What do you do that separates you from the pack?

[LSNAutoDetailing]

WW - It is good topic, and one that many take for granted. You state you contact 50 people per week. I feel that if you're asking others to participate in expounding on measures other business take to remain successful, I'd like you to please expound on the contact tip you've sited. I am very interested in this as I need to reach more people now that we're (hopefully) coming into spring in New England.

How do you go about contacting 50 people per week? Direct mail? Fliers, Email, google ads, social media, all of the above? What is your messaging? Do you have a good rate of return on the 50 contacts? How much do you spend (time / money) on making these contacts?

So here are mine, they seem common sense... but here we go.

Listen and instill trust - Trust and integrity is huge in this business. People are trusting you with their vehicles. Listen to what people say about their vehicles, what items they're concerned about. Some people say it without realizing it. I once had a woman state engine cleaning 3 times, yet she's never popped a hood on a car in her life. Yet, when I delivered the car the engine bay was detailed. She was thrilled!

Be compassionate - I had a customer whose cat died, and on her way to the vet, the cat urinated on the seat. Being an animal lover myself, and one who has lost a dog two years ago, I felt so bad for her. We quoted for cleaning the seat, but once we saw the interior of the vehicle, I realized she needed a full interior. We knocked it out in two hours and in the mean-time she hung out with my two greyhounds, which helped with her cat passing. We fully reconditioned the interior to like-new, she was shocked.

Go above or beyond - I had one person worried about the rock-chips on the hood. I did Dr. Color Chip repairs and didn't charge her. She was so excited that the rock-chips were dealt with. She asked how much, and I said "no charge".

Keep it fun - Another thing I do is contests. I recently did one where I asked customers to write testimonials. Of those that did, I put their names in a hat and drew two to win (each) SnoBrum's which I ordered from AGO. Sadly, or luckily, NH has had little to no snow this year and it's 52 degrees out today! LOL. I'll be doing another contest soon, just haven't figured out what it's going to be for, thus AG will be getting another order soon for some sort of car accessory.

Monthly Emails with tips - This forum is a treasure trove to gather tips. For example, there are so many threads on how to maintain a car in the winter, that I put together a news letter and sent it to my customers. The "Do Not Wash my car" is another great tip. While I won't copy Mike's words, I'll write my own based upon the topic.

Build rapport with others in your business - I've said before, competition is good, but reaching out to others in the same business and building a rapport is very helpful. Don't undercut prices of your local guys as you'll hurt the economy. Once others don't see you as a threat, they may refer some of their overflow to you, and likewise.

Honestly, WW you state you contact 50 people per month. I don't know how you do that... but I think you'll get some good tips on here. Most seem like common sense, but one must not make assumptions.

[Willy Wang]

I cleaned up your thread

Thanks Mike, I'll take you up on that offer!

[onsite]

WW - It is good topic, and one that many take for granted. You state you contact 50 people per week. I feel that if you're asking others to participate in expounding on measures other business take to remain successful, I'd like you to please expound on the contact tip you've sited. I am very interested in this as I need to reach more people now that we're (hopefully) coming into spring in New England.

How do you go about contacting 50 people per week? Direct mail? Fliers, Email, google ads, social media, all of the above? What is your messaging? Do you have a good rate of return on the 50 contacts? How much do you spend (time / money) on making these contacts?

So here are mine, they seem common sense... but here we go.

Listen and instill trust - Trust and integrity is huge in this business. People are trusting you with their vehicles. Listen to what people say about their vehicles, what items they're concerned about. Some people say it without realizing it. I once had a woman state engine cleaning 3 times, yet she's never popped a hood on a car in her life. Yet, when I delivered the car the engine bay was detailed. She was thrilled!

Be compassionate - I had a customer whose cat died, and on her way to the vet, the cat urinated on the seat. Being an animal lover myself, and one who has lost a dog two years ago, I felt so bad for her. We quoted for cleaning the seat, but once we saw the interior of the vehicle, I realized she needed a full interior. We knocked it out in two hours and in the mean-time she hung out with my two greyhounds, which helped with her cat passing. We fully reconditioned the interior to like-new, she was shocked.

Go above or beyond - I had one person worried about the rock-chips on the hood. I did Dr. Color Chip repairs and didn't charge her. She was so excited that the rock-chips were dealt with. She asked how much, and I said "no charge".

Keep it fun - Another thing I do is contests. I recently did one where I asked customers to write testimonials. Of those that did, I put their names in a hat and drew two to win (each) SnoBrum's which I ordered from AGO. Sadly, or luckily, NH has had little to no snow this year and it's 52 degrees out today! LOL. I'll be doing another contest soon, just haven't figured out what it's going to be for, thus AG will be getting another order soon for some sort of car accessory.

Monthly Emails with tips - This forum is a treasure trove to gather tips. For example, there are so many threads on how to maintain a car in the winter, that I put together a news letter and sent it to my customers. The "Do Not Wash my car" is another great tip. While I won't copy Mike's words, I'll write my own based upon the topic.

Build rapport with others in your business - I've said before, competition is good, but reaching out to others in the same business and building a rapport is very helpful. Don't undercut prices of your local guys as you'll hurt the economy. Once others don't see you as a threat, they may refer some of their overflow to you, and likewise.

Honestly, WW you state you contact 50 people per month. I don't know how you do that... but I think you'll get some good tips on here. Most seem like common sense, but one must not make assumptions.

Id also like to hear more!

Sent from my LG-LS720 using Tapatalk

[Willy Wang]

Anyway, you state you contact 50 people per week. I feel that if you're asking others to participate in expounding on measures other business take to remain successful, I'd like you to please expound on the contact tip you've sited. I am very interested in this as I need to reach more people now that we're (hopefully) coming into spring in New England.

About 3 years ago, I used to be a weekend warrior. Polishing out all my buddies cars, making them perfect. I was obsessed about products and techniques. While these 2 subjects are important, I started realizing that most people can't see what we detailers see and don't have anywhere close to the high standards we have developed here on this forum. People roll out of car washes happy to see their cars clean, but on the other side, I cringed at the car wash employees techniques and processes. How do I get myself in front of 50 people a week? I focus on it. Where my focus before was on geeky stuff, my focus now is exposure. I've switched gears from being a detailer to a business owner. There's nothing wrong being a detailer. But Renny Doyle said it best himself, being a detailer is not a lucrative career. And being a detailer does not mean you are a business owner, it means you are self employed. And being self employed meant that I would still have to trade my time for money.

Back to 50 a week. If you think about it, 50 a week is only 10 people per day. If I slack off a day, I'll make it up on the weekend. Since the beginning of this year I have left my job and went all in to my business. And since I am just starting out, I literally have no cars to detail and my days are empty. So I spend 3-4 hours a day prospecting, for now. I make it a habit to acknowledge every person that I walk by (these do not count towards my 50 lol). But if I'm in the elevator and there is someone else in there with me, I will always throw out a compliment, question, or a comment to get them to talk. Once they talk, you can maneuver into talking about what they do for a living. Once you ask them that, guess what they are going to ask you back? And I have a pitch ready for them like a katana and I ask to exchange cards because handing out cards doesn't get you jack. You must control the point of contact.

This past week I have walked into every building in downtown that is 5 of more stories tall. I've walked into companies like Paypal, Ebay, Intel, Oracle, PWC, EY, Deloitte, KPMG, Broadcom, Sony, Qualcomm, etc. Most of which politely declined. But that's ok. I walked into another 40 buildings and from my total of about 50 walk ins, I've set up a total of 5 businses demos. Not a bad ratio if you ask me.

I always try to walk away with a business card so that I can follow up the very next day, or I will call them as I walk out the door. Now I'm just rambling. But to answer your question, how do I meet so many people per day? A shift in my focus and a shift in purpose.