Why consumers should choose you for their automotive protection needs

by Prentice St. Clair

You call a detailing customer to make an appointment for his regular six-month detail and he informs you that he just bought a new car. You say, “Great! How exciting! What did you get? Say, why don’t we put a paint sealant on that new car for you so that it will look new for years?” To your dismay, the customer replies, “Oh, I won’t need that because I bought the sealant package at the dealership.”

How do you respond to this situation and, more importantly, how do you avoid this situation in the future? Let’s get two things straight before we begin.

First, let me make it clear that this is not going to be a “dealer-bashing” session. Automobile dealers certainly have a right to profit from the sales of vehicles, and the selling of protection packages is certainly a reasonable part of that potential profit. At the same time, we, as detailers, have a right to influence our customers’ purchasing decisions. We certainly would not want our customers having a paint sealant applied at another detail shop. So for the purposes of this article, we will consider the dealership “another detail shop.”

Second, paint sealant products and application services are often referred to by the popular brand name of a coating that is typically associated with non-stick cookware. To avoid trademark infringement, I will not use the name, but it begins with a “T” and is manufactured by Dupont. Let’s get it straight up front that this product, used as an additive to some paint sealants, is not the main active ingredient. Although the additive may help with the protective value of the chemical, the main active ingredient is polymer resin.

Ultimately, the purpose of this article is to discuss keeping your customers informed so that they continue to choose you for their automotive protection needs. We can provide the same or better service for a greatly reduced price.

Responding

If your customer purchased a sealant package from the dealership before you had a chance to discuss it with him or her, it is important to educate the customer about the benefits and drawbacks of such a purchase. While doing so, take great care to keep the conversation positive—it would be a mistake on your part to end up making the customer feel bad about purchasing the dealer’s protection package.

I recommend beginning by congratulating the person for being conscientious about the care and maintenance of the vehicle’s paint. Tell the customer that paint sealants really do offer the best available protection for the vehicle’s paint. Then, start a dialogue by asking how much the package cost and what kind of warranty was provided.

I like to “collect” typical prices charged by dealers. In the last 10 years, I have heard a range from $300 to $1,500 dollars for sealant application! It’s good to know what the dealers are charging so that we know what we can reasonably charge for our service and still remain competitive with the dealer’s prices. For example, it should be obvious that we can charge a fraction of $1,500, provide better service, and still make a whopping profit compared to our standard detailing charges.

If the dealer’s protection package came with a warranty, the customer should have been provided a written copy. (If not, tell him or her to demand one from the dealership!) Ask the customer if you can take a look at the warranty certificate, and tell the customer that you would like to help determine exactly what is and is not covered; after all, you are (or should be) an expert on the care and preservation of vehicle paint.

The warranty certificates that I have seen typically “promise the world” on the front: “This product will protect against bird droppings, tree sap, environmental fallout, fading, and oxidation.” That’s fine, but what does the warranty actually cover? Turn over the piece of paper and read the fine print: “Warranty does not cover damage caused by bird droppings, tree sap, or environmental fallout.”

Moreover, how many instances have you encountered in which a dealer customer actually was able to have a car repainted because of damage that should have been avoided by the paint sealant application? I know of one individual in 10 years, and she had to mount a campaign of letter-writing and visiting the dealer every day for weeks to complain about the oxidized paint on her car. The dealer did finally repaint the car, but who has time for this nonsense?

In my opinion, a warranty attached to a paint sealant application is similar to an extended service warranty on a piece of electronic equipment. Long touted as frivolous by consumer’s groups, extended warranties amount to no more than a gamble by the retailer that you will never actually bring in the equipment with a complaint. And the gamble is a good one because very few people even remember that they purchased an extended warranty, much less take advantage of it.

Another important fact about paint sealants is that they typically will only protect for up to 12 months, given the best conditions. Thus, some warranties include a clause that indicates something like, “the sealant must be reapplied every six months to maintain warranty.” The initial package price from the dealership may include free re-applications, but typically the customer must pay some type of re-application fee to maintain the warranty.

This opens an opportunity for you: Explain to your customer, “if they’re going to charge you anyway, why not just have me take care of your sealant application schedule. I use the same products but include extra services (like detailer’s clay) and better all-around results than you will typically get from a dealership.” In fact, many dealerships do not have a true detail shop on site. Instead, they employ a near-minimum-wage worker in the back who probably does not even know the customer and probably is not concerned about the customer’s car. You, on the other hand, are a certified professional who’s business relies on the opportunity to provide excellent service to the customer.

Common Misunderstandings

You will find that many of your customers do not even understand what is a “paint sealant.” I’ve heard this many times: “Oh, my car never needs to be waxed because I had a clearcoat applied at the dealership.” Obviously, there is a mix-up in terminology here. This is your chance to educate the customer on basic paint technology and paint protection. Be careful, however, not to bore the customer with technical details. Just keep it simple and straightforward, always with the goal of keeping the customer’s car looking its best. You might say something like this:

“Do you mean that the dealer applied paint sealant protection to the paint on your car? Actually, the term “clearcoat” refers to the type of paint system with which your car was painted. A paint sealant is a great product and will go a long way toward protecting the beauty of the paint on your car. However, we find that paint sealants typically only last six to 12 months, regardless of what the dealer warranty may have promised. In order to keep your car looking fantastic for years to come, I strongly recommend applying a polymer paint sealant every six to 12 months, and I can do that for you.”

Leased Vehicles

One option for paying for a car is leasing, which is sort of like “renting” the car. The dealer or lending agent still owns the car, but the user gets to drive it for a set period of time (two to five years) by making monthly payments. At the end of the lease, the customer has the option of turning the vehicle back in to the dealer or purchasing it. Some customers will simply shy away from any extra expenditures on a leased vehicle because they figure, “heck, it’s not even mine, why should I spend any money on it?” It will be difficult to sell regular paint sealant application to these customers.

Other customers may see the value in keeping the lease vehicle protected, because upon return, the dealer carefully inspects the vehicle for damage, which must be paid for by the customer. I have had customers who leased a new vehicle every two years and who had those leased vehicles detailed regularly. They tell me that the dealer loves them because the vehicles always come back looking spectacular.

Another possibility is this: Ask your customer if he or she has any inkling of purchasing the vehicle at the end of the lease. If so, and some customers plan on it, this is a great opportunity for you to sell a sealant package. It’s a simple sell, “Well then, if you may be purchasing this fine vehicle at the end of the lease, why not put a coat of protection on it so that it continues to look great throughout the lease period, and also to ensure that it looks as new as possible when you purchase the vehicle in a few years? Even if you decide to turn it in at the end of the lease, the dealer will be happy that the vehicle is in such good condition.”

Avoiding the Problem

Of course, the best way to deal with the dealer issue is to avoid it altogether. A simple way to do this is to keep your customers informed about the services that you provide. If you have price sheets or brochures listing the various packages that you offer, include a “new vehicle protection package” that includes application of a paint sealant.

If you do regular mailings to your customers, dedicate one of those mailings to a discussion about paint sealant application. Moreover, your advertising can include something like, “We also provide paint sealant application—compare our prices to the dealer’s.”

The easiest and least expensive way to get the message out is to simply talk to your regular customers. Tell them about your services. “If you or anyone you know is considering purchasing a new vehicle, make sure to talk with us first about protection packages that the dealer might sell. We provide the same type of service with superior results at a greatly reduced price.”

You may run into a situation in which your customer is actively shopping for a vehicle or is in negotiation for a specific vehicle and the issue of a protection package has come up. Sometimes the dealer will use the sealant application as a bargaining tool to lure the customer. After all, we know that the true cost of a sealant application is only a few dollars in product and labor. So it’s pretty easy for the dealer to “throw in” a protection package valued at $750 to entice the customer.

I tell my customers faced with this offer that there are two options. The first is to ask the dealer to substitute another vehicle option of similar value, like a premium stereo system or tinted windows. The funny thing is, your customer finds out the truth quickly because the dealer cost of similarly priced options is significantly higher. Thus the dealer will immediately say “no.”

On the other hand, if the dealer is going to throw in a sealant application for free, I say, let him do it! But make sure your customer realizes that the sealant needs to be applied again every six to 12 months and that you should be the one who does that.

Options for Protection Packages

You have a few options when it comes to new vehicle protection packages that you can offer to your customers. Certainly, an exterior detail with application of polymer paint sealant is an obvious package. Make sure you clay the vehicle as part of the package—even new vehicles pick up environmental fallout during transport and while sitting on the dealer’s lot. Removing such fallout is one of the service elements that differentiates you from the dealer’s service.

Don’t forget the inside! I have heard about leather “sealing” that goes for $600 at the dealership! This is incredible when you consider that the dealer is simply wiping on leather conditioner, a five-minute process! You can offer an interior protection package that includes “premium leather conditioning to help keep it soft and supple” and application of liquid repellent to carpets, mats and fabric seats.

Another consideration is to take a similar approach to the dealers: offer pre-payment of ongoing protection application. Calculate your normal cost of detailing a vehicle every six months over the course of two, three, four or five years, add it up and this is what you can charge your customer for an “extended service plan.”

Summary

Premium vehicle protection packages are already offered by many dealers. They are not performing any services that we can’t perform. So why not take advantage of this part of the detailing market, provide better service, and bring in substantial profit?

Prentice St. Clair is the president of San Diego-based Detail in Progress Inc. which offers consulting and training in the automotive detailing and reconditioning industries. He can be reached directly at 619.701.1100 or by e-mail at prentice@detailinprogress.com.