Film puchases for a one man shop per year???

How much in film purchases should a one man shop buy in a year?? FG only.... (I know that's a loaded question.... but play along anyway. )

What about two guys and one helper??


I was talking with a film co. the other day and to carry their film they require a crazy amount of film be purchased every year.... Doing the math... we'd have to sell over 850 sq/ft worth of jobs every week, year round. Which is much more then we are currently doing combined...

Is that an attainable goal, all things being equal??

I mean... my plans in growing my business, on my own, would never reach that amount. Not by myself.... I'd def. have to hire someone to do sales if I'm going to be installing that much film every week.... so the thought was that my friend and I combine our efforts... but even doing that I'm not sure we could hit that target.


-R

Anything is possibile that is a lot of film hit the flat glass side hard that would be the only way to shoot your usage up. Find a different supplier most companies have great product with out the B/S

Carrying that film was just a thought.... due to the high requirements, we just going to stick with what we each use...

It just seems like for one man shops, that goal isn't possible w/o hiring other people... be it sales guys, more installers, etc.


-R

the average tinter can lay about 500 sqft per day. you could easliy do 850 in a weeks time...the problem is can you sell that much and that often? the problem is not the install, its the customers that you need to find. i dont think any film company is worth all those problems that they are putting you through. must be HO

I would go for it. Its going to push you to get to the next level. I'm not suggesting some huge expansion but sometimes its good to have a little fire on your behind. You can do it.

850sf/week with one man doing sales and installs is possible. I was doing more than that for 4 straight weeks this summer before it slowed down. I took all the calls, went to all the proposals, and did all the installs. Difficult, yes...but worth it.

Im not sure what my fg film purchases is, I do auto and ppf as well. Im not going to post the amount this year combined though.

That would be Huper I assume...been there done that $5000 buy in sucks..

I'm the same way, I don't know exactly how much it is for each particular thing I sell(auto, FG and PPF).

last year I think when I was doing taxes I bought about 9500 in product, through all the materials I carry

Its not HO... and yeah, commercial I can see doing that in a week w/o too many problems (provided I am able to get the jobs) but with resi.... jobs are smaller so I'd need more...

Met with y friend again today.. We're still probably going to pass on the film line but as Tim said - I think I'm going to use it as a goal to strive towards...

If the brand you are considering is worth anything they should have already done there homework on you and realized what you can and cannot do.
What are the ramifications if you don't hit the numbers? So what, they cancel you? All you do is go back to where you were before and at least you will
have the experience of working with another brand of film. You will get to know the positives and negatives about it and you can use that to your advantage
further down the road.

If there is no buy in and you really think adding the brand would increase your profitability than I say go for it.

most customers arent educated in this industry and 90% of them never ask what brand they are getting installed. use the film you use, educate them on the quality and back it up with some pictures of finished jobs and maybe some links to this site to where they can come and see if we talk good about the product. just some ideas at least.

I beg to differ. Customers are getting more and more educated these days. The bar is rising -imo and that is a good thing.


-btw HO doesn't have a sq ft expectation, the have a $$$ expectation...

You know we're talkin bout flat and not auto right? whole different ball game

"Show me someone content with mediocrity and I'll show you someone destined for failure"

Both my friend and I have worked with the film already and know it fairly well. (Although the newer lines they've added in the past couple years I haven't used)

I don't know what happens if you don't hit the numbers... but my guess is if it's by a lot, they would pull the account from us.

As for the film making us more money... I'm not sure. The film I currently use isn't widely used in my area.... and I'm very happy with it, and I do fairly well selling it. My friend and I were just thinking about trying to get this other film since
the dealer that used to carry it had the account pulled from them.... which honestly I thought it would have happened years ago. But... karma finally came back..

Ask the supplier the "what if" questions... what if we don't make our #'s? What will you do...

Ask yourself... Can I satisfy the requirements of more than one supplier?

No, probably not. So we would stop using our current products and just go with this film.

i know we are talking about flat glass. im just saying....go tint someones house, or building and 90% of the time they woulnd never know what brand you use unless you tell them. of the 10% that have researched the differnt films out there, most of the them can be sold into the film you use that compares to the one they want.

a good salesman not only sells the customer what they want, but a GOOD salesman has product they can swear on.

If a good salesman sells them what they want, then the 10% you deal with who ask for more than just a basic option aren't getting that service.

Look at the big players in your area or on this forum and I guarantee you they are offering a premium line of films such as Vista, HO, VKool, Panorama, Sunscape Select etc..

i personally dont see the need to carry films such as vista, vkool ect...when the flat glass films we carry (johnson and suntek) have lines that suit the needs of any desire.

Totally agree.

I can basically sell three different lines as good better best with higher performance for less VLT, but then you dont get glare reduction. By the time you get done trying to explain why one line is worth three times more for square foot you dont get to make any much more money in pocket.

I say why not sell the good at a fair price and save on inventory and time. Less options less confusion less consumer regret. In my market not many will pay double and triple for minimal differences. Im not a big player yet, but I bid against them and win often. I can get a Vista customer to buy stainless steel 35 or 50 any day.

I also agree. There is someone here in Houston that ONLY carries Madico (Madico, Sunscape, and MAC). They buy $---,000 in film every year. I dont really see the need to carry many different mgf's to make sales when there are mfg's out there that can meet all demands...and Im not implying its limited to Madico.

If you decide to get into more flat glass, There are going to times ( more often than not ) where it becomes necessary to provide a certain specified film. NO EQUAL. My advice to you is to form relationships with as many vendors as possible. If you pigeon hole yourself to only one distributor, you are only limiting your reach. And your future growth.

maybe its because i don't do the HUGE commercial contracts, but even on some of the new strip malls/warehouses I've done all that is specified is a silver 50 or similar, not a specific product

I AGRRE ABOUT THE BIG PLAYERS BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS THESE BIG PLAYERS HAVE THE MONEY AND BACKING TO PURCHASE THE HIGH END FILMS AS WELL AS MARKETING AND PAYROLL IT TAKES TO PUSH IT

Im mostly about fg, and I still disagree. Famous Footware specs Llumar N1050 for all their stores and I got a contract for Madico SG550. Looks identical with near identical specs. For whatever reason the maintenance comp for the Famous Footware stores contacted me about a store in Spring. I dont carry Llumar, and I convinced them to use Madico. I sent them a spec chart/sample for Llumar and Madico for them to see and compare. Now I have the opportunity for the Houston stores to be fitted with Madico. So, minds can be changed for spec'd films, especially if you have something similar in looks and performance, and possibly at a better price.

That didnt occur overnight, they started small and built their empire. Thinking big and trying to become the best is going to get you there a lot faster than dismissing ideas and options that allow for potential growth.

We have success providing equal films with our regular customers, If it is a bid job with a architectural spec I do not bother trying to change the spec, It almost never works and only confuses the bid process. This is why I advise you to form relationships with as many vendors as you can, It can only help you cast as wide a net as possible. And by the way, It also can give you leverage with the distributors when they try to gain your business.

Well, I suppose I cant argue with experience.

agreed custies are asking alot more questions now-a-days, its always good to know the answer though