Case study · Scarborough, Ontario
Jay runs a detail shop and an automated car wash. Here is his story, told largely in his own words from a recorded interview.
Business
Detail shop and automated car wash
Services
PPF, tint, ceramic coating, detailing, express washes
Before
About $47,000 a month. Word of mouth, first come first served, overbooked
After
$101,672 a month
10 bookings a day. CAD, both locations, as reported by Jay.
Before
Jay opened his first shop in mid-2019, months before the pandemic. He later bought an automated car wash, so today he runs two locations. For years, nearly every customer came by word of mouth. It was strong.
"I'll do a car, then that customer will bring a friend and then that guy will bring a friend."
He posted on Instagram and Facebook and ran a Google call ad. But referrals cannot be switched on when the bays are empty. The calls that did come in had nowhere organized to go.
The problem
"People would call and I'd be like, yeah, just come over. And then eventually I would overbook myself."
Cars were promised that could not be finished on time. "I would have to say, sorry sir, I can't finish your car." Customers waited. Jay chased his own staff to catch up.
What changed in how jobs get booked
Where he got stuck
Jay was not short of ability. "I'm kind of a techie guy, so I set up my website myself." He launched his own first campaigns. Then the advertising defeated him.
"Setting up the retargeting and all these things was always where I would get stuck. I would do the first stages, set up the primary campaigns and then when it comes to that other tech stuff, I would just get lost."
That is the most common story in this trade. The owner is skilled with paint. The things that bring customers through the door are a separate craft, attempted at night after ten hours in the bay.
What we installed
We built the funnel and the advertising, the CRM, the follow-up sequences and a team of appointment setters to answer every inquiry.
"There's the lead, this is the path of the lead going through the funnel and this is where it converts and now it's a customer follow-up sequence."
After
The first thing Jay noticed was reach. An old business partner contacted him out of the blue:
"Yo, I think your reach is so high. All my friends are sending me these pictures."
Then the bookings.
"Ten bookings a day. Minimum."
Before
~$47,000/mo
After
$101,672/mo
Combined monthly revenue for the detail shop and the car wash, in Canadian dollars, as reported by Jay.
What he valued most was the plan: "A real clean cut strategy for how you're going to go from cold to money in the bank." And the numbers he can check himself:
"If you're getting leads, you'll see the leads on your platform and the conversions are going to be in your CRM and the money will be in your bank."
Working with us
"A lot of agencies, they don't dedicate the time required for each customer because they have a lot of clients already. But I didn't find that with you."
Asked what we could improve, he said: "Everything is pretty smooth the way that it is. I don't think I have any constructive criticism."
In fairness
More business brought Jay more work. He says so himself: "Definitely more income, obviously more problems." He also named quality control as a challenge every detailer shares. An acquisition system fills the calendar. It does not polish the cars, which is why hiring and training are part of what we install.
His advice to other detailers
Results vary and are not typical. Jay's figures are combined monthly revenue for his detail shop and car wash, in Canadian dollars, as reported by Jay. They are his own and not a promise of what any other shop will book or earn.