You’ve hired this person to help at your auto repair shop’s front counter — now what? Whether you just hired your first service advisor or are replacing a service manager who was with you for years, service advisor training may be a great way to accelerate the learning process and make sure this person has the skills needed to be successful. But how can you decide if training is worth the investment? In this post, I’ll provide 5 steps you can take to decide if Service Advisor training is the right decision for your auto repair shop.
Why is Service Advisor Training Important?
The role of the Service Advisor in your shop is not a one-size-fits-all role but requires a variety of skills to be successful. Automotive shop owners may not have a detailed job description to hand to a new employee or criteria for how they will measure their progress. Service Advisor training can help you identify what the duties will be for this person, as well as what the sales goals and margin goals should be. It can also help you decide who is the right fit. Training is a great way to quickly get that person onboarded and working independently. Remember, since they are the primary contact between your shop and your customers, their success is also your success.
5 Steps to Make the Decision
1. Identify Why You Are Hiring a Service Advisor
Are you hiring someone because you want more freedom in your day? Are you replacing a long-term employee? Or are you hiring after a string of bad hires and need to figure out what is wrong? By identifying why you want to hire this person, you will be better able to decide what kind of training is appropriate.
2. Identify What You Want to Improve in Your Shop
Is your car count high, but your sales are low? Are your automotive technicians busy but there’s no money left after the bills are paid? What do people say about you on the internet? A service advisor is responsible for many of these areas, so be sure you know what you want — and what you don’t want.
3. Develop a Detailed Job Description
If you’ve never created a job description for a Service Advisor/Service Manager, now is a good time to do it, because it is going to help with the next step.
4. Look For Training that Addresses the Job Duties
For example, if your job description says they need to be hitting sales goals, the training should include sales. If it says the customer service is a high priority, the training should include communication skills, phone skills, and developing trust and rapport. From dress and appearance to how they check a customer out all depends on the expectations you set and the training you provide.
5. Ask for References and Details
Once you address 2-3 training companies for training your service advisors, ask for references to call. Also, ask what materials are provided and classes included. Ask for the class agendas as well. Not all training is created equal. Evaluate the value by what you get and what is the return on that investment.
There you have it — 5 Steps to help you evaluate whether service advisor training is worth the investment of time and money to turn that sales trainee into a Rockstar! Let us know if you find this information helpful in your decision-making.
Free Service Advisor Job Description
ATI would love to help you in this journey with a free job description sample that you can use to fulfill Step #3 above. Get your copy now.
Ready to take the next step in the training process? We are excited to offer prospective members two different options to check us out — a free 90-minute webinar event and live events across the country. Learn more about our events here.