Do you want wax with that?

S

Scottwax

New member
Suggestive selling rocks!



We are expecting rain and storms tonight and tomorrow and one of my Saturday regulars is out of town, so I was expecting a light day today. First house was a wash on an Escalade. Neither their truck nor S55 were there. I noticed the cover was off their Harley, so I asked if that was a hint. The wife said, yeah, why don't you go ahead and wash the bike since we were out on it last week. I then mentioned it had been about 2 1/2 months since I'd last waxed the Escalade and she said, go ahead, I don't really have much for you today. Turned 1 wash into 2 and also a wax job. Tripled my money!



Next house, I normally wash their S420 (I do 6 cars each Saturday in a small subdivision), but he asked if I'd wash his wife's Tahoe instead. I told him it had been 4-5 months since I'd waxed it last and he said that sounded good, especially since I don't regularly wash it like the Benz. He then looked at the inside and asked if I'd shampoo the mats and clean and dress the leather. Woohoo! Made 4 times what I normally do at his house.



I ended up doing only 2 vehicles and a Harley (which took all of 20 minutes because it was in great shape) and made more than I normally do, all because of suggestive selling.



Our version of "do you want fries with that" is so much better! :bounce
 
Greg said:
Nice work, Scott. I need to become a better salesman. I lost 2 sales this week because I was just stupid.
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You want to expand on that?



I think it helps me that a lot of my customers have been with me for several years and they trust my judgement when it comes to when their vehicles need waxing.
 
Scott, upselling to strictly make money rips people off, we see it in different industries all the time. But what you do is provide a service of protection for their cars. So, add wax with that wash all you can. The smiles you receive when they see their car on top of the extra money, I'm sure makes your day.
 
Even better is raising your prices every so often. Or if your really skilled, start with your prices at at the highest. That way you only deal with those who are serious about the business. Personally, I try and deal with the customers, to a point. In my infancy years of detailing I made $80 a pop. As my services diversified, I raised the price $10/year.



At this point, I realised that providing services in a way that creates a base 2 or 5 step package and leaving the remainder of the services in an Ala Carte foramt is the way to make the most money. For instance, when the customer chooses from the two base choices, they are ultimeatley left with other OPTIONS.



In short, the options cater for the serious and demanding customers. And trust me they will get carried away in search of an edge. I belive that Ala carte is the way to go. . And if your customers arent the serious type then you are left with the freedom of suggesting one or more of your service options.



The idea is to do less quantity and more quality. The most recent service that i have added is wheel removal and cleaning. Plus I am learning to do wet sanding, dent repairing, and top cleaning.



For example, I had 3 cars in my garage for a total time of 1 week. I spent almost 2 days on each vehicle. Making them nothing less than perfect. That week I raked in $1000+. Granted though, the cars were in bad shape but for me and the customer it was worth it. On the other hand, those who complain and dont appreciate a good detail, save your breath.



Ryan
 
When they called me, I fumbled with my speech...sounds stupid, but I got all flustered. I guess I sometimes talk Autopianese to my customers and for some soccer mom, they think wash and wax. Typically, if I can meet a person actually in person, the deal is done. After they see my car the deal is sealed and they are hiring me at my first available. For some reason though, on the phone I am not good.
 
Scott, I have a customer that I do every friday no matter the weather. I am lucky because she has a 10 car under ground in her house so the weather can't stop me. She is very big on the whole you do what you have to, to keep her cars mint. It is alot like what happeneed to you. I go there for an in and out but by the time I leave she has me do all kinds of stuff. One thing also is that I would never ever rip anyone off. If I tell her she needs a wax I mean it, no way would I rip anyone off. She has six cars between her and her husband so one is always in need of waxing, shampooing or something.



Clint........

Scott, I did her brand neww Audi TT. I used a quick detail on it and I think when buffed it off with the terry towels it left very fine scrathes (nothing I could not take out) but....... Have you heard of this before???



Thanks
 
Greg said:
When they called me, I fumbled with my speech...sounds stupid, but I got all flustered. I guess I sometimes talk Autopianese to my customers and for some soccer mom, they think wash and wax. Typically, if I can meet a person actually in person, the deal is done. After they see my car the deal is sealed and they are hiring me at my first available. For some reason though, on the phone I am not good.
Click to expand...





I understand your pain I stutter alot and makes me very mad at time, because I know I have loss business becuase of it. Once they see my work thou they are like WOW you do great job. I had 40 year men act like 8 year old school boys after I detail there cars.
 
As a student of broadcasting I can tell you all that when you speak do so with confidence and do your best to stay away from the "ya know's" and the "um's" as they reveal to the listener that you are not very confident nor organized in your thought.



I also stutter but the funny thing is I have no fear of public speaking. Wash_Me, most folks who stutter do so on certain words. For me it may be certain words that begin with an "H" sound and I get hung up on them or if my brain is moving faster than my mouth.



To combat this you need to breath and slow yourself down and concentrate on the pronunciation of the word or words you stutter.



Scott,



I love it when a bad rainy day turns into a money day. We have had rain here also so a friend who works for a realtor had me build 2 computers for their office. I charge about $100 for my time and labor for each computer. Then today one quick wash turned into a quick wash plus a detail on a new Z4. Not a bad week afterall, thank God!



Anthony
 
Geez, is stuttering a requirement for detailers? I do too, but not nearly like I did when I was a kid. Most of my customers are completely unaware that I do. Only stress brings it out now and even then, I can usually control it.



Back to the topic, it is nice to be trusted to make a lot of the detailing decisions for my customer's cars. Most get their cars waxed every 2-3 months, but I have some who want their cars waxed every month, so I keep good records and know when to wax.



BTW, we never got any rain. It all pushed off to the east of the Arlington area.
 
Ive notices when speakign to cutomers you have to be very crud when talking.



ie: dont say: "the porter cable" or "the rotary"...



say: "the buffer will take out lots of fine scratches and buff out all of the imperfections in your paint, it will look brand new"



if doing a full detail say things like: "we do everything, wash, wax, steam clean(if you do it otherwise say shampoo), buff, glaze, scrub everything down..." and on and on... be sure to let them know thier car will look brand new. Most customers realize if you CAN'T get something out, its because the stain is too bad or the scratch is too bad.



I realized alot of this over the last month working at a pro shop and this guy had had his shop for 6 years and this year he said his business has increased 300% thats why he hired me. He uses phrases like that and it gets the customers all the time.



If you are with thier car, make sure you walk up to it, point out things and say "the buffer will take this right out". Those kind of things get them really interested.



I could come up with 1000 things he says and I now say to lure a customer because its how we do it. You need to suck up to them, keep reiterating the fact that it will look "brand new".



Thants all I got fo rnow...



Bryan
 
I ran into a gentleman today who owned a beautiful silver 03 (i think) 360 Modena. As he was walking back to his car, I made a comment on what a beautiful car it was, he smiled and said thank you, and commented he couldnt even believe it was his. As he backed out of his parking spot, me and my 2 sons (Serious car enthusiasts) looked in awe at a man and his machine. He rolled the window down, applied the breaks and started to chat with us, much to our pleasure and excitement. My kids were speechless. We started talking about prices, and order time, how long he has had it. He answered everything I was curious about, including the visible engine compartment. He started telling me about how difficult it was to keep that window clean, to show the engine and compartment off.:idea :idea :idea

I told him "I would love to detail one of these"...and he asked if I was a detailer....:idea :idea :idea

I said "why yes, I do custom detailing, I travel to the clients home, and provide the best possible detail available, with exceptional products, and customer service. He said hes been looking for a detailer to tackle that window and the rest of the car (the things immaculate to begin with). He asked for a card, which my son proudly ran back to my truck for faster than even a Modena. He told me where he lived, and shook my hand goodbye, and i replied "I hope to hear from you soon." He sped off, never getting it out of second gear........Moral of the story, "Expect the unexpected,", and proceed proffessionaly......I was at a open house for a motorcycle accessory store...Didnt wear my business detail shirt, didnt carry my wallet with my cards in it......Always be prepared for a sale !!!
 
Patrick-too :cool: I've detailed a couple 348s and a 328, but no 360s yet. Awesome car!



BTW, I had a wash/polish/wax on that black Carrera 4 in my gallery today and I reminded him he had said he wanted his Expidition detailed when I had time and I told him I have all day next Monday available, and he said to go ahead and schedule it and also make time to detail the Tahoe too. Two full sized SUVs=$$$! He takes good care of his vehicles too. I probably should never have shown him Clearkote's Quikshine though. He bought a bottle at the shop I buy it at and said it was so easy now to clean up his Harleys, he will probably only need me to detail them once a year. Oh well, win some and lose some.
 
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