Windshield Repair Forum

The purpose of this thread will be to throw out marketing ideas. They can be proven methods that have worked for you..... or ideas that you may be thinking about trying.

Post your idea and explain why it works, or why you think it may work. You won't need alot of WSR experience to participate so newbies and lurkers are encouraged to respond.

Let's try to keep this positive and motivating. We're just looking for fresh ideas......Please no over-analysing - requotes - or negative comments.

O.K I'll start....... This year I am planning on attending some local car shows. I have always enjoyed classic, custom, and antique automobiles. I think that most people that share this interest, would be curious to see exactly how WSR works.

My idea is to stake out an area at these shows and give live demonstrations to the crowds that attend. I think that if I offered to kick in some money for trophies ect. to the organizers, I would be welcome to take a space and possibly conduct some business.


Worse case scenario, I educate the public and get my name out there to people who are passionate about good looking cars and car care.

Who's next ??? Bob

Good idea bob, here is a rehash of a prevoius post but well worth the read


Dealerships

My favorite approach with dealerships is with the used car sales manager. They are usually sceptical of windshield repair, having had bad experiances in the past. The easiest way around this is the free demo. Before speeking to the manager, walk the lot and pick out a car with a large bull

Great thread Bob,

I have a mobile detail business and strated doing wsr about 1.5 years ago but haven't been confondent enough to promot wsr untill about 6 months ago.

The marketing tool that I have going that gives me the best results ( next to great work and word of mouth and CUSTOMER SERVICE) is putting my business card in as many businesses I can. Just 3 days ago I landed a fleet account of 9 trucks for the gas company here ( which I feel will expand to their units in other towns) for biweekly washing and wsr! All because he saw my card at the local janitorial supply store!

mr. P

I don't do any form of passive advertising at all. No cards, no advertising, no mailers ... none of that. I do only direct face to face selling .. that way it is up to ME to decide how much I make rather than up to someone else to make the dicision to pick up the phone and call me. On most any given day I can go out and get a new fleet account, not just 1 a week but 1 a day. It's not because I am a super seller either it's because I have a different view on things than most people. What most salespeople do is they set a predetermined number of calls they are going to make in a day and they hurry through them with their eyes closed hoping they don't get hurt too badly and when it is over they have nothing but they feel good that they got it done. They continue their 10 cold calls a day plan everyday and maybe they luck into 1 account a week.

Let me give you the top secret formula to getting accounts in the WSR biz .... We aren't in the biz to solicit accounts, we are in the biz to GET accounts. Our job is not complete until we GET the account. Even if we hit 20 doors that day if we get no work we are in the hole an entire days wages. If we need $150 a day to live we now need $300 the next day because after our preset number of 10 cold calls was hit we gave a sigh of relief and went home. There is a smart way of doing this and that is to hit an area not an industry. Many people get an industry in mind that they want to hit and they look up all the companies in that industry that are in the phone book and go to those. The problem with that is one might be 30 miles away from the next one and all their time is spent travelling to go see them. Theway I get at least an account everyday I am out is I hit an area ... I find a business area and don't leave it until I am doing repairs. It works everytime (almost). Coitster does the same thing, you don't see Coitster out spending money on ads and mailers and sitting back waiting for people to call him .. both David and I go out and solicit the heck out of an area and then move on .. I would venture to say that David is skunked about as often as I am and that is not very often. What we do is not magic it is easy for anybody to do the secret trick is not sitting by the phone but getting in front of someone UNTIL YOU DO CHIPS!

All that being said I do have a trick/tip I have just started using. The data isn't all in yet but I did try out my idea of hiring a guy to hold a sign while I stay at my tent. I have a tent at a local gas station on a busy street corner and I wanted to try my handheld sign out there but that means I couldn't be in talking to people at their cars ... so I asked one of the gas station guys if they had a friend who would come for minimum wage cash and hold my sign for a few days.. he did and his friend did come. Yesterday was his first day holding and I got 16 cars that day(in Oregon that is unbelievably good, my best day ever at a tent was 14 before that) out of those 16 I asked 4 of them how they saw that we did chips, they said they saw a guy holding a sign. I paid him maybe $40 for the day and I KNOW I got at least $200 out of it .. and those were just the folks I asked , who knows if some of the others were from him. Today, the second day, I knwo of 2 that came form him but I wasn't asking today. I got 13 cars in today. Both days I rolled in around 11am and left about 5pm. I will never change my opinion that face to face is the ONLY way to run this business ... cards and refferals and word of mouth are fine if you don't need money, but for those of us who need to actually get paid face to face is not an option, it is a requirement.

COITSTER back me up on this .... can I get an AMEN!?

I take that back, my record for a Jiffy Lube location was 14 in a day ..my record for a tent spot was 20 and that entire week I averaged 15 a day ... ti was a good week hehe. My record for a day of fleets was just shy of $1000 in a day and that was doing alot of employee vehicles and a few big monthly accounts all on one day.

Hey Brian,
I sure will back you up on this one. The only way people are going to make it in this business is to go out and find the work. I know its all really nice to go out and buy a manual from someone who has read a good book and wants to teach you all the ways you can get business the passive way like Brian talked about. You know mailers and stuff like that but the problem is we only get a limited amount of money for doing a chip job. I don't want to give away like 70% of my money to advertising.

The best way to go about making this business work is getting off your butt and finding it. Fleets, retail its all easy to get. Of course like Brian I also have bad days...... ::::Don't everyone Fall over in disbelife at once::... I am glad they don't happen that often but its because I go out and actualy work. I don't work a lot of hours but the hours I do work I make them count.

I love the following phrase and I think about it all the time, and this is truely the way I think about my business. Here is the story.

A reporter was once interviewing the great Wayne Gretskie (hockey player extrodinare) and asked him the secret of his success. How did he become the greatest hockey player in the history of the sport? Wayne got a little smile on his face and responded in a soft voice. "Its really very simple you see... I know that I am going to miss 100% of the shots I never take, so I take everyone that I can."

That story is so true, not just in sports but also in our business. Don't be afraid to ask for business, and if I may be so blunt. If you arn't willing to go do that... you may want to seriously find something else to do.
David
Coitster

Brings to mind this quote I read somewhere the other day:
"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place."

All good advice and quite positive/motivational.

Rather than rehashing, I'll throw out another suggestion....

Don't overlook an opportunity to barter your WSR services for other goods and services that you can use. Many small business owners are in the same boat as we are, that is, they are seeking more business and more profit but do not have unlimited resources to waste on massive advertising and promotional campaigns.

Two examples/personal experiences:

1. When I lived in Alabama, I owned three horses (yup, three big bellies to fill up and care for;). The local feed and farm supply store was family owned/operated and in addition to each family member owning a few vehicles, the business had 5 fertilizer spreader trucks, two pickups used for local deliveries and 5 semis that they used for a short hauling business. I would simply repair any of their windshields, advise as to the total for my repairs and received a store credit for that amount. As well, they would always "talk me up" to their customers. Not a bad deal, an hours worth of work (or so a month), a couple dollars worth of resin and my "Three Stooges" would eat for a month without my having to open my wallet.

2. Moved to Memphis and found a mom/pop owned pizza joint with rather good (and expensive) pizza that I would frequent about once a week. Went to pick up dinner one nite and the owner noticed my graphics, asked me to look at his chip and advise as to cost of repair. I simply told him that my cash rate for his chip was 50 bucks and that I would gladly trade my services for 50 bucks worth of store credit (he also had some really cold draught beer;) and the deal was done!

Next day he called and asked if I would repair windshields for his delivery drivers in exchange for credit as he thought that it would be a really nice gesture to offer his employees free repairs since they were placing their vehicles in harm's way to deliver his products. My response, "send 'em to me!"

A few (IMO) words of wisdom to consider/remember when bartering:

1. Don't trade for services/goods that wouldn't normally use/need/want.

2. "Apples to Apples!" Your trading partner does not need to know your cost per repair just as you do not need to know their cost per widget. Trade your retail price for services rendered for the equivalent in their retail price.

3. Be courteous to your partner's employees. Just 'cause you can walk into the establishment and "sign" for your widgets without having to pay, does not mean that you can act like you own the place. As well, tip when/as appropriate. Even though I never had to pay (cash) for my pizzas, I always had a 5 dollar bill ready for the driver when he/she delivered my dinner.

This post is directed mainly toward new WSR in rural areas.

I am new to WSR (in business for just over 3 months) so I don't have a lot of experience to offer. I originally planned my market area around 3 cities - 2 with pop. of ~23,000 (county seats) and 1 with a pop. of 8,000 plus a university with a student enrollment of another ~8,000. I soon learned that; 1) I got no business from students even after having run ads in the student newspaper for 6 weeks (admin would not allow me to walk parking lots), and 2) established competition in the 2 larger cities had car dealers and fleets tied up. I resorted to cold calling (Coitstering) and was able to make a few bucks within the towns but not what I really wanted.

So, I expanded my cold calling to smaller towns (pop 1-2K) and business picked up. I learned that there was a need for WSR in these areas. These are areas with farmers, ranchers and people who work in larger towns, and where subdivisions are built on gravel roads. So last weekend I decided to set up a tent (with owners permisssion) at an intersection (traffic light) on a heavily traveled state highway. I was so busy I almost couldn't keep up. More business than in the previous 2 weeks. Location, location, location.

My point is, you have to find a market where there's a need not just a lot of people. People stopping at my tent told me that I should do good (and I did) and that it was a good location. I'll be there next weekend, too.

Oh! Don't pass up small town beauty salons. The atmosphere is friendly and I've gotten good business from them. I've also been asked if I need a good woman :eusa_sile .

Don't overlook areas where there's a fishing lake. Lots of people hauling boats at high speeds on gravel roads and distance to get there.

Dale...