Elon Block

The purpose of a warranty is to help the customer feel confident

that you stand behind your work. In other words, they need to

feel that if they give you their hard-earned money to service

their vehicle, it's not going to be money wasted.

 

One of the best things a shop owner can do is to make sure they

have a solid (nationwide warranty, if possible) that you can

enthusiastically and confidently provide to your customers.

 

Here's why...

From the customer's perspective, they've heard, read, seen

and probably even personally experienced a problem where
a shop didn't stand behind their work.

So, even if that bad experience didn't happen to them, at
your shop, that customer is still skeptical.

Understanding this is one of the customer's biggest concerns
when they are listening to your service advisor explain what needs

to be done to their vehicle... and how much it's going to cost

them will make it super easy for the customer to say yes.

 

So, when used properly, it's a selling tool that will make

you a boatload of money because it will help you easily

sell more service (and tires).

Welcome to the forum! I looked at your facebook and your instagram! Cool mustang!

 

What type of work are you planning to focus on? Is it general services or a specific

make or something totally different?

By the way, your accountant may be a great resource to not only recommend someone,

but answer your question about what a good book keeper might cost you, based on your needs.

What qualifications did you look for? Did you set up how you want everything accounted or did you rely on them to choose their methods.

My question is under the assumption data and numbers will be recorded accurately and in congruence with your accountants method.

I was answering your first question about methods.

 

Just like you can't assume hiring a tech who says they do things accurately - actually does,

you can't assume a bookkeeper who says they know how to do bookkeeping accurately...

actually does.

 

My daughter-in-law works for an accounting firm that specializes in working with small

business owners. Her job is to clean up bookkeepers records so the accountant

can then, file a proper tax return that isn't going to trigger an audit from the IRS.

 

Or cause the business owner to pay more taxes than they should have.

What are you trying to accomplish? Are you looking for someone to sort through and match

the invoices with the billing from the vendor?

 

Or are you looking for someone to produce a P&L every month? Or something else entirely?

If you have an accountant that does your year-end work, he or she will usually have a system

they prefer be used, in order for them to get an accurate picture of what happened each month,

in your business.

For example, do they prefer you use QuickBooks? Or some other system of recording the
day to day information?

I've seen book keepers that had their own system that wasn't really accurate. Therefore, even

though the book keeper didn't cost much in salary... it cost tons of hourly fees on the accountant's

end, in order to clean up the "mistakes" that were made by that person, in QuickBooks.

Because of the internet, parts and labor pricing is all out the open
now. In other words, anyone with an internet connection has access to
the exact same information as you do.

That has pretty much made all repairs and maintenance a commodity,
in the customer's mind.

They believe everyone does oil changes. Anyone can do a strut job.

Therefore, customers think it all boils down to who has the best price.

So, the first and most critical question is:

Why should that customer use your shop rather than all the other
choices they have? (Can your service advisor answer this question
confidently?)

carolinahigear gave some great examples of what that looks like,
in their shop.

Now, here's the big takeaway:

The time to educate the customer about WHY they should use you is
throughout every step of the sale.

The biggest mistake I see is: service advisors are not armed with
a strategic, step-by-step method for doing that.

Then, when it comes time to sell the job, the customer hesitates
or questions the price or reaches for their phone to compare
your prices with your competition...

And now, the service advisor finds themselves, in a defensive position,
having to try and justify the price, after the fact.

All of the objection handling in the world cannot make up for
what really needed to be said earlier, throughout the sales process
to make sure that customer understands WHY they should use your
shop for this service and all of their automotive repair needs.

For some insights on how and what the customer is thinking, here are
a couple of videos:
https://youtu.be/-Uab-r8WJUs?list=PL7p4IMvCsbZolGwR0_8LmQFgFkHoyj6t3
https://youtu.be/yGrLq6cVHAU?list=PL7p4IMvCsbZolGwR0_8LmQFgFkHoyj6t3

Once you understand how the customer thinks, it will change your
business forever!

The fact that the site generated 1700 views with 700 calls
(2-3 calls per day on average) tells me:

1) the site is being found in the search engines or somehow
having traffic driven to it. That means the search engines like
the existing content.

2) the site has a strong enough "message" to have the visitor
motivated to pick up the phone.

If you were to start making changes to the existing content,
it will affect the rankings in the search engines and could
cut down on the traffic and calls you're currently getting.

Unless you have a strong education on how to structure a website
the search engines like so they drive traffic to a brick & mortar
business, like a repair shop, you're going to be at a disadvantage.

As for adding new content, what kind of content were you
thinking you needed to add?

As for images...
It could be helpful to use images of you, your staff, etc
rather than stock images. Most visitors to your website are
either existing customers looking for your phone number or...
prospective customers that are not loyal to a shop in your
town and looking for someone they can trust. So having real
images could make you appear more friendly and trustworthy.

By the way, what is the score you're referring to? I tried to
view your site and I'm getting an error message.

Rick,

Posting a topic is a great way to get help.

The best way to get clarity is to do an "audit" (as I call it). Doing
an audit will allow you to see where there are inefficiencies, either
in the bays or at the counter - or in both areas.

So, to do an audit by reviewing last week's tickets, please answer
the following questions:

How many tickets were billed out?

When you look at those repair orders, does the information and the jobs
that were sold on the estimates match the completed invoices?

What you're looking for first is...
Were there jobs that were sold that were not carried over and billed out?

Was the labor time calculated correctly on the estimates and the completed
invoices?

Also, is there a reason you believe the problem is related to parts delivery?
What is happening with parts deliveries that is causing you to think that
is a big issue? For example, if your tech is waiting on a part, what is he
doing while he's waiting for a part delivery?

And when you say you feel like you just ran around like crazy... what is
it specifically you are referring to?

Hi everyone,

 

I'm looking for feedback and specifically what experience you've had with the
warranty portion of the TECHNET program.

 

Have you used it? Have your customers used it? What is the response

time for towing, for example, when the customer used the nationwide coverage?

 

Have you had out-of-town customers referred or towed to your shop because
you are a TECHNET shop?

 

What has been the process been like for submitting a claim? Was it easy?

Were you reimbursed in a timely manner?

 

What about the road hazard warranty? Anyone selling their road hazard
warranty program?

 

Any information on your experiences would be helpful.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Michael,

Welcome aboard!

Conferences are a great way to learn new info from the
presenters and also to network with people.

Here's a quick story....
I was attending a conference, and during one of the breaks I met
a guy who shared an idea with me.

The end result was....

Two things came out of that short conversation in the hotel hallway.

1) That one idea he shared with me increased our sales by close to $60,000.

2) We started a business relationship and friendship that has benefited
both of us for many years.

There's no doubt in my mind you will meet a lot of sharp people.

Great pic!

There are a number of things to consider when it comes to
categorizing customers. If you are the shop owner and the
service advisor, you have total clarity on who you do or
do not want, as a customer.

It becomes a slippery slope when you have a service advisor
because now when it comes time to ask the service advisor
"why they didn't sell that job", the easiest excuse for
them becomes: That customer didn't fit the customer profile.

When that happens, you have nowhere to go from there, in
coaching your service advisor because now it's subjective,
meaning there is no clear-cut way of evaluating if that's
the real reason that job wasn't sold.

You would have sold the job but he believes the customer
profile was the reason he didn't sell the job. When that
happens, what could have been a learning opportunity for
him to realize what step(s) of the sale he missed...
now becomes the customer's fault he didn't get the job.

The excuses are endless:
"Waiters never buy."
"Coupon clippers never buy anything other than what's on the coupon."
"Waiting oil change customers never buy."
"Nobody is buying this time of the year, especially
people with kids."
Etc.
Etc.

In almost every case, the customer didn't buy because
the job wasn't sold correctly.

If you truly want to build a solid, predictable money-making business, here's
something to consider.

I know it's been taught for a number of years that you need to define your
customer profile. That's true to a point. For example, most shop owners do not
want to service the customer who brings in his own parts.

However, the customer who wants to wait in your waiting area for their lube,
oil & filter, is not necessarily a cheap customer who doesn't care about their
vehicle.

Let's face it. Customers have been conditioned for YEARS that auto repair shops
have a waiting area with coffee and a TV. (Even wifi, these days.)

So, based on that...
Assuming that waiters are not customers that care enough to spend money
for the maintenance of their vehicle is a misconception and is costing
you sales and profits.

The other issue to turning away waiters is it decreases your return of
investment for your marketing.

Think about it:
Marketing is about getting the customer to call or come in. If they respond
to your marketing, but then you're telling them you don't want their business
unless they are willing to leave their vehicle, it sends a mixed message.

Customers choose a shop based on a number of things and convenience
is very high on the list. Why make it hard for the customer to do business with you.

If you have trouble selling service, it's not the customer's fault. It's a problem
with your selling process.

Think about this: Customers only know three main things about their vehicles:
They need to put gas in it constantly, change the oil periodically and buy

tires occasionally.

The good news is: They're coming in to get their oil change from your shop.
It's up to the service advisor to use that oil change as an opportunity
to educate that customer - in a customer-friendly manner - what else
their vehicle needs to get the maximum life out of it.

The question is not how do we limit waiters. The question is: how do we
effectively sell legitimate repairs and scheduled maintenance to all customers,

including waiters?

We've discovered there are 3 common misperceptions about fleet work.

 

I posted an update to my blog, addressing those misperceptions, if you're interested:
http://www.autoshopowner.com/blog/16/entry-197-3-common-misperceptions-about-fleet-work/

Welcome aboard!

 

There's a ton of knowledge, information and experience you

can draw from the members here.

Hi everyone,

 

If you've been thinking about adding fleet work to your current business model,

please see my latest blog post:
http://www.autoshopowner.com/blog/16/entry-195-have-you-been-thinking-that-adding-fleet-work-would-be-a-good-addition-to-your-business/

Here's something else to consider. AAA recently published a recent report
that indicates the average customer spends $766.50 per year to service and
maintain their vehicle.

When you do that math, if your goal is to have a million dollar a year
business, you only need 1305 loyal customers spending all of their repair
and maintenance dollars with you.

Our experience is that number is very achievable.

However, here's what's standing in the way of that for many shops.

The Auto Care Association published a startling report, which revealed that
1 out of every 3 customers are doing research and/or getting a second
opinion after receiving a diagnostic about their vehicle.

That number goes up to 1 out of every 2 customers, when the vehicle
owner is between the ages of 18-44 years.

This tells us that these customers view auto repair shops as commodities.
We have done our own interviews and discovered this is true. The
typical driver believes everyone does oil changes. Anyone can do a
brake job. Anyone can mount a tire.

That means: the goal is to separate yourself from the pack when presenting
your diagnosis and estimate. Otherwise, the chances are very high, that
customer is going to look for a second opionion.

Here is a simple but powerful exercise that can really help clarify exactly
what's going on, in your business.

Pull out all of your tickets from the previous 6-8 weeks where you provided
a diagnosis or estimate. You're looking for services or repairs that were
safety-related and/or leaks.

This works best when you phone the customer and basically say to them,
"Mrs. Jones, I see you were in about a month ago. During that visit,
we discovered your water pump was leaking. Did you have this repaired?"

If they say yes and they had it done elsewhere, tell them you are looking to
improve your business and you want to do a better job of servicing your
customers. Then, ask them, "Would you mind sharing with me what was the
reason you chose the other company to do the work?"

Listen to what they say. What you are looking for is a pattern to the
feedback. For example, if they're choosing someone else because the
other shop was cheaper, it's an indication they see your business, as a
commodity, which means there's not enough value being communicated in
the sales process.

It's been our experience that most customers would rather pay for value,
but it's up to the business to communicate what sets them apart from
very other repair shop in the area. Otherwise, customers will choose the
lowest price, every time.

Here are the reports I referenced:
http://newsroom.aaa.com/2015/04/annual-cost-operate-vehicle-falls-8698-finds-aaa/
http://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/autocare/StateOfTheIndustry_Report/#/0

But the main thing that has increased our ARO is great sales techniques by our SAs. The techs can do fantastic checks, but it doesn't do any good if nobody sells it.

 

flacvabeach hit the nail on the head when he talks about the importance of your SA having great sales techniques.

 

The most important thing to remember is what Thomas Watson of IBM said, which was: "Nothing happens

until something gets sold."

 

In other words, all of your KPI numbers are controlled by what is communicated by your service advisor

at your counter or over the phone.

 

Today's customers are way different than even a few short years ago. The Auto Care Association recently

published a report that revealed: 1 out of 3 of all customers are doing research AFTER receiving a

diagnosis on their vehicle. That's BEFORE agreeing to have work done.

 

That number goes up to 1 out of 2 if the customer is between the ages of 18 and 44.

 

That means, your service advisor needs to know how to communicate two main things to the customer.

 

1) They need to be able to remove 100% of the doubt in the customer's mind that the work is legitimate.

2) Why YOUR shop is their best choice out of all of the options in your area to do the work.

 

It's been our experience that it doesn't matter whether you're using a digital inspection or a paper inspection.

At the end of the day, a digital or paper inspection is just a tool. Both can produce great results when used properly.

 

 

 

 

Here's the way to look at return on investment for any kind

of marketing.

 

If you're going to spend a thousand dollars a month, it needs

to generate five to ten thousand dollars a month in additional

trackable sales. (This number is based on a conservative net of
10-20% of gross sales.)

 

Based on that, the question becomes: On a scale of one to ten,
how good is your service advisor at converting phone calls

and walk-in's into scheduled appointments?

Then, once the vehicle is on the lift, how good is your service
advisor at selling that job and other legitimate work that may

be discovered?

NOTE: My math was incorrect and I've corrected it.

I want to make sure it's a worthwhile investment before taking that large of a plunge.

 

 

What are you wanting to accomplish by changing your website? Are you dissatisfied with the way your site looks?

 

Are you trying to get the phone to ring? Or something else entirely?

That's fine. We were all winging it at one time, until we got a little help.
One of my mentors used to say to me: "every master was once a disaster."
And that pretty much summed up my experience whenever I tried something new.

Inspections are a big subject but here's the down and dirty, condensed
version that can at least get you started, in thinking about them.

Inspections are required in order to service today's customers properly.

Here's why: The average age of the vehicles on the road today is 11 1/2 years old.
That's the oldest they've ever been in the history of the automobile.

That's a lot of mileage being racked up and a lot of parts wearing out and
failing every day. The problem is: your customers do not know what they need
to do to maintain their vehicle properly.

Here's what your customers know. It doesn't matter whether they are male or female,
most of them only know three things about their vehicle.

They know they have to but gas in it constantly, change the oil occasionally and
buy tires periodically. Everything else is a mystery and something to be dreaded.

They need a professional to take care of them. That's where you come in.

There's a number of other questions I would like to ask you about your situation.
Look for a message from me in your private messages.

Thanks for providing some insight as to what you're trying to do. That helps.
Based on that, I have a couple more questions.

Are you thinking that while you have that customer in there for an oil

change or whatever they came in for... that you could upsell them to a

fall special?

 

I see you have posted on your yelp page that you do an inspection when

your customers come in:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lakeside-tire-and-lube-dawsonville

What is your current process for this? In other words, what kind of

conversations are you typically having with customers about these inspections?

This is one of those "Center Of Influence" customers I have, his friends are the people you want for customers. I have others say yeah old so and so was telling me about you in the Country Club how good and honest you are. He things I hung the moon and can fix anything.

 

tirengolf,

 

I really liked reading your story! You are quite a story-teller

because I felt I was right there following along with how it unfolded.

 

This is a great reminder that servicing today's vehicles requires

an effort between the shop and the customer.

 

The customer doesn't know what information is important but listening

to what they say and/or being a detective is an invaluable skill that

goes a long way in helping to solve tricky issues, as you have described.

 

The other thing I took away from this is: every customer is a "Center

Of Influence" customer. Some just have a bigger center of influence

than others.

 

Great job getting to the bottom of it! It's hard to say what the payoff

will be because this guy could tell everyone in your town that YOUR

shop is the only one they should use for their vehicle needs.

What fall specials have you used and worked well for your shop? Detail what your specials consisted of and what you charged.

 

What is your intention for putting together specials? In other words, what is the

reason you're wanting to come up with some specials?

 

Are you wanting to attract new customers?

 

Or get your existing customers to come back in sooner than their next oil change?

 

If you could post your answers to those questions, we could help you come up

with something that's going to help you make money.

 

 

There is another recent thread here with some answers to this question.

http://www.autoshopowner.com/topic/10275-service-writer-online-training/#entry27403

 

Hope this helps.