Networking groups are a great way to get exposure for your detail business. The main advantage of being a member of a networking group is the captive audience that you get. Members are business owners and upper managers representing their company including accountants, lawyers, doctors, real estate agents, insurance agents, bankers, plumbers, carpenters, painters, landscapers, etc. There are many service-related businesses that are members of networking groups. These business owners have personal fleets of vehicles, service vehicles, work vehicles, etc. and they all need taken care of.

Networking groups only allow one member of each type of business to join their group so that members are not competing against each other for business. This gives members exclusivity of their services. For example, there will only be one accountant, one detailer, one carpenter, etc. for each group. Most groups meet once a week early in the morning before the workday starts. Basically, you are able to exchange leads with other members and get new business.

Some examples of networking groups include Le Tip, BNI (Business Networking International), York Business Exchange (Canada), etc.

The Chamber of Commerce is another great group to belong to. When you join, you get a membership roster that is a list of the current members with information about their type of business, background of the business, contact information, etc. There are periodic mixers and also a monthly newsletter where you can insert a flyer to advertise to other members. Other benefits include helpfulness with health insurance, business consulting, and other various discounts and perks that members are eligible for. The Chamber of Commerce usually meets once every month.

Joining the Chamber of Commerce or a networking group is much more beneficial than just �rolling the dice� with a newspaper ad that statistically has a shelf time of 2 hours. You are guaranteed leads as soon as you join because there are many professionals that have vehicles that will need cleaned. Membership fees are normally based on the number of employees that a company has as well as the size of the company. For the networking groups, there are usually also breakfast dues. The benefits of being a member far outweigh the costs associated with your membership.

Promoting Your Auto Detailing Business:
Company collateral is another important part of marketing and promoting your business. Flyers, business cards, banners, signs, etc. should be professionally made and printed to give your business the professional image that you need to convey. Flyers should not be printed on plain white paper, but instead on colored paper, which is catchier and more professional. If you print a flyer on white paper, even if the writing is in color, it will look like a homemade flyer and could give you an unprofessional look.

For mobile detailers, you should make an effort to hand out at least 10 business cards each day. When you are setting up for a detail at a customer�s home or their place of business, you should go to a few of their closest neighbors and introduce yourself, hand them a business card, and let them know what you will be doing before you start detailing. Also invite them to come over and take a look at your work so that they can see the before/after results.

There are potential customers everywhere you go, whether you are at a gas station, or in a parking lot, so don�t miss out on the opportunity to gain a new customer. If you see a car that you would like to detail and the car owner is there, go up and introduce yourself and hand them a business card. Also, you should ask for their business card in return. This way, you can follow-up with them in the future. You can also take notes about their car and your conversation, on the back of their business card. If the car owner is not available to talk to, place your business card on cars that you want to detail just above the drivers door handle between the weather stripping and the window. This is much more effective and professional than placing flyers underneath windshield wipers.

A sandwich sign is also a very good for mobile detailers to promote their business. Setting a sandwich sign up at the end of the driveway where you are working, or in a parking lot of a customer�s business will help you attract attention to what you are doing. If you have a banner for your shop or a sandwich sign for your mobile business, your logo should be noticeable and your phone number and/or website should be big and bold. You do not want to have fancy lettering or lots of designs cluttering up your layout. Keep it simple with only important information and make sure people can read it. A canopy is another good way to attract attention especially if you are mobile and detailing in a busy parking lot.