Has anyone thought about doing a LivingSocial Deal??

umana2482 said:
I worked out a deal with my local paper in OC, CA a year and half ago. It did not make me a lot of money but it surely got me some quick needed cash.

Most customers were very easy to deal with. Some did expect a higher level of service. 70% of the cars were easy to work with, the other 30% were a mess. The average tip I got was $10, some tipped about $20 and others nothing.

It got me about 5 regular customers. It got me an office where I go to once week to detail cars. I get there at 8am and leave by 12 or 1pm with about $250 in my pocket, sometimes more, sometimes less. Then to my next stop.

Run a deal that works for you. Be ready to be swamped with calls when the deal runs. Also be ready for the long days and hard labor.

Run a deal with your local newspaper better. Most subscribers are folks over the age of 40, home owners and retirees.

Good luck.

William Umana

William, exactly what I am talking about it seems most who posted here had a bad exp with this. The first time I ran these deals I ran into problems but the deal ended up helping my biz long term. Now that I have exp, I will be even more prepared when the deal launches. I have lived these deals first hand and the positive outweighed the negative for my situation.

Like I said if your not detailing everyday, then a blast of business would be good in every way. If it fits in your plan and for me, I was looking long term then I am all for it. Just make sure you educate yourself enough to know exactly what is going to happen during this influx of business.

It leads me to the 6 p's that I learned in the military

piss,poor,planning leads too piss,poor,performance

Make sure you have a well thought out plan.

RLC Mobile Auto Detailing - Augusta GA car wash and detail, car detail and auto detailing ,mobile detailing

Top Shelf Auto Detailing - Top Shelf Auto Detailing Columbia, SC-car wash in Columbia,SC that offers auto detailing and car detailing services at your location.

happy detailing!!!
Click to expand...
 
rustytruck said:
If you need a quick infusion of cash that means your business is underfunded. That is a sign you are in trouble. You need to address that problem not run a coupon deal and add another problem.
Click to expand...

Not everyone is established to the point that they have plenty of work every singly day. A LOT of businesses in every field get to the point where they need a quick infusion of cash. Some people feel that the best way to "address" the problem is take a risk.
 
VP Mark said:
Not everyone is established to the point that they have plenty of work every singly day. A LOT of businesses in every field get to the point where they need a quick infusion of cash. Some people feel that the best way to "address" the problem is take a risk.
Click to expand...

I'm all ears if someone can explain how one of these coupon half price sites can help a mobile auto detailing business. The guys that are willing to run these deals seem to all mention the sum of money that they will have in x amount of days. A pile of money only funds your business for x amount of days or months. A loyal customer base funds your business for a lifetime.

As small business owners we should be working together to improve our livelihood. How is saying I'm willing to work for 75% off helping anyone? Look at any other professions, no one does that kind of thing. Do you see builders building new houses for $40k? Dr.'s doing open heart surgeries for $2500? accountants doing tax returns for $25? Auto mechanics rebuilding tranny's for $150? plumbers installing new heating systems for $200? NO of course not.

You don't need to look very hard to find someone willing do a full in/out detail on a car for $75, and you can always find a coupon for that price. You guys are teaching the American public that there is no need to ever spend more than $80 to have your car detailed. You will never make a living detailing cars if you are only putting $40 in your pocket.

All auto detailers should stop running these deals.
 
I've done a deal through ls myself. It was nice to have a large sum upfront. 100% within 15 days of the deal end date. The one thing I would suggest is MAKE SURE you can handle the limit of vouchers you chose to sell. They work with you on setting a limit, obviously in most cases they push for a higher number of vouchers. My deal was mobile within a 13 mile radius and extra travel charge of $1 per mile each way past the first 13miles. I had very few people say something about the travel charge. I have to agree that the majority of customers(90%) it brought me were only looking for a deal. It didn't help me gain loyal customers, I just took it as getting a loan and working to pay it back. Thankfully I didn't have it ruin my reputation, I just tried my best to work with all kinds of situations that came up. If your mobile and want to do this deal I suggest putting a note on the deal that the customer must have offstreet parking. Some people will make an issue because they don't have anywhere else for you to do it. There was several situations that came up that I never had dealt with on any regular paying customer.
 
I won't say it will work for everybody, but it did work for me. I ran a deal with one of these companies and a great customer called me.

I was running an add for a mini detail and a full detail. He said he wasn't interested in the deals I had running, but he did go to my website and was very interested in my Platinum-level details for his 6 vehicles. Every six months.

Oh yeah, and he also has some trucks he wants polished and waxed as well, on an ongoing basis. 60+ Freightliners. (He has them washed by another company)

So definitely don't look at these deals to make you money. They most likely will not.

What they will do is target an audience and do your marketing for you.

Sometimes that marketing reaches the right ears!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top