New technicians and old can find it challenging to grab they’re percentage of an ever growing paintless dent repair industry. Competition is really strong in all markets. Learning how to repair dents is just a small part of the business. Gone are the days when there were a limited number of techs and an over abundance of work.
Looking back 15 years you would buy some tools, get some training and start knocking on doors at dealers and body shops looking for work. As more people entered the industry it became harder and harder to secure work from these types of customers. Prices dropped as more people started coming into the industry. To the point that another word was added before pricing. That word was wholesale. This would help tech’s justify in their minds the lower prices and dealers and body shops would know they were getting the absolute lowest price from the technician until someone else came in at a lesser price.
The evolution of the internet has spawned an entire new technician. PDR forums like doording.com became a place for techs to showcase repairs, tools and techniques used for the repairs. This allowed technician’s to start doing large and complex repairs. Tool companies and personal training companies were born from places like this. The birth of social media has raised the bar even further. Creating even better tools, better techs and an easy way for them to network across the world.
Paintless dent repair has been divided into three categories. Hail, wholesale and retail. Some guys try to fit into two or all three of these. Others simply are just employed by a PDR company.
Retail is and always will be the best place for a person to build a business in PDR . The retail PDR market has evolved into some very savvy entrepreneurs. These are the one who view paintless dent repair as more then just a trade. They view it as a business. They’re taking business classes, studying their market, learning marketing skills and moving in a direction that many in this industry cant imagine. They understand that they need a support team like web designers accountants and business mentors to help them achieve goals that are viewed by most a myths.
Seven hundred and ninety seven million dollars were paid out by insurance companies under comprehensive insurance for hail damage during 2011. That’s a lot of money! With all that money comes competition and far to many uncontrollable situation. The retail market has really no way to track what consumers pay annually for paintless dent repair. So you would have to assume, for your market it’s unlimited. The retail market will always allow you control your future and the amount of money you can make in this industry. Help your self better your business by looking beyond what’s in front of you. Read or listen to audio books about sales and marketing. Find podcast to listen to while driving to your next customer or to your shop. Look to other business not related to paintless dent repair for ideas and connect with a mentor. Someone who doesn’t have any emotional ties to your business for honest answers to your questions and fresh ideas.
