mspecperformance

The problem isn't so much with the parts it is the customers it attracts. These people do not value your service. They believe that they are purchasing a commodity like they would at Wal-Mart. This is all besides the fact we are losing half of our gross sales when we don't sell parts.

Lucky bastid!

Shielding from liability is the major concern for loaner cars. I would love to have loaner cars with some nice decals or vinyl for advertising purposes however liability is such a huge concern especially where I am at.

ATI seems to have a mixed bag of reviews. The advocates some of which are on this forum are very knowledgable and seem to do very well.

Thanks Car ER, funny you mentioned that today I just had the same conversation with an enterprise representative today.

Car ER, we try to educate them as best we can. If all else fails and they are looking to bottom feed then send them down the road. If you present yourself as a professional establishment then you should be able to reduce that sort of thing but we can never completely get rid of the people that just don't get it.

kingwoodshell, If you have a class nearby I would recommend to take advantage. The cost is really nominal if you can take even 1 thing away from the class. What I like about Elite is they are not pushy when it comes to their sales pitch on their other services. They mention it, give you some information about it and invite you to ask them questions if you are interested. I've been to other 1 day classes and they are absolutely horrible with their pushy sales of their other services. Management Success comes to mind and I had a HORRIBLE experience with them. Also the difference with other 1 day workshops is this is strictly a sales workshop opposed to a shop management/shop owners work shop. If you as the owner are the SA or you have SAs it is worth attending.

Thanks!

I've never known these cold call jokers to take us off any lists even after requested.

I am not suggesting anyone actually do this! It is however funny that some shops do post this stuff. Its what we would really like to tell those annoying internet guru customers.

What are your prices for your tire protection plan ?

This

Not mine but thought it was funny ass heck!

Digital menu boards are really nice and professional. I don't have enough foot traffic to warrant them however if my car count was high and I had a lot of customers walking in daily I certainly would implement digital menu boards.

Just to add to xrac's comment, starting with classes is a great way to break into training. I can only speak from my experiences but the first classes I partook were with WorldPac. They put on a Service Advisor's Class that last 2-3 days. It was incredibly helpful at the time since I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Elite's one day sales class is awesome as well. If you are lacking in sales skills you really need to check their class out. Once you get an idea of what it takes to be profitable and to run a shop, I'd also suggest RLO's Guerilla Shop Management 12 week course. Great investment.

This year I am giving away things that have take home value as Bob Cooper likes to call it One of my techs loves going to the movies so one of his bonuses will be a gift card to the movies. Every time he goes to the movies and use the gift card he'll think, "hey my boss is a pretty good guy" One of my techs has a new born baby, I'm probably going to give him among other things a Babies R Us gift card. Also he really loves his professional as an auto tech and has a passion for the business. I saw him eyeing a nice jacket from Mac Tools. I may get one of those for him too. Maybe get some of his patches sewn on for him since he likes to walk around with his ASE and shop patch. Money is a great bonus however its fleeting. Its seen once and its gone whether they use to to buy something or they put it in there bank account they will hardly ever think about it again.

Elon, I am going to private message you. Thanks for sharing.

Here is my constructive criticism and I hope you will take it as such. If you are in the auto repair business (as an owner) the excuse of "I just can't afford $XXX" is a crutch and its a lie. You are lying to yourself. How do I know this? Because I was lying to myself for years using the same excuse. The real question is can you afford NOT TO. You said your business is steadily growing which is great. In my opinion however if your business is growing but you can't afford $1500 on something you perceived to be a need and a necessity to grow your business something is terribly wrong. Some of us are blessed with mentors who never ask for a dime. Most of us however have to seek professional help that cost $. It is also in my opinion that I'd rather pay to have someone that is professionally accountable in helping me succeed that someone that is treating coaching as a pet project. Every time I have invested in training I have seen gains. Since September I'd taken the RLO Guerilla Shop Management online course and have signed up with Elite as a coaching client. I've seen a 20-30k increase in sales a month since then. I have always had the philosophy if something costs me a $1 to make $2 then I'm with it. Since I have made the investment in my business and education I've seen far more than a $2 return. Now I am far from perfect and I have a LONG way to go. These have been my personal experiences so take them for what you will. If you have a passion to succeed and you want to do the right thing then $1500/mo for a little direction is a drop in the bucket.

There are other options in case you didn't explore them. Elite, RLO etc etc.

how many tires do you actually do?

The target Net Profit you want to reach is around 18-20%. GP on Labor and Parts mix should be close to 60%. These are KPIs that are industry standards for a very well run shop. I think the national average though is somewhere around 5% Net or below. For you to draw a net of 200k you should be doing around 1-1.2mil in Gross Sales a year which should be achievable with around 3-4 techs and 1-2 SAs. Maybe less if you are creative.

PJ, messaged you.

I'll be looking into boosting my tire sales in the new year. Thanks for the post.

1.5 mil. yeah I wouldn't be either lol