Sales Tactics for Detailers: Five Ways to Convince Detailing Customers on Price
No matter what industry you’re in or what job you do, everyone would like to make more money. Detailers are no exception. But if charging more money for detailing services really was simple, we would all be doing it right? Maybe it’s not so simple. Based on Mobile Tech RX research on average car detailing prices around the country, there is huge variation in pricing between states and even within the same cities. But the question remains: How do you convince customers on price?
The first step of selling yourself as a detailer is to start raising your detailing prices and charging your customers what your services are truly worth. But selling yourself and making more money for your business doesn’t stop at setting a price. We’ve talked to a lot of detailers, and we hear one thing come up again and again. You’re worried that if you raise your prices or charge more for specific services, you’ll lose your customers. You’re worried they will tell you it’s too expensive and they can get it cheaper somewhere else, and they’ll walk away.
Even with the right price, you’re still going to face customer objections and negotiation. But you shouldn’t let that stop you from charging what you’re worth. The key is being prepared for the objections and knowing how to respond. Keep reading to learn five ways how to convince your customers on price.
1. Help Them See the Value in Your Work
The very best way of handling objections about price is to not make it about price at all. Instead, you should shift the focus to the value and quality of the work you’re providing your customers.
If you have already priced your services strategically, then you should be confident in handling objections. If it’s obvious to your customers that you take pride in your work and you believe in the level of service you’re providing, then they are less likely to challenge you on it. Detailing business owner and Mobile Tech RX customer Dan Plautz emphasizes the value and quality of his detailing work before he talks about price. “I’m looking for anyone who really cares about their car and values a good detail,” he says.
But in order to move the conversation away from only price, you have to educate the customer first. The customer needs to know the work you’re putting into their service so that they know how to value it. Explain to them the process and procedures of what you will do to their vehicle and what kind of difference it will make. Talk about the time it will take, the equipment needed, etc.
If you can provide value by understanding their expectations and explaining how you will meet or exceed them, then price is no longer the most important factor. They are going to come to you because you know what they want and can deliver it to the highest standard.
2. Validate Your Pricing with Technology
Do NOT just make up pricing off the top of your head as you go along. For one, you will definitely miss things and forget to charge for them. Second, If you don’t have a solid pricing strategy in place, it’s going to be much more difficult to handle objections from your customers.
Using pricing technology can be very useful in creating a pricing strategy and providing legitimacy to your car detailing quotes or estimates. The Mobile Tech RX detailing app can help you build packages and price additional services and add-ons to keep your hourly labor rate high. Showing your customer a detailed, line by line quote of your services on your phone or tablet comes across as professional and high quality. Business owners like Michael Green at Ultra Shine Auto Detail have used the Mobile Tech RX app to justify his mobile detailing prices and cut out any negotiations with the customer.
3. Be Flexible
Holding steadfast to the value of your work is important, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible with your customers and react to their expectations. If a customer doesn’t want to pay your original detailing quote, work with them to bring the price down, without compromising on quality or your time. In other words, don’t sell yourself short by doing the same job for less money.
In this situation, you can take off any services that are less important to them and that they don’t want to pay for. Figure out what you can do within the parameters of their expectations and budget.
If you use the Mobile Tech RX app, you can use the app as a sales tool to help you walk your customer through their options. Every service on the app is optional and customizable. If they don’t want to pay full price, ask what services they would like you to skip.
4. Try to Move Away from Grandfathered Rates
You might have some regular customers who have been coming to you for years and have always paid the same rate. The problem with these type of flat rates is that they haven’t accounted for inflation or improvements in service and products.
However, there is a value in their loyalty and the last thing you want to do is upset your loyal customers. They’ve brought you a considerable amount of income and positive word-of-mouth promotion over the years.
So what do you do? In these cases, your main goal is to get them closer to your new rates while still keeping their trust. Think about upselling them a package that better suits their needs. If they regularly pay for a basic package, suggest they upgrade to the next level up and explain the value in that (and why it costs more). If they are a very good customer, you can even offer a discount if they, for example, agree to sign up for the year. The discount is justified because of their loyalty and promotional value. And don’t be afraid to ask them to write you a review in exchange for a break on the price!
5. Let Them Go
When you know the value of your work and have your pricing in place, then it’s easier to accept that, sometimes, you need to let the customer walk. There will be cases when you’ve tried all the strategies above and the customer will still try to drill you down on price. If that’s the case, then it should be clear that it’s not worth your time and effort to do the job. You should graciously let the customer go elsewhere. It’s not worth compromising your integrity, work ethic, or time.
There are two possible outcomes in the scenario that the customer walks away. Sometimes people just won’t value your service enough to pay you what it’s worth, and they will be happy going somewhere with lower quality and cheaper prices. However, some may go to another detailer and don’t get the quality of service they had hoped for. Many times, they will then come back to you and be willing to pay your price.
Don’t just take our word for it. Dan Plautz of Integrity Detail Specialists has some great insight on selling his value above his price.
“Competitive pricing is the key to being successful. Too often detailers sell themselves short. If you have a customer pressuring you to come down on your starting price because they found a place down the street that’s cheaper, let them go down the street. You need to be willing to walk away from business if you want to sell your value.”
You can read how he uses the Mobile Tech RX detailing app to validate high prices for his high-quality service.
The Bottom Line
Come up with a pricing strategy based on competitive research, your labor rates, and the quality of work you’re providing. Once you have the confidence in the value you’ve placed on the work you’re doing, it’s far easier to handle any objections. Using an app like Mobile Tech RX will help you justify the cost, so that the customer is less inclined to question your pricing in the first place.
To learn how Mobile Tech RX can help you manage and grow your auto detailing business, so that you can make more money, start your free trial now.