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Your profit and our diddly squat
Here's an article I've been meaning to write for a few years and today is the day.
Most people think the word profit means the extra money you make after you cover the initial investment, and this is true. There's another type of profit.
Your Profit - The help or customer service you get
When you're doing research to figure out how to do something, when you find a source that has this information and it accomplishes your goal, that is it HELPS you to do the thing you wanted to do. For example, detail your car to remove the swirls and perfect the paint. (just one example but an example I've helped my guess is tens of thousands of people to successfully accomplish), the help you received was your profit. You accomplished your goal from the helpful, accurate information you learned from the source.
You avoided,
Our profit
After getting your profit, (the help that enabled you to accomplish your goals), and then you reciprocate the help you received by purchasing from the company that provided you with your profit, (the help you received), that's our profit - the sale.
Diddly Squat
When go to some other company, a company that did NOT provide you with the help, and then you make your purchase there - they just got our profit. They didn't lift a finger to help you with the information you needed to accomplish your goal, but they make money anyways. The company that provided the help or customer service gets diddly squat.
I get emails from people all the time asking me for help to detail their car, boat, airplane, motorcycle, RV, etc. I freely spend AutoForge.nets time answering their questions IN DETAIL, as is my style. Next these people use words to say thank you and go onto make their purchase at some place Amazon. Companies like Amazon get the reward from our hard work and our company gets diddly squat. If you were in business and you hired a guy like Mike Phillips to share over 30 years of experience on how to successfully detail cars and the people that get the help never reciprocate the help by doing business with the source of their help, (your profit), well you might think... this isn't fair.
The restaurant tipping analogy
My wife and I are creatures of habit. When we find a restaurant we like, we tend to make this a favorite place to eat and have fun. If we get good or great customer service, we tip really well. We notice when we go back, we get 5-star treatment. And we continue to tip really well. We appreciate the customer service and show our appreciation via the tip.
Getting customer service from someone like me online in the way of factual, helpful how-to information is customer service. The analogy would be, if we were to leave the restaurant, we just ate out without tipping our waiter or waitress but then we stop off at another restaurant and give the tip to a person that had nothing to do with providing customer service where we just ate. It's the same idea.
Tool Sales
One of the things I’ve learned about TOOLS is there’s very little profit from a resellers point of view. I know most of you, when you look at the price of any tool, it can seem like there’s a lot of profit selling tools. But there’s not. It’s only profitable when you make huge volumes of sales. For example, I helped another online detailing supply company to do a million dollars in FLEX tool sales alone. On a scale like this, yes there's profit. But it's based on the sale of thousands of tools, not one or two here and there.
Also, most of your pro grade brands for tools make all their resellers stick to MAP pricing.
MAP stands for Minimum Advertised Price.
This means that whatever the minimum price is set BY THE MANUFACTURER - this is the price everyone selling the tool has to stick too according to their agreement. If a company is caught selling MAP pricing tools for LESS than MAP pricing – the manufacturer will STOP selling their tools to this reseller. And surprisingly, our industry is pretty good at self-policing. This means, if Company A finds Company B selling a brand of tools for less than MAP pricing, Company A will REPORT Company B to the manufacturer and the company selling tools for less than MAP pricing will either stop selling tools under MAP pricing or lose their account.
Perception versus Reality
When you do see a sale on tools – it’s always when the tool is bundled in a KIT. This is how a company can make it appear like you’re getting a good deal on the tool when the reality is they are taking a loss on the other products bundled in the kit that they, (the company selling the kit), have higher profit margins on.
Me?
I tell people to purchase their tools and products from where they get their customer service or help from. For example, if I share information in an article or video that shows a person ow to do a thing, (remove swirls, polish glass etc.), and then that person goes to some other company and purchases everything I shared with them – this person gets their profit (profit is the help), and the other company gets our profit – and the company that I work for that pays me to create the content gets diddly squat.
Everyone can figure out how they want to do business, that's your decision. I wrote the above to bring some perspective because I meet so many people that are simply price shoppers when they buy detailing products but in the real world, they're like my wife Stacy and I, that is, when you find a restaurant you really like and enjoy the food and the SERVICE - you tip well. And you see the benefit when you return - more great customer service.
I never hold back on customer service no matter where a person buys their products or no matter what brand of products they are using - I help everyone and that's not going to change. But I did want to share the above because to be honest, I don't think most people think of the above, they just price shop.
An honest man's pillow is his peace of mind -John Cougar Melloncamp
From the Scarecrow album, the song is Minutes to Memories
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a Greyhound thirty miles beyond Jamestown
He saw the sun set on the Tennessee line
He looked at the young man who was riding beside him
He said I'm old kind of worn out inside
I worked my whole life in the steel mills of Gary
And my father before me I helped build this land
Now I'm seventy-seven and with God as my witness
I earned every dollar that passed through my hands
My family and friends are the best thing I've known
Through the eye of the needle I'll carry them home
Days turn to minutes
And minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams
That we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out
And be the best you can
The rain hit the old dog in the twilight's last gleaming
He said "son it sounds like rattling old bones"
This highway is long but I know some that are longer
By sunup tomorrow I guess I'll be home
Through the hills of Kentucky 'cross the Ohio river
The old man kept talking 'bout his life and his times
He fell asleep with his head against the window
He said an honest man's pillow is his peace of mind
This world offers riches and riches will grow wings
I don't take stock in those uncertain things
Days turn to minutes
And minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams
That we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out
And be the best you can
The old man had a vision but it was hard for me to follow
I do things my way and I pay a high price
When I think back on the old man and the bus ride
Now that I'm older I can see he was right
Another hot one out on highway eleven
This is my life It's what I've chosen to do
There are no free rides, no one said it'd be easy
The old man told me this my son I'm telling it to you
Days turn to minutes
And minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams
That we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out
And be the best you can
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back on topic...
I'm all for helping others, been doing it for decades, but it's only natural to want others to reciprocate. I'm here to help but I'm also here to make AutoForge a profit - not some other company that simply skims away the profits without ever doing the work.
When was the last time you had a great meal at a restaurant with great service from your waitress or waiter and then left without tipping - BUT stopped off at a different restaurant and gave a stranger the tip that should have been given to the nice person at the place you actually ate at?
Tips always appreciated! In this context - tips means your business at AutoForge.net
Mike Phillips
Here's an article I've been meaning to write for a few years and today is the day.
Most people think the word profit means the extra money you make after you cover the initial investment, and this is true. There's another type of profit.
Your Profit - The help or customer service you get
When you're doing research to figure out how to do something, when you find a source that has this information and it accomplishes your goal, that is it HELPS you to do the thing you wanted to do. For example, detail your car to remove the swirls and perfect the paint. (just one example but an example I've helped my guess is tens of thousands of people to successfully accomplish), the help you received was your profit. You accomplished your goal from the helpful, accurate information you learned from the source.
You avoided,
- Wasting time.
- Wasting energy.
- Wasting money.
- As well as avoiding mistakes.
- And if you're detailing for money - you're making money or a profit.
Our profit
After getting your profit, (the help that enabled you to accomplish your goals), and then you reciprocate the help you received by purchasing from the company that provided you with your profit, (the help you received), that's our profit - the sale.
Diddly Squat
When go to some other company, a company that did NOT provide you with the help, and then you make your purchase there - they just got our profit. They didn't lift a finger to help you with the information you needed to accomplish your goal, but they make money anyways. The company that provided the help or customer service gets diddly squat.
I get emails from people all the time asking me for help to detail their car, boat, airplane, motorcycle, RV, etc. I freely spend AutoForge.nets time answering their questions IN DETAIL, as is my style. Next these people use words to say thank you and go onto make their purchase at some place Amazon. Companies like Amazon get the reward from our hard work and our company gets diddly squat. If you were in business and you hired a guy like Mike Phillips to share over 30 years of experience on how to successfully detail cars and the people that get the help never reciprocate the help by doing business with the source of their help, (your profit), well you might think... this isn't fair.
The restaurant tipping analogy
My wife and I are creatures of habit. When we find a restaurant we like, we tend to make this a favorite place to eat and have fun. If we get good or great customer service, we tip really well. We notice when we go back, we get 5-star treatment. And we continue to tip really well. We appreciate the customer service and show our appreciation via the tip.
Getting customer service from someone like me online in the way of factual, helpful how-to information is customer service. The analogy would be, if we were to leave the restaurant, we just ate out without tipping our waiter or waitress but then we stop off at another restaurant and give the tip to a person that had nothing to do with providing customer service where we just ate. It's the same idea.
Tool Sales
One of the things I’ve learned about TOOLS is there’s very little profit from a resellers point of view. I know most of you, when you look at the price of any tool, it can seem like there’s a lot of profit selling tools. But there’s not. It’s only profitable when you make huge volumes of sales. For example, I helped another online detailing supply company to do a million dollars in FLEX tool sales alone. On a scale like this, yes there's profit. But it's based on the sale of thousands of tools, not one or two here and there.
Also, most of your pro grade brands for tools make all their resellers stick to MAP pricing.
MAP stands for Minimum Advertised Price.
This means that whatever the minimum price is set BY THE MANUFACTURER - this is the price everyone selling the tool has to stick too according to their agreement. If a company is caught selling MAP pricing tools for LESS than MAP pricing – the manufacturer will STOP selling their tools to this reseller. And surprisingly, our industry is pretty good at self-policing. This means, if Company A finds Company B selling a brand of tools for less than MAP pricing, Company A will REPORT Company B to the manufacturer and the company selling tools for less than MAP pricing will either stop selling tools under MAP pricing or lose their account.
Perception versus Reality
When you do see a sale on tools – it’s always when the tool is bundled in a KIT. This is how a company can make it appear like you’re getting a good deal on the tool when the reality is they are taking a loss on the other products bundled in the kit that they, (the company selling the kit), have higher profit margins on.
Me?
I tell people to purchase their tools and products from where they get their customer service or help from. For example, if I share information in an article or video that shows a person ow to do a thing, (remove swirls, polish glass etc.), and then that person goes to some other company and purchases everything I shared with them – this person gets their profit (profit is the help), and the other company gets our profit – and the company that I work for that pays me to create the content gets diddly squat.
Everyone can figure out how they want to do business, that's your decision. I wrote the above to bring some perspective because I meet so many people that are simply price shoppers when they buy detailing products but in the real world, they're like my wife Stacy and I, that is, when you find a restaurant you really like and enjoy the food and the SERVICE - you tip well. And you see the benefit when you return - more great customer service.
I never hold back on customer service no matter where a person buys their products or no matter what brand of products they are using - I help everyone and that's not going to change. But I did want to share the above because to be honest, I don't think most people think of the above, they just price shop.
An honest man's pillow is his peace of mind -John Cougar Melloncamp
From the Scarecrow album, the song is Minutes to Memories
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a Greyhound thirty miles beyond Jamestown
He saw the sun set on the Tennessee line
He looked at the young man who was riding beside him
He said I'm old kind of worn out inside
I worked my whole life in the steel mills of Gary
And my father before me I helped build this land
Now I'm seventy-seven and with God as my witness
I earned every dollar that passed through my hands
My family and friends are the best thing I've known
Through the eye of the needle I'll carry them home
Days turn to minutes
And minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams
That we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out
And be the best you can
The rain hit the old dog in the twilight's last gleaming
He said "son it sounds like rattling old bones"
This highway is long but I know some that are longer
By sunup tomorrow I guess I'll be home
Through the hills of Kentucky 'cross the Ohio river
The old man kept talking 'bout his life and his times
He fell asleep with his head against the window
He said an honest man's pillow is his peace of mind
This world offers riches and riches will grow wings
I don't take stock in those uncertain things
Days turn to minutes
And minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams
That we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out
And be the best you can
The old man had a vision but it was hard for me to follow
I do things my way and I pay a high price
When I think back on the old man and the bus ride
Now that I'm older I can see he was right
Another hot one out on highway eleven
This is my life It's what I've chosen to do
There are no free rides, no one said it'd be easy
The old man told me this my son I'm telling it to you
Days turn to minutes
And minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams
That we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out
And be the best you can
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back on topic...
I'm all for helping others, been doing it for decades, but it's only natural to want others to reciprocate. I'm here to help but I'm also here to make AutoForge a profit - not some other company that simply skims away the profits without ever doing the work.
When was the last time you had a great meal at a restaurant with great service from your waitress or waiter and then left without tipping - BUT stopped off at a different restaurant and gave a stranger the tip that should have been given to the nice person at the place you actually ate at?
Tips always appreciated! In this context - tips means your business at AutoForge.net
Mike Phillips
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