By
Brian Jump
http://www.nodents.com
Gold. I love
the smell of it..the taste
of it..the FEEL of it. A nice
quote from the movie, "Goldmember",
starring Mike Meyers.
Great movie,
but the direction I am going
with this topic. By Gold,
I mean money, and by money,
I am referring to where the
money is in the Automotive
Reconditioning business.
First, to
know where to go, we also
need to talk about where to
NOT go.
Here are
some suggestions to avoid..
1) Mom and
pop dealers, and small wholesalers.
Sure, there is work there,
and for every rule exceptions
do apply, but by and large,
these entities are ones to
avoid.
2) Power
Auto Group dealers. These
guys are in my opinion, an
absolute joke, and are laughable
at best. Not only do they
not believe in recon, they
leave cars on the front lines
at many of their dealers with
collision damage, and expect
to sell them that way. The
main reason for the deteriorated
operation is that they structure
the used car manager pay off
of the net profits..not gross,
so for every dollar spent,
the UCM makes less. Real smart
guys..penalize the management
for trying to sell clean cars.
Heck, people really like thrashed
cars anyways, so keep it up.
3) Rental
agencies. I know I probably
have some of you in a complex
state with this one, and as
previously stated, there are
exceptions, BUT, rental agencies
can be a royal pain in the
arse. Beat up cars, 60/90/120
day pay plans, and attitudes
from maintenance managers
that make dealer UCM's seem
like Cinderella. I know the
gross
profits for rentals is enticing,
and I also know people who
bill 6 figures every year
in rental recon, but if you
like to play the #'s, stay
away from rentals unless you
are a gluton for punishment.
Ok, enough
negativity..lets move on to
positives, shall we?
Where the
gold is...
1) Retail
clients. Do you think you
have ANY idea how many private
customers are in your area,
with damages that will pay
you cash money, today, on
the table, and will also refer
you 1-2 customers for simply
doing a good job> Nope-
your wrong. Take that estimate
in your mind and multiply
it by at least 10..and if
you are a pessimist, multiply
by 150. Im serious..the retail
market is more massive than
you can imagine, and aside
from a few negatives , such
as seasonality and travel
costs (gas, mostly), retail
is a great way to bump your
income in a grand way. How
to get it or ways to market
to this segment..wouldnt you
like to know. Ill cover this
topic soon though... ;)
2) Dealers>
Yeah, I hate em too. But,
they do provide a decent foundation
for recon work. Most techs
I know usually have between
5-15 dealers and average over
$1000
per month per dealer in
billing.Try and focus on the
ones who actually care about
clean cars, AND sell volume.
Doesnt matter if they are
a Hyundai or GM dealer (two
of the
worst selling brands lately)..just
go for the ones who sell volume
and pay. Besides, what are
your goals..to lay your hands
on a luxury car for repairs
and make a few pennies, or
repair a bunch of cheap cars
and line your pocket with
gold? Should be simple to
figure out..
3) Hail.
This is a doozy, but lately
many people have been frustrated
with the market. They saddle
up and arrive in town to a
freshly damaged area, and
expect to start ripping out
$3000
a day repairs. Doesnt
usually work that way. There
are professionals out there
who know how to play the game
and after a few years of netting
6 figures a month doing hail,
have figured out the game,
and usually beat
out the small, newbies when
they roll into town.
Do yourself a favor, sidle
up with the pros and learn
the business. Even if you
have to give them a % of your
take (and you will) it is
worth it. Even by giving away
some of your coin, you should
be able to make $1000 a day
or better. 20 days worked
in a month at $1000 a day
isnt bad, is it.. See how
the business runs and is marketed,
THEN you can make a run after
it later that year or the
following season.
Now, have
I shown you where the gold
is? You betcha!
Happy Pushing!
Brian Jump
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