How to Win Black Friday in 2024.
Black Friday is here and this is one of the only times I ever ever advocate for discounts because of how much of an edge this can give bootstrapped shops.
The one time during the year that gives shops the ability to invest back into themselves on a larger scale.
Sure, the margins are adjusted but you leverage this by using this as a capital depth booster.
That means you have a chance to reach in deeper and execute on better marketing or other things your shop needs, all while you keep pulling in those additional retail leads.
I want to give you my Black Friday Implementation Kit.
It’s exactly what we use in our shop.
You need to plan to execute this ASAP.
We’ve been working with clients and planning with them for the last month to prepare for this.
How you prevent this from hurting you.
Options you can play with and include:
Set clear rules & regulations. Don’t fold.
Add high value, lower effort (interior coatings, 2 front tints, etc)
Wash kits & towel kits
Include a “Express Detail”
The Problem with Deep Discounts
Discounting sets a precedent that devalues your premium services
Customers may wait for future sales rather than booking at regular prices
Lower margins impact your ability to maintain service quality
How you can sell 30% off ceramic coatings.
Remember that value is defined by the perception of the beholder.
What do clients love? CLEAN, SHINEY CARS.
What do clients usually not give a CRAP about? MINOR SWIRLS AND SCRATCHES.
Adjust the labor so you’re selling it with the prep polish instead of a one step or 2 step paint correct.
“HOW DO I DO THIS WITHOUT PAINT CORRECTION?”
A prep polish is just enough to clean the paint, gloss it a bit. Most newer cars will look great. (You can word this as “Includes Prep Polish & Decontamination”)
You include terms “NOTE – your vehicle may require additional paint correction to achieve a great result. This usually isn’t the case but in some cases, even brand new vehicles, will indeed need paint correction. If yours does, we will notify you immediately. This can often cost a range of XXX to XXX”, you’ll be given an option on how you would like to proceed. You will NOT be hard sold and you will NOT be pressured. “
What this does is let them know if they do need more, they will be given an option and not pressured one way or the other. You of course can lean on that how ever you wish however, what it does is put you in a position to BE OF SERVICE vs SELL A SERVICE.
Here is the math & the logic pull.
Let’s say your normal ceramic coating with a “paint enhancement” is $1,500.
Add $300 – that’s the true retail Tier 1 value of the service.
Add the interior coating on 2 front seats, $300 retail value (upsell the rest of the interior coating at drop-off).
Total retail value is $2,100.
Mark it down 30%.
Discounted Price: $2,100 × 70% = $1,470
We use low-effort, high-value services to discount the service without actually taking 30% off the coating by packaging other services that are high profit margin AND you save on labor by not spending anywhere near as much time polishing it.
Build the SOP to offer everyone paint correction upgrades for only $350 more.
You do this over text message to make it a “soft sell”.
“Hey listen, we’ve got your Tesla Model Y washed and prepped, and you could honestly use some more paint correction. Now, this is what it’s going to look like after we’re done.”
Send them a picture of a test spot.
“It’s going to look great either way, but this is what it’s going to look like if we add some more paint correction. This is also marked down as well, just to try and give you some additional savings. You’ll love one way or the other but I figured I would offer because we discounted the additional labor by 25% as well”
Send picture of a test spot with more correction.
Upsell the rest of the interior coating for $200.
The full retail value of the interior coating is $600.
We’ve already included $300 worth (the front seats) in the package.
Upsell the remaining $300 value for $200.
“While we’re working on your vehicle, we can also complete the rest of the interior coating for only $200 more, giving you full interior protection at a significant discount.”
Here is the scale math.
Sell 10 cars, get no upsell:
Revenue:
10 cars × $1,470 = $14,700
Margin Lost:
Full retail per car: $2,100
Discounted price per car: $1,470
Margin lost per car: $2,100 – $1,470 = $630
Total margin lost: 10 cars × $630 = $6,300
Revenue:
Paint Correction Upsell Cars:
5 cars × ($1,470 + $350) = 5 × $1,820 = $9,100
Interior Coating Upsell Cars:
5 cars × ($1,470 + $200) = 5 × $1,670 = $8,350
Total Revenue: $9,100 + $8,350 = $17,450
Margin Lost:
Paint Correction Upsell Cars:
Full retail per car: $2,100 + $500 (full price for paint correction) = $2,600
Discounted price per car: $1,820
Margin lost per car: $2,600 – $1,820 = $780
Total margin lost: $780 × 5 cars = $3,900
Interior Coating Upsell Cars:
Full retail per car: $2,100 + $300 (remaining interior coating value) = $2,400
Discounted price per car: $1,670
Margin lost per car: $2,400 – $1,670 = $730
Total margin lost: $730 × 5 cars = $3,650
Total Margin Lost: $3,900 + $3,650 = $7,550
Revenue:
10 cars × ($1,470 + $350 + $200) = 10 × $2,020 = $20,200
Margin Lost:
Full retail per car: $2,100 + $500 (paint correction) + $300 (remaining interior coating) = $2,900
Discounted price per car: $2,020
Margin lost per car: $2,900 – $2,020 = $880
Total margin lost: 10 cars × $880 = $8,800
Without Upsells:
Total Revenue: $14,700
Total Margin Lost: $6,300
Half Paint Correction Upsells, Half Interior Coating Upsells:
Total Revenue: $17,450
Total Margin Lost: $7,550
All Take Both Upsells:
Total Revenue: $20,200
Total Margin Lost: $8,800
How We Win
Increased Revenue and Profit:
As more customers take the upsells, total revenue and profit increase significantly.
Strategic Discounting:
By offering high-value services at discounted rates, we enhance the perceived value without heavily impacting our profit margins.
Efficient Use of Labor:
These upsells are designed to be high-margin and low-effort, ensuring that additional revenue doesn’t disproportionately increase labor costs.
