Any tips on getting more customers??

D

darrinb

New member
:nixweiss



I Dont know if i'm handing out my flyers in the right places. I have haned out over 500 flyers in peoples newspaper boxes next to their mailboxes and i havent got one call yet. Am I doing something wrong? Or could it be that no one cares about their car to get it detailed?



I Have only done five cars so far and they are all from word of mouth. My customers have been more than happy w/ my work. I guess i just need the word to get around because i think I am a great detailer.



Thanks for any advice...



Darrin
 
darrinb,



I am no professional detailer but this is my idea.



:scared THEM and at the same time "EDUCATE THEM" through the use of flyers.



If you let them know that they are doing more damage to their cars than cleaning them (on thier own the wrong way), they will be destroying the look of their paint over a period of time.



The best way to convinced them is to let them "KNOW" and "SEE" what is are "SWIRLMARKS". Once they know how to recognize a swirlmark, I doubt if they will feel good about it... (hehehehe).
 
Someone threw out a stat about flyers once. It was a pretty low sucess rate. Word of mouth is always more successful. When I started at this new office I only had to talk 2 people into getting their car done and the other 8 have been referals from those original 2. 4 of them are regulars too. I don't do flyers because of the low sucess rate. I would rather leave well placed business cards around town and spend more time detailing and less time fishing for customers.
 
I leave one on every gas pump I fill up at. ;) That is one way. Every now and then I'll leave a couple in the car care section of AutoZone or PepBoys. Usually by the car wash or the wax area since those are probably the most frequently purchased products. You've just got to be creative. Another method that could be fun is to call the ads in the paper from people selling their car. If you can explain that they could get more money out of it if it was properly detailed and then offer to have it a look over so you could give them an estimate then they usually at least keep you in mind. You have to be a salesman in this business. Some jobs are order takers and others are sales. Being a detailer is probably 99% sales and 1% order taking.
 
darrinb said:
i was thinking the dealers?
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Only do that if you like working real cheap. Most new car dealers have their own detailers and used car lots want the work done as cheaply as possible. In my area, they pay around $50. I tell them my minumum charge for auction cars is $200 because I am looking at 6 hours of work to shine those POS's. They always hang up.



Try golf courses and high end neighborhoods. Don't expect more than 1 or 2 calls per 100 flyers though and sometimes it takes a while. I got a call on my flyers in 2001 and I hadn't put any out since 1996! The lady had put it in a drawer and forgotten about it.
 
thanks guys...



has anyone actually knocked on people doors and explained to them the proper ways....



scott,



how did u get your customer base?? mostly flyers?
 
Its tough, for a while I would have atleast a full detail per day, now its sort of dying out since all the people that get their car detailed around here want to care for it themselves. When I finish detailing their car they always ask how they should car for it as far was washing etc. and I tell them. I figure it would be rude to not tell them because they will end up harming their paint. What should I do since my kindness is killing my business?
 
Yeah, mostly flyers. I treated putting out flyers as a full time job when I didn't have any cars. Once you get a good customer base, then most of your new customers will come from referrals as long as you do a top notch job.
 
aight imma pass out some more flyers tommorw... its been rainign here but i have a couple cars to do when the weather clears up...



scott, do u live near houston... i know some one that needs his cars detailed cause he cant find a good detailer...
 
darrinb said:
aight imma pass out some more flyers tommorw... its been rainign here but i have a couple cars to do when the weather clears up...
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Rainy days are the ideal time to put flyers out.



scott, do u live near houston... i know some one that needs his cars detailed cause he cant find a good detailer...
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No, Arlington is between Dallas and Fort Worth, about 250 miles from Houston.
 
scott, i live in the 2nd richest county in the nation, i went and passed out to all the rich areas, imma go hit up some golf courses tommorw



any other suggestions??



thanks
 
darrinb said:
aight imma pass out some more flyers tommorw... its been rainign here but i have a couple cars to do when the weather clears up...



scott, do u live near houston... i know some one that needs his cars detailed cause he cant find a good detailer...
Click to expand...



I'm in Houston - however I don't currently own a buffer, so if his paint is already damaged, I probably won't be able to help much. If it's in good shape, there should be no issues. I'm trying to buy a buffer, but business is tough right now, and jobs are scarce :(
 
i dunno, i have to talk o him



I finally got my first call from one of the flyers... just got the call, went to sleep las nite at 5 and the customer called me up at 9, o well i can do w/ 4 hrs of sleep. i'm doin his car tommorw....
 
One idea I just came up with to market an "express wax" in the $60-$80 range is to go into Dr.'s offices and entice their "SUPPORT TEAM" (don't call them medical support staff...no one wants to be referred to as an infection) and give a couple of your business cards with a certain % off of an EXPRESS DETAIL. Goal is to get the DR. as a client who will more than likely want the higher end detail. S/He has friends who value a nice looking car.....



Another idea I have pretains to flyers....make a College alumni or fan flyer...offer a discount on a full service detail to them. I made a couple of these flyers and put them on some fellow Univ. of Florida alumni (could tell from a sticker on their window) and received a couple calls....scheduled a detail from it too. I think I handed out 10-15 pieces...just got lucky.



If anyone has any flyers they would like to e-mail to each other...let's share some ideas....e-mail me a flyer and I'll send you what I have.



EJ

ejseguna@yahoo.com
 
I like doorhangers much better than flyers. They are alot more professional. I always bait my doorhangers with dinner for two, gas cards, free car washes etc.
 
i was thinking about getting some real business cards made, and giving them to certain places like my moms work, some auto shops, stuff like that
 
Auto Care USA, you mean people get those things when they come to you for a detail, right?



greathuskie, everyone knocks on vistaprint that they're not professional enough, they made me cards that I think are awesome, although I would've opted for no advertisement on the back and the gloss, I don't think you can get MUCH more proffesional cards.
 
I love the doorhangers idea....I need to see if there is a template for it in Microsoft Publisher.....how do you make yours Auto Care?



I am in the process of designing a post card for people who are selling their cars in the classifieds...big letters will read something along the lines of: SELLING YOUR CAR? GET MORE MONEY FOR IT!
 
I'm not doing this myself, but I found something on my car that was more eye-catching than the standard flyer.



It was a magnetic backed business card the guy left. It was an oil change place/garage specializing in Subarus. He left it on my WRX. Now if I didn't do all my own work I'd probably give him some business. It said my first oil change was 1/2 off or something.



I know you can buy the magnetic sheets to stick your business cards too. I personally think it looks more professional than a flyer.



Plus, if they aren't ready for something now, they'll stick it to their fridge and it won't get lost. I think the Subaru card is still on my fridge ~2 months later. Friends see it, etc.
 
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