Getting Business

[Excessive Detail]

Hey guys, I have been out of the loop for a while, a lot goin on, but im slowly trying to get back in. Anyway, I wanted to get some advice about getting business, meaning of course vehichles to detail. I have business cards, which I pass out everywhere and leave in places for people to pick up, and I even leave them on cars, also I have about 3 different flyers that I do the same with, still Im not getting any hits. What are you guys doing to get business, what works for you, what should or could I try. Thanks for the help guys.

[robb01]

One of the best idea's I have heard of was to give away a free detail at a school raffle or a prize for a charity. It will be in the referrals from that and the free advertising that will get you the business

[bryansbestwax]

I run a charity car show every year and give out gift cerificates at golf tournaments

[mortil]

i detailed some cars for car shows here. that worked out well

[builthatch]

go to the highest end gym in your area, and leave cards under the wipers of some of the high end cars in the lot.

it only takes one or two people to get the word spread, as you know....

it depends on what kind of service you are providing. if you are doing anyone's car and not high end work, then ideas like this might not work for you, but for low volume high end high price work, it's pretty easy to get the word out.

If there is a corkboard at your local speed shop or 12v audio center, that might help to leave a card there as well. if the owner has a nice car, you can offer them a discounted rate on their car to spread the word.

good luck!

[OCDetails]

Craigslist works great for me. Here is the basic idea of how I use it. It has changed a little bit in the last year or so, but you can still code your ad in HTML and make it really flashy. Everytime I want to pick up some new business all I have to do is post an ad there and I'll have the following week booked pretty solid. It takes between 3 and 5 days after I post the ad before I start getting solid appointments, but I have known times where I get a call an hour after I post it just because someone was looking at that time.

Don't just post for full details either. Post one for interior cleaning, dealership sticker removal, debadging, wheel cleaning, glass cleaning, etc. Find any area of detailing that you think people might search for and put an ad up. Craigslist is very much loved by Google and you'd be surprised where your business will come from. I picked up a customer from Seattle who was moving down to Salt Lake because he Googled 'salt lake city detailers' and found my craigslist posting. It is an awesome business generator.

[Jimmie]

Give this a try. Talk to the Manager at your local Country Club. Let him know what a nice service it would be to his members to set an appointment to have their car detailed while they play golf. Best days are "Men's" day and "Ladies" day (usually a Tue and a Wed). You might offer him a free detail to see your work. I've seen this succeed twice.
Workout gyms and medical centers (Dr. office staff) are another good place to prospect.