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Page 1 of 2 Recently I spoke with a former client who told me his business volume had dropped from about $25,000 a week to $15,000 or less. If income stayed off that much all month, he said, paying all the bills would be impossible.
| | Franklin |
Every year many shops go through at least one slow season and sometimes more. Many of them plan ahead and do a big marketing push to compensate for the slow time, but when things are really slow, even that extra effort doesn't seem to make enough difference. While talking to this shop owner, I recalled Mike, another shop owner, who went to great lengths to make certain his shop survived those slow times. He was the first to tell me about his "extreme strategy." Since then I've spoken to other shop owners who have used it successfully - and even taken it beyond Mike's early efforts. Going where the money is The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 21% of male teen-age drivers were in vehicle collisions in the year 2000. Female teen accidents have also been increasing since 1990. A brief drive around many college campus parking lots will reveal how many of the cars driven by students are costly BMWs and other high-end vehicles. Mike lived near one of those colleges and when business got slow, he walked though the parking lot, putting a tiny back- of-the-business-card estimate on every vehicle with observable damage (and there were plenty). He told me he always picked up a few jobs for his trouble. I asked for a few specifics. He said always put the card by the driver's door handle -- never under the windshield. He always noted on the card that this was only an approximate estimate, but to come to his shop for a more detailed estimate. Most sales organizations figure if they make ten presentations, they should get at least one sale. Mike figured if he wrote ten estimates he'd get one job. If he wrote one hundred estimates, it was possible he'd get ten jobs. And some of those jobs might be the costly BMWs and other high-end vehicles that many of those kids own. Def-initely worth the time and trouble! Going directly for the business Every day, as we drive around, we see dozens of vehicles with body damage. I call this the "Body Shop Advantage." How many prospects drive around with their need for a service sticking right out front where everyone can see it? Mechanical repair needs and medical care needs both have to be diagnosed, but body damage is immediately obvious to the trained eye. So assuming you may want to copy Mike's successful strategy, here is approximately what the back-of-his-business-card estimate looked like (see example). Since some shop owners wouldn't want this printed on all of their business cards, one simple approach is to have a rubber stamp made up to stamp a few cards to put out in a parking lot. Or if you already have a card printed on both sides, you can have an alternate simple card made up with the estimate on the back. You can always leave your other business card too, especially if it has a map to your shop printed on it. Increasing your odds While leaving a brief estimate is a good idea, many people may ask, "Why should I bother to get this damage repaired?" It would be a good idea to answer that question for your prospect. You could leave a promotional message like: "Some reasons why you should keep your vehicle's body in good repair." Here are a few, but you may want to add some others: 1. Dents and dings can let moisture reach the metal under the paint to create rust damage. 2. Driving a damage-free vehicle inspires a driver to drive more carefully. 3. A driver may be less careful with an already damaged vehicle.
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