Autoshop Solutions Sweeps Away 5 Awards from AutoInc’s Top Ten Automotive Websites!
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Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?
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By Joe Marconi in Joe's Blog5 commentsI recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
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By carmcapriotto
Top tier shops want to have personalized marketing but often don’t know how to take the photo from their camera roll and convert it into a graphic for social media that’s pleasant and professional. In this episode, Kim Walker shares top tips from the pros on how to efficiently and effectively use the widely popular tool Canva for creating eye catching graphics.
Thank you to RepairPal for sponsoring The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast. Learn more about RepairPal at https://repairpal.com/shops
Show Notes
Canva: what it is, why you need it, how to find it, who uses it
April 2, 2024 at 12pm in our FB Group
Keep it simple. Less is more. Be consistent! Maintain branding: company colors, fonts, logos, tone. Keep your posts personal! Use YOUR own photos. Create the “brand kit” in Canva. A place to store your logo, select the fonts, colors. Stay organized. Create folders. Save your designs in calendar order to make scheduling more efficient. (Be sure to lock designs so moving things around is easier). Use grid-view to get a birds-eye view and ensure branding consistency and that your designs are pleasing to the eye Use moving elements and animations to help create eye-catching graphics. Use templates for things like birthdays, anniversaries, and hiring to save time. Create a few for each to keep them interesting. Explore and don’t be afraid of Canva’s AI like Magic Media to create fun new photos and videos Create a “Mood Board” - a collection of images, textures, typography, color palettes and description words - or an ‘inspiration board’ to help when the ideas are just not there. Canva Design School
How To Get In Touch
Group - Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind
Website - shopmarketingpros.com
Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros
Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/book
Instagram - @shopmarketingpros
Questions/Ideas - [email protected]
How To Get In Touch
Group - Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind
Website - shopmarketingpros.com
Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros
Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/book
Instagram - @shopmarketingpros
Questions/Ideas - [email protected]
Lagniappe (Books, Links, Other Podcasts, etc)
Canva - Mood Boards
Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
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By carmcapriotto
Research has shown that people will generally forget 90% of what they "learn" within 30 days unless it is reinforced. Recorded Live at Vision 2024, David Boyes, President of Today's Class, outlines the mobile app's features, including gamification and personalized training paths. AJ Nealey and Patrick Roberts share how they've implemented the platform in their businesses, highlighting its impact on engagement, adaptability to individual needs and its role in fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth. "It's microdosing of training. It's a set of daily questions on a daily basis. And what I love about it, it's the question after the question. "How confident are you in your answer?" It's low, medium, or high. You're understanding their confidence level." AJ Nealey Show Notes:
Today's Class and its features (00:00:53) David Boyes explains the features and benefits of Today's Class, a training and competency platform. Gamification and personalized training paths (00:01:44) The gamification aspect and personalized training paths in Today's Class. Customized data delivery (00:04:09) The various data delivery options and customization for shop owners. Competitive usage of Today's Class (00:05:27) Patrick Roberts shares how the competitive usage of Today's Class benefits their team at Christian Brothers. Purposeful training paths and question priorities (00:07:35) RJ Neely and David Boies discuss purposeful training paths and question priorities in Today's Class. Influence of confidence levels on learning (00:11:27) David Boies explains the influence of confidence levels on learning and retention in Today's Class. Gamification (00:14:42) Engagement and retention strategies, rewards points, competitions, and customized training paths. Quarterly Bonus and Reporting Customization (00:15:44) Incentives for completing training, automatic points reset, and customized reporting for tracking progress. Color Game and Training Integration (00:16:24) Description and explanation of a gamified training activity, its purpose, and integration with daily training sessions. Content Development (00:19:26) In-house content creation, collaboration with subject matter experts, and the process of delivering accessible and measurable training. Personalized Training Paths and Community Engagement (00:20:44) Individualized training trajectories, community creation, and sharing of reference materials and information. Challenges of Implementing and Commitment to Training (00:22:18) Challenges in adopting the platform, the commitment required for successful implementation, and the platform's role in the culture of continuous learning. Onboarding Process and Long-Term Commitment (00:25:08) Onboarding process, 90-day launch cycle, and the importance of long-term commitment for successful utilization. Employee Engagement and Training Management (00:26:33) The role of employees as champions and ambassadors, open conversations, and employee feedback on training management. Implementing training expectations (00:27:29) The importance of setting clear training expectations and having open conversations with employees about obstacles. Gamification and participation rate (00:28:54) Gamifying training and the increase in participation rate. Employee engagement and personal growth (00:30:33) Patrick Roberts emphasizes the importance of addressing personal issues and attitude before training, focusing on personal growth. Custom features and individual shop needs (00:32:16) David Boyes explains the customization and individual shop needs in Today's Class. Enhancing connectivity and service advisor training (00:35:21) David Boies discusses plans to enhance connectivity and the introduction of service advisor training. Perpetual training and gratitude (00:37:10) The episode concludes with a discussion on perpetual training and gratitude for the guests.
Thanks to our Partner, NAPA TRACS NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/ Connect with the Podcast -Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/ -Join Our Private Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1734687266778976 -Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/carmcapriotto -Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/ -Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/ -Follow on Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections Thanks to our Partner, NAPA TRACS NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/ Connect with the Podcast -Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/ -Join Our Private Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1734687266778976 -Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/carmcapriotto -Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/ -Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/ -Follow on Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections
Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
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By carmcapriotto
This week on the ARM Podcast Brian talks about why stock website content doesn’t work. In this episode you’ll learn what he means by stock content, why it doesn’t work, whether or not it hurts you to have stock content on your website, and how to tell if you have it on your website.
Thank you to RepairPal for sponsoring The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast. Learn more about RepairPal at https://repairpal.com/shops
Show Notes with Timestamps
What is stock content? Stock content is duplicate content Stock content is generic content Does stock content help? How do you know if your website has stock content?
How To Get In Touch
Group - Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind
Website - shopmarketingpros.com
Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros
Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/book
Instagram - @shopmarketingpros
Questions/Ideas - [email protected]
Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
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By Hands On
Hi folks. A quick search and I did not see any recent alignment machine posts. I have a quote from Hunter, $86,000 includes a scissor life and the concrete work to flush mount it, shipping, the machine with wall mount cameras. Some accessories. If I do conservatively 3 alignments a week my break even is approx 4.5 years, a bit longer depending on financing cost.
I lease my shop, and one of my biggest fears has been getting kicked out of here. Should I be looking at obtaining a location instead? I am always nervous about taking on the massive cost of a bigger building, especially when I struggle so often to hire good people. I talked to a friend that went from a small shop like I have to a larger facility and he said it was a lot more headaches with very little increase in income. I want less headaches, less stress.
Maybe it is my small shop that makes it hard to hire? Is this the right time to try to get a new location? How do I even start finding financing, I do not have a ton of cash saved up right now. Should I get the alignment machine now, and continue to save up for a new location? How much do I need down for a new spot? Should I keep my eye open for other shops that might fail in the coming year and hold off on the alignment machine and continue to stack cash? I am kind of tired of loosing an employee for 30 minutes to an hour to run an alignment across town that may or may not get done to the same quality standards I hold my employees to.
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By carmcapriotto
"Individuals who have made outstanding career contributions to the mobile A/C and heat transfer industry are recognized for their work with the Mobile Air Climate Systems Pioneer Award." Recorded Live at the 2024 MACS (Mobile Air Climate Systems) Training Event & Trade Show, Carm Capriotto discusses the automotive air conditioning industry with Peter Coll and Pioneer Award Winners Larry Hays, and Tom Massey. They explore the evolution of air conditioning systems, the importance of collaboration, and the role of MACS in advancing the industry. Larry Hays' career in automotive service began in high school when his shop teacher got him a job at an independent garage. Shortly thereafter, and while still in high school, Larry took a work/study job starting at 80 cent an hour and stayed there for 5 years before moving to Dallas Smith Transport. There he got his first taste of the A/C life learning to install factory A/C in a 1962 Buick and rebuild A6 compressors at the GM Training center in El Paso, TX. After three years, Larry found his forever home at Tony M. Coury Buick in Mesa, AZ where he would go on to spend the next 40 years. In 1966 Harrison Radiator introduced their own automatic A/C system and often visited Larry from the GM Proving ground due to his close proximity. The visits led to friendships, networking and, eventually an introduction to the likes of Paul Weissler, Jim Resutek, Ward Atkinson, and many others. In 1976, Tom Massey, an ASE certified Master Technician, started his own shop in Sioux Falls, SD. Doing A/C in South Dakota in the 1980’s, Tom was frustrated because the one fitting that was needed for the job was not available locally so, Tom started stocking A/C fittings, A/C units and other parts to be available on demand. When other shops found out that he had inventory, the business progressed to add wholesale parts & distribution. He was a distributor for ARA, AIR & later for the company that became Global Parts Distributors. Tom’s passion for A/C drew him to heat of Las Vegas in 1993 when he started Auto Air & More Inc. selling A/C parts to consumers, fleets, dealerships, and competitors as well as servicing vehicles. Show Notes: Pioneer award winners and their contributions (00:01:00) Recognition of industry pioneers and their significant contributions, including the first board member who was a technician. Challenges in automotive air conditioning systems (00:03:49) Discussion about the challenges and innovations in air conditioning systems, particularly in the context of specialized vehicles like limousines. Impact of temperature on air conditioning systems (00:06:35) Explanation of the impact of high temperatures on air conditioning systems, including the need for specialized designs and heat exchange. Differences in customer expectations between dealerships and independent shops (00:08:27) Comparison of customer expectations and concerns between dealership and independent shop environments. Effect of climate on air conditioning systems (00:09:21) Discussion about the influence of climate, particularly humidity, on the functioning of air conditioning systems. Collaboration between manufacturers and technicians (00:12:00) Importance of collaboration between manufacturers and technicians in diagnosing and addressing technical issues in air conditioning systems. Role of MACS in industry collaboration (00:15:04) The significance of MACS in providing a platform for industry professionals to engage with manufacturers and address technical challenges. The history of automotive air conditioning (00:16:56) Discusses the early development of automotive air conditioning systems and the valuable feedback provided by technicians. Collaboration and learning at MACS (00:17:34) Highlights the importance of collaboration between manufacturers and technicians at MACS and the exchange of knowledge between different automotive brands. Shop management systems (00:18:10) Emphasizes the importance of selecting the right shop management system and the benefits of customization and support. Comparing equipment and industry expansion (00:19:21) Discusses the comparison of different equipment, the entry of new suppliers into the US market, and the perspective gained from evaluating different machines. Challenges of retrofitting air conditioning systems (00:22:54) Addresses the challenges and potential issues associated with retrofitting air conditioning systems. Testing and innovations at GM proving ground (00:26:07) Describes the testing procedures and innovations at the General Motors proving ground. Industry relationships and contributions (00:28:43) Explores the relationships and contributions of industry figures, including the impact of technical bulletins and the role of influential individuals in the automotive industry. Innovations and intellectual property (00:30:19) Discusses the development and sharing of innovative tools and the challenges of patenting and profiting from inventions. Supplier relationships and cost savings (00:33:02) Addresses the exchange of information and prototypes with suppliers and the challenges of providing valuable input without significant compensation. Innovative Ideas for Tools (00:35:11) Exploration of the search for innovative tools in the industry and the rarity of finding them. Early Air Conditioning Systems (00:35:23) Anecdotes about early air conditioning systems in vintage cars, including unique features and challenges. Friendship and Collaboration (00:36:42) Stories of friendship and collaboration within the air conditioning industry, emphasizing the importance of knowledge sharing. Respect for Industry Professionals (00:38:13) Reflections on the respect and admiration for industry professionals, highlighting the impact of their expertise. Challenges in the Industry (00:40:32) Discussion on the challenges and limited number of specialists in the air conditioning industry. Parts Distribution and Inventory (00:43:38) Insights into the evolution of parts distribution and inventory management in the air conditioning industry. Business Transition and Negotiation (00:45:39) Brief discussion about the possibility of business transition and negotiation in the industry.
Thanks to our Partner, NAPA TRACS NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/ Connect with the Podcast -Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/ -Join Our Private Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1734687266778976 -Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/carmcapriotto -Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/ -Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/ -Follow on Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections
Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
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