So now you know how the customer looks for the work to be estimated and how you can make their choice an obvious one.
- What if they still insist in taking their vehicle to several body shops? -To be honest, you should be insisting that they do. In order to pull this bluff off, you will have to be up to date on what your local body shops charge, how they come to that number, and what people are saying about them. Fortunately, we live in an era where technology is at our disposal, which means you should be able to get this information quite readily. What you can’t get online, you can get by sending a friend down with a dented car to get an estimate and ask some questions. Once you have this information gathered, you will know what you can get away with when it comes to bluffing. You can even go as far as to say that you will beat all local body shop prices, because you know you can. This is a process that will take weekly dedication to research to know the boundaries of your offer. You may be challenged and caught blindside if you don’t pay attention. As an example, if a body shop is offering a special with a coupon, you could really stand to lose a lot of money if you have to beat their offer. Make sure that your customer understands that while there will be others that are offering their services for less, they need to be mindful that these types of offers are everywhere and generally will be a scam. Less pay sometimes equates to less service. If your prices are as far down as they can be for the purpose of competition, and you find out that still there is someone doing it for less, then you have to question what part of the process are they leaving out? Don’t be afraid to challenge your customer. Most of all, keep in mind that you may be speaking to someone who is a pro at being cheap. They themselves may be the scam. You need to follow your instincts and say no.