A Labor Intensive Approach

Another great source of direct business is a shop’s immediate business community. Plumbers, electricians, contractors, pest control companies and a vast array of other service businesses with company vehicles are experiencing damage to their vehicles all the time. The reason more shops don’t pursue this business is the time and attention it takes to solicit deals. 

For the most part, these businesses won’t respond to direct mail, faxes or e-mails. Like you, they get hit with junk mail and ads all the time and throw most of it directly in the round file. The only way to get this business is by direct sales activity. I recommend a multiple step approach. Someone with time to make phone calls simply calls huge lists of local businesses and asks the following questions: 

1. Do you have company vehicles and, if so, how many? 

2. Is there someone who is responsible for seeing that your company vehicles are maintained, and, if so, might I have his or her name? 

3. (This call is directed to the vehicle manager): Would you mind if we sent a bit of information about our shop and repair capabilities? 

4. (After some promotional literature has been sent, directly to the vehicle manager) Did you receive our information and, if so, would you be willing to talk to one of our estimators about our rates, our quality, and our turn-around time? (If so, an appointment is scheduled to see this person). 

From this point on, it is a direct selling job that must be carried out by the owner, manager, or someone empowered to negotiate discounts and deals. 

One shop I assist a bit recently called on several local businesses and within a week or two, had ten commercial vans being repaired in the shop. It works. 

A Simple Principle

Once again, it might be said that the farther you get from the original source, the more complicated and costly a job will probably be. This also seems to be true in marketing, and it may also be true in management and other aspects of business. Just as it may be necessary to use recycled or aftermarket parts at times, it may still be necessary to market to insurance companies, agents, attorneys and other third party sources. But it’s always good to keep in mind that the most effective marketing of all will always be directly to the vehicle owner or driver; it is the original cause of the damage that ultimately provides the work that keeps the collision repair industry in business. 

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing representative and consultant for forty years and is the author of the books, "Business Battlefield Marketing for Body Shops," "Tom Franklin”s Top 40 Marketing Tactics for Body Shops," and "Strategies for Greater Body Shop Growth." His marketing company now provides marketing solutions and services for body shops and other businesses. He can be reached for questions or comments at (323) 871-6862, by fax at (323) 465-2228, or by E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it