Why We Educate When Selling PPF
By Tyler O’Hara
Like many of you, I truly believe in paint protection film (PPF) and know the benefits it offers. After 12 years in the industry, I’ve seen many instances where PPF has saved a customer, or me, thousands of dollars in body repair work as a result of a freak accident. For an 8 mm thick polyurethane material, it sure can be very strong. I remember one time a customer with a Chevy Corvette brushed his bumper against a stucco wall and the PPF withstood and saved his front bumper! So the question is ‘why don’t more people know about PPF?’ As installers and shop owners why do we find ourselves constantly having to explain the product? What are the pros and cons to selling PPF vehicle wraps?
There’s one question customers almost always ask when I’m trying to close a job. “Will the film turn yellow?” they ask. I think this question stems from a few places. The first is a lack of available information, along with a bad stigma left over from the early 2000’s when all PPF on the market was a non-topcoat raw polyurethane. This is where it becomes our job to educate people that most modern films are top-coated. The development helps stop the film from yellowing, staining, chemical etching and scratching. Most people don’t even know how far PPF has come in the last decade. Refrain from brand bashing, as this will do nothing for the industry. I simply tell people the only bad films available are simply poorly installed!
Potential customers most likely found us through search engines, Yelp, referrals or dealers. When people contact us, usually they already have an idea of what we do and might be interested in having PPF installed. But what about all of the people that have no clue of what PPF is and buy a new car they plan to keep for 10 years? I talk to people every day that have never heard of PPF. After I explain it to them they usually see how cool it is and mention they would be interested in having it installed on their next car. I think this awareness will grow with time, as people start to see the value in PPF.
There seems to be a misperception that PPF is only for exotic supercars and, as we know, this could not be further from the truth! A car driven daily that someone works hard to earn and needs to last for 10 plus years is as deserving, or is even more deserving, of PPF than any other.
Selling a PPF installation can be effortless at times and difficult in others. The actual sale of the product is fairly simple because I truly believe in it and know the benefits it offers customers. The difficulty lies with certain customers. It’s important to be honest and educate them, along with setting real expectations. The objective is to weed out the potential for people who want to become “married” to us, as I like to put it. Nitpickers will always be there asking questions and over complicating things. In today’s age where a few bad reviews on the Internet can start to bury your company, all you can do is grin and bear it. Properly equipping customers with knowledge, setting an expectation for the job you’ll deliver, standing behind your work, and offering good customer service plays an integral role when selling PPF wraps.
Installing PPF is a hard enough trade to master, make sure you’re equipped with the proper knowledge to ensure the actual sale and customer interaction isn’t any harder than it needs to be.
Tyler O’Hara is the owner of American Wrap Company in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He won the gold in the 2018 International Window Film Conference and Tint-Off™ PPF competition and has also competed and placed in the last four WFCT competitions.
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