Renny’s Tips for Building Your Customized Detailing Menu

When it comes to building a detailing menu, this may sound a bit dated, maybe even a bit elementary, but base your menu on the KISS system: Keep it Simple, Stupid! Here’s how…

• Don’t go with a ton of services. Keep it to a base of four services plus your add on items.
• Keep the name of your services simple to understand.
• Don’t start with the cheapest item. People will see cheap first and go with it.
• If possible, design your menu electronically and share that with your clients on an iPad or tablet.
• Base your menu on your local market. If you are in a modest market filled with minivans, are you really going to offer a show-car detail?
• Think of your abilities and be truthful with yourself. Design your menu based on what your capabilities are. Never do harm to your client’s cars in an effort to learn detailing. That is bad business and unethical.
• Know your costs and expenses before you establish your pricing. Knowing costs and expenses will help establish the pricing your need to structure your business.
• Never base prices on competitor’s prices. You can use other detailers’ pricing as a guide, but never simply copy their price structure.
• Develop your menu system where you can interchange services. Let’s say your menu items are Detail 1, Detail 2, Detail 3. You should be able to combine an exterior Detail 1 with an interior Detail 3. Some cars are really clean on the outside and disasters on the inside and vice versa.
• If you publish your menu on paper, on a board in your shop, or on your website, my advice is to not include prices. It takes the salesmanship right out of your hands. If you must, just publish starting prices.



While thinking of your menu will look like, also keep the extras in mind. That you may need to address. As detailing professionals, we get some weird requests to clean and detail a wide range of random stuff. Think about what you will charge per hour (your shop rate) and also, the add-on services you may offer.