[: 15
percent of one's financial success is due to one's technical knowledge and
about 85 percent is due to skill in human engineering-to personality and the
ability to lead people] - Dale Carnegie
Success Rate
Many people seem to think that
being a professional detailer must be the coolest job ever, and in some ways it
is. Working on both everyday driver vehicles and amazing exotic cars day in day
out and doing something you love to do for a living is pretty awesome, but
there is also a harsh reality to being a detailer that you should be clear
about from the very beginning.
A large % of the people attempting to open
a detailing business fail; as too many focus solely on the actual detailing
side of the business and never learn how to run a business properly.
Be a businessman first and
foremost; and learn to sell yourself and your services to the customer and your
profits will increase dramatically
Education is the most
important component of the success of any business. There are a lot of great
detailers out there. Some are well known for their marketing, some for the
level of professionalism, others for the work they perform
Knowing the products, you use
and their application methodologies and what works in a given situation from
practical experience, will help strengthen your knowledge to provide an
invaluable service to both existing and potential customers. By letting them make
an informed decision it builds trust and that adds up to better service, increased
sales as well as repeat and referral business.
You need talent plus
experience and knowledge and understanding; establishing creditability is one
of the biggest challenges for small start-up businesses.
Random success plays a part
in all industries; randomness or the ups and downs of luck, both good and bad,
sometimes mask for a while anyway; underlying quality. But few people are
confident enough to stand by their judgements about underlying quality or
character and so remain fixed upon short-term indicators - indicators
bedevilled by chance.
You also need to decide what niche
market you want to concentrate on.
Production
Aimed towards the average
vehicle owner, which caters to ‘wash & wax’ type clients, this market
sector provides a higher cash flow but small profit margins. High turnover
(volume) provides the biggest profits. It produces a steady work load and a
guaranteed pay cheque. Other advantages are-
·
It’s more productive, consistent because all cars receive the
same service and you want to complete as many cars as possible per day.
·
With a higher turnover and bulk buying of products greater
profits can be realized
·
You do not need special facilities; a garage or warehouse is all
that is required.
·
There is little need to advertise because you only have to
depend on one or two dealer contracts.
Retail
Many operators of
retail-oriented detail businesses simply will not do dealer work, as they
prefer catering to higher end clients, usually ‘exotic’ or specialised
automobiles, this market sector provides lower cash flow and higher profit...
There are several reasons for this, including a combination of job
satisfaction, higher profit and emotion:
·
The gross profit per car is less for dealer work than retail
services.
·
Retail vehicles are typically in better condition and the
customer is generally more positive about the end results of the detail
service.
·
You are able to hire a better quality staff because you do fewer
cars at higher revenues.
·
The loss of one customer or two will not break your business in
the same way losing a dealer contract would.
·
The retail market is bigger and has great potential for growth.
The retail market would not
be much affected by the loss of a customer, but the production market would be
very negatively impacted with the loss of just one dealership
If you think that detailing
is just a job think again, because it isn’t. It’s more like a lifestyle choice,
and the spirit of what it involves will need to run deep in your veins if you
are to succeed and thrive as a detailer.
The ultimate question is
this: are you trying to open and invest in a properly functioning business or
just trying to creating a job. Usually a business needs to operate for a period
of months before it breaks even, so it’s a very poorly paid job. You could be
the best detailer the world has ever seen but unless you learn how to correctly
operate a business properly you're just setting yourself up for failure
If you know deep inside that
you will work as hard as it takes no matter what, and that paying attention to
minute details day after day and vehicle after vehicle appeals to you even
though it will be extremely challenging then this type of commitment will help
you to succeed
Attention to Detail
Dependent upon your
detailing goals and the areas of concern you would like to work on. You do need to understand some of the basic
chemistry behind the materials and finishes used for automobiles to understand
how to care for it.
Diagnosis is the key, not
guess work; the most important thing to find out before you attempt to clean or
care for something is to ascertain what the material finish is made from. Much
the same is true if you’re trying to remove a stain, what caused the stain (Organic stains,
Inorganic stains or Petroleum soils) and
what is the material ( Finished or
Synthetic Leather, Fabrics, Wool or Synthetic fibres) you are trying to
remove the stain from.
Formulate a detailing plan,
then utilize proper detailing techniques, combined with quality products is
what makes a details outcome, successful.
“God is the details” and it’s often the small
things that make the difference between a good detailer and an outstanding one.
Once your paint is polished and protected look to the finer details; wheel
wells, brake callipers, wheel lug nuts, glass surfaces, tyres and the exhaust
tips and the interior: brake pedals, control knobs, instrument cluster, door
kick-plates, seatbelts, buckles and retractors.
[A customer is the most
important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent of us; we are dependent
of him. He is not an interruption in our work; he is the purpose of it. He is
not an outsider in our business; he is a part of it. We are not doing him a
favour by serving him; he is doing us a favour by giving us the ...opportunity
to do so] Mahatma Ghandi
Becoming a Professional Detailer
In
most cases a city or county in which you are going to do business requires that
you have a business license (See also Business
Insurance).
Before the late ‘60s most
major car dealerships had a staff of trained professional detailers. The
economic downturn has forced many dealerships to eliminate their detailing
staff and hire junior staff to wash and polish vehicles or contract the service
out to the lowest bidder.
Becoming a professional
detailer takes knowledge of the materials used; experience to both see defects
and using methods that succeed in removing them, plus talent and skill in using
the correct tools; and most importantly an "attention to detail" As
well as keeping current with the developments in automotive products,
trends demographic, and financial
influences that impact auto detailing.
One man who should know is
Paul Normyle, founder of vehicle preparation service Shine. Seven years ago he
was a very dissatisfied sales and marketing director for an engineering
company, schlepping around the Midlands in a Rover 214. Today he's at the helm
of a Bentley GT (part of his 11-car collection) and a firm with an annual
turnover of £4 million. And he got there by cleaning cars.
[I thought there had to be a better way to earn a living,"
says the 41-year-old, "so I bought my first van and valeting equipment
with a credit card and went from there. I started by cleaning other people's cars,
now I'm paying 78 people around the UK to do it for me.]
Detailing
Attention to detail
makes all the difference to customer satisfaction and retention.
Is an essential part in the
maintaining the appearance of a vehicle. The objective when detailing a vehicle
is to make a vehicle look as good as it can. In many cases make it look better
than it was when new. Detailing can take a lot of time, but the results are
always worth the effort.
Proper detailing will also
protect a vehicle from environmental hazards that can rob life away from your
vehicle. In order to attain and maintain an optically perfect shine, you must
protect it from natural deterioration and dullness that occurs over time.
A detailer combines
chemicals, equipment as well as knowledge of the materials used in automotive
manufacturing (vehicle surfaces). ‘Chemicals’, refers to the cleaning and
protection products used, ‘equipment,’ refers to the tools used, for example,
random orbital polishers, high-speed rotary polishers, extractors and power
washers, to name but a few. Vehicle surfaces require a basic understanding of
chemistry and how to rejuvenate and protect each of the many and varied
material surfaces, regardless of its specific surface composition making
objective observations based upon experience, the results obtained, and
adjusting the techniques and products used as necessary.
It requires -
·
Knowledge of paint
technology and the differences between single stage and multiple stage paint
·
Knowledge of clear
coats and their reactions to different types of compounds and polishes
·
Ability to
appropriately choose proper equipment, pads, and match chemicals to different
materials
·
Knowledge of various
types of fabrics, carbon fibre, finished leathers and other very difficult
surfaces
Will a full professional detail increase
the resale value?
By presenting the vehicle in a
clean and as close to new as possible condition will increase its selling
price. A clean detailed vehicle in
itself will make the car command a higher price
(in most cases) a vehicle that has uncared for , stained and faded paint
will be perceived as worth less than it could be
Go to Kelly Blue Book or
Edmunds and check out the difference in the trade-in and resale values of an
Excellent condition versus Good or Fair condition; it’s usually several
hundred, if not thousands of dollars, this price differential will be greater
for collectable vehicles.
(CNN) 8 easy ways to boost
your car's value - http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/07/06/money.car.value/
Choosing and trusting a
professional auto detailer can be a tough decision; when you look for a
detailer you want a person you can trust with your vehicle, one with
experience, knowledge and specialized training, one who provides the best
possible workmanship and products for a fair price.
It is said that the highest
art is simplicity; usually experts in their field make what they do look
simple, this is due to their technique and extensive experience
For many, the thought of
spending over $300 for cleaning and applying protection to - $450 - 1000 plus
for pint surface correction / renovation seems faintly ludicrous, especially
when an automatic car-wash charges less than $30, and there are many products
available from high street retailers that claim to shine your car to
perfection. The reality is that to detail a vehicle correctly takes time
(typically 6-8 hours) and the better detailing products are not usually
available at a local auto superstore. Professionalism and the overall customer
experience are also very important...
There no standard of what a detail consists of in this industry;
detailers from different locations charge a wide spectrum of fees depending on
their experience, geographical location, scope of work (i.e. their
interpretation of what a detail should consist of) and the type of products
used and cars they're working on.
It is in your best interests
to ask question about what actual work is involved. The most significant costs
involved are labour; products are not a huge component of a details cost,
although using premium car care products will make some difference to a details
quality.
Things like detailer's
experience, marketing the company, insurance; taxes, overheads, etc. will be
the larger factors in a price of a detail. Even if you're not that astute about
detailing, if you ask questions on the process common sense will enable you to
make an informed decision
For the professional
detailer there are three major groups
1.
Volume (car dealerships or daily drivers that just require a
wash, one-step polish and interior vacuum)
2.
High-end work (this entails paint correction and both interior
and exterior detailing)
3.
Concours or Show Car Detailing (keep in mind that inspection is
done to ‘white glove’ standards)
One product doesn’t fit all;
use high-end products on high-end cars and use medium-end products on low end
cars. Not every project deserves to be gold plated but when you need durability
and great looking end results buy good products and learn the variables of
using them.
Volume detailing
Volume detailing is where the
most money is to be made, catering towards people who don’t care about paint
correction, or detailing, but just want their vehicle clean and shiny. But be
cognizant that vehicle dealership work is very much bottom-line driven and the
lowest bidder will almost always be successful winning it. This is partly the
reason so many dealership and high volume production shop detailers suffer from
a bad reputation.
Do not make the mistake of
treating this work like you would detailing vehicles for our regular customers
as volume work is all about speed, cost effective products and working
efficiency while still producing a reasonable end product in the time
allocated. You can’t spend 6 or 8 hours on a vehicle detail that you’re being
paid $100 and expect to make a reasonable profit from. You will need to work
smarter (efficiently) not harder as you’ll need to process several vehicles per
day
Becoming a High-end Detailer
Advanced detailing; comes
about with plenty of experience and when someone becomes so in tune with their
craft it becomes art. High end A-list vehicles and prestige concourse entrants;
customers in this type of niche market will have their vehicles detailed on a
fairly regular basis, especially during the concourse show season.
More time and care along
with specialised products is required to detail a high-end or super car than it
takes to do a minivan or daily driver.
This is partly due to the
advanced materials used like glove soft finished leather, exotic woods and
carbon fibre, special paint finishes, carbon fibre disc brakes; this is often
an $8000 option and requires specialist care/knowledge, as well as other specialist
materials. These types of cars need to be detailed to provide a flawless finish
and this is why it requires specific experience, knowledge and a good eye for
every little detail.
Most owners of this type of
vehicle are looking for a high level of expertise and are willing to pay a
premium for it. Depending on the condition of the vehicle and what level of
finish they require it will take anything from one o four days to complete and
charges will range from $500.00 to over $1200.00
Building long lasting customer
relationships should be your main goal, ideally you want to establish a
customer base that uses you not only for the major concourse details, but also
for maintaining their vehicles on a weekly to monthly basis.
What is the best demographic to cater to
as a detailer?
If you live in an area where
there are people with prestige cars and high disposable incomes, the sky is the
limit.
Once you realize how much you
don’t know, only then will you be willing to research and enhance your
knowledge and understanding
I would strongly recommend
that you learn the most you can from Internet detailing forums you’ll find a
wealth of knowledge from people who have experience of most if not all of the
problems you’re likely to encounter as well as the existing high end detailers
who contribute and are making a lucrative living with this type of detailing.
As an experienced concourse
detailer you need to know how to tackle any detailing problem, including paint
and interior renovation / restoration
that comes along, although it is impossible to prepare for every situation
possible, the more knowledgeable you are, the more valuable you become, and hence
the more you can charge for your services.
With a well thought out
business and a solid marketing plan, a good work ethics, quality tools,
products and workmanship, along with outstanding customer service, knowledge
and experience of products and the tools of your trade you'll be on your way to
achieving success. (See also “What
detailers should know and the skills required”)
[Good quality is never cheap, and poor quality is
never good] Anon
Paint Renovation
I would also add that paint
renovation (the removal of serious paint surface scratches is normally charged
on an hourly rate, an experienced paint renovation detailer will have a good
idea of how long this should take, so do ask for an estimated time and cost
before giving the go-ahead as this could cost between $450 - 1000.
Employees
The best way to increase
turnover / profit is to find reliable employees to work with you. But always be
cognizant that both of you are mutually critical to the company’s success, so
threat them accordingly. Bear in mind that we need to retain good employees as
well as customers “Hire for attitude, and train for skills”. Train your staff to be courteous and don't use a reward
system that undermines that behaviour.
Providing a clean well
organized and enjoyable working environment, ongoing training, empowerment and
decent pay will go a long way towards the retention of loyal employees.
·
If you have employees,
you will have to abide by the labour laws in the State in which you do
business.
·
You will have to
purchase Workers Compensation Insurance.
·
You will need both
liability insurance and Garage owner's insurance
·
Ensure that they act
and work as ‘professionals’ at all times.
·
Provide work shirts
and ensure their work attire is maintained in as clean a condition as possible
·
Ensure that their
‘workspace’ is maintained in a clean and tidy state as possible
·
Train them one-on
one in the skills they need (Videos are a great training resource)
·
Either you or an
experienced detailer should mentor them.
·
Monitor the work
closely, do not micro-manage but provide guidance
·
Make sure that a
high quality is maintained by carrying out QA checks on finished details.
·
Ensure that they
understand that company success is beneficial to both them and you
·
Become the business
owner not their best friend; always remain courteous, friendly and
understanding
·
Be generous with
praise for a job well done.
·
Praise publically
criticise privately
Professional Working Attire
Distinguish yourself from
the competition; always ensure you look more like a "business" than
just someone who cleans cars. Selling your service to an audience - it follows
then, that if the salesman doesn't look the part, he can expect the door to be
slammed in his face. Perception is reality from the customer's point of view. Wear a polo shirt and dark colour khaki pants
or shorts; it gives people confidence in you and your business; which is the
main reason most people choose to purchase your services.
Jeans and / or t-shirts
present the wrong image. For a few extra
dollars you can get a few polo shirts embroidered with your company name / logo
instead. And ensure their work attire is maintained in as clean a condition as
possible. Dark gray, dark blue and black of course work the best. It goes
without saying quality is of paramount importance. If you do not put out a
quality product, no amount of professional image will make you successful.
Work Vehicle
I make sure to keep your
work vehicle clean and scratch free as your work vehicle speaks to your work,
and that’s going to the first vehicle they look at
OSHA compliance
There are many requirements
to be a good businessman, marketing, finance and people management to name but
a few. One of the most critical, and often the most overlooked, is Health and
Safety. Health and Safety is not a revenue generating area, it’s a cost, a lot
of people don't like to spend time on matters that don�t generate revenue.
However, it also has the ability to turn, in a matter of a few seconds, in to
your biggest single cost, and one that can put you out of business.
The agency that enforces
Health and Safety in the work place is OSHA. There inspectors have the right to
enter and inspect your premises at any time. You have to co-operate with them
in the same way that you have to co-operate with any federal entity. They have
the authority to fine you, or in severe cases, order you to shut down until the
necessary improvements are made. According to the research I did, nearly 90% of
all OSHA inspections in the detail industry are as a result of a complaint being
filed by a member of staff. 5% are as a result of accidents, and the remainder
is "planned visits".
Setting a Price- Setting
a price should be fairly simple, materials used plus, a percentage % of (b)
items 1 -6, plus Labour costs, plus profit margin
Costs
Any cost that is incurred by
carrying out business
a) Materials used (car care products) + expendables (i.e. micro fibre towels,
latex gloves, etc) + depreciation on tools (machine
polisher, pads, vacuum, power washer, etc)
b) Overhead Costs
1.
Tools
2.
Water
3.
Electricity
4.
Rent or Lease
5.
Insurance, business licence,
etc
6.
Marketing
c) Labour
Estimated time x expected
hourly rate
To estimate labour wage cost
it’s important to include paid holidays (9) 4% vacation pay, 1.73% Worker's
Compensation Board (WCB) (both calculated on gross pay) a matching employees
pension plan (PP) contribution and pay 1.4X what our employees contribute to
employee insurance (EI).
As a general number for
actual labour costs multiply hourly rate 1.35 (not including benefits). At a
minimum wage of $10.25 per hour that equals $13.87 per hour. Your labour costs
should never exceed 30-35% of your total costs so you need to include 3.3x labour costs included in sales to cover
all your costs plus profit. This equates to approx $42-$45 an hour for a
minimum wage employee. (Check
these figures as they vary by state)
d) Profit Margin
Percentage profit that you
expect to make on sales
e) Written Contract
Provide each client with a
written estimate and ensure they sign it to agree the costs. Remember a verbal
contract is not worth the paper it's written on
Profit is not a BAD
Word
Make sure that both you and the client are very clear about their
expectations and what exactly you'll be performing; this helps deter any negative
issues later on, which will hurt any future relationship with them. Resist the
temptation of doing ‘extra work’; although there is nothing wrong with
exceeding (within reason) clients expectations. Simply explain what is included
in the price quoted and stick to it (anything other than that is an ‘up-sell’).
You need to know "all" your costs and develop a financial model and
turn that into an hourly rate that will always make you a profit it you
estimate the job correctly in terms of time. That is why you can get into
trouble with posted prices; you are telling the customer this is the cost
without evaluating the vehicle first.
"Depends on
condition of the vehicle” then becomes meaningless. Your price should always de
dependent upon the time, materials and a margin for profit that it takes to
complete the job, unless you recover these operating costs you will not remain
in business for very long
Price reduction
Reducing
price obviously means a reduction in profit, although reducing introductory
prices is a different strategy, which hopefully will bring future profit.
When
business is slow, especially when an economy is in recession, there is great
temptation to reduce your price. Price reduction as a way to deal with a credit
crunch and / or a slow economy is a myth, albeit a dangerous one. If your unit
price is $100 and the net profit after all expenses and salary is 10% ($10) but
you discount your prices in order to make a sale by 5% ($5) that is 50% of net
profit. Your clients will receive the message that you are desperate for work
and it also set a precedent and devalues your perceived value.
Once
customers start shopping for price as opposed to value, and once you’ve offered
a price reduction it’s very difficult to recover from and raise prices once the
economy improves Focus on value and the service offered and never apologise for
your price.
Other resources
2. How
to Start a Home-based Car Detailing Business - Renny Doyle
Related Articles
I would like to think that these articles become an asset to
anyone who is new to detailing and to professionals alike, as well as industry
experts who seek to advance their knowledge - Jon Miller MBA
- Essentials
for Starting a New Business – http://togwt1980.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/essentials-for-starting-new-business.html
- Business
Partnerships - http://togwt1980.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/business-partnership.html
- Business
Marketing - http://togwt1980.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/business-marketing.html
- Becoming a Professional Detailer - http://togwt1980.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/becoming-professional-detailer.html
- Basic
insurance for an auto-detailing business -
http://togwt1980.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/basic-insurance-for-auto-detailing.html
- Selecting
a Professional Detailer - http://togwt1980.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/selecting-professional-auto-detailer.html
- Marketing
to existing clients -
http://togwt1980.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/marketing-to-existing-clients-ing.html
I would like to think that
these articles become an asset to anyone who is new to detailing and to
professional’s alike, as well as industry experts who seek to advance their
knowledge.
I hope the
above article was informative. By having some understanding of the ‘What’ and
‘Why’ as well as the ‘How’ along with a little science to help you understand
how the chemicals we use react, you can achieve the results you desire.
I would appreciate it if you would share
this article as it helps other detailers further their knowledge.
Questions and/ or constructive comments
are always appreciated.
Copyright © 2002 - 2012 TOGWT® (Established 1980) all rights reserve
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