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You know that moment when you’re explaining your ceramic coating process to a client? You’re getting into the surface preparation, the multiple layers, the incredible hardness rating – and you can literally see their eyes start to glaze over?
I used to think it was because I wasn’t explaining it well enough.
That if I just had better way to describe the technology, or better charts showing the protection levels, or more impressive demonstration videos, they’d get it. But I was missing something fundamental about how humans actually make decisions.
Let me show you what I mean. Think about the last time you had a client standing in your shop, looking at their BMW’s swirl-marked paint under your LED lights.
You’re explaining how your paint correction process works, the compounds you use, your multi-stage approach. You’re basically doing everything right, according to what we’ve all been “taught” about selling high-end services.
What’s actually happening in their head is they’re not really processing any of that information. Not because they don’t care, but because that’s not how our brains are wired to make decisions.
I learned this lesson the hard way.
I used to think that if I could just demonstrate enough expertise, show enough before-and-afters (should be apart of your process still), explain enough about my processes, clients would naturally choose my services. I was the guy with the 20-minute ceramic coating presentation ready to go. And sure, I closed some deals. But I was working way too hard for them.
Everything changed when I understood something that seems obvious in hindsight: People don’t make decisions based on what they might gain in the future. They make decisions based on what they’re actively losing right now.
This is where most detail shops get it completely wrong. We’re all out here trying to sell future benefits when we should be helping clients understand their current losses.
Think about it though – when you’re selling paint protection film, you could talk all day about its self-healing properties, its optical clarity, its warranty. That’s what most shops do and those are value points to touch on.
What made my close rate skyrocket was when I started helping clients understand what was happening to their unprotected paint right now, in this moment.
Here’s the thing about NORMAL car people – their really good at ignoring problems until someone helps us see them clearly. It’s like that check engine light that every car guy sees… we convince ourselves probably isn’t important. We humans have an amazing ability to normalize gradual decline.
I write all of this to tell you about Cost of Inaction (COI).
It’s not what you think – we’re not scaring clients or pressuring them. It’s about helping them see what’s already happening that they’ve been normalizing.
Let me share what this looks like in practice.
I remember this client with a brand new Porsche GT3RS. Beautiful car. It is one of my bucket list cars. Instead of jumping into my paint protection pitch, I just asked him: “When you wash the car, have you noticed how water spots seem to etch in faster than they did on your previous vehicles?”
He hadn’t thought about it that way before! And once he started thinking about it, he couldn’t stop. He started noticing all the little ways his paint was already being compromised. The conversation changed from him judging my shop to him wanting to stop active damage that was happening every day.
Here is your quick take away from this: I didn’t need to convince him that protection was good. He needed to realize that lack of protection was actively bad.
I think a lot of shops try and practice this but they are just off frame/off center. It comes across like it’s about pointing out problems but it’s not. It’s about guiding the discovery and understanding.
Because a problem someone tells you about feels like a sales pitch.
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A problem you discover yourself feels like an urgent need.
I started changing how I talked to clients.
Instead of explaining what ceramic coating does, I started asking questions: “When was the last time you really looked at your paint under direct sunlight?” “Have you noticed how those water spots are getting harder to remove each time?” “What changes have you seen in your paint’s finish since you bought the car?”
Clients start connecting their own dots. When that GT3RS owner realized those water spots weren’t just sitting on his paint but actively etching into it, he didn’t need me to sell him anymore. He needed me to help him stop a problem he now couldn’t unsee.
This completely changes how you should be looking at sales. By NOT being the eager expert pushing information, you become the trusted advisor helping them understand their current situation. The technical stuff – your coating hardness, your PPF thickness, your cutting compounds – that all becomes supporting evidence for a decision they’re already emotionally making.
Think about it this way: Have you ever tried to convince someone to go to the gym? (pot meet kettle) You can talk about all the benefits of exercise, show them before and after photos, explain the science of muscle growth. None of that is as powerful as them looking in the mirror one day and really seeing what’s happening to their body right now.
That’s the difference between selling benefits and helping clients understand their cost of inaction. One is about what might happen in the future. The other is about what’s happening right now.
So here’s what this means for your shop: Stop trying to convince clients about how good your protection will be. Start helping them discover how expensive waiting is becoming. Because once they truly understand their cost of inaction, your services stop being an expense and start being an urgent solution to an active problem.
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.
That’s when “let me think about it” turns into “how soon can you get me in?”
Nobody ever bought paint protection because they understood ceramic coatings. They bought because they understood what happens without them.
Your expertise still matters. Your technical knowledge is still important. But they support the decision after the client recognizes their cost of inaction.
They don’t drive the initial decision.
The next time you have a client in your shop, resist the urge to explain your services.
Instead, help them discover what’s happening to their vehicle right now. Because once they truly understand their cost of inaction, price becomes a lot less important than getting started today.
