getting a little frustrated

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ride5150

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ive put out some fliers, put some business cards on some cars, i went to 2 dealerships today, and nothing. im getting a little frustrated, the dealership i was just at had at least 20 cars that needed headlight restorations, but the guy didnt even want my business card. im not sure if he spoke english well enough to understand what i was saying, but either way it didnt bite. another dealer told me they have someone already...right...while a buick sits in the lot with one yellow headlight and the other crystal clear.

i have one car to do tommorrow, its a friends co workers car, hopefully thatll get something moving.

how did you guys first start out? what did you do to get some business?
 
I was very slow at first. Did lots of what I called "pity jobs" where it was just a friend or family member paying me a little to detail their car just to try and help me out.

But once you get your name out there, people will start calling. Another idea is craigslist, but sometimes I wonder if it's worth the time since you get so much spam and cheap people calling. But every so often you will get a good job.

Also setting up a cheap or free website can't hurt. That way people could just stumble across it while searching for a detailer in their area. Hope that helps!
 
When I first started it out it was a lot of the friends and family. I also put an ad up on craigslist. Hit up every local place that would allow me to leave cards or brochures.

I'd suggest trying to stay away from dealerships. They are usually (not always) a lost cause. Most of them "have a guy" to detail. Or they pick up some illegals looking for work and have them do it for dollars on the car. At least that's how it seems to be at the few dealerships I went to.

You are not going to just pick up over night. But the more advertisement you have out there the better. Sign up for google places (it's free), manta.com, yelp, yp.com, etc. They all let you set up for free and it's another place on the internet that your name is.

I've actually gotten a good amount of customers just from craigslist or them doing a search on google and my name comes up.
 
yeah ill have to go on yelp and those other websites, thank you for your advice i really appreciate that. these dealers were more like car lots, privately owned im assuming and cheap as hell:P

i just made a craigslist posting:

Car Detailing

should i add anything?
 
Not too bad. Maybe add some pics and stuff (if you know how I just figured it out recently). If you use photobucket or any of the other sites you can use the html code and just paste it in the add.

Mine is probably over the top. I list all of my "a la carte" services, then put my interior & exterior packages. Kind of a copy of my services page from my website but less in depth.
 
Check your local Country Clubs and see if they would allow you to set up shop while their clients are out swinging clubs
 
Flash Gordon said:
Check your local Country Clubs and see if they would allow you to set up shop while their clients are out swinging clubs
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Great idea. If you are not mobile, it's still a great place for a flyer or some cards.
 
Dr Oldz said:
Great idea. If you are not mobile, it's still a great place for a flyer or some cards.
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They may even let you hook up to their water/electric. In the grand scheme of things, your going to be using very little of either
 
Hit all your independant repair shops. Tell them what you do and that you would appreciate their business
 
Pay attention to cars at gas stations on the pumps next you. The introduce yourself and what you can do.

Allways have cards ready to hand out.
 
Sounds like the 80/20 rule applies here. 80% of the people you talk to aren't interested. The other 20% might be. Keep knocking on doors and eventually you will find some good regular cusotmers. When they are happy they will start telling their friends and family. Hang in there. It will happen.
 
gt08vapor said:
Pay attention to cars at gas stations on the pumps next you. The introduce yourself and what you can do.

Allways have cards ready to hand out.
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Always having cards ready is key. I always keep 4 or 5 in my wallet in the event that something comes up. Worked out great for me the other night. I went golfing with some buddies, went into the club house for a couple cold beers and ended up getting the bartender as a customer.

Last night I handed out a couple cards too. Went to a local restaurant for some dinner, sat down at the bar and a couple guys were talking about motorcycles and maintaining them. So I politely interrupted them and just introduced myself and gave them my card. Doesn't mean I'll get anything from it but you never know.
 
Also if you are on any other car specific forum post up some of your work if they have a detailing section. I did this on 2 other car forums I'm on and got lots of jobs. Usually as long as you don't say you are advertising you won't have to pay. Obviously people will contact you through PM if they are interested.

Another place is to set up a booth at a local car show. I did a couple last year. The first one was terrible, I had people come and tell me I'm a scammer and they could detail their own vehicles with windex and paper towels. I was pissed to the point of not wanted to do another show ever again. Well my wife convinced me to do one more and at that next show I got 5 full correction jobs, and several loyal customers. And all if cost me was putting one free detail up for the silent auction...just a thought.
 
ride5150 said:
ive put out some fliers, put some business cards on some cars, i went to 2 dealerships today, and nothing. im getting a little frustrated, the dealership i was just at had at least 20 cars that needed headlight restorations, but the guy didnt even want my business card. im not sure if he spoke english well enough to understand what i was saying, but either way it didnt bite. another dealer told me they have someone already...right...while a buick sits in the lot with one yellow headlight and the other crystal clear.

i have one car to do tommorrow, its a friends co workers car, hopefully thatll get something moving.

how did you guys first start out? what did you do to get some business?
Click to expand...

Put anything on my car and I would call you up and raise h e double hockey sticks. Just keep in mind that a lot of people don't care for that practice and normally wouldn't even look at the flier or card before throwing it away.
 
ride5150 said:
yeah ill have to go on yelp and those other websites, thank you for your advice i really appreciate that. these dealers were more like car lots, privately owned im assuming and cheap as hell:P

i just made a craigslist posting:

Car Detailing

should i add anything?
Click to expand...
The Craigslist ad looks OK. I'd like to mention a couple of things that will help you a lot. First, I've been doing mobile detailing for about 1-1/2 years now and have develope quite a following. Enough to where we have just opened up a 3 bay fixed location. We did this by making our Craigslist ad more professional. You would want to create a flier with all the information you want to include, including pictures and maybe some prices. Save this file as a JPG file and upload it to your prefered site. Then, create the ad with only the JPG file you created. 99% of the Craigslist ads are all text based, use the JPG format! It looks much more professional and you'll get the attention from people looking to have their car done. You need to seperate yourself from the people who are offering the "I will detail any car for $40.00". Keep your prices consistant and keep to it. You'll look much more professional and your "Future Clients" will appreciate it. Good Luck!
 
ride5150 said:
ive put out some fliers, put some business cards on some cars, i went to 2 dealerships today, and nothing. im getting a little frustrated, the dealership i was just at had at least 20 cars that needed headlight restorations, but the guy didnt even want my business card. im not sure if he spoke english well enough to understand what i was saying, but either way it didnt bite. another dealer told me they have someone already...right...while a buick sits in the lot with one yellow headlight and the other crystal clear.

i have one car to do tommorrow, its a friends co workers car, hopefully thatll get something moving.

how did you guys first start out? what did you do to get some business?
Click to expand...


Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. ~John Quincy Adams

Bob
 
FUNX725 said:
Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. ~John Quincy Adams

Bob
Click to expand...

i like that:P thanks for all the advice, i might be getting a part time job and just doing this on the side until i get more clients. i only have 3 months until the semester starts and times a'wastin:P need to start making some money
 
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