Dent Repair Weekly

what not to do

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

I know, I know...why didnt I just pen some info on what to DO in a Paintless Dent Removal Business, right?
Tough. I wanted to do it this way. Dont like it? Write me a nasty letter.

OK, here goes: (and by the way, some of these bits can be used in any business operation, in case for example, you also sell frozen yogurt or something on the weekends out of a shack)

Dont's.

1) Dont lie. Simple, huh? Yet so many people do it. Just bite your lip and either stay quiet or tell the truth.

2) Don't attempt repairs on a valued clients inventory that are well beyond your scope. Yup, dont. Weve seen them all before and know what happens...

3) Dont UNDERCHARGE. Thats right..you though I was going to say the other thing, huh. TOO many people cut their OWN throats in this business. Charge what you are worth. People who value good work will pay for it (I am assuming you do good work)

4) Dont underestimate the value of hard work. Profits and selling take work. Allow the time and energy to succeed, and with good info and direction, it will all come together.

5) Dont go to work with a shoddy uniform or outfit. Professional image is EVERYTHING, and if you lead with a horrible 1st impression, you are screwed. Nice shirt, business cards, hat if applicable, logo'd vehicle etc etc...should all match and look nice.

6) Dont underestimate the power of conversation and attitude. A humble attitude and time to speak with people will get you clients. It is called making friends. And the ones who can make friends with alot of different types of people are the ones who will have great success in Paintless Dent Removal .

There are more DONTS, but this should get you started. Are you doing any of these...........?

Happy Pushing!

turbocharge your pdr

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

I know..I hate to use such a cliche term that everyone and their mother over used in the late 80's, but it still beckons attention, and for that, I drag it out of the closet and use it again..turbo + your paintless dent removal business.

There. Im done with the hype. On to the show..

HOW?

Im assuming you are a Paintless Dent Removal tech...and as such, you push dents.

Question: When you are pushing dents, are you selling? no. Someone recently said- when you arent selling, you arent making money.

So, when you push you are just waiting to make money LATER.
Thats not a good thing. So what to do? You cant sell AND push at the same time. And if your goal is to work less or make more money or both, I have a solution (that I personally have used and it works NICE)

Bring on a salesperson. Yup. A recon service salesperson. THIS, will TURBOCHARGE your business, when done right.

I have had great success by having a person sell our services while the techs are out working. I dont want my techs wasting time talking, chatting etc..let a salesperson handle that stuff..it IS important, but a tech isnt generating cash if he isnt pushing or working, so let them work.

How do you do this, you ask?
Well first you should network in your community..personally and through business..get the word out you are trying to hire a salesperson.

Secondly, think about hiring a woman. Think about it again, and then, unless you find Dent Jesus, hire a female it at all possible. You will thank me later.

Third- train this person the business ins and outs. They dont need to know how to write damage repairs or estimates, just the lingo and shortcuts.

Fourth- PAY this person. I would suggest 20% of the gross receipts and a small salary, car, phone etc, OR 30% straight commision or give them the option of either.
The person you hire will need and deserve to make good money and you dont want turnover. Our salespeople average 7 years with us, and you want your investment to stick around to help grow your business.

This person can sell to any market segment you want, and will generate income for your techs WHILE they are working. This person can even do Public Relations for you...all these things to make your business flourish!

And I dont know how many techs you employ or if it is just you, a salesperson can work in either situation, and can write anywhere from $5000 a month with ease, up to over $100,000 a month with some effort....so, you decide where you want to be, and get crackin..

Happy Pushing!

steal an account

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

Steal an Account

Nodents Home | Magazine Home

How to Steal an Account away from Dent Wizard

<< How to mine for gold in a dealer service drive

How to Upsell >>

By Les Chung

Ive probably got some people's attention with this one, or at least I would hope. And dont forget, you can count on nice, industry specific and beneficial articles such as this only from Superior Auto Institute at www.nodents.com

I am writing you to inform you that there are alot of ways to get accounts. I suggest you read the recent article about mining for gold in the service drive...that article is a nice angle on getting PDR business, and I know very few people know about it or utilize it.

Now, lets say you come across a Dent Wizard account. Not to worry. Those pesky little guys wont be a bother for much longer, unless we are talking about an auction account such as Ford, or Chrysler. If we are talking about a dealer, here are the stats:

A) Dent Wizard

is a company that has MANY managers, shareholders, reps, and of course the technicians who need to be paid. All those people with their hand in the cookie jar..so what Im saying Jack is that they HAVE to charge more money to their clients (in this case your dealer) to pay everyone.

So, your LAST option would be to price them out of your account.
NOW, they can play lowball for a while due to their immense size, but if you want to hold them out to dry for a while (6 months lets say) you should succeed in most cases unless they are really after your account due to its size and profitability

B) Being that price is the last option, lets talk about a better idea-
Service. You can outservice Dent Wizard by taking care of your client like no one else. The first and foremost idea is to be in front of their face every day they are there. If your contact is there on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturday and Sunday, try to be there the same days and drop by. For any reason, but just do it. Because the name of the game is RELATIONSHIPS. And he who creates and builds them best, wins. Dent Wizard cannot do it like you can because they work on the volume principal since they have all those people to pay for and care for..you dont, and that is an advantage.

So, service and relationships, and you have to, cut them off at the knees with pricing..but not unless you HAVE TO..and also, dont forget the service drive approach..you can steal an account away from them that way too.

Happy Pushing!

Les Chung

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start a business

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

Start a Business

Nodents Home | Magazine Home

Im ready to start a business, now what?

<< Turbocharge Your Paintless Dent Removal Biz

Dealers are losing money >>

stain removal ink

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

selling for top dollar

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

The last thing you want any prospective buyer thinking is that the car you are selling could use a good cleaning. Why? The way you present the car when you are trying to sell it speaks volumes on how well you have taken care of it. If you can't afford to drop a couple hundred on a good, quality detail job, fear not! Car detailing is hardly rocket science, and merely requires your time and a lot of elbow grease. Simply spending a day making your car sparkle like the day it rolled off the showroom floor will not only net you a buyer more quickly, but bring you more money as well.

You might find it hard to believe, but simply giving attention to minor details, can get you $300-$1500 more for your car! And you might not even spend a single penny. Only a few hours of your time.

A well known secret of used car dealerships is the importance of a GOOD detail job. If you've never heard of auto detailing, you'd be surprised at what it can do for an automobiles' appearance.

What does it mean to 'detail' an automobile?

Think of it this way. Paying special attention to every DETAIL of the car. Interior, exterior, under the hood, in the trunk.

Using special cleaners and enhancement products, the detailer will bring out the "shine" in practically any old clunker.

The typical price range for an auto detail is $50-$90. Prices are slightly higher for larger vans and trucks due to their size. Look in your local yellow pages for local auto detailers. Take the time to call a few up and inquire about the 'price for service'. Be sure you tell them what type of automobile you have so they will be able to give you an accurate quote.

If you do not want to spend the money for an auto detail, take it into your own hands, but be prepared to get a little dirty.

I can't stress enough the importance of a sparkling clean car. You MUST clean out everything if you want to get top dollar for your auto. People WILL spend more money on a car that has a "shine" to it. It gives the impression that the car has been well taken care of over the years.

Think about it, would you spend your hard earned money on a car that looks completely trashed?

Start with the interior. Why? Because you don't want to wash and wax the outside, then vacuum and clean the inside which will just get the exterior dirty again.

If you don't have a powerful vacuum that can handle the carpets and seats, ask a friend or neighbor. When asking, inquire about a steam cleaner. This is optimal for a deep, thorough clean. If you don't have a friend with a steam cleaner, I highly recommend renting one for a day from a place like Home Depot, the value of shampooing your interior pays off immediately, not only do you get your carpets looking brand spanking new, but any odors that have been ground into the carpet are removed in the process and leave you with a "new" carpet.

When you are cleaning the interior, don't forget to clean under the seats, inside the glove box, ashtrays, trunk, anywhere and everywhere dirt and grime has accumulated. If you are at all mechincally nclined, I highly recommend removing your seats before cleaning the carpet, you will be amazed at the stuff you find hidden in cracks you can't otherwise get to, I have found french fries in the weirdest places in cars that you would otherwise deem spotless.

If you do not have these products already, really consider purchasing: a quality dash/plastic cleaner, stay away from ArmorAll, all it does is manage to make your plastics greasy and nasty to touch. Also get a quality carpet cleaner, use a tried and true product you use at home, carpet is carpet, whether in your home or in your car. For the exterior, I recommend dedicating a solid four hours to the process, get a claybar, and a good three step product: cleaner, polish, and sealer wax.

Plastic cleaner - Those who have used a product like this before know what it can do for your interior. It literally brings back luster and shine to your dashboard, steering wheel (make sure you let it set before driving, these products will make your steering wheel slippery), plastic stripping, and door panels. Use it wherever appropriate.

Engine Degreaser - Have you taken a look under your hood recently? You might be surprised to see how dirty it is. Engine degreaser such as Simple Green will make short work of that filthy engine. Follow up by dressing all your plastics and rubber hoses with the same stuff you used for your interior, it is amazing how well your engine bay will pop when everything is like new and sparkling.

Exterior - A claybar and three step wax will bring even the worst paint jobs back from the dead. You will be amazed at the way your paint shines, whenever I am feeling down on my car and start considering selling, all I have to do is give the exterior a good detail, and I sway myself not to sell. Buy a bundle of quality terry cloth towels, and go to it, ideally you want to be inside out of the wind and especially the sun when you do this, you don't want to be grind any dirt into your paint in the process! This process will by far take the longest, and your arms and shoulder will no doubt be burning at the end, but oh boy is it worth it. I recently detailed a friend's car for him before he took it into a dealer for a trade in. The dealer admitted to giving him $2000 more on the trade in simply because of the detailing I did for him! And all he had to do was give me a hundred bucks to spend half a day on it. If you don't want to or can't spend the time to do it yourself, find a neighborhood kid who obviously details his own car, you would be surprised how cheap you can get the work done for if you just look in the right places.

Don't forget to spend some time cleaning the jambs on your doors, hatch/trunk, hood, and especially the wheels and wheel wells. Bonus points if you take the time to power wash the bottom side of your car as well, car saavy people will take a look under the car, they will be expecting to see a filthy mess under there, if you have taken the time to make it sparkle as well as the rest of the car, you will impress the buyer.

The prospective buyer will be impressed when they show up, every little detail goes a long way.

Does your automobile have any minor damages? Broken taillights, door handles, mirrors, glove box, ripped carpets and seats?

You may find that you can fix many of these minor damages for a very minimal cost. Why will this help you sell your car?

Think about this.

Most shoppers will ask a number of auto related questions - How many miles? Original owner? Any accidents? Is there anything WRONG that I should know about?

If you have to say "Yeah, there's a broken taillight, the glove box doesn't open, and the passenger door needs to be opened from the inside." This immediately gives the prospective buyer the opportunity to offer you a substantially lower price.

It will be much harder to get the price that you're looking for if there are little defects with your automobile. Fix as much as you can. It'll pay off in the long run.

As a common courtesy, get your oil and filter changed, have your coolant flushed, change your spark plugs and wires if needed, get a tune up, and in general do as much as possible to get your motor running as smoothly as possible, in the selling process, the less a potential buyer can find wrong, the more likely you are to get exactly what you want for your car.

By simply taking the time to make your car look and run its best, you will find that your automobile will not only sell faster, but will sell for more money. Not to mention, when a buyer comes to look at the car and gushes about how immaculate everything is, you can take pride in knowing you did the work yourself, and you will get top dollar for your car.

Good luck and happy detailing!

scratch removal

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

remove cigarette smoke smell

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

pdr the silent giant

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

Giant. Huge, Massive.

Ok, a bit cliche, but appropriate.

I know that any decent Paintless Dent Removal tech could make nice scratch by servicing ONLY New car Dealers, For NEW CARS.

I dont know why (see the term lazy) but PDR Techs overlook and dont walk/write the new cars at dealers.
And new car dealers usually want these cars, uhm, new.
So, they usually will approve these repairs, yet no one usually takes the time to walk them.

Why? Because there usually isnt sufficient volume for a busy PDR Tech to take notice. But, lets for conversation sake, say you are NOT a busy PDR Tech with 6 days worth of business, and you could use some more business.

Why not walk new cars? Go see the sales manager, and present the list (you should be able to easily find 1-3 cars at any decent dealer at any time) and I suggest pricing the repairs accordingly..rather inexpensively if you are in fact hungry. Dont givethem a reason to say no..and if they have more than 4, do the next few for free.

Common' now..new car PDR is almost ALWAYS easy! The damage is usually very minimal, so the repairs wont take you but a few minutes and should be done in no time, and should net you a few hundred, and now you are off to your next new car dealer to rinse and repeat.
Do a few of these a day, and you should be able to average $600-800 daily, and at that rate, you will make more than $10,000 a month!
Crazy how people overlook the numbers, huh...

Happy Pushing!

pdr newbs

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

Sorry to say it, but if you are a Paintless Dent Repair Newb, this article is a bit direct, but if you appreciate the truth, read on. If NOT, click back and get outta here immediately.

Paintless Dent Repair is tough. And thankfully so. If it was easy, the prices would fall and a typical repair would be $10 instead of $100…so let it be tough to master..keeps the get rich quick geeks down the road, looking into pyramid schemes, gambling, internet and other crap.

So, I digress….Common mistakes of PDR Newbs.

Underestimation. This term is broad, intentionally. Underestimation of the EFFORT and DIFFICULTY is primarily what I am referring to, but there are more..
A) The income. Most peeps have NO idea what a good PDR Tech can make. When I personally push, I usually pull over $2k a day. And Im NOT talking about hail. When doing hail, I get depressed if Im not reaping at least $3500 when pushing 100’s of dents in a workday.
B) The competition. Most people in PDR are horrible. And lucky for them, it usually doesn’t slow them down..until a better tech rolls into town (see our dent repair school for details J )
C) The Market. I get emails from new entries interested in PDR, and others who may have gone thru a different school, looking for markets where they can tap the deep well of PDR. Let me say this clearly: Auto Dealers are just ONE market segment. There are DOZENS more. I will leave it at that for this article…

Technical requirements. 20/20. Your peepers better be 20.20 or corrected to that level or PDR is not for you. It is a VISUAL process, so if you CANT SEE, you cant DO.

TIME. This one is commonly overlooked. Dealers send us PDR in house trainees all the time for schooling. Then, when the student returns and asks for time to practice and develop their skills and speed, the management says, “sure, but for now, get back to your normal job and we will get you practice time later”. Well, later never comes, and the dealer tech often doesn’t get the time or attention he needs to continue his skills, and the in-house program goes sideways. What does this mean to you, as a newb? PDR Requires TIME. ANYTHING that you do, and want to do well, will require TIME. Give PDR Time, and you will get RESULTS. And by results, I mean MONEY.

Rushing. PDR Newbs rush their work, and the results often suffer, Slow work means fast results for newbs. Take your time.

Improper tool selection. For some reason, I see techs in the field using the wrong type of tool tip for specific damage. Remember, we are re-creating texture, so use a tip that will best achieve that. And tape and caps on tools are a Pro-techs best friends.

Massive pressure. So many newbs like to employ massive pressure to locate their tool tip. Hint- DON’T! If you cant see your tip easily, take a page out of our training book- go get an aluminum hood and try it out for size..I wont spoil the fun, but you will do better than you did with the steel item…try it.

Improper tap down technique. Dent Wizard teaches newbs to use a “Master tool” which is a large dolly type of tool to push down the entire dent. Eventually they show you how to do it like the rest of us, with a tap down pencil or punch. Problem is, many newbs don’t locate the highspot tip and tap down the side of it. Take your time, and if possible, tap down by pushing, not using a hammer. You can modulate the pressure better when pushing.

Improper reading technique. Many newbs try and jump to a board after learning on a lite. Stay with the lite for a while..it keeps the learning consistent and theres no reason to go to a board until you are very proficient with a lite.

That’s all for now! There are more Paintless Dent Repair newb pitfalls I can assure you, but work on these to get started!

Happy Pushing!

pdr is better than

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

You like the title, huh!?

Med School has prestige, that is for sure. Being a Medical Doctor has benefits, for sure.

Pressure.
Oh yeah. Your not working on cars, your performing on PEOPLE. And at some level, you will have to care about it. That creates STRESS and PRESSURE.

And TIME is also an issue.
How does 10 years sound? 8 years of school, 2 years of residency, and then your out of jail and building a business.
With PDR, in 1-2 weeks you can begin to perform Paintless Dent Repair and begin building a business.

Daily duties.
For a Paintless Dent Removal tech, you dont need staff, you dont need an office, malpractice insurance, or expensive medical equipment and supplies. You need tools, that dont wear out, and a vehicle. No,not a special vehicle, just one that will take you to and from work, just like any ordinary job. Thats it.

Income.
This is my favorite part. A good PDR Tech can AVERAGE over $1000 a day. Its not hard to do, and there are MANY Paintless Dent Removal Techs doing just that. When I push myself, I average just under $2000 a day in gross receipts.
Compare that to a good physician. After all the back office, front office, fixed costs, insurance etc, and then the stress, you eek out $500-$1000 a day. Sure you could be a plastic surgeon, or opthamologist performing lasik, and with that you might net more than an average Paintless Dent Repair tech, but compare the averages, with time invested and quality of life, Paintless Dent Repair looks very attractive.
And Im just referring to a single man operation. You could also blow the doors off ad have 10 techs working underneath you, with a sales rep etc. Just depends on how much time you want to spend managing etc.

So if you have the urge to help people, being a doctor is very noble and is respectable to say the least. But if profits are your goal above all else, consider the alternatives...after 10 years of pushing metal, you could have enough real estate to retire, if you bought right, and your buddy getting out of his/her residency could visit you at your early retirement party.

Choices...

Check us out today, at nodents.com

Happy Pushing!

myths in auto detailing

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100

mobile autobody success

Brian Jump — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:31:45 +0100
Mobile Autobody Success

Nodents Home | Magazine Home

Mobile Autobody Success

<< How to Grow a Successful Dent Repair Business

Wheel Repair with Insurance Companies >>

By Les Chung
http://www.nodents.com

Interested in having a business that will gross you 30k+ a month, without employees and net you well over $20k?

It is not only possible, it is very doable.

There is a Paint Tech here in Southern California who focuses on a niche. His niche is insurance referrals from local agents and adjusters. The insurance people LOVE him cause his rates KILL other bodyshops> Why? Because he doesnt have ANY huge overhead. No building rent, no utilities, no huge labor costs, nada.

So, retail and insurance clients, happy ones, and he works 5 days a week, approx 8-9 hours a day.
And the 30k is regular, each and every month.

There is one problem though. His business is exploding and he cant cover all his clients needs.
So, it looks like he either needs to curtail his clients, or add a tech or assistant.
So much for a super simple environment.

There it is...now use this info if you must, but be careful of falling dollars!

Happy Pushing!

Les Chung

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