Upselling waxes

jaybs02

jaybs02

New member
I was thinking about this due to what Calgarydetail had mentioned in my other thread What makes them worth it?
So I got to thinking, when you go to get your oil changed you are offered regular Dino, a blend, or a full synthetic. So what would make a wax any different. I have heard of people requesting Zaino, so what would be so odd as to have a MB or Rolls owner requesting, a specific wax, if nothing else other than for "bragging rights".

So here is what I was thinking, has anyone ever given any thought to carrying any of these "hand made waxes" to offer as an upsell. Granted that the appearance may not be all that different, but to some the mere thought of having a handmade wax is worth the money to them.
The labor would be the same, but you could yield a higher ROI by charging more for that wax. It also may increase the number of higher end vehicles, because now someone else wants that.
What I am talking about has nothing to do with how much better the car will look or how much longer the wax will last, this is pure salesmanship, and if you can make a few more dollars in the same amount of time why not?

"J"
 
I upsell waxes, if someone wants a higher end wax (no not vintage) they can pay for it. You would be surpised how often people will jump onit. I had a peice of paper (like a wine menu) and have a price and descpition of each wax.. if Ican find it I will post it.. I show the customer and ask which wax they want. I make themroe expensive ones sound better.... its marketing, but hey if someone is willing to pay im willing to provide
 
ther's a sucker born every minute as the saying goes, that's not to say that you're a sucker if you buy into these high end waxes but like calgary said if they're willing to pay by all means provide.
 
I've never found any value in upselling a more expensive product. People don't care how much the wax costs. They only care how good it will protect, look, and last. I tend to find it more difficult to upsell the proper prep work required for maximum results. The LSP is just icing on the cake that not many of my customers even really care about unless they are being entered into a show.

I used to carry just about one of everything just in case a customer asked for it. I had one customer in the last six years ask for Zaino. I've had a couple sort of joke about using that special high end Zymol wax. Little did they know that I've got half a jar of Zymol Vintage in my supplies just for those cases. They never pull the trigger though... I guess they realize that waxes might be nice, but they have never felt or seen anything like what certian sealants do for their cars. I haven't gotten to the point where I can proclaim the official death of waxes for OCDetails, and I likely never will... but I always hold out the hope that someday I'll have a customer base of nothing but sealant loving car nuts. :)
 
See here I am talking about catering to a specific clients wants and desires.
You can get a very nice $7.00 cigar but you can also find someone who will pay up to $100.00 for a hand rolled one, is it that better or is the seller merely offering another choice.
Same thing with perfumes hand crafted ones can run from the $100's to $1,000's per ounce. I don't think that they will smell that much better that what I am wearing now, but there are plenty that will and do buy it.

Swissvax is listed as OEM approved for both Mercedes and Rolls Royce finishes. so why not take advantage of of something like this and use it as a selling feature.
Remember a steakhouse has no problem selling you a burger or Filet mignon they are just looking to please a wide range of tastes.

"J"
 
jaybs02 said:
See here I am talking about catering to a specific clients wants and desires.
You can get a very nice $7.00 cigar but you can also find someone who will pay up to $100.00 for a hand rolled one, is it that better or is the seller merely offering another choice.
Same thing with perfumes hand crafted ones can run from the $100's to $1,000's per ounce. I don't think that they will smell that much better that what I am wearing now, but there are plenty that will and do buy it.

Swissvax is listed as OEM approved for both Mercedes and Rolls Royce finishes. so why not take advantage of of something like this and use it as a selling feature.
Remember a steakhouse has no problem selling you a burger or Filet mignon they are just looking to please a wide range of tastes.

"J"
Click to expand...
very well said :bigups
 
CalgaryDetail said:
I upsell waxes, if someone wants a higher end wax (no not vintage) they can pay for it. You would be surpised how often people will jump onit. I had a peice of paper (like a wine menu) and have a price and descpition of each wax.. if Ican find it I will post it.. I show the customer and ask which wax they want. I make themroe expensive ones sound better.... its marketing, but hey if someone is willing to pay im willing to provide
Click to expand...

I like the wine menu idea, I think thats pretty ingenius...:bigups
 
for me i might want to try some of these high priced waxes in the future.not because i think they will give any better shine moreso because i love carnuba waxes . its a hobby thing.;)
 
jaybs02 said:
See here I am talking about catering to a specific clients wants and desires.
You can get a very nice $7.00 cigar but you can also find someone who will pay up to $100.00 for a hand rolled one, is it that better or is the seller merely offering another choice.
Same thing with perfumes hand crafted ones can run from the $100's to $1,000's per ounce. I don't think that they will smell that much better that what I am wearing now, but there are plenty that will and do buy it.

Swissvax is listed as OEM approved for both Mercedes and Rolls Royce finishes. so why not take advantage of of something like this and use it as a selling feature.
Remember a steakhouse has no problem selling you a burger or Filet mignon they are just looking to please a wide range of tastes.

"J"
Click to expand...


I agree with some of that, but what I was saying is that none of my customers are the type who put value in what the product is. If they knew that much about car care products then they probably wouldn't have me out there polishing their cars for them. lol Most of my customer base has the means to pay for whatever wax they want on their car. You don't drive a heavily modified S65 or have a barely used Ferrari Enzo in your garage and not be able to afford a couple hundred bucks for a wax job. These guys take my recommendation on what would look best and perform the best for their particular needs and they pay me based on the amount of work it takes to accomplish it. If some of you have customers who will do that AND pay you extra for the lable on the jars that you use, then I'm jealous. I get paid the same whether I'm using Zymol or S100.

What you are talking about with the hand rolled cigars is niche marketing. They probably cost $100 because they don't sell as many of those as they do the $10 ones. If I hand built a Civic it would probably cost three times as much as a factory built one. Limited doesn't always mean better.
 
Alot of it has to due with what your market can bare.
Living on Long Island there are many people who will spend money just so that they can say the spent that much. Just to give a clue on how much spendable cash there is here, this is all less than a 1 hour drive from my home.
2 Rolls Royce dealership
1 Aston Martin dealership
4 Porsche dealerships
7 Mercedes dealerships
More than 1/2 of those are in a 15 mi radius.

So my statement might be more geared for those servicing an area that has that type of expendable cash
 
Jngrbrdman said:
I agree with some of that, but what I was saying is that none of my customers are the type who put value in what the product is. If they knew that much about car care products then they probably wouldn't have me out there polishing their cars for them. lol Most of my customer base has the means to pay for whatever wax they want on their car. You don't drive a heavily modified S65 or have a barely used Ferrari Enzo in your garage and not be able to afford a couple hundred bucks for a wax job. These guys take my recommendation on what would look best and perform the best for their particular needs and they pay me based on the amount of work it takes to accomplish it. If some of you have customers who will do that AND pay you extra for the lable on the jars that you use, then I'm jealous. I get paid the same whether I'm using Zymol or S100.

What you are talking about with the hand rolled cigars is niche marketing. They probably cost $100 because they don't sell as many of those as they do the $10 ones. If I hand built a Civic it would probably cost three times as much as a factory built one. Limited doesn't always mean better.
Click to expand...

These are my thoughts on the subject as well...my customers don't ask me what I use on the car, they rely on my expertise as to what would be the best selection of products that I use. The new prospects at times ask what brand I use and I tell them a variety of things depending on what I am trying to accomplish...The end result is what counts, and truthfully I don't think the average person can tell the difference in one wax to the other...

Now up selling a certain high end wax / sealant is an excellent idea, as long as it is a better product and you are not misleading them with wax hype...that's the part that I see the most in detailers wine list (if you will) selection.
 
jaybs02 said:
this is all less than a 1 hour drive from my home.
2 Rolls Royce dealership
1 Aston Martin dealership
4 Porsche dealerships
7 Mercedes dealerships
More than 1/2 of those are in a 15 mi radius.
Click to expand...

An example of smart marketing!
By having all these dealerships in close proximity, they have reduced the fuel cost for those looking for the high end vehicle. With today's gas cost, that may be a big factor.
I have always hated to have to drive so far between the Rolls dealers in my area. I think it is about 300 miles between them. So, I just don't go there. :D
 
Back on topic.
If you have a market that would be impressed by upscale waxes, I think it could be an advantage to make it available.
The actual cost per vehicle isn't much more unless you do get into the $1000+ waxes.
$80 worth of Souveran would do how many vehicles, 30 to 50?
Less than $3 per vehicle as part of a $200 package.
The cost of the LSP is a pretty small thing, isn't it? :dunno:
 
I used to do a lot of very upscale vehicles and very rarely did anyone even ask what I was using as long as the results met their expectations ... :)
 
Back off-topic. :D
One thing that I notice people really pick up on is "Hand Waxed".
Many of them seem to think there is some magic in waxing by hand. I usually do apply wax/sealant by hand, but I don't think it is any better than doing it with a machine. For me, it's a matter of laziness. I don't have any interest in getting out the PC then cleaning the pad after use. If I am using the PC to polish and already have it out, I will sometimes use it to apply an LSP. Even then, it seems about as fast and easy to do it by hand. :dunno:
 
I have found that alot of my customers ask what did you use as a wax? Which by the way for most customers and LSP is a wax no matter if its a sealent or not they say wax...but I digress...I tel l them the product I used and they usually ask what does a can of that stuff go for...when I tell them they are usually in shock especially with Souveran...so it seems like they are really excited to know that I used this $80 wax on there car, even though like you said Charles they are really getting a small portion of that.

As for the hand waxing you are dead on, everyplace I drive by says "Hand Waxed", as if they are implying there are so many other ways to put it on...

I put my on by hand for the same reason, I don't feel like busting out the pc and I fine by hand I garauntee full coverage...
 
CharlesW said:
Back off-topic. :D
One thing that I notice people really pick up on is "Hand Waxed".
Many of them seem to think there is some magic in waxing by hand. I usually do apply wax/sealant by hand, but I don't think it is any better than doing it with a machine. For me, it's a matter of laziness. I don't have any interest in getting out the PC then cleaning the pad after use. If I am using the PC to polish and already have it out, I will sometimes use it to apply an LSP. Even then, it seems about as fast and easy to do it by hand. :dunno:
Click to expand...

:lol2: I think people will assume by hand means you won't miss places a machine would or these same people assume that the person using a machine wouldn't do tight places by hand if he couldn't reach them with his machine :hmmm: ok now I'm getting confuse.. go back to topic :wall
 
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