How did you get your first customer?

michael13

michael13

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If you do not mind sharing, what kind detailing do you do, and what lead you to your first customer(s)?
 
Well I did a 2 step paint correction on my fathers PT Cruiser, took tons of before and after pictures. I placed them in a photo album showing my first customer what I can do. He is one ofthe key players in my town, and wasn't happy with what the competitions work so I got my shot. I wowed him, did his brothers, cousin, and sisters vehicles. Word of mouth is good advertisment...
 
Making the before and after photo album is a good idea.

How did get that first customer interested (ad, someone told him about you, etc.)?
 
If I remember correctly, first customer found me on Google.
 
After we decided to get into detailing, we contacted one of our friends, one who is known to have a "Big Mouth", and offered to detail their car for free. They absolutly flipped out when they seen the work we did on their 2004 Outback. They took their own pictures, placed it on their
Facebook account, emailed everyone they knew about how great their Outback now looked. We had a lot of people contacting us asking us to make their car look good too. I guess friends that have "Big Mouths" come in handy sometimes...
 
Told a friend who had watched me go all OCD on my daily driver for years, that I was thinking about a detailing business.
 
Would you say that free work is almost a necessity to get started?
 
my first customer always saw me detailing my car and asked if i could detail theirs.
 
michael13 said:
Would you say that free work is almost a necessity to get started?
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I wouldn't do it for free, Id just do it for a small amount. If it's a good friend or family member you could do it for free, and just have them tell their friends about you.
 
bevans:
That seems like a good way to get referrals.
 
thedirtyshow said:
my first customer always saw me detailing my car and asked if i could detail theirs.
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Same here. A neighbor saw the before & after on my car and before I knew it i was doing their Camry. Then his Mother's Jeep, then another neighbor's Suburban.........

I only do our cars and a few select neighbors' rides now but not in the summer! :nomore:
 
I took my friends brothers truck that he was selling and did A full correction detail on it. This truck was in sad shape being driven thrugh the bush off roading and stuff. The interior was terrible as he was a mechanic at one time and the gray interior was almost black. It took me about 20 hours of work, but the truck looked amazing and the first person that came to see it bought it immediately. This kid worked for a large automobile customizing shop and have been feeding me steady work since last november. It has all been through word of mouth from the original detail and for the time that I spent on this detail, I couldn't have paid that much in advertising!@!!
 
michael13 said:
Making the before and after photo album is a good idea.

How did get that first customer interested (ad, someone told him about you, etc.)?
Click to expand...
I work for a auto parts store, and I run the commercial side, so I used my customer base from that to start my detail customer base. Worked good for me.
 
michael13 said:
If you do not mind sharing, what kind detailing do you do, and what lead you to your first customer(s)?
Click to expand...
keep your car top shape and when they see you doing your car or just see your car they will ask you.Also do a freebe now and then like a doctor /office worker some one that work with alot of others and have money to spend
 
michael13 said:
If you do not mind sharing, what kind detailing do you do, and what lead you to your first customer(s)?
Click to expand...

Desert Detail & More said:
Well I did a 2 step paint correction on my fathers PT Cruiser, took tons of before and after pictures. I placed them in a photo album showing my first customer what I can do. He is one ofthe key players in my town, and wasn't happy with what the competitions work so I got my shot. I wowed him, did his brothers, cousin, and sisters vehicles. Word of mouth is good advertisment...
Click to expand...
Since you live on a dead end road I won't go into the sign in the yard thing but a fold up sign that you could sit along the road while you work for your first few customers would be a good idea.

The photo album combined with some business cards is the way I got my first years clientele and still to this day I have the album with me at all times. If I have a bunch of pictures to add to the album or just need to update it, I'll take all my goodies such as printed photos, plastic document protectors, business cards, proof of insurance document etc. into a busy Starbucks Coffee house, spread the stuff out on a table and do the reorganization right there in front of all the clientele at the coffee house.

Most of the folks in a place like that are taking a short time out or a break from their day to day stresses and like to just drink their coffee and chat with other patrons. People are of a curious nature and will eventually ask what you got going on. That's when you present your best most shocking before and after photos to them and hand them a business card. If you show them your best work combined with the fact that you have limited visibility, I guarantee they will talk about you at the water cooler.

This is word of mouth. Use everything and anything you have to your advantage to make the conversation with them most interesting. They will not wonder past you at your kitchen table so you have got to somehow put yourself right in front of them and the coffee house trick works for me every time. I almost always walk out of there with a new customer.

Even if I don't have anything new to add to my 3 ring binder portfolio, I still take it in there and dissect it, organize it replace cloudy protectors and don't be afraid to just take the initiative to strike up the conversation yourself. They told me "If your scared, stay home" I have to get to work now but as I think of more I'll post in this thread. Subscribed.
 
D_Nyholm said:
I took my friends brothers truck that he was selling and did A full correction detail on it. This truck was in sad shape being driven thrugh the bush off roading and stuff. The interior was terrible as he was a mechanic at one time and the gray interior was almost black. It took me about 20 hours of work, but the truck looked amazing and the first person that came to see it bought it immediately. This kid worked for a large automobile customizing shop and have been feeding me steady work since last november. It has all been through word of mouth from the original detail and for the time that I spent on this detail, I couldn't have paid that much in advertising!@!!
Click to expand...


That's the way it has to be, buddy.:props: referrals are the best advertising tool.

I've done half of a friend's Toyota Camy that was single-coated and faded, His firend want me to do his car. But i've got to finish it as soon as I am free, may be next week.
 
My first real customer other than my friends would be a guy that saw my ad on craigslist and wanted me to detail his 24ft searay. He didn't know me at all and I gave him a good price. I'm not his detailer for his boat.

Since then I have had a ton of different ways from customer but most of them have been through local ads, business cards, and word of mouth.
 
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