Opti-Coat Pro, Gloss Coat, or CQuartzUK? Or some sort of combo?

[jarred767]

So, last summer I started offering Opti Coat 2.0 to my customers as my first introduction to coatings (been detailing cars for a living for almost 9 years). I always marketed it as the 2.0 version and customers knew that they weren't getting the more expensive Pro version, but still an excellent product.

I started out with limited information on coatings and Opti-Coat as a brand, but over the course of the year, have learned more and decided this summer that I would expand my coating offerings and move up and also include the Pro stuff from Optimum. When I contacted OPT to become a Pro dealer, I was told that things were changing and I'd have to wait, and now those changes are apparent to all of us. So, now the decision to go Pro with Optimum is a little more difficult. Now I'm trying to figure out if it will be worth it for me to go Pro with the price increase, lowered warranty, minimum quota (I'm a small one man shop) and just all the over-hyped negativity toward Optimum online right now. I still like the idea, but these changes have caused me to second-guess myself. I'm also planning on moving my business from Seattle WA to Bend OR, so not sure if this would affect warranty issues or not, plus meeting a quota might be a little more difficult as I try to build the entire business in a new location. Any advice on this from guys who are currently Optimum Pro installers or have been in the past, or know more about coatings would be greatly appreciated.

If I decide to not pursue OptiCoat Pro, I figured I could continue with Gloss Coat and maybe also start offering CQuartz as another option, but I'm in a quandary here too as now price on Gloss Coat is almost twice as much as what OC 2.0 was and I can't advertise it as a permanent coating. I had been charging and additional $220 to add 2.0 onto a detail (for a medium-sized car), and that seemed about right for my market, so based on that, what kind of price would one suggest for a 2-yr product like Gloss Coat? I get that there are a lot of variables to pricing, so just looking for general advice on that if possible to see if it these are even going to make sense for me any more.

Thanks guys! :props:

[zmcgovern45]

Cost of product goes up, then your price should go up accordingly. That is the only thing that makes sense in this situation (2.0 vs GC) IMO.

[jarred767]

Cost of product goes up, then your price should go up accordingly. That is the only thing that makes sense in this situation (2.0 vs GC) IMO.

While I completely agree with this logic, and that's the way it should work, it seems unlikely that a price increase, or even keeping the same price (on my end) will be justified when the #1 selling point has been removed in the shift from 2.0 to GC. Most customers that go with OC 2.0 do do because of the longevity of it, and probably wouldn't notice a difference in added gloss or slickness, or that it can be topped - all of which are cool improvements, but just won't be appreciated by 99% of my customers.

How can you raise the price when the #1 selling point has been eliminated? That's why I'm stumped on where to turn.

[tdekany]

What do silverbacks charge in your area for regular details?

[jarred767]

What do silverbacks charge in your area for regular details?

I guess I don't know what you're referring to as "silverbacks", my bad, sorry :(

[tdekany]

Gorillas, monkies, hacks etc...

[jarred767]

Ahh, my bad, I figured that's what you probably meant, but wasn't 100% sure.

There's guys that say they'll do "a full detail" for $100 or so, but who knows what that means and how well it's done.

I charge $205 for a full interior and wash/clay/AIO on a standard car as my "middle of the road" detail and it's about fair for the area.

[tdekany]

So based on the "lowest" prices, we could assume that shops will charge a lot more. However protection is most likely not what they focus on, so all you need to do is sell OC.

[jarred767]

Shops so charge more, some more than me, most similar to me, but definitely much more than silverbacks.

I'm not sure though you made the jump from that brings fact that all I need to do us OC??? The majority of my customers aren't really interested in a $500 coating; up selling to a better wax or sealant is often difficult. How do you figure OC is all I need?

[VP Mark]

I'm also going to heading out of the OC game soon. Going to be selling DP PAINT coating and duragloss enviroshield. Not much taste for a $500 coating in my region.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using AG Online

[tdekany]

You have to explain the benefits of OC - that alone will differentiate you from the masses. Unless of course you just want to compete against the low end crowed - just look at metropolitan details and their prices. Good work is never cheap. If you provide quality work in the Autogeek sense you are giving away your services based on your prices.Providing long lasting protection saves the customers lots of money $$$. In return they pay a bit more up front. How long do you think your competition protection lasts? There are so many ways to sell OC' value, vs traditional LSPs .

[jarred767]

Everything you said makes sense, and I completely agree with, and that's why I had made the decision to "go pro" with OPT. I had planned it to be a slow gradual progression, but I think the quota of having to do at least two $500 OC pro jobs a month is a little daunting right out of the gate as that's probably what I average with OC 2.0 at $220 (all prices after and on top of prep of course).

I feel like my biggest struggle is breaking into higher end detailing on a regular basis. I do a lot of mid-class stuff and while it makes me a great income, it's not my ideal situation. How do you guys convince someone who contacts you and is looking for a $300 detail that they should spend an extra $500 in the process? It's not like adding on a $50 item or something.

[tdekany]

Everything you said makes sense, and I completely agree with, and that's why I had made the decision to "go pro" with OPT. I had planned it to be a slow gradual progression, but I think the quota of having to do at least two $500 OC pro jobs a month is a little daunting right out of the gate as that's probably what I average with OC 2.0 at $220 (all prices after and on top of prep of course).

I feel like my biggest struggle is breaking into higher end detailing on a regular basis. I do a lot of mid-class stuff and while it makes me a great income, it's not my ideal situation. How do you guys convince someone who contacts you and is looking for a $300 detail that they should spend an extra $500 in the process? It's not like adding on a $50 item or something.

If you are making a great living with your 'mid class" details, I wouldn't sweat it.

As far as how you convince someone? I may not be the best salesman, so maybe I shouldn't try to answer it, but in my case, I went after higher end clients. I wouldn't want to sell someone who is not interested to begin with. However, how often do these people spend $300 on a detail?

[jarred767]

While I do make a great living doing mid-class details, I'd prefer doing paint corrections and coatings on higher end cars, and if it allows me to make more $$$ than that's a great benefit, that's why I'm pursuing some sort of structural change to my biz.

I am not a natural salesman either and most of my work comes via word of mouth and Yelp, so I'm not really out there selling myself. Maybe I need different mouths spreading the word.... Another issue I'm facing that might be bigger is the warranty and how that would work if I no longer live here and have moved the biz out of state. The more I think through it, the more I'm coming to the realization that maybe the timing isn't right, right now.

Maybe using Gloss Coat and offering CQuartz UK (if for nothing else than to gauge demand) for my final 6 months in Seattle is the best road, and then maybe some dust may have settled around all the OPT stuff, plus I can spend the time figuring out how to best reach my new target market.

Sorry, kinda just talked myself through some stuff there...

[tdekany]

While I do make a great living doing mid-class details, I'd prefer doing paint corrections and coatings on higher end cars, and if it allows me to make more $$$ than that's a great benefit, that's why I'm pursuing some sort of structural change to my biz.

I am not a natural salesman either and most of my work comes via word of mouth and Yelp, so I'm not really out there selling myself. Maybe I need different mouths spreading the word.... Another issue I'm facing that might be bigger is the warranty and how that would work if I no longer live here and have moved the biz out of state. The more I think through it, the more I'm coming to the realization that maybe the timing isn't right, right now.

Maybe using Gloss Coat and offering CQuartz UK (if for nothing else than to gauge demand) for my final 6 months in Seattle is the best road, and then maybe some dust may have settled around all the OPT stuff, plus I can spend the time figuring out how to best reach my new target market.

Sorry, kinda just talked myself through some stuff there...

However, how often do these people spend $300 on a detail?