[InsomnicBrain]

Hi,

I'm opening up a new automotive shop that will do all repairs but we specialize in Transmissions.
I'm thinking about doing business with a marketing company that potentially would bring me in lots of long term customers. They would do all the outside sales for me. They would create a program where customers would buy their program (similar to a entertainment book) but it would only include coupons for my business in there, so it would be like my very own coupon book. What the coupon book is suppose to do for me is lure in customers to come do work on their cars and then see what else is wrong with their cars and maybe get it fixed.

The downside of this is that inside the coupon book I would be giving a away 5 free oil changes and a few other things but the oil changes take up a lot of time and I don't really make money off of them. Do you think I should do this to get my name out there and get customers in. They would do all the outside sales for me for free, since they want to sell their program to make a profit. I would benefit on getting my name out there and bringing in customers and seeing if other repairs would be needed, the customers will benefit from the deals inside the book.

Also, this company would be eliminating one of my main responsibilities which is outside sales. What would I do now besides look after my shop? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciative.

Thanks,

Robert

[Gaulkin]

Are they local?

[InsomnicBrain]

Yes, they are local. If I use them, they take my trade area off the map so no other automotive shop would be able to use them.

Robert

[shaggy]

Like everything else, it's all a matter of testing to see how the results yield. If I were you, I wouldn't sign on a long term agreement or anything in concrete yet. I would approach the marketing company to see if they'd be willing to do a partnership short term, something along the lines of 90 days, and test to see if it yields good results. Have them emphasize that by mentioning where they heard about your auto shop or bringing in coupons, it'll save them a lot of money. This way you can keep a log of how many clients they typically bring in extra compare to your average number of customers over a 90 day period where you didn't have this partnership set up and weigh in whether or not a long term partnership is in your best interest.