Change with the Market

[GlassStarz]

I have Changed my Customer base and Marketing methods several times as the Economy has changed with the current death of the Used Car Market how many have done the same
Myself I have gone back to the Cold Call (Coistering)

[t4k]

My used car lots and fleet service has not died. It is a bit slower than two years ago but still running pretty strong.

[Frank EU]

Still fleets only. Doing fine.

[screenman]

Fleets doing exactly as I wish them to, buses and trucks keep running even when the economy slows a bit.

[just chippen away]

I have changed with the markets every year. One year the fleet is the money maker, and other years is the retail. This year is retail. I am trying something this year by using my customers to advertise my company with the internet. Remember word of mouth is your best and your worst advertising. I will see how this goes.
I also will run a Phone book add for the first time in 4 years. 3-4 jobs a month should pay for the adv., compare to in the past when we did not make as much for repairs it would take 6 -8 jobs..

Just trying different marketing ideas to see what may work.

[scratchy]

This has been a very interesting year. Comsumer confidence has been up and down a couple of times and it directly affects peoples desire to get their W/S fixed. I see many NEW vehicles on the road now so that means business is getting better. For the first 6 months of 09 nobody was buying.
Lots of people got wiped out this year.

[atag]

I am just starting up my wsr business, but I am trying both fleets & retail. The fleets that I am going after are not just car lots, but any company that has multiple vehicles (one company that I do wsr for has insurance that pays $75/$15).I am approaching my retail jobs from several directions, 1) door to door cold calling 2) going around to any business in town that deals with vehicles & giving them a referral fee for any job that I get from them 3) last option will be to hire an independent guy to go out cold calling at times when im not using my kit. I figure I will make the least amount by hiring somebody, but I have the chance to put somebody else to work (the county that I live in has the highest unemployment rate in the state) p/t, & my kit is still making me a little bit of money rather than sitting when I cant be out.

[D2D]

Hey Stag! Welcome to the forum!

I think you will find loaning out your tools a very unpleasant experience. I would suggest either supplying your part timer with a complete kit and having them pay you a deposit for using it. Inventory everything and have them pay for any lost or damaged equipment.
Or, if you're lucky enough to find someone, you said unemployment is high, who grasps the lucrative business opportunity, then make a deal where they will make an investment/commitment and you can train him/her on WSR .
I highly recommend people in the 40 to 60 age range as they tend to be more stable and commitment oriented. They also tend to have more patience. Which, other than good hand/eye coordination, is the only requirement to doing consistently good quality repairs.

Good Luck!

[D2D]

Oops, sorry, that's atag!

[atag]

Thanks D2D! These are great suggestions to consider. This is basically how I got started in WSR, I was hired buy a guy from an ad in the paper & he paid me so much for each invoice with a bonus for every 15. He left town & a few years later I decided to purchase my own Delta Kit & do this on my own which I did! I as thinking of trying to get the same type of thing going where whoever I hired would be an independent contractor & I would pay them $20 per invoice. That’s great money for somebody like myself that has lost there job & can’t find another one right now & I'm still making on average $40 minus expenses. I guess maybe the guy that I was working for got lucky & I was a trust worthy person; I will have to be careful who I choose if I do this.