Joe Marconi

Great comments. That's why my post points out the need to identify your profile customers. There will always be people that only look at price. These people will shop around to save money without ever realizing they may be sacrificing value and/or safety. Identify your profile customer, build strong relationships, spend more time with your best customers and don't worry about the price shoppers. You cannot be everything to everyone.

On Sunday morning December 7, 1941 America's naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by aircraft and submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy, killing 2,403 American military personnel and civilians and injuring 1,178 others. The attack sank four U.S. Navy battleships and damaged four more. It also damaged or sank three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer. Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged. The day after the attack, the United States declared war on Japan and entered World War II. President Franklin Roosevelt, in a speech to Congress, stated that the bombing of Pearl Harbor is "A date which will live in infamy." "There are some things that we must never forget, the attack on Pear Harbor is one of them" , President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Welcome aboard! Looking forward to see you on the forums!

It is really amazing how some things are so common in our industry. It's like we are all connected by the same experiences. You can change the names and location, but we can all relate.

In order to make any sale,the person you are trying to sell to must see the benefit of what you are recommending. Your customer must see that you are trying to help them, rather than just sell them something. Each of knows the reasons "why" we recommend a timing belt or a wheel alignment. But, sometimes in the mist of a busy day we don't effectively communicate the "why". When a customer understands that replacing the timing belt is thousands of dollars less than major engine repair, the customer knows the why. The customer sees that you are trying to help. The other component in selling is clearly identifying your true profile customer, and ones that you have established strong relationships with. You will have an easier time selling to the right customer and those you have created strong relationships with. Focus on these customers and do all you can to continue to identify and build more of these relationships with the right customers. I am not saying to ignore certain customers, but the truth is we cannot be everything to everyone and attempting to be will eventually hurt sales, morale and profits.

Source: Selling is all about helping the right customer

In order to make any sale,the person you are trying to sell to must see the benefit of what you are recommending. Your customer must see that you are trying to help them, rather than just sell them something. Each of knows the reasons "why" we recommend a timing belt or a wheel alignment. But, sometimes in the mist of a busy day we don't effectively communicate the "why". When a customer understands that replacing the timing belt is thousands of dollars less than major engine repair, the customer knows the why. The customer sees that you are trying to help. The other component in selling is clearly identifying your true profile customer. You will have an easier time selling to those customers that you have created strong relationships with. Focus on these customers and do all you can to continue to identify and build more of these relationships with the right customers. I am not saying to ignore certain customers, but the truth is we cannot be everything to everyone and attempting to be will eventually hurt sales, morale and profits.

Now that's funny!

I want to express my sincere appreciation to all AutoShopOwner.com members. And, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, a big thank you to all our valued members for making ASO the "go-to" online site with the very best in automotive business-related discussions. So many shop owners from around the country have expressed to me the amazing posts, information and discussions. The real thanks goes to you, the members that contribute so much and make ASO a success. HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! Joe Marconi

Gonzo, guys like us have seen an evolution of car designs, some good, a lot bad. Diets are like fads, and that holds true for car designers too. But, I have to agree, just getting to the engine and various components is a job these days. I hate to attribute some of the difficulty to our age. Or should I?

Gonzo, I would like to add number 11... 11- I would do it myself, just don't have the time. Thanks Gonzo, Saturday would not be Saturday without reading your article.

With the holiday season right around the corner, its a good time to remember things that matter the most. And while we are all business people, we must have balance in our life and promote that balance in the lives of the people we employ. Find ways to celebrate the holidays with your staff. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant either, just something that brings people together. This will show you are a caring boss and leader. Morale will improve, which will help to enrich the lives of everyone. A win for all, and your business.

You are right, that is the problem.

Thank you, love this story every time I read it!

November 11, or what has come to be known as Veterans Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor Armistice Day - the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. President Woodrow Wilson honored the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations..." In 1954, Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, struck out the word "Armistice" and inserted the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Great article, very interesting. The one thing about this business...just when you begin to think you have seen it all, that's when you are again challenged.

Source: Before you raise prices, raise production

I got a call the other from a shop owner friend asking me to help calculate his labor rate. I told him that before you calculate your labor rate, you should check your labor production (also known as effective labor rate). I asked him to total up his total tech paid hours for the month and then divide those hours by his total labor dollars sold for the month. He got back to me and was surprised that although he posted a $90.00 labor rate, his actual labor dollars per hour was only $62.00. I pointed out that this is a production problem, not a labor rate price issue. Raising labor production is equally important as understanding what your labor rate should be. In fact, ensuring your labor production is where it should be will add much needed dollars to the bottom line. One thing to consider; low labor production is not just the responsibility of the technician. You need to also take into account: Are you billing enough hours? Are you charging properly for diagnostic time? Are the techs waiting too long for parts or for the service advisors to sell jobs? Is there too much down time between jobs? Look at the entire shop operations and workflow process. Each minute increase in labor production will add much needed dollars to your bottom line.

Source: Can Your Service Writers Really Overcome Sales Objections?

If one of your best customers brought his car to you with a brake problem, and you told him the car needed front brakes and brake rotors, would he give you a sales objection? Would he say, “Are your sure it needs the brake rotors too?” or, “Really, that much? I can get those rotors cheaper on the Internet.” Think about it, would you have to go back and forth handling sales objections one by one, until you hopefully make the sale? Your best customers don’t give you a hard time, they simply say yes. The problem? Your top best customers only make up about 20% of your customer base, at best. So, all too often we are stuck with this mentally-exhausting negotiation where we handle objection after objection, until a champion emerges. Either the customer wins or you do. The only way to decrease sales objections is by creating strong relationships with your customers and building value in what you are selling. If you sell parts, labor and price, you better be prepared for sales objections. If you work on the relationship and build a lot of value by promoting your warranty, quality parts, convenience, and by providing world-class service, you will be in much better place. Your objections will go down and your sales will go up.

Gonzo, I have to be honest, we all have been in this position, but I take a different approach now. Let me explain; When I go to any professional,(a doctor, lawyer, accountant, dentist, plumber, electrician,etc.), I never expect that person to fully explain how something works in such detail that I can do it myself. I hope I am making sense. In other words, if there is something that is beyond my scope of performing to a professional degree, I defer to the pro. They explain the problem, the solution, the price and either I say yes or no. So, when a person walks up to my service counter with paper work, manuals and downloads from the Internet, I tell the person to put all that stuff away, I am the doctor, not the teacher or collaborator on the repair. I hope I don't sound too mean, but some of these people just suck the life out of us. Your thoughts?

My manager took day off yesterday, so I decided to step into his role and oversee shop production for the day. Boy, the things I uncovered! How does anything ever get done? The schedule is a mess, jobs not checked out early enough, too many wait customers, too much conversation among the techs, and they even took a lunch break! By noon, I was so frustrated that I needed a gin-n-tonic to calm down. (Just kidding, actually drank an Ice tea). I pushed all morning long MY WAY, and everyone pushed back. So, after their “Lunch break”, I decided to do more observing than interfering. And guess what happened? By the end of the day, all the work was done, all the customer problems were solved and everyone ended up on a high not. What? How could this be? I need to take some of my own advice, and let go of control. Not doing things MY WAY is not always a bad thing.

Source: Letting go of control of the shop is still so hard to do