Beyond Detailing
Become a reconditioning specialist
By Prentice St. Clair
We,
as professional detailers, consider ourselves experts in the cleaning and
protection of the various surfaces of a vehicle. Unfortunately, many of us stop
at "cleaning," leaving minor surface repairs to other specialists.
Are you tired of having to say no to customers who ask if you can fix such
things as a scuffed bumper, a key scratch, worn leather, torn vinyl, a
stone-chipped windshield, a door ding, heavily stained carpeting, or a cracked
dash board? Or maybe they ask if you can do gold plating, pin striping or window
tinting. Even if you get very few requests for such services, you have to ask
yourself if your detailing operation is bringing in enough money. There's
nothing more frustrating than spending several back-breaking hours detailing a
vehicle and then watching as another reconditioning specialist writes up an
invoice for the same amount of money after spending only an hour on the same
vehicle.
Perhaps it's time for you to think about adding a new profit center or
additional service to your current detailing operation. Consider the carwash
industry's recent consolidation trend, in which carwash owners combine such
services as washing, express detailing, fast lube, convenience stores and other
profit centers into a one-stop service center. By combining a set of highly
sought after services, we create a win-win situation that is beneficial to both
the customer and the operator. The benefit to the customer is in increased
convenience and savings in time and money. The benefit to the operator is the
ability to attract multiple customer bases and increase revenue per vehicle.
We can follow this model in the detailing industry. Offering more than one
service gives more customers a reason to stop in. Once the vehicle is at your
operation, you have the opportunity to upsell or crosssell the customer on the
other services you provide. Even if they have not been asking you about other
services, selling additional services to current customers should be easy
because you have already established a relationship with them. In fact, you will
probably find that your current customers are delighted to hear that you, their
trusted detailer, can now provide them with a dependable source for other
reconditioning services.
Offering other services will also allow you to attract a completely new
customer base. For example, if you add windshield repair, you can market to
potential customers who have vehicles with windshield damage, thus attracting
vehicles to your detail shop that may not have come in otherwise. Then, once
these customers realize that you can also detail their vehicles, you will begin
to see an increase in your detailing customer base as well.
Offering more than one service can also increase the revenue per vehicle. It
is more efficient to collect more per vehicle than to try to attract more
vehicles. And you will find that reconditioning services are generally less
labor intensive and generate a higher profit than detailing alone.
Finally, considering that transportation is usually the second most important
expenditure a person makes, you have a business that is virtually
recession-proof. No matter how bad the economy gets, our 21st century lifestyle
dictates that most people will still need cars. In fact, if the economy takes a
dive, used cars become an increasingly important commodity, which is actually
beneficial to those of us in the automotive reconditioning industry, since we
are the ones that make those used cars look new.
Know what services to provide
You can take extra services as far as you want to go. Add one or two extra
services or go beyond the limitations of being only a cleaning expert by adding
several services. This allows you to redefine yourself as an "automotive
reconditioning expert." This can be done at your own pace by adding one
service at a time over the course of several years or learning everything at
once.
There are two categories of services--repair and customizing. Repair services
include paintless dent removal, professional paint touch-up, paint spot-blending
and repair, windshield repair, carpet dyeing and interior repair (leather,
vinyl, plastic, dash, carpet and fabric). Customizing services include window
tinting, pin striping, custom decal application and gold plating. Everyday a new
type of service pops up in the industry, so it pays to stay in touch by reading
the trade magazines and attending conventions and expositions of the trade
associations that represent the automotive reconditioning industry.
When choosing a service or services to learn, there are several factors to
consider, including the initial investment of time required to learn the new
skill, the amount of time required to master the skill, and the initial expense
of training and equipment. For example, if your budget is tight, consider adding
one of the services that has a low upfront cost.
Another important factor to consider is your local market. It is strongly
recommended that you conduct some market research to determine the availability
of the repair services in your area before deciding which service to provide.
During your research, also determine the work being done. Just because your
market may seem saturated with automotive reconditioning technicians does not
mean that the customers are satisfied with the service being provided. If you
can provide a significantly higher quality repair service, you may find that
customers run to you no matter how much competition exists in your area.
Training
Once you have chosen which service or services to offer, you must choose a
source for training and equipment. There are several top-notch reconditioning
schools out there. Some provide turn-key kits including training and equipment
for a specific price. After training, you are on your own to master and market
your skill. The advantage to this type of arrangement is there are no strings
attached once you graduate. You are free to pursue your trade in any market you
wish, at the pace you want and you pocket all the profit. You must build your
own customer base, which may be viewed as an advantage or disadvantage,
depending on how motivated you are to spend the time and energy to adequately
market your trade.
Other schools provide franchise-type arrangements in which you receive
training, equipment and a guaranteed market. The advantage of this type of
arrangement is you are assured that there will be no other graduates from that
school operating in your area. Some companies will even offer to aggressively
market your business in your area so you don't have to put nearly as much effort
into attracting customers. The disadvantage of this type of arrangement is that
there is typically a regular fee involved or even a requirement that you send a
percentage of all sales to the company. Also, you are limited to the number of
areas in which you can provide service. Regardless of the type of training
arrangement you decide to pursue, you should look for certain characteristics,
including:
A low trainer-to-trainee ratio
Training that can be customized to meet your needs
Training that includes skills enhancement and techniques for marketing
your new service
Unlimited technical support after training is complete
A guarantee that you will become competent in your new service.
The benefits of adding one or more reconditioning services to your existing
detail operation are numerous. You already have the customer base into which you
can easily drop one or more new services; and you can offer your customers
convenient, low-cost solutions to their reconditioning needs. Of course,
education in a reconditioning skill will involve an investment of time and
money. If properly marketed, this investment can have a tremendous profit
potential.
Prentice St. Clair is a consultant to the automotive detailing and
reconditioning industry and can be e-mailed at PStc875437@aol.com.
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We,
as professional detailers, consider ourselves experts in the cleaning and
protection of the various surfaces of a vehicle. Unfortunately, many of us stop
at "cleaning," leaving minor surface repairs to other specialists.
