Technology is affecting every single area of the auto repair industry. It's impacting what tools and skills your techs need. The use of the internet by any customer with a smart phone in their pocket is also presenting challenges in the tools and skills your service advisors need. Shop owners who want to take advantage of this huge opportunity, are going to want to read this: Click here.
By Doris Barnes In a world where service advisors don’t want to be considered salespeople, we need to search our souls. Why is it that “selling” has become a dirty word? Why is it that we cringe at the term “sales?” It’s simple! Most service advisors do what they do each day because they care about people. To become a “salesperson”, in their mind, means to become pushy and overbearing. To most, it means that their interest must shift to one thing and one thing only… The customer’s Visa card
By Bob Cooper I am sure we can all agree that our industry, and society, has been going through quite a transformation. One of the changes that’s had an extraordinary impact, and will have an even bigger impact in the coming years, is transparency. Not only do today’s consumers have an expectation of transparency, but they have access to pricing information that was beyond our wildest dreams just a few short years ago. Just look at all the major retailers. With rare exception, you can walk int
The top shops in America realize that in order to build a successful business they will need to have team players that are self-starters, who can produce, and who will never compromise their ethics. Over the years I’ve not only been fortunate enough to hire many of our industry superstars, but I have seen hiring mistakes made every day by shop owners all across America. In order to help you with your business, I’d like to share what I believe to be the 5 most common hiring mistakes that shop own
In the world of auto repair and service, one thing is for certain: You are going to lose customers. They will move, no longer have a need for their automobile, turn to one of your competitors, or buy a new vehicle and then take it to the dealer for service. Accordingly, you need a consistent stream of new customers, and since you more than likely have competition in your community, you need to help those potential customers see that your shop is the right shop. The way that you accomplish this g
There’s no doubt that pricing is one of the most misunderstood elements of business. There’s not only a lot of bad information out there, but with these tough economic times, there’s a lot of uncertainty as well. So what I decided to do with this article is break the subject of pricing down into three components: Base pricing, price modification and measuring results. Base Pricing At Elite we believe that in all cases, your prices need to be competitive. By “competitive”, I’m not suggesting th
Hi everyone, I wanted to write you a quick note to let you know Pat, my business partner and one of the coaches and sales trainers for my company... Just completed a video addressing a concern one of our clients had about a new competitor moving into his town. Even if this isn't a situation you're dealing with, the information in this short 6-minute video addresses... How to position your business, as an auto repair shop, that believes in "treating the customer right". Here's the link to th
Many shop owners wonder if they have the "right employee" for the job, especially if their monthly numbers are not where they should be. There's a simple test to determine if that's the case. Click here to read about a conversation I had with a shop owner recently that helped put his mind, at ease.
Most service advisors fall into one of three traps with first-time customers: they’ll either avoid recommending a complete inspection, they’ll try to bundle the inspection into a service, or they’ll just inspect the vehicle without the owner’s permission. Unfortunately, all of these approaches can jeopardize the customer experience, and reflect poorly on your shop. Let’s take a look at each one… The service advisors who shy away from recommending a complete inspection to first-time customers are
By Bob Cooper As business owners, our best teachers will always be our employees and our customers. They understand many components of our businesses, and in most cases, they really do care about our success. Learning from our employees is relatively simple. All that we need to do is pay attention to their passing comments, and engage them during our employee meetings and reviews. What I would like to do with this article is provide you with a step-by-step guide that will help you do what ever
Everyone has a number in mind that represents the next level, in their business. It could be that you're at $750,000 and you're looking to hit $1,000,000. Regardless of whether your sales goal is higher or lower than the million dollar benchmark... There's a formula for making that happen. In a new video I just uploaded, I talk about the most important number to focus on, in order to reach your goal - whatever it is. By focusing on this number, you can quickly eliminate the need to spend th
Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with many of the top shop owners in America, and I have met thousands of owners who are living from day to day, and then unfortunately fail. There have been a lot of discoveries along the way, so I would like to use this article to share what I feel to be the top 7 reasons why most shops fail. 1. Pride. There is no question that pride plays an important role in a shop owner’s success. It causes them to make sure that their shops are clean, vehi
By Bob Cooper In today’s market, service advisors are facing a number of challenges. One of the more complex challenges is when a skeptical first-time customer comes in for an oil service, and the advisor discovers that this customer needs a long list of repairs. This is what most advisors refer to as the proverbial “laundry list.” Unfortunately, what most service advisors will do is either hold back some of the recommendations because they are afraid they’ll scare the customer away, or they’ll
Hi Everyone! I know I haven't posted here recently. We've just been super busy. But today, I strapped myself, into my chair, to share some timely information you might find helpful. There are three subjects I want to talk about. The first thing is: There's a new overtime law that may impact your business, depending on how you have your employees' pay plans set up. Here's a video that was sponsored by The Automotive Service Association that talks about how this new law relates to the automot
By Bob Cooper of Elite For decades shop owners have had the luxury of being able to rely on a short list of traditional media to bring in new customers. They’ve primarily utilized directory ads, print media, radio and TV, and to some extent, local grassroots marketing programs. With rare exception, each of these advertising mediums has had a long-standing track record of performance (either good or bad), so you knew what you were getting when investing in these mediums. Today, we live in a comp
How To Attract Millennials to Your Shop Making auto repair shops profitable can seem like squeezing water from a rock... Some shops resort to raising prices, instead of increasing their customer base. We've created a Free eBook that tells you how to tap into the fastest growing customer base in the country; Millennials. The stereotype of the lazy Millennial (born 1980-1995) has caused many people to disregard this generation when it comes to trying to get their money. Do they all live in th
I am sure you will agree that in our industry there are a number of unwritten rules that shop owners have followed for decades. They know that they have to hire gifted technicians, stay at the forefront of vehicle technology, and can never jeopardize their relationships with their customers; just to name a few. Unfortunately, there is another rule that far too many shop owners (and service advisors) have believed in for decades. It’s a rule that’s been passed down from one generation to the next
As we all know, the most powerful form of advertising always has been, and always will be, word of mouth. Although every shop owner would like to believe the majority of their customers are songbirds, the reality is, they’re not. I am not suggesting that you don’t have some customers who love to sing your song, but it’s safe to say that they’re a very small percentage of your overall customer base. I feel comfortable making such a strong statement because even if as little as 10% of your custome
By Bob Cooper of Elite Many years ago when I was still working on cars, I came to the realization that I would someday own my own shop. I also realized that in order to do so, I would first have to learn how to sell service. The challenge I faced at that time was not only did I not know how to sell, but I also had little respect for salespeople, because I viewed them as people who would take people’s money, and more often than not do little in return. So I was actually faced with two challenges
By Bob Cooper Over the last 22 years I've been amazed to discover just how many shop owners are lost when it comes to knowing and understanding “the numbers". In order to build a successful auto repair shop, you are going to need to know two sets of numbers: Your “financial" benchmarks, and your “operational" benchmarks. Without a clear understanding of these benchmarks, it becomes quite challenging for shop owners to pinpoint where they are falling short of their goals, and where improvements
By Bob Cooper One of the single greatest challenges shop owners face today is finding and hiring the superstars. Regardless of whether you are looking to hire technicians or service advisors, here are some tips that will help you hire the stars. 1. Accept the fact that with rare exception, the stars you are looking for are already working, and are reasonably satisfied. This doesn’t mean that they won’t be open to a conversation with you, because many of them will be. It’s your responsibility t
By Bob Cooper Over the past one hundred plus years marketing strategies, and the brands that were built, were developed by two entities: The client, and the ad agency. The client would tell the agency how they envisioned their brand, and the agency would develop the advertising campaigns that would create that very same image in the minds of the targeted consumers. The tobacco companies wanted to create brands that would cause a consumer to feel good when they used their products, and the ad ag
