Car Show - How to bring in Customer

[Andrew C.]

So there is a classic car show in my city next month and what I am wondering is how would I go about using this as a good way to bring in new customers. I only detail part time on the side, but I have business cards made. I don't really know the first step of where I would start on approaching people without seeming like a complete solicitor.

[Nappers]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

I've thought about this for a long time.....

In My Humble Opinion.....

I would get some business cards as you have done, make some flyers up to show the 5 step process, pictures of swirls, phone number, prices if you have them etc.

First of all, you don't want to insult someone by saying, "hey great car, but noticed all the swirls, here's a card" Ya know?!!!

Hand them, out, say something like....."hey great car, if you ever need a detailer in the future, I'm your man" and explain your process (5 step etc) and go from there......The owners may show you what problems they are having and if you explain to them how you can fix it....shazam, got a customer.....

Not sure I would just place cards on windshields, as most of us see them at the store, toss them without looking at them.....

my $.02 worth.....

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

Do you know anyone entering the show? If so, offer to detail his car for him. Then in the show other entrants will see your work first hand. Then you can place your business cards/ or flyers close by.

good luck.

[Details]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

my customers do most of the talkin for me at car shows... i also put signs in front of their cars with my logo name and website

[Andrew C.]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

I've thought about this for a long time.....

In My Humble Opinion.....

I would get some business cards as you have done, make some flyers up to show the 5 step process, pictures of swirls, phone number, prices if you have them etc.

First of all, you don't want to insult someone by saying, "hey great car, but noticed all the swirls, here's a card" Ya know?!!!

Hand them, out, say something like....."hey great car, if you ever need a detailer in the future, I'm your man" and explain your process (5 step etc) and go from there......The owners may show you what problems they are having and if you explain to them how you can fix it....shazam, got a customer.....

Not sure I would just place cards on windshields, as most of us see them at the store, toss them without looking at them.....

my $.02 worth.....

I like that idea, it sounds like my best option right now and seems like it will work without offending the owner.

Do you know anyone entering the show? If so, offer to detail his car for him. Then in the show other entrants will see your work first hand. Then you can place your business cards/ or flyers close by.

good luck.

Unfortunately I don't know anyone entering, but I could try to find out who is entering the show and use one as a promo car. I like it.

[Maserati Mario]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

Car show people love their cars!
I don't know how many would be interested in someone else touching their car.
Maybe talk about MOL? This gets people talking about detailing and you can slip them your card, you can say "I can show you some MOL secrets".
Also, I've found, and many others, that giving away "mini details" or washes brings in customers.
I'm a firm believer in "word of mouth advertising"

[Fischer]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

Maybe you can enter your own work into the show and set up a small booth or something with the event holders permission. Maybe talk to a neighbor whos car needs to be buffed, make a deal where you do a 50/50 on the whole car, enter the show, and then when the show is over, you finish detailing it. Free of course

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

I have a truck that I show, and customers have been few and far between. I would love to be able to do more of those cars. I hand out business cards and will normally put a stack of them under my own wiper for people to grab.

my customers do most of the talkin for me at car shows... i also put signs in front of their cars with my logo name and website

Be sure to read the fine print on the entries. A lot of shows forbid advertising. However many also exempt companies that worked on that specific car. This is done to keep every body shop/car dealer in town from advertising without paying for a show sponsorship.

Car show people love their cars!
I don't know how many would be interested in someone else touching their car.

Very true. I've shown lots of people my process etc... and all it's done is gotten them to go out and buy a D/A and a load of Meg's stuff instead of comming to me for work.

Setting up a vendor booth with a whole car done 50/50 would be a stellar idea! A lot of small shows around here have vendor booths for $25-$50. Maybe get a newer vehicle in black that is hammered in swirls so that it'd be very obvious.

One effective thing that I've done is to do a fender. Usually explaining the use of a claybar. Just hitting one fender with clay and a one step by hand with an explanation of a multistep/machine job.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

Setting up a vendor booth with a whole car done 50/50 would be a stellar idea!

Been there done that, still didn't help much or at all. I did a 1959 Corvette in a copper metallic single stage, one halve oxidized and swirled-out, the other have polished crystal clear the metallic was popping out of the paint like a Pop Tart pops out of a toaster and while everyone thought it was a cool demonstration I don't remember any work coming from it.

Did the same thing with a 1934 Chevrolet Business Coupe. The coupe was black and completely plastered with white overspray. I carefully rubbed out just one half of the car and used it in a booth to promote my detailing business at a Model A and Model T car show and nothing ever came from it.

Getting people with "Special Interest" cars, whatever it is, a classic Corvette, a hot rod 1971 Camaro, a 1957 Chevy, a fancy new exotic super car, whatever it is, it's hard to get the owner to know you, and then trust you and then let you "touch their baby" no matter how horribly it's swirled-out.

You know in your heart you would perform a miracle on the paint, but you can't perform a miracle on the paint until you earn the owners trust and that's pretty hard to do at a car show while you're walking around.

The best tool that ever worked for me to earn the trust of people I don't know so I can work on their car was teaching detailing classes for car clubs.

After the class is over there's always a few people that want a show car shine, but don't want to do all the work they just learned in the class that it will take to get that kind of finish on their car. After going through the class, if you did a good job they could see that you know what you're talking about and you can get the job.

The other way to earn their trust is to have someone they know and trust recommend you. In this case they're trusting their friends advice because you haven't earned their trust yet.

Buffing out cool cars is a tough nut to crack, it can be done but you've got to find a way to earn their trust.

Besides all that, it's still hard to get big bucks out of these guys for your work. Removing the swirls and creating a true show car finish on a special interest car is worth more than the price the local detailers charge for washing, waxing and vacuuming out a grocery getter, but getting the old guy that owns the really cool Corvette or T-bird to pay you $300.00, $400.00, $500.00, $600.00 etc. for your talent is hard also.

Most people just don't understand how much work goes into machine cleaning and polishing paint to perfection let alone the risk and clean-up involved with the project.

Most all of my "Completes", that is starting with a heavy cutting product with a rotary buffer and working through the process to final wipe-off average around 10 to 14 hours if I'm lucky and that's only taking a break long enough to wash down a sandwich and get back to work.

Products like M105 and M205 of course make these kinds of jobs faster and easier but it's still a lot of work to take a car, tape it off and then put it through a multi-step paint polishing process.

Anyway, don't be discouraged because it's tough to get jobs detailing cool cars, just be persistent and be creative. Educate yourself by reading this forum so that you can intelligently educate your potential customer to earn their trust and get the job.

[AeroCleanse]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

If they see you at a lot of car shows they are going to be more inclined than if you just go to one show an expect them to hire you on the spot. They get to know you and it shows that you have interest in them as well.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Car Show - How to bring in Customer

If they see you at a lot of car shows they are going to be more inclined than if you just go to one show an expect them to hire you on the spot. They get to know you and it shows that you have interest in them as well.

That's a good point, there's a couple named Sid & Cathy that have done a lot of high end detailing here on the west coast for people like Chip Foose for example. When I lived in Oregon I worked at a lot of the major car shows like World of Wheels and GoodGuys shows and most of the time I would see them hanging out at the shows talking shop with car owners and also keeping the cars they were in charge of dust free.

They also both wore matching shirts that have very distinctive colors and embroidery and also auto related patches. The effect was a shirt that looked like they were part of a race team or something but because they always wore the same shirt it was easy to find them at the show and it somehow sent a message that they were trusted and recognized detailers. Not sure how else I can explain it but it definitely seem to work for them.