charging a dealership..

[imported_chpsk8]

I have my reasons for wanting to work for them, mainly getting $100k+ of business from one customer in a year.

So youre going to complete 2,000 cars a year?



100,000/$50=2000/365 days (sorry, no days off for you) = 5.5 cars per day



Even at $75



100,000/$75=1333/365 days (sorry, no days off for you) = 3.65 cars per day



hmmmm.....

 

[Scottwax]

look for a high end dealership-Porsche, BMW, Lexus or a specialty used car dealer

Suprisingly, most of them go with the low bidder too. You'd think appearance would be a huge priority with but then you look at the cars people accept from new car dealers all covered in swirls. I guess if the average person isn't going to care, why should they?

 

[velobard]

In my little midwest town of about 13,000, the closest independent detailer charges $65 to retail customers for an exterior detail. Can't vouch for his work, but I'll take care of my car myself.

 

[joburnet]

So youre going to complete 2,000 cars a year?



100,000/$50=2000/365 days (sorry, no days off for you) = 5.5 cars per day



Even at $75



100,000/$75=1333/365 days (sorry, no days off for you) = 3.65 cars per day



hmmmm.....

I have employee's, I'm not going to do this by myself. Last summer we were doing 6-8 cars a day for retail customers.

 

[doged]

I concentrated mostly on dealership business for about 10 years and it worked out very well for me. I know most Autopians discriminate against this, but it was very sucessful for me. I had about 15 large dealership accounts and charged $85-$100 each car. I never lost a single account and retained the 1st 3 employees I hired from day one for the whole duration of business(3 of 7 employees). If you feel that your best target market is this type of business go for it. You see in the Metro Detroit area there isn't much of a retail market and doing dealership work, I feel, was my only way of being sucessful and profitable. I also did plenty of retail work as well, but it wasn't the most dependable source of income. Every geographic area will depict a different scenario. As long as you do consistant quality work, take good care of your customers and are able to make a reasonable profit nobody should knock how you operate your business.

You could probably do it with 2 employees per vehicle in two hours for $100. That’s 4 hours at your cost, less, 85 to $100?

 

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

I know that this thread is basically about what to charge a dealership. However, I'm trying to understand why there is so much conversation about making money, while no one has very much to say about the marketing and planning aspects of being in the automobile detailing business.



Does anyone out there actually have a strategic marketing plan? One that clearly defines the purpose and mission of your business. Or do you just go after whatever work comes along?



Are you in business just to make money? or are you in business to fill a need?

 

[joburnet]

We are a new business so we are still exploring the best way to go. Right now we do all retail detailing but that's not necessarily the best way to go. We are mobile so we have problems like paying my employee's for sitting in traffic for 2.5 hours, all my employee's have to have a valid driver’s license and good driving record, ect.... When doing dealership detailing you don't have the same problems you have when you’re mobile.



I'm sure there are other problems that you have when doing dealership detailing, mostly dealing with the used car manager I would guess. I see no problem with exploring another avenue of detailing.

 

[doged]

I know that this thread is basically about what to charge a dealership. However, I'm trying to understand why there is so much conversation about making money, while no one has very much to say about the marketing and planning aspects of being in the automobile detailing business.



Does anyone out there actually have a strategic marketing plan? One that clearly defines the purpose and mission of your business. Or do you just go after whatever work comes along?



Are you in business just to make money? or are you in business to fill a need?

Frank,



Yes, Yes and No.

No, but it is very important!!! More of filling a want, I'm working on the need now.

I don’t mind helping people with business and marketing advice. A problem arises when

information that is given freely finds it’s way to people that charge for it or will uses it in a competitive situation. Some information is too valuable and not prudent to post.

 

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

I don’t mind helping people with business and marketing advice. A problem arises when information that is given freely finds it’s way to people that charge for it or will uses it in a competitive situation. Some information is too valuable and not prudent to post.

It's not about giving free advice. It's about what each individual detailing business owner does to position themselves in the marketplace. With proper planning, dealership work can prove to be just as profitable as retail work. The key is to figure out where you want your business to fit into the marketplace and then go after that market.



To put it another way; instead of reacting to the needs and wants of the marketplace, would'nt it be better to carefully plan how you are going to position your business so that you can go out there and fill those needs and wants?

 

[David Fermani]

I know that this thread is basically about what to charge a dealership. However, I'm trying to understand why there is so much conversation about making money, while no one has very much to say about the marketing and planning aspects of being in the automobile detailing business.



Does anyone out there actually have a strategic marketing plan? One that clearly defines the purpose and mission of your business. Or do you just go after whatever work comes along?



Are you in business just to make money? or are you in business to fill a need?

Most sucessful detail shop owners that I know don't have a set business plan or strategic marketing plan. It's wise to know and target your market, but alot of the textbook principals are not followed too closely by shops.

I'd say 75% of the reason why I was in the business was for money, 20% for the flexibility and freedom of being a business ower and 5% to fullfill a need. I know it looks selfish, but I feel alot better and the end of the day, week, month or year knowing I made several thousand dollars of profit more than anything else.

 

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Most sucessful detail shop owners that I know don't have a set business plan or strategic marketing plan. It's wise to know and target your market, but alot of the textbook principals are not followed too closely by shops.

I'd say 75% of the reason why I was in the business was for money, 20% for the flexibility and freedom of being a business ower and 5% to fullfill a need. I know it looks selfish, but I feel alot better and the end of the day, week, month or year knowing I made several thousand dollars of profit more than anything else.

Interesting.

 

[doged]

Most sucessful detail shop owners that I know don't have a set business plan or strategic marketing plan. It's wise to know and target your market, but alot of the textbook principals are not followed too closely by shops.

I'd say 75% of the reason why I was in the business was for money, 20% for the flexibility and freedom of being a business ower and 5% to fullfill a need. I know it looks selfish, but I feel alot better and the end of the day, week, month or year knowing I made several thousand dollars of profit more than anything else.

I can see your point because many business did do very well without a plan. They operated left pocket, right pocket. All you had to do is start a business, not be a business person. The saying goes, “that was then, this is now�. Now days success is measured differently and things happen much faster. The IRS, City, State, Insurance, work comp, credit cards, labor laws, etc, etc. It’s much more difficult to operate without a plan then with one. If nothing else, it keeps you on track focused and organized. This is a real time saver and everyone knows, time is money.

 

[doged]

It's not about giving free advice. It's about what each individual detailing business owner does to position themselves in the marketplace. With proper planning, dealership work can prove to be just as profitable as retail work. The key is to figure out where you want your business to fit into the marketplace and then go after that market.



To put it another way; instead of reacting to the needs and wants of the marketplace, would'nt it be better to carefully plan how you are going to position your business so that you can go out there and fill those needs and wants?

I agree on the plan but Im still confused on the positioning part. Do you want us to advise others on how to correctly position themselfs, i.e. to become successful in the wholesale marketplace?

 

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

No, it's not about anyone giving others advice on how to correctly position themselves in the marketplace. It's about what each individual detailing business owner has to do to position themselves in the marketplace.



For example, let's say you go out there and position your detailing business as one of the most efficient, low cost detailers in the area. Because of your low operating costs you find that you are better able to position your business as a leader when it comes to doing wholesale dealership work.



Using the same example, let's say there's another detailing business across town and they have positioned themselves as one of the high end detailers in the area. Because they use some of the more exotic waxes and aim at doing mostly individually owned high priced vehicles, they are better able to position themselves as a leader when it comes to doing higher priced retail work.



Of course, both businesses in the above example could go out there and detail any car that comes along. The key to becoming successful in the long run is to figure out early on just how you want your business to fit into meeting the wants and needs of the marketplace.



Are you in business just to make money? or are you in business to fill a need?



Sure it's easy to look at it from the standpoint that as long as you keep yourself busy with plenty of detailing work, whether it's wholesale or retail, then you must be doing something right. That type of thinking may work in the short term, however, without some type of planning and a basic understanding of where you want your business to fit into the marketplace in the future, it's a recipe for failure.



To get back to the original post about what to charge dealerships. I would say that as long as a detailing business has established themselves as an efficient, low cost operation, then they shouldn't have a problem with charging low competitive prices and still making a reasonable profit. It's their focus on keeping their operating costs low that will ultimately help then to position themselves as a leader in the marketplace when it comes to doing wholesale dealership work.

 

[doged]

No, it's not about anyone giving others advice on how to correctly position themselves in the marketplace. It's about what each individual detailing business owner has to do to position themselves in the marketplace.



For example, let's say you go out there and position your detailing business as one of the most efficient, low cost detailers in the area. Because of your low operating costs you find that you are better able to position your business as a leader when it comes to doing wholesale dealership work.



Using the same example, let's say there's another detailing business across town and they have positioned themselves as one of the high end detailers in the area. Because they use some of the more exotic waxes and aim at doing mostly individually owned high priced vehicles, they are better able to position themselves as a leader when it comes to doing higher priced retail work.



Of course, both businesses in the above example could go out there and detail any car that comes along. The key to becoming successful in the long run is to figure out early on just how you want your business to fit into meeting the wants and needs of the marketplace.



Are you in business just to make money? or are you in business to fill a need?



Sure it's easy to look at it from the standpoint that as long as you keep yourself busy with plenty of detailing work, whether it's wholesale or retail, then you must be doing something right. That type of thinking may work in the short term, however, without some type of planning and a basic understanding of where you want your business to fit into the marketplace in the future, it's a recipe for failure.



To get back to the original post about what to charge dealerships. I would say that as long as a detailing business has established themselves as an efficient, low cost operation, then they shouldn't have a problem with charging low competitive prices and still making a reasonable profit. It's their focus on keeping their operating costs low that will ultimately help then to position themselves as a leader in the marketplace when it comes to doing wholesale dealership work.

Frank,



1st, I do agree that business need a business plan, especially competitive business. I don’t agree it’s a recipe for “ultimate� failure. Attrition is a large part of success in many cases with this business.

 

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

I don’t agree it’s a recipe for “ultimate� failure. Attrition is a large part of success in many cases with this business.

Yes, some detailing businesses have the good fortune of achieving success only because of the attrition of others going out of business. This is very true. However, it's not a very good way to grow your business.



Think about all the reasons why most detailing businesses fail. You may be surprised to find out that at the top of that list it's because of a lack of planning and a basic understanding of knowing where their detailing business fits into the marketplace. Maybe they were too busy trying to be all things to all people, instead of just focusing on the market that they could serve the best.



Like I said, as long as a detailing business has established themselves as an efficient, low cost operation, then they shouldn't have a problem with charging low competitive prices and still making a reasonable profit. It's their focus on keeping their operating costs low that will ultimately help them position themselves as a leader in the marketplace when it comes to doing wholesale dealership work. It just takes a little planning.

 

[Mr.Magic]

What i don't understand is Why anyone would do wholesale for less that $120 a car. I make between 45 and 60 buck an hour and my dealers love me. I have done cars for as little as $100 but thats it. I think if you go in with some pride about your work and explane to them that there cars will look better then the lot next door thus bringing in more customers, the dealers are willing to pay more. Plus I do the first car for half that and I always ask for a black one! I show them I am the best!

 

[David Fermani]

Yes, some detailing businesses have the good fortune of achieving success only because of the attrition of others going out of business. This is very true. However, it's not a very good way to grow your business.



.

Why is this not a good way to grow your business?? 2 of the first 5 dealership accounts I had were from direct solicitation. The 10 others I had were aquired from attrition. I believe that in the wholesale marketplace of detailing, if you stay consistant, affordable and have a good relationship with your customer, your in for the long haul. Most shops can't do 1 on those things right, better yet all of them.

 

[doged]

Why is this not a good way to grow your business?? 2 of the first 5 dealership accounts I had were from direct solicitation. The 10 others I had were aquired from attrition. I believe that in the wholesale marketplace of detailing, if you stay consistant, affordable and have a good relationship with your customer, your in for the long haul. Most shops can't do 1 on those things right, better yet all of them.

Attrition is reactive and business planing is proactive!!! It depends a lot who your competing against and what your competing for. The car industry is a prime example of this explanation. Everyone understands how the Japanese kicked the American’s butt in the car industry, correct?

 

[Brian_Brice]

I know that this thread is basically about what to charge a dealership. However, I'm trying to understand why there is so much conversation about making money, while no one has very much to say about the marketing and planning aspects of being in the automobile detailing business.



Does anyone out there actually have a strategic marketing plan? One that clearly defines the purpose and mission of your business. Or do you just go after whatever work comes along?



Are you in business just to make money? or are you in business to fill a need?

i advertised in two weeks worth of local paper, town of about 23k, i got zero calls, that was a year ago, if you called me to clean your windows itd be a few weeks till i could get to it. hard work, leaving suggestions for the next detail, with a date on it goes a long way, but ive had a few wholesalers come to me and i did do boats last summer but i just like breaking up the monateny of the work day by finishing up and moving locations constantly, im a busy body i suppose. there are a few competitors in my area but in a small town its not easy to keep business if moneys the only fuel for your fire. i love my job :waxing: :usa