Mobil Detailing Business Tips

Im Not a pro and don't detail many other cars but my family/ friends cars. However as a customer I do know what I look for in any service regardless of what it be. (Mechanic, Computer Technician,car detail ect.) here are a few things that may help.

Someone said it earlier but I will repeat it.

Dress Professional!! Wearing a pair of dockers and a Polo shirt is great. Also its a decent idea to get a few of those polo's embriorded with your company name/logo. Pick up a comfortable pair of shoes like rockport they look good and 9x out of 10 are more comfortable than a regular pair of sneakers.
(And if its hot out don't feel like you want to wear pants ... put on some kacki shorts it gives the same effect.)

Phone Calls!! Always answer your phone professionally! "Thank you for calling (insert business name) how may I help you." you can even insert your little detailing slogan. "where we care more about your car than you do" (J/K about that one but its probably true)

A local car wash in my area has a few package ideas that I thought I would mention.

1. After detailing a customers car you may want to offer them something like 1 year wash service. I don't know how much you guys get to wash/vacume a car but take that price multiply it by 1 time a week for the year. Maybe discount it by 10 or 15% and get paid up front. The nice thing this does is puts a few hundred bucks in you pocket

Plus this lets you monitor the car more and you can control some of the dirt.

Also recomend that additionally to keep there car looking its best you recomend they do a full detail or a wash and wax every month or whaterver (im throwing out dates please don't quote me on time frames) Again ... you can discount these customers being that they are really a CLIENT rather than a one time customer ...


For customers that don't want to lock in for the "once a week wash" Offer something like every 10th was is free. One of the local car wash places around here even offers a rain day for its "VIP" customers. If you get your car washed today and it rains over night bring it back and they wash it free. I know this is a difficult thing to do for you guys with appointments ... but i thought I would mention it.


Key Chains: For you first time customers Get some nice looking kea chains nothing rinky dink or stupid looking ... When the customer gives you their keys you can give them their keys back with Your key chain on it ... (Your business name/ logo and phone contact info)

For full detail customers: Mainly for you guys that have a shop...

Take your digital camera. Take 1 or 2 Before pics and 1 or 2 After pics. When you are done with the detail print the pics out .. and include them with there bill ... they won't notice how much they are paying as much because they will be in awe of your work ...

And last but not least.

Make up a page in Word or whatever with you logo up top ect ...
Include
Exterior Car care tips.
Interior car care tips.

Perhaps at the end of the tip you might want to say "Insert company name" uses nothing but top of the line products with the cutting edege in technology blah blah blah ...

I hope some of this helps ...
 
Well, I am just starting to get business and I got it all from 100% WOM. I just joined a car club so I get many people wanting to get their cars done. We meet up at this place Pavillions where alot of imports, hotrods and choppers meet up, my car attracts lots of attention and I always walk away with a customer. Basically I just try to keep my car clean and people come at me with questions.

Also I just got a customer who buys and sells cars, he gets me 2 cars a week to do and I cut him a deal for $250 for two cars for just a one step cleaner wax, interior and engine detail. It's good steady money. I'm thinking about calling up people selling cars in the classifieds and promoting the idea of increasing the retail value of their car after a good detail.
 
Complete Detailing Package includes:

1- Wash Vehicle
2- Clean Tires & Wheels
3- Polish & Wax By Hand
4- Clean & Polish Chrome
5- Remove Road Tar
6- Apply Exterior Protectants
7- Clean & Protect Upholstery
8- Vacuum Carpets and Trunk
9- Apply Interior Protectants
10- Clean Windows
 
Find A Need And Fill It.

It has been my experience that most people who have a need to get their cars detailed, usually do so on a regular basis, similar to having scheduled oil changes. They realize that it’s just as important to take care of maintaining and protecting the appearance of their car, as it is to take care of the mechanical parts.

It's much better, from a business standpoint, to focus on satisfying customers who have a need to get their cars detailed on a regular basis, not just every few years. The person who gets their car detailed regularly knows that if they maintain the appearance of their car now, it'll be worth much more at trade-in time. This is also true when a lease vehicle is turned-in.

Keep in mind that most good customers, who are truely interested in maintaining and protecting the appearance of their vehicles, are almost always willing to pay a high price. Yes, most good customers are clearly willing to pay much more than you think. After all, they realize that in the long run you are actually saving them money.

Just another tip...
 
mirrorfinishman said:
Chris,

It may be time to raise your prices. That is always a good thing to do when you get to the point where you have got more work than you can handle.

Think about it, since you 'turn more than half of the people away', just imagine if you had your prices (for new customers) set at a much higher rate, then you could easily take on a few of those people you turn away and at the same time get a premium price too.

That is how I've got my prices set. After all, $225 for an average size car is rather expensive. It is basically just a price that I use to see if anyone will go for. Sure, some of my regualr customers that have been getting me to detail their vehicle pay a somewhat lower price, however with my higher list price I am sure that any new customer is going to come in at that higher premium price.

In summary, not everyone has a situation where they have got more work than they can handle, so this type of pricing is not for everyone. Although, when you do good work, sometimes it is interesting to see how much a particular customer is willing to pay for your service. Especially when that customer is a doctor, lawyer or other professional person who can certainly afford the high price. Hey, those people are making a lot of money and most of the time they are willing to spend a lot too.

I hope this helps...
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WOW, I just read this!!

It's not that I have more than I can do, it's more that I pick who I would like to work for and the cars that I would like to do. Also, some of the turn-aways are customers that can't deal with the price. I'm getting $30 to wash/vacuum a midsize car if it's brought to me and I'm not a pro. My details are averaging about $170 for compact, $200 for midsize and $250+ for the big utes.
 
How much does the part of the country you live in affect your prices. I have seen So-Cal prices around $300+ for a ultimate detail (clay-polish-wax) and in My Tucson, AZ I charge $160 for sedan, $180 for small SUV or large seadn and $200+ for Burban or Hummer for an ultimate detail. I say that these are general prices in the area. But, in Phoenix I have seen as high as So-cal. Some thoughts, I know that Tucson, AZ is a different Demographic that So-Cal, NJ, NY but work is work.

Andrew
 
Your prices are way to low....thats less than an exterior only in my opinion. Raise the prices and be confident...I know it's been said many times before. I see you live in Chicago, and also by the pic of the house, it is time to raise the prices to at least $125 for a midsize sedan. More based on condition/type of vehicle. I live in a small town in Northeastern Wisconsin and I have enough customers to keep me busy at $125-$135 for a sedan.
 
Here's what I've been doing-
When in a parking lot and you see someone by their car which you know you could make look really sweet, go up to them and say "I just detailed a car just like yours. It came out awesome." Or something to that effect. More than likely they'll be interested in seeing what you can do for them. This occured to me recently when a car pulled up next to mine in a lot(I've got signage on my van) that looked just like the car I did the day before. I took notice because it was pretty dirty for just one day. Or so I thought. Anyway, ended up passing a card and got the job the following week. It works pretty well.
 
I drive a wrecker at night to try to offset alimony :doubleduc expenses (yeah I know, let the cheaper to keep her jokes fly) My point here is I pretty much just tow for AAA and sell my services to the people I tow. I always keep an itemized price sheet and business cards with me. I have even have gone as far as sticking 5 or so cards in the cracks of the dash board on the passenger side. It really works for me. Many times the person broken down wants to just get home. Home is say 70 miles away. That sure does give me time to fully explain my services and get very detailed (no pun intended ;) ) as to what I could do for their car and if its an older car I touch on resale possibilities of a freshly detailed car. Im not saying go out and drive a wrecker. Trust me guys Im crawling in the door after detailing all day and driving 2-250 miles at night. But it pays the bills and gets me more and more work. Oh just to add a little more, I always make sure the interior of the wrecker is in tip top condition. I use it as a selling tool and refer to the clenliness of the vents, dash and carpets when talking about a full detail.
 
WOW, great information! Surprised this is not at the top. We are starting up a mobile unit (trailer) and I have found all this information in the thread very very useful! Lets keep the ideas coming! My business partner and I do auto detailing on a part time basis. About 95% of our clients come from word of mouth. Another avenue we are looking into is the local International Airport that is about 8 miles from my house. Recently we have been meeting the clients at the terminal and picking their vehicles up curbside. We take it back to my house, and depending on how long their trip is we detail accordingly. After the detail we meet the client at the baggage pick up, they get in a freshly detailed car for the drive home and we get paid, not only that we have yet to NOT get a tip (most being a $100 on top of the service). What are the benefits of this.


Pros:

1. No hassle for the client to pay any type of parking fees (covered parking at $8.00 a day can add up). We feel this is where the tip money comes in.

2. Curbside service (who doesn't like that :cool: )

3. No down time for the client, or inconvience of having to schedule at work/home.

4. Most people who travel by air have good incomes. If you don't believe me drive through your local airport and look at the money parked there.


Cons: (so far)

1. You need 2 people to make this happen. So that does put some downtime on getting details already at my house completed. (30 minutes is still 30 lost minutes). I usually employ my cousin to drive and drop me and pay her for her trouble.


Possible additions:

We are currently working on getting some coupons to hand to the customer as they leave for the food court inside the airport. With higher security and not being able to bring in outside food or drink, a $5 coupon for each of them to use is a nice touch, plus it is something that your client would remember and talk about to friends, coworkers, etc.

Our best advice is to use your imagination and put yourself in your customers shoes. What would you want from an auto detailer? How/why are you different?


Walter
Jason

Wet Werks Auto Salon
 
How do all of you guys usually get payed, cash/money order/personal check, etc?

One minor problem I thought of is people giving you a check they know won't go through and by the time you find out they are long gone...
 
everybody had some real helpful statements! Anybody willing to help me with my start-up plans i will be more then greatful!!
 
Suprchargd said:
How do all of you guys usually get payed, cash/money order/personal check, etc?

One minor problem I thought of is people giving you a check they know won't go through and by the time you find out they are long gone...
Click to expand...

I take cash, check, and Credit Cards. I have never had someone give me a bad check. However if it does ever happen I keep a copy of their invoice to shoe that I did do work for them.
 
These are awesome business ideas. I just started detailing cars about 4 months ago once I realized that the suburbs of Dallas are the perfect place to do it.I just got out of high school and I'm in college so this seems like a great money making opportunity for me. I realized pretty quick that this isn't the best time of the year to start washing cars though. Since I don't have much experience I'm a little intimidated when it comes to trying to pick up higher end cars. So far i'm only doing:
-washing w/ two bucket method and drying w/absorber and blue MF towel
- one coat of meguiars wax, hand applied
-wheel and tire cleaning and dressing
-interior vacumming and protectant
- upholstery cleaning and protectant
-cleaning door jambs, wheel wells, and windows
for about $70 on average. I've had customers pay me $100 and up for the service though. I guess my question is what other services should I be including to make sure that i'm giving the customer a Full on detail.
 
There is a airport parking place here that offers detailing, car service, etc while your car is parked.
 
BiggieSmalls said:
These are awesome business ideas. I just started detailing cars about 4 months ago once I realized that the suburbs of Dallas are the perfect place to do it.I just got out of high school and I'm in college so this seems like a great money making opportunity for me. I realized pretty quick that this isn't the best time of the year to start washing cars though. Since I don't have much experience I'm a little intimidated when it comes to trying to pick up higher end cars. So far i'm only doing:
-washing w/ two bucket method and drying w/absorber and blue MF towel
- one coat of meguiars wax, hand applied
-wheel and tire cleaning and dressing
-interior vacumming and protectant
- upholstery cleaning and protectant
-cleaning door jambs, wheel wells, and windows
for about $70 on average. I've had customers pay me $100 and up for the service though. I guess my question is what other services should I be including to make sure that i'm giving the customer a Full on detail.
Click to expand...

Machine paint polishing is a big one that comes to mind. Clay treatment. Window treatment.
 
The is a lot of good reading here. I am on the verge of detailing on the side to help pay bills or just doing it for fun for family and friends
 
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