Need to ease customer's fear

detailbarn

detailbarn

Professional Detailer
I have a potential customer (a doctor) that I am trying to ease his fears about the use of a machine on his 911. He refuses to let me use any machine on the car I explained that I would be using a PC not a rotary , but he still doens't want to. He tells me his previous detailer did the whole car by hand , he also told him he only needs to detail is 911 one a year, Oh and that clay replaces the need for a machine.:rolleyes: I need some imput on how to bring this guy over to the right side of the fence , his car really needs me it's a dark blue car that is currently a pale shade of purple due to that nice one a year only detail.







Thanks for the imput guys.:xyxthumbs
 
I have 8 books filled with pictures of cars I've detailed, and about 150 more pics that I don't have room for. You might want to consider taking pics of all the cars you do so you will have a portfolio to show future customers.



Why not demonstrate the buffer on your own car in front of him? You can also agree with him that probably his car only needs a complete detail once a year, but the paint needs attention about every 3 months.
 
I don't know that I would do his car. I mean, if he isn't going to trust your professional advice and experience in the matter then he may want to go somewhere else. I can't imagine that a guy with a 911 who is so paranoid about ruining his baby only gets it detailed once a year and then presumes to know the best way to do it. :rolleyes: I think somebody better have a look at the exhaust system in his car. I think there is a leak that is blowing carbon monoxide into the car and messing with his brain.



I don't do it for a living so I guess I can afford to be picky. My philosophy is that if they want me to do a job in a way that is going to take longer than necessary and isn't going to produce the results I'll be satisfied with, then I send them on their way to find someone who can do it for them. The last thing I want is a customer to be driving around in a substandard detailed car and telling people that I did it. That is bad advertising. I would rather just tell him that to do the job I am going to have to use a machine or I won't do the job at all. His choice. Just explain that you won't do the job unless he is going to allow you to do your best. He might respect that and give you the job. Or he might take it to a touchless car wash and have it detailed by the 'professionals' there. Its his car...
 
Sales is a tricky thing to do correctly. First off, you are the expert, not him. You have to tell him what he needs not ask for his opion on something like this. You lead the sale. When he gives you a checkup you don't tell him how to do it. You HAVE to be confident and show him you are. Next explain to him the science behind the process. Why you have to do the things you do and how they are accompilshed and effect they deliver. One other thing is even though you are using A PC Orbitable don't tell him not to worry because I'm not using a circular. Its sounds to him like you are not comfortable using one, and this instills even less confidence in his eyes. Instaed of saying " Don't worry, I won't use a machine that I could damage your finish with"(To him a machine is a machine), Try saying"For this application, I WILL be using this technique to do the job properly. "Be confident" Don't let him lead you!



Sorry if this sounds confusing it's hard to wrap up proper sales techniques in a manner which is quick to write and to read. Be very polite as you are trying to service your customer and make him happy, but in order to do your job properly you have to do it the correct way.



Like the other guys said, show him with picture or a demo on site. Even if you already sold him with confidence this is a great way to reinforce it.



Remeber "YOU KNOW BEST" your the pro. If you let customers tell you how to do it, you are in for a world of trouble.



I am not saying to be mean and loud, just let them know that in order to do the job properly this is what I have to do.



Worse case sonario, let him walk. If you do the job his way and the results are bad, guess who looks bad and never gets a referal.



"A Happy customer tells a few. An UN-Happy customer tells alot"



There are a million sale techniques I could give you. If you want any more please PM me.





..................Clint
 
Like Scottwax recommened I'd demonstrate it on your car infront of him and let him see the surface. Make sure you let it run in one spot for awhile and let him feel how the paint isn't even hot and explain how it is safe than rotaries.



You can always ask what he expects the car to come out like and then tell him if the buffer damages the vehicle in any way, then you will pay to have it fixed. That should always be the case for any job you do. You mess it up, you fix it.



Telling him it though will probably ease his fear.



After you demonstrate you can always ask if you can do just half of his hood to show him and if he doesn't like the results, you'll do the whole car by hand.
 
for people i know, (to show them how safe the PC is) i've had them watch David's video then done a quick demo for them. After that i feel safe enough to turn them lose on my car. That really get's the point across that it's safe and easy to use.
 
Why educate a know it all? Just detail the car by hand and charge accordingly. No sense is wasting too much of your time trying to educate him, he's probably cheap anyway.
 
ShineMGood said:
Why educate a know it all? Just detail the car by hand and charge accordingly. No sense is wasting too much of your time trying to educate him, he's probably cheap anyway.
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There ya go. Tell him that you'll charge him by the hour and it will take twice as long to get half the results if you are doing it by hand. Its his money so maybe he is willing to part with it. He obviously didn't obtain the car by being really keen on detailing. Charge him $50 bucks an hour for 5 or 6 hours and see how long it takes before he finally caves in and tells you to use the machine. lol
 
Jngrbrdman said:
There ya go. Tell him that you'll charge him by the hour and it will take twice as long to get half the results if you are doing it by hand. Its his money so maybe he is willing to part with it. He obviously didn't obtain the car by being really keen on detailing. Charge him $50 bucks an hour for 5 or 6 hours and see how long it takes before he finally caves in and tells you to use the machine. lol
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or before he calls another detailer that'll do it for $20 an hour :)
 
Thanks for all your imput guys alot to take to the table. It's hard to explain but there is a reason for me trying extra hard in getting this job , other wise I would tell him to continue to use his once a year detailer. Thanks again for the advice and I'll post when something happens.
 
Do you think there is a reason he is talking to you instead of his once a year detailer? How happy could he be with the results he gets from him? You should feel him out and find out what his old detailer didn't do well enough or what more he expects you to do for him.



Clinton, you have some really good sales ideas. You should write an article on how to go for the kill!



Doctors with Porsches usually have other Doctor friends who also own Porsches.
 
This one is a no-brainer. Do the detail the way you fell most comfortable with. It is not necessary to tell everyone exactly what you do, how you do it, or what you use. Just do the best dog gone detail possible so this Doctor not only comes back for more, but tell all his friends about you. Till this day I tell every new potential customer who has any doubts that if for any reason they are not happy with our service they will not have to pay me. This closes the sale everytime. By the way there never has been a time where someone did not want to pay me.
 
Doctors with Porsches usually have other Doctor friends who also own Porsches.
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And lots of them too.



You're also real close to the reason why I am trying so hard to land this job. Think Porsches lots and lots of Porsches.:D



I think I got this guy in the bag , I explained the difference of the two "machines" and he seemed alittle more at ease. I also through a line at him that he couldn't get around. I told him not to be worried about the method but be more concerned with the results. His biggest complaint about his previous detailer is the dullness of his car. Duh that would be casue he didn't use a machine. He says he watched him do it by hand and it only took 2hrs , he must be bionic man cause I don't know any one who can buff out a mildy oxadiated car and wax it in 2hrs. :nixweiss



We shall what happens , thanks again for all the imput.
 
Auto Care USA said:
It is not necessary to tell everyone exactly what you do, how you do it, or what you use.
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That about sums it up. Why tell the guy you're using a machine on his car, just do it and let him see the results, thats all that really matters. All I ever do is in my contract I have a clause "any incidental dammage caused by the detailer WILL be corrected at the detailer's expense and there will be no charge to the customer." Of course if you do this make darn sure you check the car over and note ANY defects whatsoever before you detail so the guy can't blame you for something that was already damaged before you got to it.



An aside regarding the cover your a$$ policy, back when I had first started detailing for money, I had a guy try to tell me his car was shining better before he brought it to me than after I was done. I said "ok, then I won't charge you, and I'll pay to have the car detailed with the exact same services I provided by the detailer of your choice." He backed down, saying "that won't be necissary, I'll pay you anyways.".... funny, he came back 3 months later for a wax job, and even referred a couple guys to me.



Its that kind of integrity that gets you a great reputation and customers. :xyxthumbs
 
Auto Care USA said:
Till this day I tell every new potential customer who has any doubts that if for any reason they are not happy with our service they will not have to pay me. This closes the sale everytime. By the way there never has been a time where someone did not want to pay me.
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There have been people I've wanted to tell that before but haven't gotten the nerve to try. I'm always worried they will refuse to pay and say they expected it to be better or something just to not have to pay...



Think anyone would actually do that? People do some stuipd (and mean) things to get free stuff.
 
Just FYI. I had a customer who checked to make sure I did not have a buffer when I first started doing his cars (at that time, a Rolls Royce Silver Spur and a Mercedes SEL560). He said he was tired of buffer marks all over his black cars and he wanted someone to do the polishing and waxing by hand. :nixweiss Hey, no problem. His paint was in good shape anyway. That was a little over 9 years ago. I've been washing his cars, along with his partners and CFO's (and his secretary) pretty much every week for 9 years. They get their cars polished/waxed about every 4-6 weeks and detailed as needed. They also have referred me to other people and when I first started cleaning this guy's Rolls at his house (at his warehouse now), other people would drive by and figure if I could handle a Rolls, I sure could handle their cars too. I picked up several new customers pretty quickly, and a few of them are weekly customers also and have been for 8-9 years.



I found a niche and filled it. Lots of people don't want a machine on their car, no matter how safe modern PCs are. I'm probably going to end up getting one since so many of the new cars have pretty hard paint and getting out scratches by hand isn't as easy as it used to be with the softer early to mid 90's OEM paints.



Detailing by hand isn't for everybody and if I was just starting today, I would use a buffer.



Just my 2 cents.
 
I've done sales for a while and yes there are some people who will try this sort of crap. Luckily most of us sense these people during the buying process(before you do the job) and can act accordingly. Like the other guys said Tell them you will refund or repair the problem. This will show them you can do the job.



If someone trys to pull this kinda stuff and you are in the right 100% than sticks to your guns and to your warranty's







..................Clint
 
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