Is it me or is it the economy?

A

anson89

New member
I started my own little home auto detail business not too long ago. Did a Nissan GT-R as my first job, BMW 335i and a SLK55 AMG and they all loved it! It's been a good 2 months and no sign of customers. I told my friend about my business and made a deal if they referred me a customer and purchased a full detail, I'll give them a free wash and wax. Left some of my business cards in certain cars, knocked on some doors around the neighbourhood (which out of 15 houses, only 3 opened).



Got a few calls here and there, never got back to me after that because it was $40 for just a wash and $320 to do a full detail on a G35 compared to the down the street car wash or Mr Car Wash. To make things better, the "car group" that I usually hang with, two of the guys has their own detailing business as well and is doing better than I am. On top of that, they leave unwelcoming comments on my work in photo albums of my auto detailing.



Up till now, not a single soul wants a detail!



It might be the rainy weather these few weeks. But come on Houston!!!!



This might sound a little "bratty" in my opinion, but it's really frustrating to see your passion go to waste like that.
 
What are the prices for the same work on a similar car in your area? The pricing may be driving them away.



I searched google and came up with this.



their best package on a large vehicle is $45 cheaper than your full detail on the G35.



that might be your problem
 
falcon detail has no pictures of their work or anything. I believe it is the economy and all about trying to market your skills.



I am in the same boat as you out here in Hawaii. Though i use to be super busy after this economic wave hit business has seen much better days. People just don't want to spend the extra money right now especially on correction jobs.



I look at some customers cars and wonder how they could drive that $80,000 car through the car wash and pay $7 to damage their cars vs. pay someone who will pamper it.



Do some research on who offers what types of services. A lot of time it's finding your clients that will pay for what you offer as not everyone is all about being cheap. Some people will actually pay more for quality work but you have to find a way to show them and explain to them why you charge what you charge.



Hope that helps. Feel free to ask questions as i'm hanging on as tight as i can to ride through this all in hopes to get back to where i once was.
 
what always helps is to educate the customer on why they should come to as compared to Mr. hack detailer down the street. Educate them on their car and how you will take care of the problems and how they can keep it from happening again.



They will appreciate this and will come to you as compared to the other guy. Point out the swirls on their car and tell them how they got there. From now on they will see those swirls in their paint and it will most likely bother them whereas before they didnt notice them and will come to you for correction. Offer some maintenance packages also to loyal customers which will allow you to have some frequent business and offers the customer peace of mind because you will now be in charge of taking care of their car. One less thing for them to worry about.



just a few suggestions if you have not started using them already



hope it helps some
 
In fact, is it always better to meet up with the person to discuss about the swirls or just have em point it out themselves?
 
I would walk over the car with the customer and discuss the condition of the vehicle, pointing out swirls, scratches, rock chips etc. and would explain to them how things happen and what would be needed to fix it. From there I would ask how they want the car to look (perfect, 90% corrected....etc) and would give them a price based upon how they want it to look.
 
Will do, perhaps I will go the extra mile to drive to the customer and educate them about it. By maintenance package, what and how you would go about that? By paying a certain amount of fee per year/month?
 
talk to the customer and assess their needs and tailor a package for them.



For example:

-Joe has a Black Viper that he only drives on the weekends and wants it to look perfect all of the time, set up to where you would come and wash his car every week, do the interior every other time you come and wax every other month for a flat monthly fee.



-Sandy has an expedition and 3 small kids, you come to her twice a month and thoroughly clean the interior and wash the car and wax every other month.



you get the idea. Take some time and ask the customer what THEY would like to get from your relationship and take it from there.
 
so far so good SLP123. I would say 80% of the time i tell the customer that i would like to meet with them to take a look at the car. At that point i usually go over the car with them and explain to them the different services i can offer them.



Some people care about the swirls and some people could care less.



We are salesmen. It is our job to educate the customer and sell them our service. If they don't have the opportunity to learn about what you have to offer they will never buy it.



Another thing would be what are the benefits of paint correction?



i usually can explain that pretty good but is there any other benefits to it besides having your car in perfect condition . . . . . or if the swirls don't get corrected over time what will happen?



I sometimes stump myself on that. I just figure a properly prepped surface will allow the was to bond properly and in return your vehicle will be protected for a longer period of time



VS



just waxing a dry, rough chalky feeling surface and just protecting the swirls on the car and have the wax barely bond.
 
I would say that the main two benefits to the customer for getting the paint corrected are that the paint will once again have the depth and gloss that it had before the swirls and the wax will not properly bond to dirty paint.



To you, the detailer, it will be important for you to have their car looking perfect when they leave. If you fail to sell the customer on the paint correction and they just get a wash and wax and all of the swirls are still left on the car, the car will not look as good as it can. Since many potential customers will see this persons car and chances are they will tell others they got it detailed and the potential customer looks at the car and thinks that you did a horrible job because there are scratches and swirls and the paint isnt really clear, they will think you are another hack. The customer will most likely not chime in and say, "I was too cheap to get the swirls polished out so my detailer was only able to do half as good of a job as he can."



Also make sure to educate the customer on how swirls are caused because if you are able to sell them on a correction, it will be that much easier to sell them on a maintenance package because chances are they will not properly wash the car and will induce more swirls in the future.



Hope all of this makes sense.
 
What other marketing have you done? Honestly, you can not expect to do a few nice cars and be busy. High end detailing is a niche market. Even in the wealthiest areas, there is a limit to how many people will purchase a service such as this. I have been in business, full time, for four years and am just getting to the point where I am busy all the time. I have done lots of marketing, in that four years, to gain new customers. It takes time to build up a solid reputation and brand.
 
I noticed many people who drive expensive cars do not care what happens to the car , they drive them not because they appreciate the car and the design but drive expensive cars because it is a status thing. It's look at me look what I drive and as long as it looks clean which is why they take their cars to the drive through car wash is all that matters to these people. And not a proper detail for which people on this site know what it means to have a car properly detailed.
 
We're in a lull of a ecomonic wave right now guys. Last half of last year and most of next year are going to be extreamly bad for almost all service based industries (except the local garage mechanic which should see a huge surge) This is the time you really want to have some accounts to fall back on to survive with. Remember you're the very last guy in the money trickle going on here. Everyone else has to start making money again in their own lives before they can use your services. Once they get their own lives back in order after this whole mess then they'll start sharing the wealth to the service industry. But it's still going to be another year or so before things get even remotely close to back to normal for the majority. (You'll always have a few standouts that can do quite well no matter what the economy)
 
Your problem is that your thinking like a detailer and not like a businessman. Francois-Henri Pinault once said "Think like a strategist act like an animal."



Your not succeeding because your in the wrong state of mind. You need to come up with some strategies. You need to translate your business into percentages and numbers. What percent of your clients are coming from google...craislist...yellowpages..refferals. Figure out the weakest links and enhance them. Brainstorm ways to enhance your sales strategies. Here's some examples from my experiences:



Enhancing Google Numbers:

Search Engine Optimization

Build up my website

Link Share

(My website traffic from google has been rising about .5% daily for the past 2 weeks.) This means that more people are finding me through google. Growth has begun, and I can focus on my other marketing means.



Craigslist:

Enhance adds with videos, pictures, and good content

Post frequently.

I make about $500+ in details from craigslist alone monthly.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Point is: Analyze your business from the bottom up. Optimize the hell out of it. Every person that looks for a detailer in google and doesn't call you...your basically taking your competition out on a VERY expensive dinner at your cost. It's dog eat dog out there. Make sure that you're doing everything you possibly can to make your competition go bankrupt. If you're not...then make sure you have another job lined up.



Business isn't a Coca Cola world peace commercial from the late 90s. You need to dominate your market.
 
[quote name='slp123']What are the prices for the same work on a similar car in your area? The pricing may be driving them away.



I searched google and came up with this.



their best package on a large vehicle is $45 cheaper than your full detail on the G35.



that might be your problem[/QUOT

Not to hijack, but what is throwing me off is the



"Machine Polish

• Vehicle finish is buffed to conceal minor scratches and

blemishes in the clear coat

• Black vehicles require a two stage cut and polish buff"



If they are doing 2 step corrections on black cars plus complete interiors for $190 then...



If they were local and did good work maybe I could subcontract and just sit at home.
 
[quote name='slp123']What are the prices for the same work on a similar car in your area? The pricing may be driving them away.



I searched google and came up with this.



their best package on a large vehicle is $45 cheaper than your full detail on the G35.



that might be your problem[/QUOT





Not to hijack, but what is throwing me off is the



"Machine Polish

• Vehicle finish is buffed to conceal minor scratches and

blemishes in the clear coat

• Black vehicles require a two stage cut and polish buff"



If they are doing 2 step corrections on black cars plus complete interiors for $190 then...



If they were local and did good work maybe I could subcontract and just sit at home.
 
Jakerooni said:
We're in a lull of a ecomonic wave right now guys. Last half of last year and most of next year are going to be extreamly bad for almost all service based industries (except the local garage mechanic which should see a huge surge) This is the time you really want to have some accounts to fall back on to survive with. Remember you're the very last guy in the money trickle going on here. Everyone else has to start making money again in their own lives before they can use your services. Once they get their own lives back in order after this whole mess then they'll start sharing the wealth to the service industry. But it's still going to be another year or so before things get even remotely close to back to normal for the majority. (You'll always have a few standouts that can do quite well no matter what the economy)
Click to expand...



Not sure if this is a completely accurate analysis. I understand your point about the money making its way down, however, it depends on what market you are in. My numbers are actually up from last year. I believe this is a result of two things. First, I live in Northern Virginia, which is one of the wealthiest areas in the nation. Second, I continued to advertise despite the 'bad economy'. Businesses that survive down turns, usually end up with a higher market share after things improve. The inefficient business go out of business.
 
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