Welcome!
» Log In
» Create A New Profile
Home
>
Auto Detailing: Secrets of the Experts
>
Topic
during winter?
Posted by Original Look
|
during winter? October 24, 2003 05:52PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 13 |
<HTML>ok my question is one of great concern to everyone here, maybe?
one of the main reasons why i havnt gone into detailing fulltime and quit my regular job is that i get spooked about that word " winter ", so what im asking EVERYONE here is lets talk about how you handle winter and or slow times, how do you get buy??? remember any advice will build confidence not only for me but others as well. im not clueless about other things i can do, but maybe by getting hundreds of opinions, it can help. thank you very much. feel free to email privately too.</HTML>
one of the main reasons why i havnt gone into detailing fulltime and quit my regular job is that i get spooked about that word " winter ", so what im asking EVERYONE here is lets talk about how you handle winter and or slow times, how do you get buy??? remember any advice will build confidence not only for me but others as well. im not clueless about other things i can do, but maybe by getting hundreds of opinions, it can help. thank you very much. feel free to email privately too.</HTML>
|
Re: during winter? October 24, 2003 09:29PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 751 |
<HTML>A couple of suggestions that come to mind.
Winter protection. Could try educating custopmers to come in mid-winter for a detail , get that road salt etc off the vehicle , great chance to upsell them a protection package if they havent had one already, put some paint sealnt on the vehicle etc.
Get some of your regular customers on maintenance programs , monthly wash and wax , or just a good underbody wash perhaps.
In the worst case, try getting some dealer work. It doesnt pay as well as retail but if it keeps some cash coming in, it's better than nothing at all. Dealerships sell vehicles all year round . I work at a dealer and surprisingly perhaps we are just as busy as during the winter as we are during the summer .
Just some ideas off the top of my head .
Jim.</HTML>
Winter protection. Could try educating custopmers to come in mid-winter for a detail , get that road salt etc off the vehicle , great chance to upsell them a protection package if they havent had one already, put some paint sealnt on the vehicle etc.
Get some of your regular customers on maintenance programs , monthly wash and wax , or just a good underbody wash perhaps.
In the worst case, try getting some dealer work. It doesnt pay as well as retail but if it keeps some cash coming in, it's better than nothing at all. Dealerships sell vehicles all year round . I work at a dealer and surprisingly perhaps we are just as busy as during the winter as we are during the summer .
Just some ideas off the top of my head .
Jim.</HTML>
|
Re: during winter? October 25, 2003 12:10AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 751 |
<HTML>ok, was too busy to respond fully earlier on, had some more time to think about it now , heres some more in depth thoughts.
During the winter months , we neglect our automobiles more than at any other time of the year. The season brings more rain, so more acids on your vehicle finish. Then there is the snow and associated salts that cling to the paint finish, not to mention the regular wear and tear of every day use. A dirtier car means more trips to the car wash and , inevitably, more damage to the finish.
This is an ideal time to educate customers of the benefits of a winter maintenance program. Perhaps monthly washing and waxing, or a paint protection program with good quality sealant. Educate the customer of the damage that overusing the car wash can do to the finish. Educate how a good paint sealant can protect the finish of the car , and how your monthly wash with a good quality detergent can help to maintain that protection. If a customer does not want a monthly program , try every 6 weeks or BI-monthly , and educated customer is much more likely to buy a winter
maintenance program . Try selling it to them during the summer when you detail their car, put a leaflet in the car explaining that the damage is being done to their car year round and not just when the sun shines.
It’s also a time of holidays, start selling gift vouchers for Christmas presents, valid from December through March maybe . Valentines day is another great chance to sell gift certificates, at the risk of deeply offending the woman in your life, maybe an advertising campaign such as ‘treat the one you really love to a treat this Valentines day , get your car detailed at blah blah detailing services”. The ICA also run a campaign around this time called ‘love your car” . I have read that some car wash operators have even taken to giving a 10 % off special for red cars on Valentines day , or try 10% off for green cars around St. Patricks day.
As the bad weather arrives with the slippery roads, so do the car accidents, people sliding off in to the scenery on icy roads, which means the body shops are busier than ever. Try forming a relationship with the local body shops to do their clean up work, or see if they will let you put a flyer in the car advertising your winter protection (bear in mind that newly sprayed auto paint needs time to cure before you apply sealant etc.) . The same with hail repair centers, maybe a pamphlet saying ‘now the outside looks good again, how about the inside “ .
This nasty weather could actually become a detailers best friend if we educate the customers enough.
Dont forget that auto dealers sell just as many cars during the winter as they do during the summer. I work for one , and while the “traffic” (number of customers visiting the dealer) drops quite a bit, the number of sales actually stays about the same . This is because people are actually out to buy a vehicle and not just passing by . So while it is not the work that everyone wants, it is still a source of income during the winter. The money is the same color , no matter if its coming from a retail customer or a dealer.
If you think about it for a while, how do Wal Mart, and the other big retailers get people in when they need them ? The answer is to have sales. Retailers know that small profits are better then no profits at all . How about a 12% off deal through the 12 days of Christmas , or every 12th customer gets a 50% off Christmas present. Try what the retailers do, after all , there’s only one letter difference between being a retailer and a detailer !
Push these promotions on your web site! 24 % of all online shopping is automobile related , more and more people are doing their Christmas shopping online , this is a chance to be a part of it , consider using Google Ad Words to draw visitors to your site. I don’t have any figures , but I am willing to bet that a large majority of the presents wives buy for their husbands are automobile related .
Make sure that any advertising carries the ‘maintenance” word, and educate the customer as to why they need your service.
Jim.</HTML>
During the winter months , we neglect our automobiles more than at any other time of the year. The season brings more rain, so more acids on your vehicle finish. Then there is the snow and associated salts that cling to the paint finish, not to mention the regular wear and tear of every day use. A dirtier car means more trips to the car wash and , inevitably, more damage to the finish.
This is an ideal time to educate customers of the benefits of a winter maintenance program. Perhaps monthly washing and waxing, or a paint protection program with good quality sealant. Educate the customer of the damage that overusing the car wash can do to the finish. Educate how a good paint sealant can protect the finish of the car , and how your monthly wash with a good quality detergent can help to maintain that protection. If a customer does not want a monthly program , try every 6 weeks or BI-monthly , and educated customer is much more likely to buy a winter
maintenance program . Try selling it to them during the summer when you detail their car, put a leaflet in the car explaining that the damage is being done to their car year round and not just when the sun shines.
It’s also a time of holidays, start selling gift vouchers for Christmas presents, valid from December through March maybe . Valentines day is another great chance to sell gift certificates, at the risk of deeply offending the woman in your life, maybe an advertising campaign such as ‘treat the one you really love to a treat this Valentines day , get your car detailed at blah blah detailing services”. The ICA also run a campaign around this time called ‘love your car” . I have read that some car wash operators have even taken to giving a 10 % off special for red cars on Valentines day , or try 10% off for green cars around St. Patricks day.
As the bad weather arrives with the slippery roads, so do the car accidents, people sliding off in to the scenery on icy roads, which means the body shops are busier than ever. Try forming a relationship with the local body shops to do their clean up work, or see if they will let you put a flyer in the car advertising your winter protection (bear in mind that newly sprayed auto paint needs time to cure before you apply sealant etc.) . The same with hail repair centers, maybe a pamphlet saying ‘now the outside looks good again, how about the inside “ .
This nasty weather could actually become a detailers best friend if we educate the customers enough.
Dont forget that auto dealers sell just as many cars during the winter as they do during the summer. I work for one , and while the “traffic” (number of customers visiting the dealer) drops quite a bit, the number of sales actually stays about the same . This is because people are actually out to buy a vehicle and not just passing by . So while it is not the work that everyone wants, it is still a source of income during the winter. The money is the same color , no matter if its coming from a retail customer or a dealer.
If you think about it for a while, how do Wal Mart, and the other big retailers get people in when they need them ? The answer is to have sales. Retailers know that small profits are better then no profits at all . How about a 12% off deal through the 12 days of Christmas , or every 12th customer gets a 50% off Christmas present. Try what the retailers do, after all , there’s only one letter difference between being a retailer and a detailer !
Push these promotions on your web site! 24 % of all online shopping is automobile related , more and more people are doing their Christmas shopping online , this is a chance to be a part of it , consider using Google Ad Words to draw visitors to your site. I don’t have any figures , but I am willing to bet that a large majority of the presents wives buy for their husbands are automobile related .
Make sure that any advertising carries the ‘maintenance” word, and educate the customer as to why they need your service.
Jim.</HTML>
|
Re: during winter? October 25, 2003 12:25AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,838 |
<HTML>Jim:
And I though I wrote long threads! Very brilliant posting I must say. I especially like your idea on the different color cars for the different holidays, very genius!
I'm also glad that you noted for everyone to educate the public. I recently took off my "Pricing" button on my website and replaced it with a ''Why Detailing" button. Theres also a section on my site that I'm making as a school for consumers on detailing, whats involved, myths and gimmick to avoid, etc.
Here in Jersey we only have 8-9 months of outdoor detailing weather, so the mobile man gets hit hard from this. My private garage I do detailing at has a nice detail shop set-up ("Does Your Shop Look Like This" - on Bud's Website) with no heat but I manage to work when it's 40 or warmer. January and February I help out my cousin at the dealership, just do bookwork, training, research on new products and techniques, customer contacts, etc.
I have a cousin in West Palm Beach, Florida who I'm trying to talk into opening up and operation for me down there detailing just boats, since Florida probably has more boats than anywhere else in the U.S.</HTML>
Take care,
Brian
Precision Auto & Marine
Learn to detail boats! Visit www.detailtheboat.com
And I though I wrote long threads! Very brilliant posting I must say. I especially like your idea on the different color cars for the different holidays, very genius!
I'm also glad that you noted for everyone to educate the public. I recently took off my "Pricing" button on my website and replaced it with a ''Why Detailing" button. Theres also a section on my site that I'm making as a school for consumers on detailing, whats involved, myths and gimmick to avoid, etc.
Here in Jersey we only have 8-9 months of outdoor detailing weather, so the mobile man gets hit hard from this. My private garage I do detailing at has a nice detail shop set-up ("Does Your Shop Look Like This" - on Bud's Website) with no heat but I manage to work when it's 40 or warmer. January and February I help out my cousin at the dealership, just do bookwork, training, research on new products and techniques, customer contacts, etc.
I have a cousin in West Palm Beach, Florida who I'm trying to talk into opening up and operation for me down there detailing just boats, since Florida probably has more boats than anywhere else in the U.S.</HTML>
Take care,
Brian
Precision Auto & Marine
Learn to detail boats! Visit www.detailtheboat.com
|
Re: during winter? October 25, 2003 12:44AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,838 |
|
Re: during winter? October 25, 2003 10:40PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 751 |
|
Re: during winter? October 26, 2003 03:28AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,838 |
|
Re: during winter? October 26, 2003 12:11PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 73 |
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.