to know which clubs to talk to and how to present yourself.
 
Think about it really. The best market for detailing services are to those that don't have time for it, and are willing to spend a pretty good penny to have it done. Most people that own a classic car, and go to a show obviously have some time on their hands. And typically I think most of the attendees have restored the car themselves also. So as was already mentioned, you will probably have a hard time selling your services to this crowd. Now a show like Pebble Beach, or the like might be a different story I think. But there you have such valuable cars, it might be tough to get them to let you use a machine on them.
 
The vast majority of the general public, even if they have money, do not care about getting professional paint care/correction. An auto car-wash or dealer wash n wax is perfectly good for them. Educating them doesn't really work either, because again - they really don't care and its low on their priority list.
 
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