Too much work for price or not enough

Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
I see your prices and everything, but it doesnt really say what each package includes. Or am i missing it somewhere. How long have you been in business, do you stay busy?
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My sales philosophies may differ from the next guys. My website contains just enough info for me to get my customer to call for more info. I like closing the deal on the phone. I have had 1 no show so far this year, three last year. I do stay busy, strangely enough, with the economy being in the dumps last year my business tripled in 2009. You have to take your own sales tactics and roll with them. Don't over-complicate things, we aren't selling our customers a mortgage. Good Luck.
 
Soakin' Joe's said:
My sales philosophies may differ from the next guys. My website contains just enough info for me to get my customer to call for more info. I like closing the deal on the phone. I have had 1 no show so far this year, three last year. I do stay busy, strangely enough, with the economy being in the dumps last year my business tripled in 2009. You have to take your own sales tactics and roll with them. Don't over-complicate things, we aren't selling our customers a mortgage. Good Luck.
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Understandable...whatever works. So what % of your work would you say comes from just cold customers that happen to end up at your website? About what % is word of mouth or other types of advertisement?
 
OK so i just got back from the only detail shop in the area that i know of..its next to a small repair shop and its not a really location you can just barely see it behind the barrier...

anyways he said for wash polish wax vacuum glass tire shine wheels interior etc. he showed me a few of the cars it didnt even look like he used interior dressing..he said $150 for my car, a mustang...so im sure hes charging roughly $200 for SUVs...and he said for upholstery and carpet cleaning its a flat rate of $150..he showed me a van they just did for 150 and the carpets looked like they still may have been dirty in spots.

im guessing he upsells leather conditioning just because he didnt mention it while giving me the rundown on the services but then asked me what type of seats i had

shop has been open for about a year ..this is a very small shop and he had 9 cars in it...bumper to bumper...he was showing me the finished product on a few and i was not impressed whatsoever...he says he used all auto magic products which i had never even heard of anyone using..and some meguiars products...he did mention that he used meguiars leather conditioner

completely messy shop and he said you need to make an appointment 2 weeks in advance...what a joke, ill have no problem getting big business with my prices, im suprised hes getting so much with his...he said 7-10 hours a vehicle and there are 3 other people in the shop detailing so im doubtful that it actually takes him that long
 
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Bullitt AK said:
OK so i just got back from the only detail shop in the area that i know of..its next to a small repair shop and its not a really location you can just barely see it behind the barrier...

anyways he said for wash polish wax vacuum glass tire shine wheels interior etc. he showed me a few of the cars it didnt even look like he used interior dressing..he said $150 for my car, a mustang...so im sure hes charging roughly $200 for SUVs...and he said for upholstery and carpet cleaning its a flat rate of $150..he showed me a van they just did for 150 and the carpets looked like they still may have been dirty in spots.

im guessing he upsells leather conditioning just because he didnt mention it while giving me the rundown on the services but then asked me what type of seats i had

shop has been open for about a year ..this is a very small shop and he had 9 cars in it...bumper to bumper...he was showing me the finished product on a few and i was not impressed whatsoever...he says he used all auto magic products which i had never even heard of anyone using..and some meguiars products...he did mention that he used meguiars leather conditioner

completely messy shop and he said you need to make an appointment 2 weeks in advance...what a joke, ill have no problem getting big business with my prices, im suprised hes getting so much with his...he said 7-10 hours a vehicle and there are 3 other people in the shop detailing so im doubtful that it actually takes him that long
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I guess thats the best way to do it, go to em in person and check things out. Will you be doing yours mobile or just have customers drop their rides off at your place?

Your prices should get you plenty of work if you do good work, which judging by your critisizm of the other guys work, im guessing that you do lol :). So what methods do you plan to use to start getting some business going?
 
Wills.WindowsAndWheels said:
I guess thats the best way to do it, go to em in person and check things out. Will you be doing yours mobile or just have customers drop their rides off at your place?

Your prices should get you plenty of work if you do good work, which judging by your critisizm of the other guys work, im guessing that you do lol :). So what methods do you plan to use to start getting some business going?
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Well i was planning on going only mobile however i guess i could offer a slightly discounted rate for customers bringing their vehicles to me and ill do flyers and business cards once i start to get the ball rolling...craigslist and just as much advertisement as possible everywhere i can legally
 
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Bullitt AK said:
Well i was planning on going only mobile however i guess i could offer a slightly discounted rate for customers bringing their vehicles to me and ill do flyers and business cards once i start to get the ball rolling...craigslist and just as much advertisement as possible everywhere i can legally...and maybe illegally get it :hungry:
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Illllll pretend to of not heard that last part...remember, everything you put online is here forever :). A great place to get your cards printed up is GotPrint.net ...they're designing tools are not the BEST...but they work well enough. Or if you have a program you can use to design them (if your computer smart enough to do it, which i was not) you can then just upload the file and it will be ready to print.

I got 2500 cards...full color front and black n' white back shipped for $33. It was for the glossy finish as well. The quality was quite good and they will even do a free check to make sure all of your text/pictures fit correctly into the template (i know cause i had to redo mine a couple times to make it fit right).

They also usually have a coupon code available for either 5%-10% off...i'm sure they do flyers etc as well. BTW be careful with craigslist, you'll get a lot of cheap lowballers calling you from there unless you market it right.
 
i dont know if i should get business cards and flyers and what not right now..because i still work a full time job and i cant afford to give that up until i have a clientele base and some extra income saved...at most i can do 3 cars/week right now so that may be wasted effort for right now

thanks alot for that link and info
 
Bullitt AK said:
i dont know if i should get business cards and flyers and what not right now..because i still work a full time job and i cant afford to give that up until i have a clientele base and some extra income saved...at most i can do 3 cars/week right now so that may be wasted effort for right now

thanks alot for that link and info
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No problem.... cards are so cheap it might not be a bad idea to have some even if its just for customers. That way if they want to come back to you, they have all your info...it might lead to other business thou lol...but hey if they dont mind waiting you can take care of them too...can't build clientele unless you promote yourself right :props:
 
You need to have business cards printed professionally. You never know when your going to be able to hand them out to potential customers. I always keep some in my wallet. Besides if detailing isn't your full time job, use your current job to market yourself and hand out your cards to your fellow employees or customers. Its all about meeting people and making contacts
 
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