Mobile Waterless Valet - Door 2 Door???

[SteX13]

Hi there,

I am wanting to start a mobile, waterless car wash and valet service.

I was thinking of getting my first few clients/one off washes by door knocking.

What is the average amount of doors a salesman can knock a day?

Also what do you think the response rate would be for this service?

I will be dead cheap, i.e £6 per wash n wax including alloys, windows and mirrors and more for valets where I have 4 different packages.

My pitch would be:

'Hi there, sorry to bother you but I am offering half price (hand them a leaflet) off my car wash and valet services'

Simple but, what would you guys suggest?

The leaflet just has price list and packages clearly displayed and will be a high quality thick flyer.

I was thinking I could knock 30 doors within 30 mins, 20 would answer and I would get one client from that. Do the clean for 30 mins would make it £6 an hour.

Far from special I know but money is money.

Obviously I would make more if they want a valet and more if they want a full detail, upholstery clean etc.

Do you think my estimations are okay? Optimistic? Under estimating???

Thanks in advanced for your reply, much appreciated.

Steve.

 

[Deleted member 70659]

Not sure if it's helpful input, but if someone came to my door offering to clean my car for £6 i'd have it, you'd even get a tea and probably £10 anyway , but i'm nice like that.

 

[Richard BF]

It wont work ...


trust me i am/was a valeter , if you get sales from door knocking then fair enough but imho alot of people would see you as desperate -

knocking on their doors asking if they want their cars cleaning for £6 so your going to be kncoking on randomers doors and trying to get them to clena their cars ?



It just wont work imho , if it does i take it back buy you wont be doing yourself any favours as youll be seen as the valeter who did door to door - regardless of waterless or whatever-


Have you done any valeting ?

Do you realise how much microfibres you'll need not to mention water ? (regardless of it being waterless you NEED WATER !!)

Have you cleaned a dirty car ie ingrained mud etc ?


Please dont take it personal im only trying to help.

 

[SteX13]

Hi there, thanks for your replies.

Yes I will be knocking door to door. I have a really low budget of a few hundred pound so a waterless wash door to door is my only option.

I know the price is low and I may seem desperate but I am, no point trying to charge £14-£18 like most mobile valet people as I won't receive any work.

I could go down that route and do leaflets and local advertising brochures etc but I just don't have that amount of money.

I guess a comment would be, if you can't afford leaflets you can't afford to start a business, well I can afford leaflets but say I buy 10,000 for £99 and than pay a distributor as I have done 1000's of leaflets in the past and it sucks ass, that's £300 so total of £400.

That wouldn't bring enough work to be worth it.

I don't mind being seen as the door to door valet person, I am not using waterless to be cool its because it will be a cheap way to start.

I am not doing this to build a future it is a temporary thing to make money while I work on my internet venture which is going to take around 12 months.

I don't even want to do this full time just make a a few hundred quid a month.

I understand I won't be able to clean a 4 x 4 that had just gone off roading but the majority of cars are fine with waterless.

I won't need much water, just a 5l pressure sprayer full to do the wheel arches, tyres and start the alloys.

No I haven't done any valeting before but I am a perfectionist and know how to clean cars through every single detail from the metal on the headrest to the seat belt button.

Any help with the other questions guys?

Thanks for your response and to the first poster, where do you live? Milky 2 sugars please

 

[Richard BF]

Without turning this into an argument as i am only trying to help...

What do you use when your washing a car normally ?

 

[SteX13]

lol

It's not turning it into an argument dude were just discussing, you know were on a forum this is what there here for...

Umm...so I would simply spray with a pressure sprayer soapy water at the wheel arches and clean that with a softish but vigorous brush, I would also give the tyre's a quick scrub and and alloys and than dry.

I would than use a 3litre pressure sprayer with a hose full of a certain waterless wash. I would them spray and wipe with some amazing 350gsm clothes from America and than spray again but with another cloth buff all over the car.

I would than clean the windows with window cleaner from the £1 shop and also glass cleaner for the mirrors.

I would use whatever is needed for the alloys (products from the £1 shop) and use an alloy brush to make life easier...

The inside I would use more products from the £1 shop lol

I am not trying to be the next big detailer who charges £10,000 and uses £3,000 worth of wax and spends 6 hours buffing it and a further 12 waxing it.

I am a normal say car wash type price but with more services than wash and hoover.

I think my prices are fair and attractive to people who would never normally have this service due to the high price.

 

[Richard BF]

Send us your number so i can give you a call i cba typing it all up.


I started off with the £1 products Carpride is very good value for money.

 

[SteX13]

lol they will do the job

I don't fancy talking I'm kinda high

I don't even like talking to my girlfriend or mum on the phone

 

[Richard BF]

lol they will do the job

I don't fancy talking I'm kinda high

I don't even like talking to my girlfriend or mum on the phone

On that note ... Good luck ,but i hope you have the relevant insurance and a bloody good solicitor !!

 

[SteX13]

Yes I will have the right insurance, a good solicitor?

PFFT!

Any who...anyone got any 'decent' answer to my questions?

Much appreciated,

Ste.

 

[Mattlock]

Excuse my ignorance but how does waterless car cleaning work?, it sounds like you are jesus.

 

[Richard BF]

theoretically it doesnt


the more traditional method - water buckets washmitt etc etc is far far safer...


as for the solicitor/lawyer - you get asked to clean a black 60plate merc thats ingrained in mud the wheels have baked on break dust (this you wont shift waterless) the owner of the merc has had the car a week so its spotless....


bearing in mind the car is black - you come along and wash the car for him as he hasnt the time and happens to have £10 in his wallet , you clean the car but some of the dirt is still on the cloths - your going around the car with this dirty cloth which has some grit in its fibres - cue the scratches that are being inflicted - a few scratches have gone through the paint and primer cue you being sued and needing to pay for a respray.



you REALLY havent looked into this at all , my guess your using the greeced lightening stuff from the idealtv thing.


for wheels your going to need a few brushes , decent wheel cleaner (non acidic or again you open yourself up to forking out for new alloys) water to rinse the cleaner off as it can damage the wheels if its stained or dried on.

 

[GreatSEO]

Stex

Firstly well done using your initiative and having the motivation to make what sounds like a small amount of money per month from some traditional hard work.

Secondly if you knocked on my door and offered £6-00 I would give it a bash as I pay a £5-00 at the local supermarket car park and if you are coming to me it is even more convenient. If I did that the chances are you will get further custom from my neighbours without too much effort. I.E "Just cleaned Jim's car next door just wondered if I could interest you for an introductory price of £5-00 instead of £6 and hope to come a bit more regular?

This will work and will definately make you £200 per month as a minimum.

The reason I am able to say this is I used to run a valeting company that went from £5-00 for bog standard wash using their water to a van, commercial customers and a full GOLD valet at a cost of £140 and we had regular customers all the time.

Recommendations came flooding in because we were doing a good job and that is the key to your success with this. Cutting corners will result in bad vibes taking and extra 5 minutes will result in most people paying £10-00 and telling you to keep the changes.

Your Questions -

What is the average amount of doors a salesman can knock a day?

I worked in the doorcan team at Anglian for a fair while so have a good knowledge - I could knock around 100 doors in 4 hours but the key is to move on as quickly as possible if they are not interested and you will get the odd person that will just want a chit chat etc.

Also what do you think the response rate would be for this service?

With a little experience and using the I have done Jims car it should be quite good but it is about timing as during the day it will be difficult to get many answers. have you thought about speaking to the local serviced offices to offer your car washing service to their customers as a simple car wash for £6-00. It will sell itself based on price.

My pitch would be:

'Hi there, sorry to bother you but I am offering half price (hand them a leaflet) off my car wash and valet services'

Simple but, what would you guys suggest?

It works keep it that way - Straight to the point and gets a simple message across quickly. try it but be prepared to refine it as you go.

Do you think my estimations are okay? Optimistic? Under estimating???

I think they are on par with roughly what it will be but test it and see that way you will know.

My eldest daughter is 14 and on a Sat she goes around the street and cleans I think it is 4/5 cars of the neighbours in the same road. I have had people ask me if she could do theirs but she is happy with the amount she does and it is enough pocket money for her.

Also in my younger days I used to wash cars as a lad and so learnt that you could earn more if you worked more.

The best thing to do is get out there and try it - Keep us informed on your successes as it is always good to hear some positive news.

I hope that helps

Dave

 

[thewasherman]

Hi

Really can't see the problem with this as it sounds like a great idea.

Personally, I think its something that when you get a few regulars on a street, much like window cleaners, you'll end up with a 'round'.

Regarding people's paintwork etc; as you've already said, just use a bit of common when choosing whose door to knock. Its not as if you can't get a look at what you're in for as the thing is more than often on the drive. Once word gets round, people will let you use their hoses etc anyway when they see how good you do the neighbours car, if that's what they want.

I've knocked a lot of doors for work in my time and with a combination of choosing the right location, being well prepared and more importantly being personable, it does work.

Anyway, all sounds pretty good to me... I'd pay for it, give you a cup of tea and a slice of my grans cake!!

Good Luck!!

 

[estwig]

Not sure if it's helpful input, but if someone came to my door offering to clean my car for £6 i'd have it, you'd even get a tea and probably £10 anyway , but i'm nice like that.

Your not too far from me, I'll send me kids round in the morning.

 

[SteX13]

In reply to Richard.

I disagree with the old bucket of water and sponge, if you are washing some grit than it will stick to the sponge and that will create numerous swirl marks, same with a jet wash, you ever put your hand under the spray? The high pressure is literally pushing the grit into the paint and moving it around.

With waterless it lifts off the dirt and forms a barrier beneath so your not actually moving the grit into the paint.

Have you heard of Aquanought? They were on dragons den a few years back and are still in business now with franchises nationwide, but I guess waterless doesn't work

I have thought of this, for a long time. Like I have said this is not to make lots of money and build a future its to earn a bit of cash as and when I feel/need it whilst building my online venture.

Thewasherman:

Thanks for your positive support

UKSMF:

Thanks for your replies, that is really helpful.

I will definitely not cut corners, I may be a cheap service but they will get there moneys worth, if its £6 per hour for me working for myself I would be happy with that rather than unhappy working in a shop

100 doors in 4 hours, so 25 an hour hmmm, I would have to work a bit quicker to make this pay. I need a client every 30-60mins max really.

Yes I have thought of going to offices etc but that is something I can look into.

I have also thought of getting a cheap car park in a really popular place, it is a church car park but I have to have the 'business' if you would call it that set up before discussing with the owner.

Yer all I can do is give it a go and see what happens...not much loss on my part if all fails (£200-£300)

Thanks Dave for your clear answers, much appreciated and has given me a bit of a confidence boost.

To Mattlock:

Youtube 'waterless car cleaning' or something and you will see demonstrations.

 

[SteX13]

Oh also any tips on the follow up from handing the leaflet...

'Would this be of interest to you?'

:S

I can't think of anything,

'Which car is yours so I can get started' haha

Thanks.

 

[GreatSEO]

Being over confident is a no no but something like

"Would it be fair for me to presume that you have a car?"

Selling is more about listening, answering, guiding and consulting.

Asking open auestions is the best in any sales situation or using a presumtive close like -

I noticed the car on the drive was looking a little dirty and guess that you are really busy? Would it make it easier on you if I cleaned it regularly for you at £6-00 per time starting today?

You can only wait for their response.

My only concern is that you may not get a client evry 30 mins for the first few weeks as you will need to establish regulars and this will take some initial work.

I hope this helps

Dave

 

[Richard BF]

get yourself some ONR - optimum no rinse to do the cars.

join www(dot)cleanyourcar(dot)co(dot)uk/forum

buy a set of the "detailnig"brushes a quick detailer.

the QD even tho its #25 for bulk it will give the cars the added shine and make it look like youve done a better job - same with the tyres and arches you can get a dressing like the turtle wax - failing that find out who your Autosmart rep is in the area and purchase the following-

histyle
tango

depending on the area it'll come to 40quid or there abouts if you dress they tyres and arches itll give it the finished touch.

 

[SteX13]

Being over confident is a no no but something like

"Would it be fair for me to presume that you have a car?"

Selling is more about listening, answering, guiding and consulting.

Asking open auestions is the best in any sales situation or using a presumtive close like -

I noticed the car on the drive was looking a little dirty and guess that you are really busy? Would it make it easier on you if I cleaned it regularly for you at £6-00 per time starting today?

You can only wait for their response.

My only concern is that you may not get a client evry 30 mins for the first few weeks as you will need to establish regulars and this will take some initial work.

I hope this helps

Dave

Hi Dave,

No, the over confidence bit was just a joke

I am no salesman but I can think on my feet, a great one I read on here was 'My husband does it' 'When is his birthday? buy him a years worth of x, and he can spend that time with you instead'

I guess I will have to use something similar to that on a daily basis. I done some wheelie bin cleaning canvassing before and heard a lot of that.

Shame about not being able to get someone every half hour, that would be my aim and I guess in time I may achieve that when my confidence is high and all replies come without thinking.

I am hoping to get a premises anyway I just posted here so I can plan on another way rather than relying on the car park.

 

[SteX13]

get yourself some ONR - optimum no rinse to do the cars.

join www(dot)cleanyourcar(dot)co(dot)uk/forum

buy a set of the "detailnig"brushes a quick detailer.

the QD even tho its #25 for bulk it will give the cars the added shine and make it look like youve done a better job - same with the tyres and arches you can get a dressing like the turtle wax - failing that find out who your Autosmart rep is in the area and purchase the following-

histyle
tango

depending on the area it'll come to 40quid or there abouts if you dress they tyres and arches itll give it the finished touch.

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the tips, that ONR seems good for dirty cars but not to replace the waterless. Bearing in mind I will be walking around carrying most of the gear for the day.

I will use cheap tyre and arch shine rather than expensive tyre dress.

I can't afford all the decent products and do a cheap service at the same time it just won't make sense, bad enough the cost of waterless.

I will join the forum at some point.

Soo how come your aren't a valet-er anymore?

 

[WaterCoolersDirect]

I don't know anything about car valeting but have you thought about going to business rather than homes? I work on a big industrial estate where there's loads of offices and we were talking about ringing a valeter up only the other day to do all of our cars!

You could work out a group discount as well maybe?

I would've thought that that would be more effective especially as offices are guaranteed to have people in whereas you could knock on loads of houses and there might not be anyone in!!

 

[Richard BF]

ONR is far far cheaper as it dilutes down with water you could take the bottle of onr with you to top your sprays up if you run out itll cost you waht a quid for a litre of water ?

Ive stopped the valeting as im trying to launch a marketing company for windowcleaners , hopefully i shall be signing a contract soon which will need all my time as theres plenty of work to be done like posting leaflets ,finding sales staff , travelling to the 17 locations , making sure the staff are meeting their targets.

The ONR is a waterless wash , unfortunatley you will need water... my best bet (covers your arse again) is get some AG SRP from halfords wash the car with the waterless stuff your using then whizz over the car with SRP you will be able to bump it up to a tenner easily.

You will need a pretty big bag to store the cloths in as with a normal valet i can go through 5-10 microfibres on one car , using ONR your going to need ALOT more per car ....


the AS stuff isnt expesnsive as its all in 5 litres where abouts are you i might be able to send you some ?

 

[TheGuru2010]

Only a couple of bist pop into my mind here

1. If you knocked on my door offering this - i would snap your hand off & give you repeat custom if you did a good job.

2. It may be worth having a order book of some type with you when cleaning the vehicles, when you let the owner inspect your work im sure it wouldnt hurt to ask if you could book them in for the next 4 visits (maybe offer a £1 off per time for upfront booking?)

3. Going round a business estate etc is a very good idea, i know no one has approached our business with anything like this but im pretty sure a fair % of the staff would take this up.

4. Get some flyers round garage's & things like that. You never know when they might need some quick valets.

All The Best !

 

[truesilver]

Just a couple of suggestions for you...

If you're going door to door it can work, but be a little wary of the 'sorry to bother you' line. It sounds a nice way to break the ice but it puts you on the back foot and they will know you're a salesman. Try something along the lines of a big smile, shoulders back and "hi, I was just wondering if I could give you a this leaflet?"

Also there are a lot of no-cold calling areas these days so just watch out for the big red white and blue signs.

You might find that knocking on doors on a Saturday would be your best option too. Thinking logically a lot of the people who are home during a week day may not be your target market. Disturbing people in the evening might not be your best option either.

Hope that helps and good luck. Door to door relaly can work if you have the right attitude and stay away from cheesy lines

 

[british steve]

Make sure you have relevant insurance and GO for it. Both my cars need a wash so if you’re anywhere near Plymouth feel free.
Try and make it in to a regular round like a window cleaner. I would be happy to pay someone to come round and clean the cars once every six weeks.

 

[bodymagic]

Hello !

my name is mustafa and I own a smart rerpair business called bodymagic ad I also make and supply valeting material such as:

super glass cleaner (used with or without water)
glass and hard surface treatment
waterless wash n polish with canuba wax
non silicone interior and exterior trim shine for plastics and rubbers ect
a silicone based trim shine as abouve
carpet, fabric and leather sealer in a spray can (solvent)
internal glass demisting treatment
non corrosive non acidic alloy wheel cleaner (that doesnt harm paint work)

I am not a resupplier I have my own labboratory so its dead cheap to buy from us as we supply the ressellers that companys buy from.

All products are unbranded and all products are cutting edge in technological advancements using nano scrubbers and,non-harmfull materials we belive we have the best products in development.

for any further info please call me mustafa .07527493090

thank you.
and only the best

 

[manchesterhypnosis]

Hi,

Ive been using waterless car wash on my own cars for about a year. I have used both Miracle Dry Wash and another product called Greased Lightning. MDW seems to be a better product (goes further, less residue and a lot less smelly). I would say that they waterless DOES work, but over time I noticed small circular scratches in the paint, let me stress that I can not be sure that the waterless system was the cause of these scratches because they may have been there all the time and I just didn't notice them, but it was enough for me to stop using waterless and go back to sponge and bucket.

 

[SteX13]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all you advice, sorry I cannot reply individually as on my phone.

Richard, I will send you a PM shortly, I was doing something similar with a bin cleaning company and was thinking that window cleaning would be the best thing to market as they get paid more per clean.

Regards.

 

[ARCHWAY VALETING]

Would love to see how you clean a muddy salt ridden car with no water without causing scratches/swirls or any defects in the paint finish , but go for it and good luck .

 

[SteX13]

lol so much negativity man!!!

Why be so arsey with your comments? You could easily get your points across in a more respectable manor!

Type 'mobile waterless valet' into Google...

You could browse through many pages of already established businesses.

Waterless is soo popular in the states due to water restrictions, also like I said already Aquanought and many other permanent car washes are using waterless all over the country.

Also its been said already but using a jet wash or sponge makes more swirls/scratches than waterless, common sense!

Put your hand in front of a jet wash and ash yourself 'If I was mud/grit surely this would push me right into the paint, same with sponge. Waterless creates a barrier so this is not a problem.

Yes waterless is not suitable for a Subaru whom returned from its latest rally but 90% of cars is just dust.

Not once in any of my post have I said, please guys do you think waterless is a good idea? NO!!! Never, I know the answer, my questions were about marketing, were your answers?

Stop hating because your business is failing!

 

[manchesterhypnosis]

lol so much negativity man!!!


Yes waterless is not suitable for a Subaru whom returned from its latest rally but 90% of cars is just dust.

Wow, that's some pretty old mud seing that Subaru pulled out of the WRC in 2008! (just kidding around LOL)

 

[SteX13]

lol shows how much I know :redface:

Point proven, it won't work on 3 years old worth of mud

But will be fine for the majority of cars.

Any way, end of thread I guess...I don't think I want to pursue this any further.

Thanks to everyone who has shared there opinion