Opti-Coat Pro installer cerfification

Calendyr

Calendyr

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This is a question for you guys who are certified Opti-Coat Pro installers....

I spoke with Yvan Lacroix yesterday morning. Very nice guy, hope to meet him soon.

So basicly in order to be an Opti-Coat pro installer i need to give proof of insurrance.

The training is optional but it allows to get the certified title on their website.

Since the training is 2 days long and cost 1000 US$, my question is: Is it worth it?

Did you see increased business from getting the certification? And if not certified, do you get leads from Optimum?

Finally, what coatings are you offering? I am thinking about offering all 3 pro coatings: Paint-Guard, Opti-coat Pro and Opti-Coat Pro+

Right now the only coating I am offering is McKee's 37. So if I go with Optimum, I am not sure it would have a place for Gloss-coat in the line up. Since McKee's 37 is less expensive, I could offer than instead of Gloss coat... not sure if Gloss coat is better than McKee's but I doubt it and it's about 2 to 3 times the price... what do you think?

Finally, what demand are you getting from customers? Does the Optimum brand help you sell more coatings?

Any thoughts and or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Check out the 4 part series that Matt Morman did on the Optimum Training on his youtube channel and see if it is something you want to do.

I am only posting the first episode.


Many authorized installers on the optimum synergy podcast say the training is worth it. I have also listened to various guests mention only carrying pro+ and gloss coat as their entry level coating. I'm going by memory here and I recall the reason for only pro+ was due to generating more revenue and not enough sales for pro. I recall it was due to the warranty offered with pro+.
 
Thanks Guz, I will go watch that right now! ;)
 
I had seen most of this presentation in Pan's video with Yvan. I like the way he approaches the razor blade use. Very curious to see how he gets a better finish with a rotary vs a DA! Thanks again for the link. It doesn't answer any of my original questions but it was fun to watch ;)
 
I would love to see more responses to this because I had a conversation with Yvan a month ago as well.

Did it take a while for people to recognize that you’re an authorized/certified installer?

How immediate did you see ROI?


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Why insurance?

From what I've read...insurance is only good if you damage car while in your possession from hitting things, place burns down etc. It doesn't protect
you if you damaged paint from polishing. That's on you.

So what's point of having insurance then?...

Tom
 
TMQ said:
Why insurance?

From what I've read...insurance is only good if you damage car while in your possession from hitting things, place burns down etc. It doesn't protect
you if you damaged paint from polishing. That's on you.

So what's point of having insurance then?...

Tom
Click to expand...

I called my insurance company and spoke for about 30 minutes with my rep regarding commercial insurance. She told me I needed 2 contract (this is for Canada, might work differently in the US).

The first one is a general liability insurance. This covers damage you might do to the property where you work. So for example, you move the customer's car, forget to put it in gear and put the hand brake on and the car starts rolling and hit the house, this contract will cover the damage you do to the house.

Second one is the garage keeper's insurance. This covers damage you do to the car in your possession. So in the same exemple, the damage the car would take when hitting the house would be covered by this one. She told me damage I do to the car while working on it is also covered. So let's say your DA's backplate snaps off while working and the shaft of the machine make a huge scratch on pannel, the repaint would be covered. This might not be the case with every insurance company, but the one I contacted do cover it.

So why does Optimum wants to make sure you are covered? I have no idea. Maybe it's proof you are a professional detailer, maybe it's something else.

Now, I am supposed to get the quote today. Last time I asked they quoted me 1000$ for the year. I operate only 7 months out of the year because of weather here in Montreal... so I decided not to take it. In 5 years, I had to go out of pocket once for an issue with a customer's vehicle. When I did the engine detail, water went into the spark plug well and it killed one of the ignition coils. It costed me 200$ to have it fixed for the customer. Even if I had been insured, the first 500$ or 1000$ is usually on you before the insurance starts paying. And if you make a claim, they raise your policy price for the future contracts, so you only want to make a claim if it's a huge amount.

I would say that unless you have a fixed location, it's probably not worth it to get these insurance unless you drive customer's cars, or move them over distances where something might happen. I typically don't move the cars unless I have no other choice. In five years it happened maybe 4 times. Other than that I don't see what could possibly happen that would cause damage that would warrant making a claim. Even if I damage a panel and the car needs a repaint, I am looking at about 1000$, and I don't think I would make a claim for that knowing that they would raise the cost of my insurance a 100$ or more afterwards and I would still have to pay the first 500$. I guess it depends what you do. If you put the car on a lift, and take the wheels off, then yes, absolutelly get insurance... it that think breaks and the car comes crashing down with no wheels on, you are looking at very expensive repairs! Other than that?

So depending I hope the policy is not gonna be too expensive if I take the bare minimum. That is also why I am curious to know if being a certified Optimum Opti-Coat installer brings in a lot of business or not. My experience selling coatings have not been too good so far. The close rate is about 10% from the calls I get. Compared to about 70% for my other services. It actually went down since I took a yellow page ad. Now a lot of people call me looking for a car wash :(
 
Calendyr said:
This is a question for you guys who are certified Opti-Coat Pro installers....
...
Since the training is 2 days long and cost 1000 US$, my question is: Is it worth it?
Click to expand...

Just an average Joe who used to listen a lot of the Optimum podcasts - Doesn't part of that $1000 work as a credit towards $XXX dollars worth of product? Seems like that could help build some value into doing the training.

Also, not sure how much other detailing classes normally cost, but I would think you could get value from the experience just by being exposed to someone else's way of doing things. Or pick up tips and tricks from other detailers attending the class also.

I'm in a different industry (Auto repair vs detailing), but it seems every time I've been to a training class, there's always a lot of great info from the "off script" portion of training or things you pick up during the hands on time.
 
oneheadlite said:
Just an average Joe who used to listen a lot of the Optimum podcasts - Doesn't part of that $1000 work as a credit towards $XXX dollars worth of product? Seems like that could help build some value into doing the training.

Also, not sure how much other detailing classes normally cost, but I would think you could get value from the experience just by being exposed to someone else's way of doing things. Or pick up tips and tricks from other detailers attending the class also.

I'm in a different industry (Auto repair vs detailing), but it seems every time I've been to a training class, there's always a lot of great info from the "off script" portion of training or things you pick up during the hands on time.
Click to expand...

Yvan did not mention any products included with the training. They do cover hotel for 2 days and food. Maybe they changed it this year? Or he forgot to mention it but that seems unlikelly since it would be some serious incentive ;)

The training would be mostly useless for me. I have seen the training in various videos, it's pretty much always the same. I know that part of the training goes towards marketing, so that might be good depending what they say ;) But as far as detailing techniques and all of that, I know all they are teaching already. So if I take it, it's gonna be purelly to get the certification. So the certification has to be worth at least 1500$ of extra busines to me since i will be spending 3 days (not getting revenue) at the training and paying for it as well.

As far as learning things at trainings, I watch about 10 hours per week of detailing videos, and I have been doing that since I started in 2013. That's 10 hours per week average every week for 6 years or 3,120 hours of detailing info. This is on top of the 1 hour per day I spend here or elsewhere on the web reading about detailing and the actual experience I have on customers cars. So when I say I feel there is very little I can learn, it's not bragging, anytime I am not 100% certain about something I ask here and usually get an answer within an hour. There is only 1 thing I have never been able to find a solution to, and it's removing salt from carpets that have been sitting there for years. I have tried everything people have suggested and never found anything that actually works. The issue is that most detailers here are in the US, so they have never experienced Canadian winter salt stains we get. When there is an inch thick of salt imbeded in the carpet, it's like concrete and nothing seems to affect it. Anyway, back to the training, the course was filmed in it's entirety in the video posted by Guz, and I learned nothing because I saw Yvan give that same presentation in several other videos. He does touch on using a razon blade on paint (which I had not seen him do before) but I already knew about that and already use it (very rarelly). He said something I found useful about wet sanding that's about it. So again, for me, it's just a matter of knowing if the certification will pay for itself in added sales or not.

This is why I am interested in knowing what Authorized and or Certified Optimum detailers think about it.
 
Calendyr - Very well written response; Thanks for not jumping on me for not being a pro. :xyxthumbs:

Since I can't remember which episode referenced their training class, did A quick google search for "opticoat training product credit" that turns up a link from last February that has the class listed at $1500 with a $500 product credit. I wonder if they did change their approach recently.

I'll now politely step out of the way for the sake of better / vastly more qualified information. :laughing:
 
oneheadlite said:
Calendyr - Very well written response; Thanks for not jumping on me for not being a pro. :xyxthumbs:

Since I can't remember which episode referenced their training class, did A quick google search for "opticoat training product credit" that turns up a link from last February that has the class listed at $1500 with a $500 product credit. I wonder if they did change their approach recently.

I'll now politely step out of the way for the sake of better / vastly more qualified information. :laughing:
Click to expand...

Seems that way since the training is now 1000$ and no mention of the credit. So it comes to the same thing in a way, but a bit better since they are not forcing you to buy 500$ worth of products. The coatings are pretty expensive, about 150$ to 220$ per application. So 500$ would be about 2 or 3 coatings plus a bit of other prep products.

From what I understand, the coatings have serial numbers, I think this is used to track the application making sure it's not sold to non-authorized dealers. Also it's probably used for the warranties Optimum gives with the coatings.
 
The training used to include the product credit. They have now reduced the price by 500 and there is no product credit. I believe the training was well worth it. I had been detailing for over 8 years before attending, and I went home with a wealth of knowledge. We were on the Opti Coat website with a certified logo within a couple weeks, and started receiving leads immediately. Since April 2017 I've Done over 30 Pro+ coatings.
 
As I understand it Optimum recommends a install price of $1200 for Pro+, those kinds of profit margins def take the sting out of the monthly fees
 
I’ve installed opti coat, it is very awesome and an awesome network of installers and trainers, not just Yvan. The insurance thing is kind of cool because they just wanna make sure you’re covered, if you’re coating vehicles no reason not to have insurance.

Mines $800 a year, and covered when I drive them or pick up or deliver as well.
Certainly watch the training series, and once you use gloss coat you’ll like it more then McKee’s 37 for longevity too I bet.

The other awesome thing with optimum is the synergy and business help.

They give you maintenance products to distributors to customers and profit from, as well as you can be a distributor of their products and get everything the make HALF OFF.

And I think the training includes $500 of product or at least it includes food and board, old price was 1500 that included a $500’credit but not they took off $500.


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So I'm not a Optimum installer but I'm a certified installer for another brand. Pretty similar in that I'm listed on the site with my business and location.

Don't rely on getting jobs from a website. Just because your certified it's still going to be up to you to sell jobs. Not saying thats you but some people get it in there heads that once there certified then all this work appears. But when marketed right you can do very well.

My business has grown a ton in the past year and offering a certified only type product is nice.

As for insurance you definitely want have it. More than once I have landed a big job just because I'm insured. I have had clients who are about to spend big money ask once I show them proof they have booked in.

Yes you definitely want garage keepers and liability insurance. Even if you are mobile you want the car to be covered while under your care.
 
Hate to rehash a old post but this is kind of same boat Im in right now. We have a new business and looking to add a profession line of coating. Have been talking to them and seems like they are willing to work with us. Company only been around for about 6 months and just a weekend gig in a shop right now. Hopping for more in the future here.
Anyone go and get the cert from them?
 
I have a local detailer near me with several product names on his doors. About half of the time I drive by his shop it's completely empty. If you are confident in your skill, I'd skip the Optimum training and buy a reputable coating and do it all on your own. The average person isn't going to know Optimum from Blackfire from Angel Wax.
 
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