We are worth every penny

[Chris Thompson]

I have advised a few people recently about setting prices. When I first went into business, this was one of the hardest things to learn for me because so many different companies (i.e. Walmart, McDonalds, etc.) build their entire business empires off of cheap prices, many people now expect you to give them a great price. That is not how it works.

Detailing, by definition, is a service based entirely on high quality and superior service, not cheap prices.

Remember this: You always, always, always get what you pay for.

Cheap prices are for those who are not confident in the service that they provide. If you are good at what you do, customers will see that and will be willing to pay a higher price for it.

Heres an example, Ferriari, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and Porsche. These all have two things in common, what are they?
#1, they are all perceived as high quality machines worthy of envy.
#2, all of them are more expensive than Toyota, Chevy, Ford, and Hyundai.

Your prices are a part of your image. Cheap price, cheap image. Premium price, premium image.

I guess what I am trying to say is this, do not be afraid to charge what you are worth. Am I saying get every penny you can from people? No, not at all.

Just understand, if you can set your prices and then stick with them, you are going to lose some potential customers but you will be working with a higher quality client base.

Today, I handed a gentleman my business card and he asked me how much for his truck. When I gave him the price he said, "too much" with which I informed him that I am not cheap. If I would have come down $40 or $50, he would have probably given me business but I walked away.

On the other hand, I was speaking with a few men at a car show and one of the first things I told them was that I do not work cheap. They were all happy to hear that because they recognize the difference in quality between us and the "$45 detail bottom feeders".

Charge what you are worth. Stick by your guns. If they demand a lower price, walk away. It will result in a slow start but but a great finish.

[Sean Conrad]

Re: We are worth every penny

Very good points. I agree with you 100%. I charge less than anyone on here, but that is because the area that I am in will not bear $20/hr unfortunately. Also, I admit my prices are a little lower because I'm not as talented as most of you. I do good work, but I don't offer all the Wet Sanding and all that kind of stuff, but I do what I can. I do reduce or remove swirls and scratches with my top of the line detail. With me you get what you paid for. I offer just wash and spray wax all the way up to clay, polish and everything else.

[Chris Thompson]

Re: We are worth every penny

That is perfectly ok. My biggest point is do not sell yourself short in fear of losing business to the cheapo's. I live in a sparsely populated area and I charge $35/hour. Some of the forum members live in areas like SoCal and Dallas and can get $60+/hr. It just depends.

[Sean Conrad]

Re: We are worth every penny

Right now I'm getting about $15-$20/hr. Depends basically on how long it takes me to do the job. But for West Virginia that is pretty good, especially this part of the state.

[gto_don]

Re: We are worth every penny

Funny that you post this message now Chris. Just yesterday, I was battling myself and my own price list (and thoughts) that maybe I was charging too much. Although lower than some others in the general area (but not by much I don't think) I was having one of those moments thinking that maybe it was the reason for "slow" business. I find it difficult to ask others what they charge because I don't want them to think I am going to undercut and take their business. I don't play like that. I have myself to blame also for not "pushing" the business more than I have and that has been mainly due to the heat. I struggle getting out in the garage in 110+ degree temps to fully detail vehicles. Now that cooler temperatures are coming, I want to get more business going and promote myself and the business. I have had some tell me I am not charging enough for the quality work I do. I just have to get past my "guilt" that maybe I'm not worth what I charge and that, to a degree, is what is keeping things slow. Because my business is so new, I have not had anyone tell me I charge too much as you and probably others have, but I am sure it will happen. I'm just not sure what my reactions will be when it does occur. I would NEVER confront a person over it, but would thank them for their input and opinion, explain why they are what they are (and maybe even give a bit of show and tell) and walk away. In this downtime, I have been working hard to get things going in the right direction (ie price list, website, LLC approval etc) but being new to my own business, I find that that setting prices for my services is one of my biggest hurdles.
Thanks for letting me ramble. This in itself has helped me get some of my concerns and frustrations off my shoulders.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: We are worth every penny

Very good points. Often times I find myself ready to roll my eyes when a potential client is haggling about the price. I try to educate them on the difference, between my services and others. All they see is the price.

[john m.]

Re: We are worth every penny

This is definitely the hardest thing for me. I really probably get about 10 or a bit more an hour with what I charge. I initially started charging what I knew pros near me where charging, though after I was not getting much business I really took down the price and got a few more people. Than after those people didnt get me any word of mouth advertising I cut it down a bit more. Now for a wash/wax and a light interior detail which really is more since I cant leave a car dirty is everything buy heavy seat and floor cleaning. and if I am lucky I will get 50 out of one job.

Still at $50 which I consider cheap especially because if I get the car and find bad stains I will go the extra mile to make it a little better (not perfect since they did not pay for that but still). Its just harder for me being that I am young and in a small town I find that people assume that I should charge little. I get lots of people from family friends to people from church that are interested and start asking questions and then once they get a general price quote I never hear from them again.

So far my only full details have been friends cars where I helped them learn how to work on the car and they did the majority of the work so I dont charge them much except for product cost. Though with the car people I know here I fear them only paying for minimal correction and expecting perfection. :/ pricing is a the hardest part.

[rapport25]

Re: We are worth every penny

Very good points. Often times I find myself ready to roll my eyes when a potential client is haggling about the price. I try to educate them on the difference, between my services and others. All they see is the price.

Totally agree. I have a customer who has a Range Rover. full cream leather & metallic black paint. I'm very picky about my detailing and will always go the extra mile. This car was not in great cond and needed alot of work. I estimated 6-8 days for a complete detail inc wheels off and cleaned/engine dressed/interior cleaned/full exterior detail and as near as maybe 100% correction.

When I told him the price he was shocked!! then i explained how many hours and the processes I went threw. 4 visits to my house later he decided to let me get my hands on it.

Neadless to say he now has a very shinny almost swirl/scratch free range rover and is very happy.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: We are worth every penny

I have adjusted my prices several times now and have found that $35 an hour is what works the best for me.

I don't charge hourly though, I give a flat rate and I basically know how long a car is going to take with the work I quote and it always comes between $32-$38 an hour, but I quote at $35 an hour.

[96Lude]

Re: We are worth every penny

Chris, thanks for your post. I detail on the side and I believe you make some very good points. Detailing as you said is about high quality work, not cheap prices. Sometimes I am amazed at how cheap people can be.

I am charging $40 in my area to restore a pair of headlights. I am talking wetsanding, not just polishing the lights, yet people still try and bargain with me.

I believe my price is already too low, so as you mentioned, it might be better to just walk away in certain cases.

[Still Learnin]

Re: We are worth every penny

Charge what you want to earn... Just make sure you deliver... I believe there was a older post on here somewhere talking about prices....

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: We are worth every penny

Your prices are a part of your image. Cheap price, cheap image. Premium price, premium image.

I guess what I am trying to say is this, do not be afraid to charge what you are worth. Am I saying get every penny you can from people? No, not at all.

Just understand, if you can set your prices and then stick with them, you are going to lose some potential customers but you will be working with a higher quality client base.

On the other hand, I was speaking with a few men at a car show and one of the first things I told them was that I do not work cheap. They were all happy to hear that because they recognize the difference in quality between us and the "$45 detail bottom feeders".

Charge what you are worth. Stick by your guns. If they demand a lower price, walk away. It will result in a slow start but but a great finish.

Totally agree with your observations. Anyone with a degree in business, or even anyone with an ounce of common business sense understands the concept of diminishing returns. Just as you state, people associate value with quality based upon product and service price points. A low end service charge places a subconscious marker in a client's mind that the proprietor does not value or have confidence in his/her craftsmanship.

While a client may initially consider a low price point to be a bargain, most potential customers will eventually gravitate to a business charging what a customer regards as an average or fair market valuation. The real talent lies in the proprietor's ability to determine his/her market's median price point and then either set the fair market median as his fee, or charge slightly above it. Consumers will recognize that a slightly higher fee signals confidence by the proprietor in his ability to not only do the job, but also to exceed the customer's expectations.

[akimel]

Re: We are worth every penny

I have advised a few people recently about setting prices. When I first went into business, this was one of the hardest things to learn for me because so many different companies (i.e. Walmart, McDonalds, etc.) build their entire business empires off of cheap prices, many people now expect you to give them a great price. That is not how it works.

Detailing, by definition, is a service based entirely on high quality and superior service, not cheap prices.

Remember this: You always, always, always get what you pay for.

Cheap prices are for those who are not confident in the service that they provide. If you are good at what you do, customers will see that and will be willing to pay a higher price for it.

Heres an example, Ferriari, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and Porsche. These all have two things in common, what are they?
#1, they are all perceived as high quality machines worthy of envy.
#2, all of them are more expensive than Toyota, Chevy, Ford, and Hyundai.

Your prices are a part of your image. Cheap price, cheap image. Premium price, premium image.

I guess what I am trying to say is this, do not be afraid to charge what you are worth. Am I saying get every penny you can from people? No, not at all.

Just understand, if you can set your prices and then stick with them, you are going to lose some potential customers but you will be working with a higher quality client base.

Today, I handed a gentleman my business card and he asked me how much for his truck. When I gave him the price he said, "too much" with which I informed him that I am not cheap. If I would have come down $40 or $50, he would have probably given me business but I walked away.

On the other hand, I was speaking with a few men at a car show and one of the first things I told them was that I do not work cheap. They were all happy to hear that because they recognize the difference in quality between us and the "$45 detail bottom feeders".

Charge what you are worth. Stick by your guns. If they demand a lower price, walk away. It will result in a slow start but but a great finish.

I agree with the general thrust here. My father, who was a shrewd high-end furniture retailer, taught me that if he priced his furniture too low, his customers would not believe that his furniture was as high quality as it was. Folks look for sales, but they won't believe the sale prices if the sale goes on 365 days a year. I remember one discontinued sofa that was marked well under 50%. It was made by a very fine manufacturer, but we simply could not move it. I pointed this out to my father, who promptly increased the price by $300. We sold it in a week's time.

Perception is critical. If you price your services too low, your customers will not believe that you are providing high quality service.

Totally agree with your observations. Anyone with a degree in business, or even anyone with an ounce of common business sense understands the concept of diminishing returns. Just as you state, people associate value with quality based upon product and service price points. A low end service charge places a subconscious marker in a client's mind that the proprietor does not value or have confidence in his/her craftsmanship.

While a client may initially consider a low price point to be a bargain, most potential customers will eventually gravitate to a business charging what a customer regards as an average or fair market valuation. The real talent lies in the proprietor's ability to determine his/her market's median price point and then either set the fair market median as his fee, or charge slightly above it. Consumers will recognize that a slightly higher fee signals confidence by the proprietor in his ability to not only do the job, but also to exceed the customer's expectations.

Thoughtful and accurate analysis!

But there is also another side of the story: detailing is a luxury service. Most folks do not need the services offered by professional detailers. Most folks are happy to take their vehicles to the local tunnel wash. During economic depression, luxury services and goods are the first to suffer. No one escapes the law of supply and demand. If demand drops, then prices will and must drop, and it doesn't matter how highly the seller subjectively values his services. Business is business.

When potential customers haggle with you over the price, they are not being cheap. They are being shrewd and smart. Every good businessman knows how to hondle. Why think less highly of customers who also hondle. We are all looking for the best product or service for the best price. When the economy is booming, folks may be more inclined to simply accept whatever you think your services are worth. But when the economy is going south, they are going to challenge your pricing structure. It's a buyer's market right now. That's the economic reality. If you don't compete for consumer dollars, somebody else will.

But don't give up without a fight. Find ways to persuade potential customers that your services are worth every penny. Find your market. Advertise. Lure and cajole. Convince me that I should spend $200 to have my car detailed by you when I can get it washed and waxed for $20 down at the local car wash. High prices alone ain't going to convince me.

[akimel]

Re: We are worth every penny

Just yesterday, I was battling myself and my own price list (and thoughts) that maybe I was charging too much. Although lower than some others in the general area (but not by much I don't think) I was having one of those moments thinking that maybe it was the reason for "slow" business. I find it difficult to ask others what they charge because I don't want them to think I am going to undercut and take their business. I don't play like that.

If I may be so bold, this is, IMHO, the wrong attitude. Businessmen who maintain this kind of attitude go out of business. Fight fair, by all means, but fight! Fight for every dollar. Grow your business. I can tell you one thing, I am more likely to give me consumer dollars to a businessman who wants my business and is willing to compete for my business than someone who is not.

A year ago I purchased an electric stove from a local small-time retailer. I decided to buy the stove from this particular retailer, instead of Lowe's or Sears, because he really wanted my business. "What can I do?" he asked, "to make this sale?" He was passionate. And so we worked out a mutually beneficial arrangement. That's business. And whatever else professional detailing is, it's a business.

[Flash Gordon]

Re: We are worth every penny

I have adjusted my prices several times now and have found that $35 an hour is what works the best for me.

I don't charge hourly though, I give a flat rate and I basically know how long a car is going to take with the work I quote and it always comes between $32-$38 an hour, but I quote at $35 an hour.

I agree with this ^

$35 an hour is sufficent enough for me. Having said that, I find it more beneficial to both myself, and potential client if I can have a solid number to give them. 95% of the time, I am dead on with the price I quote as it relates to time spent

Another idea is to ask the potential client what goals they are looking to achieve before giving a quote