Advertising your Windshield Repair Business.

[G-TECH]

Hi,
The windshield repair business can be as profitable as you want , part time/full time, the end result is what you put into your business you will be rewarded, I have been doing windshield for some time now and have had good results with advertising, it can be very costly. I use custom made rack cards and holders and go to every automotive store and inspection location and leave some there, the results are amazing, I also offer the manager of the store a 10 % fee for every repair that I get from that location, this is a way to get your business out into the public every day. I have a 70 mile radius that I use at different locations that works very well.These rack card with holders do not take up much space on a customers counter, and can be placed right at the check-out register, or any other place in the store.

Much Success
Nick

[CPR]

Vehicle signs can also bring in alot of business, my part of town does not have yearly inspections but if we did I would be friends with all the garages.

[G-TECH]

That works well to, but in some states when you have a sign on your vehicle you would need commerical plates ?

[G-TECH]

I noticed that you also do Headlight Restoration?? So do I.

[CPR]

Headlights can be profitable if they look great when you are done, I have developed a system that works on around 60 % of cars out there, when I figure out the rest I may be putting together a kit for the members here.

[glassdoctor]

I have thought about making a kit like that for a couple years... but haven't taken on that project yet.

Now there are a number of kits and products being offered for headlights. So I probably won't bother trying to sell anything myself. Besides, my biz is very simple right now and I like it that way, no inventory, etc.

The biggest issue I have with selling kits or doing retail work myself is a guarantee of how long will the headlight stay looking good. There's a couple products that claim to preserve the clarity, but I haven't tested it myself and I don't believe it until I see it.

I can make them look great but some will not last long enough for me to be comfortable with...

I do headlights for dealers and those who ask for it... I explain that it's not permanent on some cars, etc.... the results are fantastic though and I haven't had any complaints yet.

[0hunter]

Are you talking about the small plastic card holders or sometrhing else? Also, do you number the cards for each location? or do you just ask the customer where they got your name when they call?

[Jeremiahswindshieldrepair]

This is just one mans opinion but I do no advertising whatsoever. Ihave done flyers on windshields .. I have done commissions to auto body/mechanic shops, I have done large phone book ads, commissions to past customers for sending friends (although I never aggressively tried this one) and several other types of ad stuff. Not a single job came from any of those except maybe 1 out of 20 calls out of the phone book. The other 19 were replacement calls even though it said I was repair only. My personal view is face to face only, that way it is ME who is responsible for outcome .. not fate or whether someone decides to pick up the phone and call me.

Not that any other way is wrong ... just in my area it hasn't been profitable in my experience.

[CPR]

Hey glassdoctor, let me know if you want to share methods, I have found a way to keep them looking for years.

[G-TECH]

There is a saying " out of sight, out of mind " and i agree with you Face to Face, ultimately, you are responsible for the outcome, and the quality of your work, I have done all the advertising that you said, and then some, and continue to be creative to reach all the customers that I can. This method may not be for you but it can help some one else who wants the exposer in their area.Also you can make money if a replacement is required, as long as you know a replacement shop that will give you a shop price, then you can add to that, and the price that you give to the customer is still lower that other shops in the area.