Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur, has a famous quote we need to take to heart in the automotive repair industry: “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” When we look at other trades in the United States – electrician, plumber, HVAC – a well-defined apprentice/journeyman…
There’s a familiar story that is told of a new insurance agent named “Jack” who was struggling to make sales. He would contact ten leads and come away with ten rejections. He believed that business was slow due to the bad economy in his area and the fact that many of his customers were focused…
The most common complaint I hear from auto repair shop owners is “I need more cars to hit my sales goal” – and most of the time that is not the problem. They have plenty of repair orders billing out every week, but when your average repair order is low, it takes a lot of…
Imagine dining out at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. Your waiter comes out and takes the order for your family of four without writing anything down. It takes forty-five minutes for the food to arrive, and when it does, the order is completely messed up. You asked for the steak but get the chicken wings. You asked…
The biggest challenge shop owners face isn’t car count, or margins, or even sales. The biggest challenge shop owners face is staffing and keeping employees. The shortage of skilled technicians is already a challenge, but many owners make the hiring process harder on themselves than it should be. By avoiding the following top 5 hiring…
What’s the biggest gamble you can take as a shop owner? Since Las Vegas is the mecca of gambling, I decided to study two famous Vegas acts, to get the answer. First, there’s Siegfried and Roy. They were stage magicians who were known for performing with lions and tigers. They decided not to hire other…
A few weeks ago I was working with my service advisor on overcoming price objections and dealing with price shoppers. One of the points I was making is that with most callers asking for a quote, it really is a matter of the caller not knowing what else to ask. They looked the problem up…
I was all in, on-board, and “drinking the Kool-Aid!” As a new district manager of automotive service, I had just returned from a national meeting where our president clearly communicated the company direction. What he said was good for the car, the customer, and the corporation. My next step was to have a meeting with…
What do the shops who made the Top 12 at the ATI SuperConference have in common? I pondered this question over the weekend as I visited “Joe’s Hardware Store” looking for a special drill to complete a home project. After several minutes of searching, I approached the counter to ask “Joe” the store owner for help….
Struggling to get enough hours billed out each week? Your first thought might be that you have a problem with your technicians. As a shop owner, you need to be aware of how your shop is doing at all times and where the weak spots are; making sure plenty of billable hours get completed each…