Blessed and Large on Opportunity, but Short on Time - HELP!

B

bunkeroo26

New member
I am in a very blessed position to have a foot in at a dealership.


 


Long Story Short, I have a meeting in the middle of January.


As I am writing this now, it is the 11th of December, so that gives me


just over a month to prepare.  The time is a bit of a blessing.


 


While I believe that I have a good product, I need to make sure to


approach this entire affair properly.  It is during this next meeting that


I plan to secure myself a position at this dealership.  This is where I would


like the help from you all.  If you had the chance to make the big deal,


how would you go about and what would you make sure to emphasize?


 


 


 


A little background on this relationship.  I worked for the local Segway Company,


and I took this gentleman and his family for a tour of our city.  This gives me the


ability to connect during training and during the tour on a very personal level.


During and after the tour, they were telling me how they just moved into town and


purchased a dealership and inflated its value from X hundred thousand to X million


presently.  Needless to say, this is one of the newest and largest dealerships in town.


I want to make sure that I have all of my ducks in a row, as this could become a


very profitable venture.


 


While I do plan on working FOR the dealership, I would much rather assume a


managerial status with this company.  The best method that I have heard is from another


member here in this forum.  He said that he has locked storage cabinets for all of the


chemical.  Bottles for the employees are only labeled with generic names, like polish/compound


and the such.  Deliveries for chemicals come after hours.  This protects the trade secrets


that I have developed through research and trial and error.   Does this sound unreasonable


or paranoid?


 


I view that with ONR and the Gary Dean method, that I can guide them how to keep their


entire lot of cars clean.  Sure, they already have detail guys, but it is the upkeep on the lot


that I can help with.  This procedure is worth money, I just do not know how to quantify the worth


of this.  What do I charge?  Or must I take on a managerial status in order to share this?


How can I make sure that I benefit as long as the dealership is benefiting?  I have no idea how


to ask for payment for something like this.


 


Another huge opportunity with this dealer, is to get him into coatings.  I am going to get some


of the Opti-Seal to show him, but I do want to talk him into the Opti Coat Pro, with Warranty.


This is where profit and customer satisfaction will merge.  Even though this will be a service that


will take some time to convince them, I do believe that we have a large customer base locally.


Many fishermen and the like would love to have a second protecting clearcoat.  Do you have any


tips on how or why you would suggest Opti-Coat.  I am sure these guys have heard every pitch


on Earth. 


 


Luckily, he trusts and respects me.  This is a huge chance for me.  Out of four owners at the dealership,


I am fortunate enough to have formed a bond with the big man, the honcho.  That being said, I am


worried about not presenting effectively enough to them.  Do you have any tips on how I can stand


apart from the crowd?


 


 


The last time that we talked, I think that he may give me a car to work on, and show my attention


to detail and quality of work.  If this happens, I need to do nothing other than my usual.  The one


thing that I am skeptical of, is which of the engine parts are water-phobic.  This dealership is going


to have many European cars, and I don't want to make a costly mistake.


 


Should I have my business insurance evened out before the meeting, or can I start it


after I gain the contract?  I do not want my not having insurance to cost my the contract.


 


Thanks much for your input.  I do apologize for the long post, but there are many factors of this deal.


This could easily be one of the most important times for my business.  I want to make sure that it allows


me to expand and grow.  The last thing that I want to be is a Wash and Wax guy.  I believe that selling


warrantied Opti-Coat Pro is my money ticket.  Am I flawed in this assumption?
 
Without first learning what they value the most, it's hard to say. Do you want to throw ideas and services at them and hope one sticks or do you want to come prepared for multiple bullet points they may throw at you and tackle their concerns and issues? Most dealerships are most concerned with cutting cost and making more money and not necessarily paying good money to a qualified professional to do the best thing for automobiles with the long-term in mind.


 


I would say prepare multiple approaches to problems you may believe they would have; time per job, cost, quality, customer satisfaction, ect. When you arrive to meet with them, do your small talk then roll into asking them what they value most in their automotive detailing department. Once they tell you, you can move in that direction.
 
HD speed with some D300/105 in it after a clay session with an interior cleaning


The coating idea - needs to be done on the cheap so they can sell it cheaper, or higher for max profit...try selling it for 500 to them and they wont go for it, but for 75, they probably will, which in turn makes you use opticoat only as its the fastest to apply and cure (out of Cquartz, 22ple, modesta, etc)


 


As JC said, you need to figure out what THEY want and how you are going to meet and exceed those demands.  Just because you want to two step every car, you may be wasting their time because they just want the car clean and shiny.  Most dealerships want the cars done fast and good enough, not done with the most attention to detail.  As in: that dirt on the dash, use a dressing to remove/cover it up.  The stain in the carpet that wont come out, spray paint it to get it sold without replacing the carpet, the dirty leather, just condition it and get most of it out.  Perfection is not on their agenda unlike a higher end dealership or lower volume/higher end car dealership (this is a used car place, right?)


 


Think of it this way:


if a dealership sells 1000 cars a year, and they have the option for a near perfectly detailed car for 300 or a good enough detailed car for 100, which do you think they will choose.  IN MY MINDSET, I would pay the extra for a better job to try and sell the car for more money in the end...usually about 500-1000 more.  But if they don't sell it for more, then the dealership just lost out on 200,000, because they had the cars "detailed better".  Sure the small picture at 200 per car doesn't seem like much when they are selling for 2K profit each, but the big picture means they cant buy a house somewhere every year and make money from renting that out, or buy that boat, or take that vacation in the Hamptons.
 
Toyota, 75 would be awfully cheap for Opti guard.

To me, the money would be selling this with warranty for a premium.

For budget, they can get optional for 35 or 40 bucks.


One major factor for selling cars is not just how much you sell

it for, but how quickly you sell it. You can't look at detailing as money

thrown away because you didn't sell the car for more, you need to

look at it as protecting an investment and making sure that your

salesmen retain bargaining power. On a 60k car, the blue book for

grades such as excellent or Good varies significantly. I would imagine

the car would sell for less in less condition.


If I was off the mindset to 2 step every car, that would be an unattainable

goal. It is not fiscally sound.


Where we come in, is we treat their cars better than a power washer and dirty shammy.

Plus think of the thousands of dollars I can save them on water.
 
Things to keep in mind is new cars on dealers lots in the majority of the buyers eyes already look great so a coating/sealant isnt going to make it a lot look a lot better nor will it keep it cleaner. And a good portion of the average public don't understand nor will pay for additional protection. I have seen sales lost where the protection was already on the new car and was added to the selling price... The dealer either had to eat it or loose the sale. The publicity these paint protection scams have received squashed a lot of that. So an offered warranty is not a selling point. What would your warranty be if you were offering it to me.


This leaves making used cars look better. My experience and association with numerous dealers shows the dealer will only pay to improve the looks of a higher end car they get on trade.. Thats where it will work out.. But thats not volume. You can put the same amount of work into both a Malibu and a BMW and the BMW will draw a higher price increase from the work. Throwing a coat of the best coating in the world on a used car without prep yields the dealer nothing. Correction is needed to make it look better and they won't pay for that on the average car. Old saying " you can put 6 coats of wax on dog shit and you end up with shiny dog shit"
 
You will need to have your insurance at the time of the meeting.


 


You need to find out what the the main concerns of the dealership are so you can aduquetly address them. Dealers want real solutions to real problems not hypotheticals.


 


Offering warranties in the dealership capacity = Scary. Most dealers already have something in place(perma plate, touch of class,eetc.) Please consult an attorney before proceeding.


 


The power wash and chamios guys to sufficient job at upkeeping the dealer lots. What advantage does your solution have over the current method that most dealers use? Cost? Time? Convenience?
 
bunkeroo26 said:
Where we come in, is we treat their cars better than a power washer and dirty shammy.
Click to expand...


  The average Joe Buyer or Sammy Dealership will not notice a difference between you and lot washer.


 


In my neck of the woods the lot washers come out 2-3 times a week. How is your method superior in terms of cost, convenience and overall value.


 


Don't think as an Autopian - think like a dealership trying to preserve or increase profit margins.


 


In regard to saving them thousands on the water bill, have you done a projected cost analysis in terms of saving vs. current spending?


 


As I said before, I wish you all the best. Just be sure to cross your T's and dot your I's.
 
Jess, I definitely wouldn't be coating without correction.

You are right when you talk about the challenges with adding

coating to new vehicles. First is the publics skepticism,

Second is price, third is value to the dealer.


While I do think that a new dealer would benefit from selling

warrantied coating to customers who ask for it, I admit that this

is not a sales sector that I am familiar with, just speculative.

I do see dollar signs in offering a coat that works. One question

remains: would it be enough profit to work against people's

stereotypes of coatings? Also, would it be worth it to deal with

the customers for warrantied service? I could see this being a pain.

Is the money worth it to deal with the hassle.......



When I give a lot an estimate, I critique all of the cars. I then suggest

which ones that I spend extra time on. They agree many times and

we "pimp out" one of them extra nice. If course I don't choose

the ones with dents and other trouble, but we chose the one where they

will make the most money by having it nice and crisp.


The best point that you made Jess, is that the average public will not be

informed enough to make the decision in my favor. I just need to decide if

the sector that I believe I can sell to is large enough to make it

worth the time and effort.
 
Drew, a few good questions for me to prepare for. Thanks.

Cost is tricky, because they are benefiting from not having their

paint swirled, so less need for polish on unsold vehicles. As this does

not affect the inventory that gets sold, it is hard to make tangible.


Convenience, it definitely has its benefits. You don't need a power washer,

which means that you don't need gas to run it, nor water lines over the

entire lot. There is less equipment needed, so multiple teams would be

easier to outfit.


Value would be added from having a higher quality of vehicle. The question here

is would the dealer care and would the customer care?

I believe that the right dealer should care about quality, as long as it is in

their price point, as this can be a major distinguishing factor from competition.


Does my plan have is downfalls? Yes, and it is Microfibers.

While my plan saves lots of water, some is then needed to wash

the towels. This is hard to quantify. While towels are not that expensive,

it is extras work to inspect them and keep them in good quality.

If workers just the then onto the ground, it could get expensive quickly.
 
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