Want to make Money? Learn to network
I figured I'd throw out my experience and what I've learned over the last few years from owning a separate business and working on a detailing related business at the same time.
First off, Social Media has helped land some jobs, but it easily becomes a place to spend way too much time watching what everyone else is doing and comparing myself to others who are in totally different life situations. I sold my main business a few months ago and I've slowly become accustomed to doing mobile work. Side Note: Not having a place for people to drop off cars or not being able to control the elements has been difficult.
Now when I think of myself, the words social and outgoing are not at the top of my list. Somehow I've slowly come out of my comfort zone a little at a time. During this rainy weather, I've been grateful enough to have several jobs thrown my way from other business owners. Some of them I haven't talked to or seen in months/years. Networking with other business owners unlocks a lot of potential for anyone who is starting out or wants to turn up the wick on their volume.
I don't have anywhere near a significant following on my IG of Facebook, but some of the people I networked with in the past do have a decent audience. Being successful in business, and life in general comes down to who you know and how you use that information/connection.
For example one of my contacts is a mechanic. I've used a part of his small shop to do basic details when the weather is bad or the customer doesn't have a solid place. During my last detail, one of his customers needed a headlight restoration. So of course I went ahead and knocked it out after my scheduled job. It was another $60 I wasn't expecting to make. On another occasion, I've run into some of his customers I haven't seen since I sold my other business and started mobile. Boom, another "full interior" detail because I was in the right place at the right time. I had one drive 2.5 hours to get their brand new Corolla paint corrected/protected because they trusted the word of their friend. Keep in mind that many of the seeds you plant today may not sprout for months or years down the road.
So this is just one example of a connection. Imagine if you have a dozen of these solid connections. Your connections learn the quality of the work you do so they can help weed out people you may not want to service.
If you are working by yourself and need to increase your volume, I suggest spending some time in the community and talking to people. I've heard people say this before but it took a while for it to connect with me.
Yes I've gotten work through messaging people online, but my bigger paying jobs come through my word of mouth network. Build up a reputation and network that people can trust, and they will accept your pricing and value your time.
So forget about the saturation in your area, the bad weather, the cheaper operators. It doesn't take skill to make excuses. I am constantly working on my procrastination and excuse making. I'm aware of it and that's a good start...haha... Seriously just get out of your comfort zone and network. Create your spiderweb of opportunities. Remember to get out and network when it's slow, BUT also when it's busy. Soon the big dips and waves will even out and your workflow will continue to rise.
Stay balanced, love life, treat everyone with respect.
-Rob
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience Rob, much appreciated.
:)
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mike Phillips
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience Rob, much appreciated.
:)
You're welcome. This topic is what made me search for better information when I first started out, and then I found Autogeek. After that I read several of your articles and put them into practice. I'm happy to give back and hope that it helps at least 1 person.
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
I have done this very thing quite a few times. If I don't have a time slot or the ability to meet a potential customers needs....for example I don't do PPF, I refer them to someone I know that does great work that's in the area and he does the same for me. I just spent the greater part of an afternoon hanging around at another detailers shop because we both didn't have any customers at the moment and hadn't really linked up besides car shows. I learned a few tricks for my bag and so did he. I am just now getting into the real estate broker/realtor sector of the local folks through church contacts. It makes for an interesting network of folks once you really start working it. I've even referred customers to other customers who were looking for a certain professional service (CPA's, lawyers, physicians) because when I was interacting with them it came up in conversation.
Too many folks worry about what everyone else is doing and not enough about spreading who they are through their local environment.
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Great info guys. I'm just looking to start out in the detailing industry (very small scale, part time around my full time job) and it's provided me with some good insight.
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
This is great info. My wife has a friend who is a chiropractor in Texas. When we visited with her a short while ago, she could not emphasize how much being a member of her local chamber of commerce has helped launch her practice. You are so right about social media being a rabbit hole of "What's everyone else doing" as opposed to just rolling up your sleeves and doing your thing. Great post my friend
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
I couldn't agree more, I just started moonlighting out of my shop and creating a customer base is difficult. But knowing someone and them referencing you is proving to be some of the best business I've gotten.
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Thank you for posting your experience. Growing a business in any industry can be a challenge. Networking is very important.
I noticed that a major part of my client base consist of other business owners.
Contractors to dog walkers. All these people know other business owners as well. I always make it an effort to connect with these ones. Some I have had success on LinkedIn to say the least.
They may not need my services right away, but it eventually swings my way.
I whole heartedly agree to do good work. Work so good that they can justify spending their money. More importantly, help spread the word.
Anyway, thanks for your experience once again.
Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
A newcomer to the business can't become a competitor right away, he always interacts with the big fish. But then how does he stay afloat when he can compete with them? Example with the headlights certainly impressive but few people turn to those who do not have parking for repairs, this is an isolated case. I plan to make money online here, not to get customers in bad weather because the competition is closed or they do not work in the rain. They can afford it and I can't? That's how you'll get used to be available at any time
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AmeliaFg
A newcomer to the business can't become a competitor right away, he always interacts with the big fish. But then how does he stay afloat when he can compete with them? Example with the headlights certainly impressive but few people turn to those who do not have parking for repairs, this is an isolated case. I plan to make money online
here, not to get customers in bad weather because the competition is closed or they do not work in the rain. They can afford it and I can't? That's how you'll get used to be available at any time
:spam4:
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Networking might be important but showing up to do the job and doing a good job are more important once you get offered the job. Then the next best thing is when a happy customer does your marketing for you word of mouth. WOW marketing is missing in a lot of businesses now.
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Networking and word of mouth are the two most overrated forms of generating business in almost every industry. I'll give my experience with other business owners. They don't want to pay. Period. If you're priced properly they're not your customer. It's honestly the easiest way to determine that your services are not priced well, other businesses are your customer. Word of mouth is great but again if you're priced properly most of those aren't your customer either. Customers come from internet searches period. There's people out there looking to use your services and pay your prices, they're actually searching for your business.
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PaulMys
:spam4:
Fried with 3 over easy please...
:hungry:
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sudsmobile
Networking and word of mouth are the two most overrated forms of generating business in almost every industry. I'll give my experience with other business owners. They don't want to pay. Period. If you're priced properly they're not your customer. It's honestly the easiest way to determine that your services are not priced well, other businesses are your customer. Word of mouth is great but again if you're priced properly most of those aren't your customer either. Customers come from internet searches period. There's people out there looking to use your services and pay your prices, they're actually searching for your business.
This depends on the type of business. The person searching the internet isn't just searching for you they are searching for something and comparison shopping. The person who finds you by a satisfied customer referral is calling you first because he was told you do a good job.
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DUBL0WS6
This depends on the type of business. The person searching the internet isn't just searching for you they are searching for something and comparison shopping. The person who finds you by a satisfied customer referral is calling you first because he was told you do a good job.
Well said, i agree.
Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Re: Want to make Money? Learn to network
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sudsmobile
Networking and word of mouth are the two most overrated forms of generating business in almost every industry. I'll give my experience with other business owners. They don't want to pay. Period. If you're priced properly they're not your customer. It's honestly the easiest way to determine that your services are not priced well, other businesses are your customer. Word of mouth is great but again if you're priced properly most of those aren't your customer either. Customers come from internet searches period. There's people out there looking to use your services and pay your prices, they're actually searching for your business.
Methinks you're painting with a bit of a broad brush there. Indeed, for some transactions and types of customers, word of mouth is secondary to merely searching for someone to complete a task. In the higher-level service businesses however, word of mouth is going to bring far more QUALITY business than folks merely searching using other methods. Want a water heater replaced...Internet searching (and prior to that going through the phonebook) is likely the most used avenue to complete a task-oriented, price-conscious job. However, when quality of service trumps merely getting a job done (and price), I'd hazard a guess that word of mouth and referrals are FAR more predominant in securing work. And, in many cases, when you are providing a high level of service, with pricing that reflects that, you really don't want to deal with the Internet tire-kickers; at the end of the day the burden cost of completing a job for them eclipses the revenue they provide. There is certainly nothing wrong with folks whose primary focus is price but if that's not the segment you're servicing, they are not the customers for you. Word of mouth and referrals based upon previous business also does a good job of filtering these different customer segments. When I was working for the most expensive swimming pool service company in NE Ohio, merely looking at our Google reviews was generally NOT going to get us a job as there were plenty of "Too expensive...", "Crazy prices...", "Ridiculous..." entries yet we thrived as a business by providing expedient, excellent service at a higher price point. For some, mere price takes a back seat to expediency and quality of work...especially when you have 4 children sitting inside the house complaining how they can't comfortably use the outdoor pool because the heater is broke/needs replacing. The difference between $5500 and $7500 is irrelevant to those folks when their sanity is at stake :lol:
Like anything though, nothing is 'always' and nothing is 'never' so YMMV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DUBL0WS6
This depends on the type of business. The person searching the internet isn't just searching for you they are searching for something and comparison shopping. The person who finds you by a satisfied customer referral is calling you first because he was told you do a good job.
Indeed.
