Elon Block

When my granddaughter, Jenna, was about four years old, we were headed to the park playground.
And on the way, we stopped to pick up something from one of my clients.



As soon as we walked into the showroom, she slapped her hand over her nose and loudly said,
"Ewwww... what is that smell?"

1. Average vehicle is 11.5 years.
2. 12-plus-year-old vehicles will grow by 15 percent.
3. These vehicles are primarily serviced at independent repair facilities.

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with Goodyear's decision.

This is just one more change that's happening in this quick-moving industry.

So, what I always look at is "Where's the opportunity in this latest change?"

Which always leads me to the question of: What is the benefit to the customer

and what is the benefit to the shop?

The readers's digest version of this topic is:

No one can control the uncontrollable. Internet shoppers are not going to go away.

Customers of all ages (and all income levels) are turning to the internet to do
research before spending money for anything, including tires.

Think about it... Most customers do not understand anything about the auto repair

business. All they know is: it looks like they could save some time and money by

making a tire purchase online.

So, it's up to the auto repair shop staff to communicate to the customer while they are there...

How they can take care of all their service needs - not just the tire installation.

In other words, the smart tire dealers understand the big picture and know that selling tires

isn't just about tires.

The focus is all about gaining a loyal customer that will use their shop for all of their needs

for the rest of the time they own a vehicle. That's equal to thousands of dollars in sales from

that one customer.

I'm putting all my attention on helping auto repair shop owners make that happen.

These are the two recent announcements that have a lot of the Goodyear tire dealers worried that

something else is going to eat away at their customer base. In reality, the opposite is true, if

they know how to take advantage of it.
http://www.moderntiredealer.com/news/story/2015/01/goodyear-will-sell-tires-at-goodyear-com.aspx
http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/20150126/NEWS/150129933/cars-com-launches-repairpal-program-for-auto-dealers

Hi eveyrone!

As a result of the some of the recent changes, I'm preparing to hold a special webinar just for Goodyear tire dealers.

Please send me a private message if you would like to be notified when this has been scheduled.

Thank!

Elon

We use Sure Critic as part of the Mitchell Manager programs: http://www.surecritic.com/reviews/aj-foreign-auto

 

Even the not so nice reviews are meaningful, usually means we did not explain things very well!

 

The ones that kill me are the ones where they say we did a great job but they couldn't give us a 5 star review because they never give anyone 5 stars!!

 

I think they have a complex, just like I do .

Dave

Dave,

Yes, it's been my experience that most negative reviews mean something wasn't explained very well.

A sales tip is to have the service advisor ask the customer, at an appropriate time in the sales process:

"Do you have any questions about what we've talked about so far?"

That question is a real money-maker because usually the customer will have questions. And this

gives the customer permission to voice their concerns, questions, confusion, whatever.

The benefit is they are more likely to agree to have the work done because they will feel confident

in themselves in being able to make a decsion. (No one wants to make a bad, uneducated decision.)

Congrats on your new venture. Welcome aboard!

Hi everyone, hope everyone is finishing up their first quarter of 2015 strong!

I get lots of questions about what to do with reviews. Common questions are:
Do I really need to respond to the positive reviews?
How do I handle the negative ones?

In an effort to provide some tips, I put together an article with some recommended

best practices: The Love/Hate Relationship With Reviews

Let me know if you have any questions.

Congrats on the accomplishment and the recognition!

Reward programs work very well for restaurants and other businesses that fall into the

entertainment category because the whole idea is to get the customers to dine out

more often than they might otherwise - or dine out in your restaurant solely,
(instead of spreading your family's dining dollars out over many restaurants).

In the tire and auto repair business, your customers don't WANT to spend more

dollars than they have to. So, there may be a way to give a loyalty card instead,

such as buy 5 oil changes and get one free. But I'm not sure that's a marketing

strategy that beats providing the customer with killer service - so much so

that they automatically think of you and your shop - regardless of incentives.

Welcome aboard! Good luck with your business. It sounds like things are moving along nicely.

I thought I would have it replaced with an updated one before anyone noticed. Guess not.

Here's what happened.

Just like you get feedback from your customers, I get feedback. In fact, I constantly ask for

feedback because I want to always be in a position of getting better at what I do.

The back story of that video is..we have two categories of training videos. One category is
for the counter people and service advisors.

And the other category includes management videos for the owners.

When I originally posted that video, I had instructed my webmaster to take the actual sales
training module on "How To Sell Road Hazard" and add one of the management modules to

the beginning of it.

So, the end result was a combination of two training modules. That's what I had posted on

youtube for you folks.

Anyway, I received lots of great feedback on the training portion of the video - the actual

step-by-step, "How To Sell Road Hazard" part. I've had lots of people tell me they are selling

lots more road hazard than ever, as a result of using the sales strategy.

I also had a couple of people question what I meant in the management portion of the video,

when I said something along the lines of many sales people are using the "wing it and hope method" of selling.

I can see how that could be taken as being judgemental or critical. It was clearly a poor choice

of words on my part because I never intended it to be disrespectful.

In fact, I feel the opposite. What I really meant to point out is the fact that times have changed.

What used to work in selling service and tires no longer works with today's more educated,

internet-driven customers.

Even long-term customers no longer just throw you the keys and say "take care of it and call

me when it's done."

Even the most seasoned service advisors and service managers are battling to adjust their

selling methods to a customer that has the exact same labor and parts pricing information as you do.

Anyway, I said all of that to say this...

I have reviewed all of our materials, as a result of this very valuable feedback. The sales

modules do not need to be edited at all.

A couple of our management modules including the short excerpt I had provided for you

folks are in the process of being revised.

I will replace that video for you soon and will let you know when it's up.

UPDATE: The video is now here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzE5eJf07QtPVxjZ4r6zL0Q

Good point Elon.

 

I am still of a mind that this guy is a time waster. This person was a call in and actually had to call back to say he wanted the appointment. His exact words were "uhhhh.... I think I'll do it myself then thanks" during his first call. So you are going to perform an oil change on your back in 15 degree weather? Could he have had a heated garage? Possibly. The probability of that is minuscule. There has been a lot of talk about pre-qualifying customers by upfront charges of inspections and full value oil changes. I read an article and spoken to shop owners whom charge upwards of $200 for a 7 Liter Synthetic Oil Change. They call it a "minor service" and perform a comprehensive inspection, top off fluids etc. I am not saying I subscribe to this mentality necessarily however I can understand the mindset. If someone is not looking to spend $30 for an oil change LABOR (Filter is additional) and literally considered performing the oil change themselves in this frigid weather, how likely are they to buy? I agree you can go through 10 of these type and 9 of them will be a bust but 1 will maybe turn out to be half decent and not a time waster. We spend upwards for 45 minutes to 1 hours during an oil service which includes our inspection process. I just don't know if its worth my time investment to mine the good ones out of the time wasters if they even exist.

Okay, now that you and I both have "Made Stuff Up" (otherwise known as MSU)

about this customer and why he bought his own oil...

How do you find out if the guy needs your help in maintaining his vehicle?

I never like to ask questions that people can say NO to.

 

Can you elaborate on what you mean by this? What is it you're concerned about

if they say, "no"?

What do you guys think???

 

mspec, here's something to consider.

I've attended a lot of trainings throughout my years in the business and many of the trainers

have taught "tips and tricks to quickly determine who the tire kickers are - so we don't waste time

on people that aren't going to buy anyway."

Because these trainers were highly respected in the industry, I believed them. It actually made

sense to me. After all, why would I want to waste time and energy with someone who wasn't

to be a sale and help me hit my numbers.

Then one day, I read an article by Jim Rohn (now passed). He shared a story of being on a train.

And how he was sitting across from a man with two children that were loud, out of control,

screaming, and really being disruptive. Everyone on the train was aggravated.

After Jim listened to this loud noise for about 15 excruciating minutes , he leaned over the

aisle, thinking he could distract or entertain the children to quiet them down.

He said, "hi" to the father first. And as soon as he did, the man started crying. Then, the man

started apologizing for his children being unruly.

He told Jim, his wife had just died the day before and they were on the train ride to her parents

to make funeral arrangements. He said he knew the kids were loud, but he couldn't bring

himself to do anything about it. There is more to the story. But the reason I am sharing this

with you is:

That story changed my attitude about how I view people, in general. It taught me you never

know what is happening in a person's life.

What struck me as I read your post is for whatever reason this guy had bought his own oil.

Maybe he likes to work on his vehicle? He may like changing his oil. It gets him out from

under his wife's feet. And maybe he enjoys changing his oil, but as much as he likes to do it,

he decided it's too cold. So, he stopped in to speak with you about it. Hard to say. There

could be any number of reasons.

The bottom-line is... we have no idea what people's reasons are for doing things.

You get to run your business any way you like. You can help the guy out with his oil change.

And ask him if he would like you to do a courtesy inspection. This saves the mental

gymnastics of trying to figure out if he's going to spend any more money with you - or not.

We don't know. He could be the most connected person in your town. And if you take care

of him, this oil change could turn into tons of business for you. But no one will know

until you get the customer in for a conversation about his vehicle.

I love the when customers drop their vehicles off and come back after we've called them to let them know its finished. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen very often for "quick" services such as oil changes, inspections, etc. at our facility. For those of you that have been successful in educating your customers on dropping their vehicles off, do all of those customers have two vehicles/someone to always drop them off? A lot of our customers only have 1 vehicle and without getting someone to help them drop off their vehicle and take them back home/to work, it would be difficult for them to drop off their vehicle without waiting for the service. For major repairs, I would say that a lot of the general public has been trained properly in terms of duration of time it takes to get the job done properly and for us anyways, it seems easier for these types of customers to drop of their vehicles. For all of you that do appointments, does that mean you do not take walk in's for quick services (oil changes, inspections, etc.)?

By the way, I know some shops do use loaner cars. If you're going down that path,

you are going to want to seek professional advice from an attorney and your

insurance company (both of them for liability reasons). And you are going to want

to speak with your accountant, from an IRS and tax perspective because the

purchase of the cars and the related expenses have to be accounted for properly..

Curious if anyone does follow up surveys? Do you send them out yourself, is their certain criteria a customer has to meet to get a survey, do you mail them, do you email them, etc? How long do you wait to send one out? Do you use a third party company?

What are you trying to find out? If you want to find out how you're doing, it's been my experience,

the best way to do that is for you, as the owner, to contact your customers. I would do this by phone

because it's more personal. Following up with two or three a day will paint a pretty good picture.

And you can do that in a number of different ways. For example, you can randomly pick out a

number of customers that just had work done. Tell them you're following up and you really

want to know about their experience because you want to improve the business. People will

appreciate you wanting to get their opinion of how you're doing. Just ask them for honest feedback.

For example, "Did we meet your expectations?" "What could we have done better?"

The other very valuable thing to do is to call customers out of the unsold estimate pile. Especially

if the estimates were for safety-related items. Pick out estimates that are anywhere from 30-120 days old...

Find out: Did they get the work done? If they went elsewhere, what was the reason they went somewhere else.

They will tell you exactly what you need to know so you don't have to guess. In other words, this exercise

will help you find out "how am I really doing out there?" Their replies will give you all the answers you need

to know so you can tweak some things and get better.

If there were miscommunications, just apologize and then, thank them for their honest feedback. This is

not the time to get defensive or make excuses. The key is to be neutral and really listen to what they have to say.

Here's something to consider. In my humble opinion, using a blanket price matrix just doesn't
make sense any way you look at it. Because there's different distributor pricing structures,
in every region of the country. In addition to that, it's only a matter of time before one of
your customers spills the beans that your pricing is off.

Think about it... if you can call up your competition and get their pricing, so can your customers.
And they are.

So, here's another way to look at parts pricing: It's common knowledge that if you're buying
straight from the dealer, you're not necessarily going to get the best price...
unless that dealer is big into the wholesale side of it, which most aren't.

So, if you're buying a lot of dealer-sourced parts, you want to look for a wholesale distributor
for that brand. You want to find somebody out there who is hungry for your business. And
there's plenty of companies that are hungry for your business.

Here's how you do it. You call up the parts dept. And you talk to the parts manager. And
find out if they can help you out.

You say to them, "We're looking for a supplier. Can you help us?" See what they have to say.
You need to be guiding the conversation.

If they get off track and start talking about how long they've been in business and how they're
a family-owned business, tell them that's great and it still boils down to:
"How can you save me time?" Or "How can you make me money?"

If he/she can't give you an answer, then next.

The first time I learned this was when a Chevy dealer across town - 20 minutes away -
approached the shop I was managing. Up until that point, we were buying dealer parts
from the Chevy dealer closer to us. But we were getting creamed on price.

After negotiating a deal with the one that had approached us, we ended up being able
to buy parts that were priced 10-20% better than the closer dealer PLUS we got shotgun delivery service.

So, not only did we get better pricing, we got better delivery. Plus they had a better inventory
because they were in the wholesale game. I found out later, they made daily deliveries to shops
over an hour away.

So, the point is: those opportunities are out there. You may have to do some research and
make some phone calls. But it's going to affect your bottom-line and pay big dividends, so it's worth it.

Even if you're in the middle of a cornfield. Tires, parts, TBA distributors. Those opportunities are out there.

The Mighty brake program is another example. We used to make 75% GP on brake jobs because of
how we were BUYING: http://www.mightyautoparts.com/brake-pads-shoes

So, if you take the time to do some research and interview these companies - in a couple months time,
you'll be set up. And you'll be doing business with people that WANT your business.

In addition to that...
Some parts and tire companies are independently owned and even have a consignment program.
For example, if you want to see if you can sell some tires, get on a consignment program. It doesn't
cost you any money.

Bottom-line...
You make money when you buy - not when you sell. And as you said, if you're pricing yourself
out of the market, it's only a matter of time, when a customer gets wise to it and the next thing you know -

the whole town will know you're not competitive.

There are very few shoppers these days that are not using the internet and other means to make sure
they are paying a fair price for everything they buy, including auto repair. And they will not hesitate to
post reviews about their experience. So, trying to make an extra few bucks on one ticket could cost you

tens of thousands of dollars or more... down the road.

One more point...
If you're not selling a lot of dealer parts or in the rare situation where you can't get hooked up with a
warehouse distributor, just set your pricing at MSRP and forget it. You're making whatever it is just
to open up a box... whether it's 5-20%. Averaged out, you should still be able to hit a fair GP percentage average.

The real money is in the labor and the service you're providing and the long-term relationship with
your customers that view you as the trusted shop.

PS When it comes to buying parts, tires, supplies, etc., there are group buy opportunities and
plenty of other options we can talk about, if you want.

1 hour to 2015 and I am felling so excited for my shop in this new year. If you are new you must make it a habit to view this web site very often. ASO is so very powerful and I want to thank the creators and the members for giving me new life.

 

My name is Jeff and I own 2 companies. RI Used Tire and Used Tire Shop. Used Tire Shop is a software company I started a few years ago. It provides software for used tire shops to manage their inventory. I joined ASO thinking it would be a good venue to find new customers. I had no idea then what I had joined. After reading a few posts and attending a few Sunday night chats I was hooked. Fast forward 8 months.... I am changing my shop from RI Used Tire to RI Tire and Service. We are rapidly transforming into a customer service oriented complete car care facility. All because of this web site and its members. So thank you.

 

From all the help, support and leads we are now in service adviser training and our sales per car is climbing daily. We are helping people repair and maintain their vehicles in a calm orderly fashion. We are no where near perfect yet but we see a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel. I am learning how to manage a successful shop, my service adviser is learning how to treat customers and recommend needed services and my tech is busy and starting to make some money. I never thought this was possible.

 

Old members - Thank you.

New Members - Read, Ask, Learn and Contribute.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Jeff

Jeff, what I take away from your post is a sense of confidence. And clarity about where you want to go.

And HOW you're going to get there.

You said "We are helping people repair and maintain their vehicles in a calm orderly fashion. We are

no where near perfect yet but we see a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel."

And you said, "I am learning how to manage a successful shop, my service adviser is learning how to

treat customers and recommend needed services..."

Change is required for things to be different. Congratulations on the shift in how you're running your

business. It's great that you're already seeing results! At the rate you're going, you won't even

recognize your business in the next 60-90 days! Keep up the good work!

You've gotten some great suggestions already in this thread.

I've found that if you read some of the ads on http://www.indeed.com,
for example, especially by the big companies, you can get some ideas
for wording your ad.

Use common sense. Obviously, you would not use their ad word for word,
but you can use it as a template.

One of the key things to put in the ad is: "You're hiring because
you're growing!" Otherwise, people will be wondering in the back
of their mind... "why the other guy quit." Even if that's not the
case, it's more exciting - to the right person - if there is an
open position "because you're growing."

You can use craigslist. Depending on the area, you may get a
higher caliber applicant if you go through indeed.com, monster.com
careerbuilder.com. I also vote for the local VoTech and trade schools.

Now, let's talk "Positioning". In other words...
The ad is just part of the equation. How you interview is the other
important part. Meaning... the ad is meant to get them in for
the interview. What happens in the interview is critical.

Some common mistakes are: trying to sell the applicant on why they
should work for you. This makes you seem needy and possibly even
desperate. That's going to start the relationship off on the wrong foot.

What you want to do is have a list of questions that are important
to you... outside of their experience and qualifications.

These questions need to be delivered one at a time, in a neutral,
conversational manner - not like you're a police officer, doing an
interrogation. You're more like Colombo, coming from a place

of curiosity. Because let's face it... you are curious about all

of these things.

What made them get into auto repair, to begin with?

What do they like about working on cars?
What don't they like about it?

What was it about the ad that caught your attention?

What do they like about working where they are currently working?
What don't they like about working where they are currently working?

Why are they looking to make a change?

What are they looking for in the next place they work?

What is their greatest strength?

What is their greatest weakness?

Why do you want to work here?

What is their current pay plan? What do they like about it?
What don't they like about it?

What was the last training you attended? What was the biggest
thing you learned that made a difference at your job?

These are just some examples, but what you are looking for
as you listen to the responses is:

What are the reasons I SHOULDN'T hire this person?

This is opposite of what bosses are usually thinking when they
are looking to hire people. And it makes all the difference
in the world.

You would rather find out NOW, in the interview... what his/her
quirks are. We all have them... it just matters if the ones he/she

has are deal breakers.

Plus as you're having this conversation with them, you're making
them WANT to work there, as opposed to you SELLING them on working there.

As much as you really, really need someone because of your new plans
for 2015... you do not want the applicants to KNOW you need them.

PS Only if you really like the person, do you tell them much

about the job, your culture, your philosophy, how you pay, etc.
Otherwise, it's pointless and a waste of everyone's time.

You can say to them...
"I really appreciate you coming in. I have other interviews. I'll get
back to you if I want you to come in for a second interview."

I've adopted a new policy because of this post and I want to thank usedtireshop. They pull up "I need air" now I respond no problem we'll get you right in and check your tires. Car goes on the lift. If they are all uniformly down a few psi we top them up, check the condition, take a look in at the brakes and suspension and out it goes. "No charge" and the customer feels like we care, we even got a tip yesterday. If something's wrong its a great opportunity to sell a tire, the car is already on the lift. Filling tires in the parking lot was a loser for us.

Great job turning what appears at first glance to be a situation where it could seem like

the customer is trying to get over on you. And understanding it as an opportunity to get a new customer.

Adopting this new policy can add thousands to your bottom-line.

Think about it...

They're showing up at the door and you didn't have to spend hundreds of dollars in marketing

to get them there. That person now views your shop as the shop that cares and is trustworthy.

There's a really good chance when they need service or tires, they're going to think of you

because you took care of them.

And... if they're like most people... they're telling other people about how they were treated.

You taking care of them is like throwing a stone in the pond. You just don't know who they

know or how many people they will tell, about their experience with you and your shop.

I understand. It's frustrating trying to figure out what the solution is. The uncertainty of

not knowing whether you're going to have work or not is scary to say the least.

And it seems like there's lot of information out there when it comes to running a

profitable auto repair business.

Some of it's good. Some of it's not so good. So, it's not your fault if you've tried various

things that didn't work because they make it sound so appealing.

For example, you've got all the companies trying to sell you marketing gimmicks such as

couponing and loss leader advertising. Discounting your services is not the way to grow

your business or your paycheck.

And it's easy to see the articles in the industry magazines that brag about a shop's ARO

but if you look at their business model and/or their reviews.... everything is not always what it appears to be.

So, focusing on the main thing which is: you're getting paid to solve problems, is the only way to go.

Customer comes in for an oil change. Offer courtesy inspection. If nothing needs to be done. Thank them

and tell them you'll see them at their next LOF interval.

If something needs to be done... even IF it's the guy that is behind on maintenance, take the

list of items discovered by your tech and PRIORITIZE the findings for the customer so that:

#1, they don't feel like you are using this opportunity to take advantage of them, which is their worst fear.

#2, you HELP the customer to take this short list of things that need to be taken care of and

chunk it down so they can begin to bring the car back to good operating condition.

If you don't prioritze the findings for the customer... they're going to be overwhelmed and confused at

why they are even able to drive the car considering the long laundry list of things they were just told needs to be done.

Now, using this as your basic business model does require you have processes in place.

For example... you need to have your pricing set up so that you get paid for your expertise

and the customer feels like they are getting a fair price.

Anytime it's not a win-win... someone's going to be resentful.

Shop owners have a gold mine if you're surrounded by box stores, dealerships and large chains

that are doing a poor job. Your competition is your best advertisement.

Because all you have to do is do just a little bit better and treat people right and you'll have bays

full of PROFITABLE jobs and a booked appointment calendar.

What would it be like to be able to legitimately say to anyone that calls or stops in...

"Let me look at the schedule and see when I can squeeze you in."

And then, tell them the first available time for their oil change is next week?

That's absolutely doable... but only if your business is set up so that it's customer-based -

not transaction-based.

I am not talking about giving anything away here.

It's the shop that's perceived as the most trust-worthy - that wins.

And the way you do that is you treat your customers the same way you would if they were

a good friend or family member. And treat each vehicle as if it were your own. (The question

you would ask yourself... "if this were my own vehicle, how would I maintain it. How would I repair it?")

It's not the shop with the biggest ARO that wins. It's the shop with the largest number of

loyal customers coming week in - week out. Month in - month out. Until that becomes the focus...

the struggle will continue.

Think about it... you only need less than 1500 LOYAL customers spending the national

average of $750 year - with YOU - to have a million dollar business.

That's the number to focus on.