How to promote my painter's business?

[TNCobra]

The guy that painted my last two cars did a fantastic job. He went out on his own after being let go by a big shop. He has a guy, two or three that help when needed. He is a car guy and has focused on classic cars but is struggling to keep his shop full. He does little to nothing to promote his business. I told him I would think of some ideas to draw some business to his shop. I thought I would tap the bright people of the FFR forum for some ideas.

[highplainscobra]

He needs to get a website, and post photos of the cars he has completed.
Get out to the cars & coffee gatherings and car shows, hand out his card. He really needs to go to the gatherings where he knows his customers will be showing their vehicles. THis will get him a live reference should anybody want references.

And he can get really inexpensive business cards through the net - something like $10-$15 for 250 cards.

Join some car clubs/forums.

Post some video on Youtube of work-in-process, and give people prep-pointers so there is additional value to the video.

Once he has some cash flow he can do formal advertising.

And make sure you spread the word on his work.
Love that Mustang!!!

[mrmustang]

As a well know franchise paint shop owner, I can tell you in order to drive business to your shop, you need to advertise. Without real world advertising, he may never have enough business to stay in business for himself. Weekly newspaper ads for starters, if there is a local or semi local auto collectors/enthusiasts magazine, that would be even better. Local car shows (that allow commercial displays), involvement in the local car club(s), as many as he can manage. Finally word of mouth from his happy customers (a happy customer will tell 10-20 people on average, an unhappy customer will tell thousands)........


Bill S.

[TD]

For word of mouth you can use Yelp.com. He can encourage each customer to write a review there as well.

I use it all the time.

[HealeyRick]

Have him run an ad like this, he'll have plenty of business:



OR ...

Have him make the rounds of a few car shows with pictures of his work, before and after. Pics of your Healey would sell me in a heartbeat.

[TNCobra]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input.

[raceral]

If his work is good he needs to do nothing. Word of mouth does it for his business.

[P Wyman]

Business Cards displayed at car shows.

[fab]

Sent you a PM,,, let me know.

[Dan Babb]

My he could also try meeting people at other body shops. They might not want the high-end classic car type of jobs and could refer or outsource the job to him.

www.vistaprint.com for inexpensive business cards.

Ditto on visiting car shows and also ask his client's what clubs they're in and asking them to spread the word. You gotta ask for referrals...not assume you'll get them.

[TNCobra]

Thanks for the advice. He is great at body and paint and just hates getting out there and promoting his business. There are one great suggestions that I could see help driving some business to his shop (excuse the pun) without too much effort on his part.

[watermoccasin]

Originally Posted by TNCobra

He is great at body and paint and just hates getting out there and promoting his business.

The best advice I can offer is for him to buy, read, and re-read the book by Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited.

The biggest intake made by people in his shoes is they think they are a body and paint man (or whatever) when in reality they are in business. Two entirely different professions. Good luck to your friend.

[Presto51]

X2 on what has been said so far. Plus...

Also he needs to invest in car that his own that he has done, to show off his talents. Then he needs to take it to different shows, morning coffee and breakfasts to let potential customers see what he has done, and when they ask about the car he can tell them that he did all of the paint and body work. Unless times have changed, if they like what they see, they will ask if he is willing to do work on their car.

He can also call Jeff Miller or Ken Pike and ask them for advise on running a independent body and paint shop. I only know them from the forum but they seem like stand up guys that might give out good advise.

I wish your friend the best of luck, it’s a very hard business to get off the ground and running

Ron

[rjjablo]

"He is great at body and paint and just hates getting out there and promoting his business"

This is our attitude at work. Sales are slowly declining since we got rid of our salespeople and we dont advertise well or enough.

[TNCobra]

I went over to my painter with my latest project, a TR6. I actually had gathered your inputs back in May and sent them to him and offered to help him. He had been reluctant to accept my help, but at this meeting, asked if I could help him with a Craigslist ad. I put the below together. Let me know what you think and any changes you would make.

Craigslist ad

[ROB J]

If he were closer, I'd have him paint my 65 Rivy. The body is almost ready for paint. If he wants to visit Sunny MIA, I've got some work for him.

[bhoov128]

Small edit:
"The right rear quarter had a complete different shape as the left. By heating, shrinking and pulling the metal, the panel was straight and shaped correctly with almost zero bondo. "

Change to "The right rear quarter had a completely different shape from the left. By heating, shrinking, and pulling the metal, the panel was straightened and shaped correctly with almost zero bondo."

Also, I've found that craigslist ads attract a certain 'category' of customers, and a lot of time they're not exactly the paying kind.

Another thing to think about would be advertising on Facebook. They seem to make it very easy to target specific customers - based on what they 'like' and demographic / location information you could most likely get some interest there. Also might want to spend some time making a facebook profile for his business.

Hope some of that helps
Ben

[2FAST4U]

If your painter wishes to advertise his business, he must become a forum vendor. Have him contact Phil the administrator (screen name Administrator).

[cobrathegreat]

Most businesses need to spend thousands to make thousands. If they spend hundreds, they will make hundreds.
Social media is big! If he doesn't like to do this type of advertising, he needs to hire a pro.
Also coupons etc. drive people. Twitter, facebook, yelp are big. Banners and visibility are a must. A good name for the business that will easily be etched to potential customers minds is very important and that name needs to be out there.
There are other great body and paint people out there. What makes him different than the rest? Potential customers need to recognize his name and see his work.
Forget craigslist. These days small guys are getting tramped on by the big boys. What do the big boys do (mrmustang above), they advertise, send mailers, emails, coupons etc. They hit the market hard! The only way to survive or make a buck in these times.
I was resistant to all of the above. Once I embraced them, my profits increased substantially.
I am in the restaurant business. 2 Restaurants. I sell the idea that my product is better.
Once they come in through the door, they taste the product and they keep coming back.
The hard part is to get them in the door. For any business.