Dale Salamacha Highlights Partial Wraps’ Selling Points

Dale Salamacha is co-owner of Media 1 Signs/Wrap This Ink! (Longwood, FL).

This month, we’ll look at the merits of selling full wraps versus partial vehicle graphics. At Wrap This Ink!, we consider a partial wrap to be any wrap that doesn’t cover all of a vehicle’s painted surfaces. This doesn’t include roof panels; we always offer roof wraps as an optional service, even on “full” wraps. So, we designate full wraps as any that cover all painted body panels.

Of course, roof wraps are vital for certain customers, such as those that deliver in big cities, where tall buildings abound. In such cases, we suggest wrapping the roof to take advantage of that big, uninterrupted billboard visible to potential customers in high-rises.

We also suggest wrapping the roofs of smaller vehicles. Nothing looks cheesier than a beautiful, full-color wrap on a car that contrasts with a differently colored roof. To us, this doesn’t look “finished”, as if they went 90% in with their design, and then just gave up. Of course, if the client can’t afford the extra cost of wrapping the roof, you have to send it out, whatever color it is. Still, we always encourage the client to spend a little more to avoid looking cheap and unprofessional. (We don’t say that, although sometimes we’d like to!) On bigger trucks or vans, it matters less, because the van roof is barely visible from the ground. We only try to sell roof wraps on big trucks if they provide branding value.

Value engineering
What if your customer won’t consider a full wrap? We encounter many customers who are new to wraps, or just don’t have the budget to fully wrap their vehicle. A newbiecan be shocked by the $3,500 pricetag to wrap their 14-ft.-long, enclosed trailer. I know you’ve heard, “That’s more than I paid for the whole trailer!” What do you do?

This is the perfect opportunity to sell partial wraps. We typically offer them alongside full-wrap proposals. Why? Less coverage equals less profit, right? Not necessarily. Remember, although we want (and need) to maximize profit, our first objective is to give customers what they need to cost-effectively promote their businesses. Every job doesn’t have to be a grand slam.

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This especially applies to new customers who experience sticker shock from a full-wrap price. Obviously, we want to sell full wraps. But, if you don’t offer alternatives, they’ll go to a competitor and disappear. You’ll lose business, and someone else will complain about “how expensive” wraps (and you) are! Pricing options let your client make decisions based on their current needs. Many startup companies require vehicle graphics, but lack the cashflow to immediately purchase full wraps.

The pitch goes like this: “Mr. Smith, it’s going to cost about $3,500 to produce and install a full wrap on your cargo van. But, if a full wrap is out of your budget, we can always design a partial wrap based on whatever budget you have.”

That’s the key: “Whatever budget you have.” I can hear you screaming, “What do you mean whatever budget they have?”

If a client has a $1,500 budget, be flexible and design a $1,500 partial wrap! You still get the work, gain a client, and make everyone happy. You can upsell him on a full wrap next time. Let them get their feet wet.

As soon as customers correlate a wrap’s branding with increased sales, they’re more likely to upgrade to a full wrap on future vehicles. They already know its cost, and will be prepared for it the second time. They will remember you offered options, and will probably be a customer for life.

Make the right choice
Nonetheless, I have two disclaimers. First, when you wrap partially, you’ll see the vehicle’s base paint when finished. There’s no way around that. So, you must determine if that paint is in good enough condition to leave exposed. If you receive an old van with a faded, or otherwise damaged, paint job, a partial wrap won’t be effective. In this case, only a full wrap is a good sales tool. Or, consider a customer who brings in a dark green car. No matter how hard you try, you can’t make his black-and-purple logo pop against a green background. Again, this customer is a candidate to upsell to a full wrap.

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Remember, our first concern must be what’s best for the client. We want them to be successful, expand their business, buy more trucks, more wraps and so on. For example, we have one client who started his company about 20 years ago with three pickup trucks. Now, we fabricate and install graphics for all 1,800 vehicles in his fleet. The graphics all comprise partial wraps; I’ll take them all day long!

The bottom line
Producing partial wraps provides a pricing advantage. You can charge more per sq. ft. than for a full wrap. Why? First, you typically have to contour-cut the graphics, either by hand (ugh!) or feed them through a plotter. Then, depending on the design’s complexity, you may have to pre-mask the graphics to transfer them to the vehicle.

Second, a client won’t mind paying a few dollars more per square foot than he would pay for a full wrap, because he’s saving money overall. So, if you charge $14 per sq. ft. for a full wrap, no one will give you grief when you bill $18 per sq. ft. for partial graphics.

For example, let’s say a cargo van requires 240 sq. ft. for a full wrap. That translates to 240 sq. ft. x $14 each = $3,360. But, if you charge $18 per sq. ft. for a partial wrap, $18 x 120 sq. ft. = $2,160. It saves the customer $1,200, and it puts $4 per sq. ft. more profit in your pocket. Both of you walk away happy. And don’t forget, it’s going to take a lot less time to complete that partial wrap than a
full one, which reduces labor costs.

Design becomes critical at this point. The goal? Create a wrap design that looks like a full wrap. Use body lines, the base paint color, die-cut logos and stripes in custom shapes that complement the vehicle’s lines. These steps create the impression the paint color is merely a continuation of the wrap. You must charge more for partial wraps to compensate for extra time spent in die-cutting, weeding, masking, etc.

Remember, offering partial-wrap designs expands your target market, and can still be just as profitable for your company because you’ll close more deals.
 

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