Raise your average ticket with add-ons customers pick themselves

Why the add-on beats the new customer

A new customer costs you ads, a quote and a first visit. An add-on costs nothing to find: the car is already coming in and the customer already trusts you.

The math is small per job and large per year. If one in four customers adds a $40 service to a $250 detail, that is $10 on every job you do.

Most shops lose it at the counter. The customer is handing over keys, you are busy, and a pitch feels like pressure. The fix is to move the offer earlier and onto their phone.

Pair add-ons with the service, not the menu

A long menu gets ignored. Two or three add-ons that fit the service they picked get read. Pet hair and an engine bay belong with a full detail, not with a tint job.

Pick the pairs from your own history: what do you already sell alongside each service when you remember to ask? Those are your add-ons.

• Full detail: pet hair removal, engine bay, headlight restore
• Ceramic coating: wheel coating, glass coating, a maintenance wash plan
• Window tint: windshield strip, ceramic film upgrade
• PPF: door cups, door edges, a coating on top

Name it, price it, say how long it takes

Customers say yes to what they understand. "Headlight restore: wet sand, polish and UV seal on both lenses, 40 minutes" sells. "Headlight package" does not.

Price add-ons so the choice is easy next to the main job, and mark one or two as your recommendation. One clear suggestion beats six equal options.

Offer it three times, never at the counter

The same add-ons should show up wherever the customer is already making a decision. In Strata you link them to a service once and offer them in three places.

None of the three is a sales call. The customer decides on their own phone, at their own pace, and you stay in control of the calendar.

• On your booking page: the Review step lists the paired add-ons, and picking one updates the price, the time and the deposit before they confirm
• In their customer hub: under the upcoming appointment, each add-on has an Ask to add button
• On an estimate: optional lines they tick, and the total updates as they choose

Keep the request a request

An add-on changes how long the car is in your bay, so it should not rebook your day. In the hub, Ask to add sends you a request and tells them the shop reviews it first.

You add the service line when it fits. The price updates on the job and carries to the invoice, so the bill matches what they asked for.

Watch two numbers

Track your average ticket and how often an add-on is taken. If a pairing is never picked, the name or the price is wrong, or it is paired with the wrong service. Swap it and look again next month.