When selling anything, the 1st questions you would ask the customer are:
"What don't you like about the way the vehicle looks now?"
"What is your budget?"
If you don't establish the answer to these two questions, everything else is irrelevant.
This says it all!
Sure, charging by the hour is what everyone wants to do. BUT.... knowing your customer is light years ahead of just coming up with an hourly figure.
Moreover, you may not know (
being new, or not knowing that particular vehicle, or running into problems along the way... whatever) just how long it'll take for one vehicle versus another. In the early days, package pricing will serve you well, and you'll learn along the way what works, what doesn't, what you need to do, and what just wastes your time. That being said, price those packages typically 20%~25% higher than you think you might need. You can ALWAYS tell the customer once it's done that you came in under budget. They LOVE that!
But the key is that you still need to know the customer. The guy driving his 'beater' isn't going to want to spend what he will for his weekend cruiser. The soccer mom tends to want a really clean interior, but doesn't care at all about the exterior. The family that gets a new car every 2 years and has a garage full of luxury cars will spend more than the ones that are driving used cars all the time.
Some guys don't want, or actually will not even talk to owners that are not prepared to spend the big bucks. Customer calls price shopping... dude doesn't have time for him. Personally, I don't care what I work on, it can be new or old, cost $15,000 or $150,000 because I *ENJOY* making them all look better than the day they drove off the lot! Everyone deserves to get the best job from you that you are capable of providing. Does that mean that the one guy pays more than the other? Uh YES IT DOES!
I was at the local Toyota dealer yesterday. Had a long discussion with a young man that wants to come over for some training. Showed him some photos of what swirls are, but moreover what buffer trails and holograms are. Then what the car looks like AFTER those are removed. But more importantly that they were PUT THERE by a dealerships "detailing department", to which his reply was that he's seen those, (and has actually done them himself) and didn't realize that there WAS a better way. WHY???? Because they are working in a different environment, a production environment, and they ARE NOT getting paid to spend 15, 20, 25 hours bringing the best out a paint job. Not at all, they are getting what.... $49.95 for a "full detail" and it has to be done in an hour!
I told him our basic "wash" jobs
start at $69.95 and we'll spend 10~15 minutes on EACH WHEEL.
So at the end of the day... you price a package based on what you think they'll pay, as well as WHAT THE VEHICLE NEEDS, and what the CUSTOMER WANTS. Might do a base price, $395 or even $295 and let them know that it's dependent on inspecting the vehicle, (as well as what upgrades they want). Just don't go out there telling *anyone* that they'll get a "full detail" or "total paint correction" etc. without them knowing that YOU know what you're doing, and a full and thorough explanation of the (insane) amount of time that can go into a professional detailing job.
An educated customer is a satisfied customer.
From there.... under promise and over deliver. Those first few you might end up making less per hour, but the cost of those advertising dollars will return to you ten fold.
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