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Elite Worldwide Inc.

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Blog Entries posted by Elite Worldwide Inc.

  1. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    In the world of auto repair, one thing is for certain: Every shop in your community has their eye on your customers. So in order to keep your customers, there are a number of things you will need to do. Here are 6 tips that will bring you amazing results:

    #1. Make sure that you deliver on the customer’s expectations, and whenever possible, that you exceed those expectations. Simply put, fix the car right the first time, make the experience as pleasant as possible, help your customers see the value in your services, and over-deliver at every opportunity.

    #2. At the point of car delivery, go well beyond what your competitors do. You need to resell the customer on their decision, assure them that their problem has been solved, and review their repair order in detail. During the “sales process” you need to put the focus on the benefits of the service rather than the price, but at time of car delivery you need to ensure that they understand what they bought, and how much they paid for the services. You then need to offer them the opportunity to inspect their old parts (or return their old parts back to them), review the warranty, discuss anything they will need to monitor or do once they leave, schedule their next appointment, and thank them for their trust in you.

    #3. When scheduling the next appointment, rather than asking when they would like to schedule it, be presumptive and tentatively set the date and time for them. If and when they tell you they are unsure if they will be available on that date, just tell them “No worries, Mr. Butitta. We’ll be sending you a reminder card the week before, and we’ll give you a reminder call as well. If you need to reschedule, it’ll be no problem at all - we can simply reschedule the appointment for you at that time. The benefit of doing it this way is that there’s nothing you’ll need to remember, because we’ll remember for you.”

    #4. Sell the benefits of the next service at the time of car delivery. Rather than just telling the customer that they’ll be due for a cooling system service in 6 months, help them see the value by explaining how that service will save them money, time, etc. If they feel the only reason to return is because you told them they need to, you’ll see far fewer returning customers, because they will feel they will be spending money, and getting little, if anything, in return.

    #5. Build relationships. Regardless of how well you build value in their next visit, customers will be far more prone to returning to your shop if they feel there is someone there they will enjoy seeing again. Remember the Elite rule: When people buy a product, they will always remember the product, but when they buy a service, they will always remember the people that provided the service.

    #6. Stay in touch. Beyond a customer follow-up program, you need to ensure your customers are exposed to your brand on a continual basis. This means you need to invest in your brand building campaigns, and be integrated into your community in every way that you can.

    In closing, all the reward programs and slick marketing gimmicks will always pale in comparison to one simple business philosophy: Provide a great service at a competitive price, build relationships with every customer, and live by the principle of never putting money ahead of people.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite (www.EliteWorldwide.com), a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses.
  2. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Doris Barnes of Elite

    We can all agree that generating happy customers is critical to the success of your shop. Below you’ll find 5 tips that are going to help you do just that. Apply them, and you’ll be pleased to see the positive results that come from making just a few simple changes!

    1. Find as many things in common with your customers as possible. Think about your closest friends for a minute. Why do you connect? You connect with them because of the things you share in common, right? As sales professionals, we need to get really good at finding common ground with our customers. When I was an advisor, I would always use conversation starters that were dear to my heart. I love my family, so would bring up the customer’s family at the first available opportunity. Be very careful, however, not to choose a subject that you know nothing about, or that you feel no passion for. For example, if you don’t love kids, it’s not a good idea to start taking about their kids. Your customers will always pick up on flattery vs. true intent.

    2. Listen intently to your customers and take notes. When asking your customers questions at the beginning of the sales process, make sure to listen intently and make mental notes that you can convert into actual written notes. The points and concerns that your customers vocalize are the ones that truly matter to them. So when you call your customers back with information on their vehicle inspection, it is wise to bring up their concerns immediately, before ANYTHING else is mentioned. For example, start the conversation with something like, “Mr. Jones, before I go any further, I know that the most important things we need to address are your brake squeak, and getting your car back to you by 4:00 so that you can pick up your son from practice. Is that right?” We win big when we truly listen to what is important to our customers, and when our customers realize that we genuinely care about their needs and concerns.

    3. Do personal follow-up calls the day after delivery. As an advisor, I would call my customers the day after they picked up their vehicles to make sure that every part of their experience met with their expectations. I realize that you may not be able to do this with every customer, but you should make a habit of reaching out to as many as time allows. You may want to start by just contacting 5 per day, and working up from there. Before starting on your follow-up calls, make notes about any small or large customer issues that you are aware of, and of course, call these customers first. The more personal the service experience, the better! After all, people do business with people, not with businesses.

    4. Follow through with promises…always! It is so important to follow through 100% of the time. I know that we all get busy, but in a world where our success is dependent on customer satisfaction, we need to establish trust. If you tell a customer that you will call them at a certain time, deliver on that promise. If you tell them that you will wash their wheels and windows…deliver. Once your customers see that you always follow through, they will undoubtedly admire your character. An even better tactic is to make a habit of under promising and over delivering! If that wheel and window wash job is the expectation, deliver the car with the interior sparkling clean as well! Big bonus points!

    5. Always set expectations for customer follow up. One thing’s for certain: This will have a huge impact on your level of customer satisfaction. Time and time again I’ve seen advisors get into trouble with this. Our customers’ time is valuable, and if we recognize this, we will hit a home run every time. When I was an advisor, I would be sure to tell each customer something like, “Mr. Jones, you have my promise: I will call you the very instant I have news for you. I wouldn’t bother calling any sooner because I will not have any answers. I can assure you, however, that if you need your vehicle by 5:00, I will make that happen.” This conversation does two things: It frees up your time by helping you avoid repeat phone calls, and lets your customers know what they can expect from you.

    Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. I truly hope that you are able to apply these tips to improve your CSI scores, and generate happy customers each and every time.

    This article was written by Doris Barnes, Elite's Director of Customer Relations, who is also one of the industry leading sales trainers that helps service advisors through Elite's Masters Service Advisor Training Program.

  3. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper

    Over the past one hundred plus years marketing strategies, and the brands that were built, were developed by two entities: The client, and the ad agency. The client would tell the agency how they envisioned their brand, and the agency would develop the advertising campaigns that would create that very same image in the minds of the targeted consumers. The tobacco companies wanted to create brands that would cause a consumer to feel good when they used their products, and the ad agencies did a great job of achieving this objective. Volvo wanted to create a brand that reflected safety, and as we all know, just about every Volvo ad sends that very same message. After one hundred plus years, that systematic method of brand creation is now dead. Not just for companies like the above, but for auto repair shops just like yours. Let me explain what has happened.

    The ability to create a brand is no longer under the control of a product or service provider, nor the ad agencies. In today’s world brands are now created by one entity more than any other, and that entity is social media. The way your shop is going to be perceived in your community is based on what is being said about you, your company and your employees on social media websites. You may believe that you provide a great service, and that your technicians are second to none. You may also invest a lot of your hard-earned money into advertising programs to try to get that message (brand) into the minds of your targeted customers. But in reality, if the chatter in social media says that you overcharge, or that you don’t live up to promised completion times, then whether you like it or not, that will become your brand.

    So here are my recommendations. First of all, accept the fact that social media is here to stay, and it is where your brand is going to be built. Secondly, you should create a plan that will have a positive impact on what is being said about you and your shop on social media sites. Obviously there are a number of things you can do, but nothing will ever trump extraordinary service. The reason companies like Nordstrom, Zappos shoes and Starbucks have such extraordinary reputations (brands) is because they deliver extraordinary service. I would strongly encourage you to review every customer touch point from fielding that first call through your customer follow-up calls, looking for ways to improve the entire customer experience.

    Lastly, I am going to suggest you do something that your competitors would never dream of doing, and that is invest 20% of your ad budget into the customer experience. This means investing in the customer waiting area, your shuttle service, refreshments, extended warranties, customer follow-up and the plan you have in place for dealing with disgruntled customers. The Marriott Corporation discovered that they were getting higher CSI scores from customers they dropped the ball with, yet the customer was pleased with the resolution, than from those who had flawless stays at the Marriott. The lesson they learned? When a mistake is made people typically don’t expect a resolution that will make them smile, so when they are completely satisfied, they are pleasantly surprised. This is why the Marriott immediately allocated a good percentage of their training resources to dealing with customers who had a bad experience. Without question, you should do the same.

    In closing, brands are no longer built on Wall Street, but in today’s world they are being built each and every day on the web. I can only hope we all agree that social media is here to stay, so you need to invest in making the customer experience incredibly positive, because if you do, your customers will do what agencies used to do, and create an extraordinary brand for you.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while having a positive impact on their employees, customers and communities. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.

  4. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper

    Far too many shop owners hire service advisors who they feel are good at what they do, and then prefer to “get out of their way and let them do their thing.” Unfortunately, that’s a mistake. Now I am not suggesting that you need to micromanage your advisors, or any of your employees. However, over the years I have employed many of the top advisors in America, and through our service advisor training courses I have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of the industry superstars, so I can tell you from first-hand experience that if you want to turn your advisors into superstars, then it’s no different from grooming world class racehorses. They unquestionably need proper care and attention. So here are some tips that you can use as a guide to help you turn your advisors into superstars.

    1. Make sure you have the right people on your team. When it comes to service advisors, as with all of your employees, you need to look for attitude, aptitude and ethics. If they are missing any of the three, you and your company are going to struggle. You also need to make sure that they have the natural talent to sell. Please don’t confuse talent with skill, which is a learned behavior. Talent is the natural ability to do things exceptionally well. The talents I look for in service advisors are the natural ability to engage people in a conversation, quick-wittedness, and a natural smile. Provide people who have these talents with the training and guidance they need to develop the necessary skills, and they can take you and your business right to the top.

    2. Set clear expectations. Obviously you need to have clearly defined monthly performance goals, but beyond that, you need to break those goals down into weekly and daily sales and car count goals. This way your service advisors will know exactly what they need to accomplish by the end of the day in order to view their performance as a success. As with managing any employee, you also need to have clearly defined minimum levels of acceptable performance in place, with deadlines.

    3. For advisors to excel, they need to work in an environment that has clearly defined inspection processes in place. These processes should include vehicle inspection procedures, and the documentation of all discoveries. Your advisors should also be required to accurately estimate all of the discovered services, and fully disclose all discoveries to your customers. Any failure in this regard will cost you in lost automotive repair sales, vehicle failures, and ultimately, in damage to the reputation of your business. This is why clearly defined inspection processes are an absolute must.

    4. Make sure that you are providing your advisors with the right tools. They need a robust repair shop management software program, feature-rich warranties that they can use as sales tools, point-of-sale items they can use to get your customers visually involved (such as fluid samples), and third party financing options. They also need techs that can produce, daily goal sheets to track their performance throughout the day, and digital voice recorders so they can critique their own sales presentations. In addition, they need to have quick-reference guides that list the benefits of your most common services. This way, your advisors can review the guide prior to presenting their recommendations to your customers. For example, under the “maintenance” heading you would list: protects the vehicle warranty, prevents costly breakdowns, maximizes fuel economy, maximizes the resale value of the vehicle, etc.

    5. Service advisors need to have their performances monitored and measured, and they need consistent feedback. At Elite we recommend that owners (or managers) perform a repair order review with their advisors at least once a week. The purpose of the review should be to analyze the declined sales, and have a dialogue about what could have been done differently to close the sales. As a manager, you should also use this time as an opportunity to reinforce your commitment to ethics and customer satisfaction.

    6. As is true of all professionals, advisors need ongoing training. In order to stay at the top of their game, they should be sharpening their skills with a sales course at least once a year.

    Most importantly, as a shop owner (or manager) you need to make a point of feeding the hearts of your service advisors. By catching them doing things right and providing them with the appropriate praise and recognition, you will be creating happier advisors who are more determined to help you and your company reach your goals.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite (www.EliteWorldwide.com), a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses.
  5. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    Most shop owners have learned a lot from their mentors, including the importance of listening to their customers, fixing cars right the first time, and never putting money ahead of people. Unfortunately, in far too many cases their mentors pass on some information that actually shouldn’t be followed. The most common example, which we see on a daily basis at Elite, is misinformation on how a shop owner should properly advertise. I am not suggesting that their mentors didn’t have good intentions when they passed their advertising guidance along, but it is safe to say that in most cases their advertising knowledge was obtained through their own trial and error, rather than marketing research.
    At Elite we know there are a lot of people outside of our industry that we can learn from, so reach out to the top universities in America in order to discover what they have learn from world-class companies like Starbucks and Apple when it comes to marketing. While the insights from these experts are usually reserved for our coaching clients, I wanted to pass along one discovery that I feel every shop owner needs to be aware of, as it may very well change the way you market your shop.
    In the most general sense, in the world of marketing there are two forms of advertising: Brand awareness, and CTA (Call to Action). Examples of brand awareness advertising include key chains, glove box folders, outdoor signs and sponsoring community events, while CTA campaigns like direct mailings, online coupons, etc. encourage immediate action (offering a special price or service package, for example). As I am sure you are aware, the overwhelming majority of shop owners invest almost all of their advertising budgets into CTA campaigns for one simple reason: they will predictably see immediate results in the form of phone calls and new customers. However, most shop owners are unaware that study after study done by leading universities has consistently drawn the same conclusion – You will get a better return on your investment with brand awareness than with CTA ads.
    The mistake we see most shop owners make is they will start a brand awareness campaign (such as signs at sporting events in their community), but then they’ll pull those signs in a few months because they feel that few, if any, customers have come into the shop because of the signs. What they overlook is how many people saw those signs, and the impact it will have on those potential customers when they are in need of service. While you will not see the results as quickly with brand awareness advertising as you will with CTA campaigns, you will not only see a better ROI in the long run, but the added benefit of brand awareness campaigns is that they put the focus of your potential customer on your brand… rather than on a price.
    At Elite we encourage all of our clients to embrace brand awareness campaigns, and to wean themselves off of their dependency on costly CTA campaigns. Is there a place for CTA campaigns in the auto repair business? You bet! But please don’t make the mistake that so many shop owners make, and rely solely on CTA ads.
    So do this: Identify your ideal customer, put together a well-designed brand awareness strategy that will reach your targeted customer, and stick with it. If you do, you will be thrilled with the results.
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  6. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    Most service advisors fall into one of three traps with first-time customers: they’ll either avoid recommending a complete inspection, they’ll try to bundle the inspection into a service, or they’ll just inspect the vehicle without the owner’s permission. Unfortunately, all of these approaches can jeopardize the customer experience, and reflect poorly on your shop. Let’s take a look at each one…
    The service advisors who shy away from recommending a complete inspection to first-time customers are typically doing so for one of two reasons: either they’re afraid that they might find something and will have to sell the customer on that service, or they’re afraid that the customer will think that they are on the hunt for additional dollars. These are the advisors who will typically tell their technicians, “He’s a first-time customer and I don't want to scare him away, so let’s just do the oil service he brought the vehicle in for. We can catch the other things the next time he comes back.” In either case this is a disservice to the customer, and a disservice to your business. Regardless of why the service advisor is afraid to sell, your customers may very well leave and be completely unaware of the risk they are taking with their vehicles, and in some cases, with their lives. Everyone loses in this scenario.
     
    The second trap service advisors fall into is trying to “bundle” the inspection. This is when the advisor tells your customers that the oil service, or whatever they brought their vehicle in for, “includes” a complimentary safety or vehicle inspection. What these advisors don’t understand is that telling your customers that an inspection is “included”, is no different than telling them you are on the hunt for dollars. There’s no doubt about it: you lose with this approach as well.
     
    The third trap advisors fall into is saying nothing at all about an inspection, then telling your customers that while doing the oil service they also inspected other things, and discovered that those other things need attention as well. Unfortunately, your customers are now under the impression that you have been doing things to their vehicle that they haven’t authorized.
     
    What’s the secret to selling complete vehicle inspections to first-time customers? It’s really pretty simple. Since fear is the primary emotion that drives most first-time customers, the first thing you need to do is put the customer at ease. You can do this by smiling, and engaging them in a friendly dialogue about their family, work, etc., when you first meet them. It’s called building rapport. Then, just like a doctor learning about the medical history of a first-time patient, you need to learn as much as you can about the service and repair history of their vehicle. This will typically raise questions about the vehicle’s service history, which will provide you with a great opportunity to build value in your inspection.
     
    You can further build value in your inspection by painting mental pictures, and putting their fears that you’re going to “try to sell them something” to rest. One way of accomplishing this goal is to close out your presentation by saying that when they pick up their vehicle, you’ll provide them with detailed notes on anything that was discovered during the inspection.
     
    When we are discussing this subject with shop owners, or advisors, we tell them that they need to approach their customers in the same way that a good doctor would recommend a complete physical to a first-time patient. Rather than raising the anxiety of the patient, the good doctors will actually put the patient at ease by taking the time to properly build rapport. They’ll tell the patient that odds are there’s nothing they're going to discover that will be of concern, that it’s a great way to take care of our bodies, and that the physical will help the patient remain healthy for a long time. Ironically, it’s no different with your patients. Just think of the vehicle as your “patient”, and the owner as a concerned parent. If you take this approach, you have my promise: you’ll be thrilled with the results, because your sales, your customer satisfaction, and your profits will all go straight up.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while having a positive impact on their employees, customers and communities. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  7. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    Superstar shop owner and Elite Business Development Coach Greg Skolnik shares a tip on managing payroll and staying prepared in case of emergencies.
    For additional help building a more successful auto repair business, learn how you can team up with a superstar shop owner like Greg through Elite Top Shop 360: Top Shop 360
  8. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper

    Now that we are coming into the holiday season, there are a number of things you can do to drive up productivity, sales, customer satisfaction and profits. Each one of the below tips worked wonders for me when I was still in the auto repair business, and they are still effective today for many of our coaching clients, so I know they can work for you as well.

    1. End of Year Performance Bonuses – All that you need to do is set a sales goal for the end of the year, and then tell your entire staff that if the goal is reached by December 31st, they will be entitled to a really nice bonus. You can also tell your techs that if they reach certain productivity goals, you will give them a predetermined amount of credit that they can use on their favorite tool truck.

    2. Schedule a Holiday Season Charity Drive – Pick a charity (or cause) that is close to your heart, and that will reach the hearts of your ideal customers. Examples would be the US Marine Corps Toy for Tots campaign, food for the homeless, and fundraisers for life-threatening illnesses, local humane societies and the Wounded Warriors Foundation. By raising money for these types of organizations you’ll not only be helping a worthy cause, but you will be connecting with people who may very well be your ideal customers. In my case, we took out full-page ads in local publications notifying our community that we were collecting toys for battered children who were in protected safe houses, and the stream of donors who came through our doors was overwhelming. Nowhere in the ads was there any promotion of our company or services. It was all about the battered children, and how others could help by simply dropping off the much-needed toys.

    3. Send the right greeting cards – Identify your top customers, and then rather than sending them one of the typical pre-printed holiday season cards, send them a nice boutique card with a hand-written message inside. All that you will need to do is go to a local card shop that sells really nice cards that are blank inside, and then find the cards that best reflect the holiday season. Then write a short, handwritten message inside that comes from your heart. You have my promise; your cards will be absolute standouts that will send a powerful message to your customers that you really do care about them.

    4. Make those phone calls – As we all know, there are certain customers in every business that rise well above all others. You should make a list of those people, and then call them to personally wish them a happy holiday season.

    5. Place a ribbon on each computer screen - The reason I did this at the shops I owned was to remind my advisors to wish each and every customer a happy holiday at the point of car delivery. I’m not suggesting a quick “Happy Holidays”, but rather am recommending that your advisors take a minute to pass on a heart-felt message to their customers, and then ask those customers to pass the message on to their families as well.

    6. Gifts to key customers – I am not recommending that you give gifts to everyone, but to those customers who are particularly special in many ways. In those cases, you may want to give them a beautiful book that contains images of wildlife, nature, etc. along with a personalized message from you written inside.

    7. Give to those who serve – Whether it be to the police and fire departments, or to the doctors and nurses who work in the hospital ICU’s during the holiday season, by giving those who serve a beautiful gift basket of fruit, candies, etc., you will be rewarding those who have earned it through their service, while sending a powerful message about the type of person you are.

    If you apply these tips to your business, you have my promise; not only will your sales, customer satisfaction scores and profits go up, but you will be separating yourself from your competitors in ways that will help you build a more profitable, successful business for years to come.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite (www.EliteWorldwide.com), a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses.
  9. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    Superstar shop owner and Elite Business Development Coach Rudi Rudloff shares a tip on technician training that is not only remarkably effective, but cost-free for your auto repair business.
     
    For additional help building a more successful auto repair business, learn how you can team up with a superstar shop owner like Rudi through Elite Top Shop 360: Top Shop 360
  10. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper

    I am sure we can all agree that our industry, and society, has been going through quite a transformation. One of the changes that’s had an extraordinary impact, and will have an even bigger impact in the coming years, is transparency. Not only do today’s consumers have an expectation of transparency, but they have access to pricing information that was beyond our wildest dreams just a few short years ago.

    Just look at all the major retailers. With rare exception, you can walk into any consumer electronic store, appliance store, or in many cases even the home goods stores, and you’ll find that they not only offer price matching, but they put their price guarantees front and center. This is a growing trend, and there is no question that it comes from one source. The retailers are very well aware that their customers have something they never had in the past – access to pricing information that is literally at their fingertips. So here’s my recommendation to you as a shop owner: take a different path than your competitors. First of all, we all know that in order to operate a successful auto repair shop you need to maintain a certain level of gross profit. Accordingly, what most shop owners will do is establish gross profit margins on their parts, and they’ll typically set a different gross profit margin on their direct labor. The common numbers are 50% on parts, and 70% on labor. Combine the two together, and they get the overall gross profit they are looking for. As you can imagine, this is what they learned from their mentors, and although it worked in the past, the times have changed.

    In today’s transparent world, one of the first things customers will scrutinize is the price of the parts you have installed on their vehicles. Now we all know that well-skilled service advisors can take the focus off of the price when providing a service recommendation, and we know they can do a reasonable job in answering questions about their part prices, but no matter how skilled they are, I am sure you will agree; it’s a tough sale at best. So consider this scenario….

    There are two shops performing the same repair on identical vehicles, and each shop charges $1,000.00 for the repair. The only difference between the two jobs is that Larry’s Auto charged $500 for the parts and $500 for the labor, whereas Elite Auto Service charged $400 for the parts and $600 for the labor. If Larry’s customer discovers he could have bought the parts for substantially less, and questions the integrity of Larry’s price, then Larry is in trouble. On the other hand, by being more competitive with part pricing, Elite’s customer is comfortable with the price he paid for his parts. Now at this point I know what some of you are more than likely thinking; what if the customer questions the labor charge at Elite? If that question is going through your mind, all that you need to do is ask yourself if you’d rather defend the price you charged for the service provided by your talented technicians, or the price of your parts? For me, that’s an easy question to answer, and the best example I can give you would be the fees charged by physicians. You and I may expect the price of bandages and medicine to be the same between two doctors, but we know we’ll be paying more if we see a leading surgeon. Not only would we expect to pay more, but we’ll probably feel good knowing that we are being cared for by the best.

    In summary, in the customer’s mind parts are parts, but as we all know, those superstar techs who work with you can’t be compared to the guys down the street. This is why I strongly encourage you to ensure that your high profiled parts are competitively priced, and make up the difference in your labor charges. It will keep you competitive, and better ensure your success in the coming years.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com
  11. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Jim Piraino
    Far too many shop owners will set an annual sales goal, and then simply divide that number by 12 to set their monthly goals. However, since this approach does not take the number of work days in each month into account, it is not the way that you should be setting your monthly goals, especially if your service advisors receive a bonus for hitting and/or surpassing monthly goals. With that said, I would suggest setting your shop’s monthly sales goals using the following method….

    Grab a calendar and calculate how many days your shop will be open and operating during the year. Typically this number will be about 254 if you are closed on the weekends (365 days per year – 104 weekend days – 7 holidays= 254). You can further adjust for technician vacations if you’d like, but for our purposes, let’s use 254.

    Next, divide your annual sales goal by the number of days you’ll be open during the year to calculate a daily sales goal. So if your annual sales goal is $1,200,000, divide that number by the 254 days you’ll be open to arrive at a daily sales goal of $4,724.41. When you’ve arrived at your daily sales goal, it’s time to set your monthly sales goals by multiplying your daily sales goal by the number of work days your shop will be open in each month. 

    Calculating your monthly sales goals using this method will give you a much better idea of your shop’s performance each month than if you were to simply divide the annual goal by 12, and will give you a number that’s more fair to base your advisors’ bonuses on, so I would strongly recommend trying out this approach in your shop.

    This tip was provided by Jim Piraino of Elite. Jim is the past owner of one of the top shops in the country, and currently helps shop owners reach their goals through the Elite Coaching Program.
     
  12. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper
    The top shop owners in America have a number of things in common. They were the first to embrace the incredible value in utilizing exchange rebuilt components, rather than trying to repair all the components themselves. They were also the first to provide their customers with extended warranties on their repairs, and they geared up for selling maintenance service while all of their competitors were still living in the world of repair. You may call them forward thinkers, but one thing for certain is that they embrace the future long before it arrives.
    Today cars are better-built, they are requiring less repair and maintenance, and the dealerships are continuing their attempt to conquer the service business. So the question is: What opportunities will be available for you in the coming years? Well, the services you do offer will certainly be your personal choices, but considering the current state of our industry, and all the indicators of our future, I see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for shop owners.
    In the coming years there will be an absolute explosion that will take place in the vehicle infotainment industry. I am referring to the mixture of onboard data such as onboard diagnostics, guidance systems and vehicle control features, and the entertainment/communication features such as Wi-Fi, voice texting and audio/video systems. Just step inside of any new car showroom, or watch any car company ad, and you will clearly see that the car companies are competing in the field of infotainment far more than for anything that is mechanical in nature. What I find interesting is that the world of infotainment is one space that is virtually void of competition among independent shops at this time, and it is wide open to shop owners who are willing to embrace the future.
    There is no doubt in my mind why shop owners have not yet shown any interest in this explosive opportunity. Simply put, they feel they don’t need to offer infotainment services today, and they are fearful of the unknown, which in this case is the complexity of the technology. For those of you who may share these feelings, I would like to remind you that there was a time when shop owners were deathly afraid of automatic transmissions, there was a time when they were afraid of fully electronic ignition systems, and there was even a time when they were afraid of things as simple as disc brakes.  As we all well know, the shop owners who took on those early challenges were able to build remarkable businesses.
    So here are my recommendations. Start the process by exploring how you can better help your current customers by installing and servicing infotainment components. The manufacturers are currently filling the streets with technology-laden vehicles, and beyond the opportunity to install additional equipment in today’s vehicles, the components in all of those new vehicles will inevitably do one thing: They will fail. The question is, who will be performing those repairs, and if not you, why not you?
    In closing, I would like to leave you with this thought:  When speaking of investment strategy, at one time the famed billionaire Warren Buffet said, “First come the innovators… then come the imitators… and then come the idiots.” If you embrace this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if you take the steps to be the innovator in your community, then there is no question in my mind: The world will be yours, and your competitors will become imitators at best. 
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  13. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    I am sure you will agree that in our industry there are a number of unwritten rules that shop owners have followed for decades. They know that they have to hire gifted technicians, stay at the forefront of vehicle technology, and can never jeopardize their relationships with their customers; just to name a few. Unfortunately, there is another rule that far too many shop owners (and service advisors) have believed in for decades. It’s a rule that’s been passed down from one generation to the next; the one that says that whenever you have first-time customers in your shop, and you discover that their vehicles need a lot of work, you are better off holding back on some of the recommendations.

    The basis for this belief is that with first-time customers, too many recommendations will scare them off. These owners and advisors typically feel that they are better off just recommending the repairs or services that the customer brought the vehicle in for, building a relationship with the customer, and then discussing the other required services during the next visit. There is no question that these owners and advisors typically have good intentions. They believe in their hearts that since they are not trying to sell their customers something they don’t need, they’re not crossing any ethical lines. Unfortunately, that’s the furthest from the truth.

    When customers entrust you with their automobiles, they have a presumption of full disclosure and honesty. Rightfully or wrongfully, I am sure you will agree that your customers also have an expectation that every time their vehicles enter one of your service bays, your technicians will immediately pick up on everything that needs to be done. So do this…

    Have a shop meeting and pull up an extra chair. Tell your entire staff that the empty chair represents the spirit of your customer, and that everything that is discussed during the meeting should be able to be said in front of the customer without hesitation. Start the meeting by reinforcing your commitment to both ethics and customer service. You should then review your vehicle inspection process. I strongly recommend using well-constructed vehicle inspection forms, and taking advantage of a variety of those forms: A form for complete vehicle inspections, a safety inspection form, forms for the inspection of specific systems, etc. You should then let all of your employees know that every vehicle will be inspected in a manner that complies with your company policies, that all discoveries are to be documented, and that the inspecting technician is to sign the completed inspection form.

    Once the completed form is turned over to the advisor, all of the recommended repairs and services are to be estimated, and everything is to be fully disclosed to your customers. Not only is this the professional thing to do, but equally as important, it’s the ethical thing to do. Your customers have the right to know about everything that you have discovered, and they have the right to know how much the repairs and services will cost if authorized.

    I am sure you will agree; when it comes to ethics, there are no exceptions. Yet many shop owners and advisors will argue that if they have a vehicle that is worth $1,000, and they discover that it needs $5,000 worth of work, then there is no sense in putting together an estimate. At Elite, we adamantly disagree. The vehicles belong to your customers, it’s their money, and it’s their choice. Add to that, just because an advisor feels that a vehicle is not worth fixing, it doesn’t mean that the customer will feel the same way, as the vehicle may hold a special place in the customer’s heart.

    So mandate complete and professional vehicle inspections that meet with you policies, and insist on full disclosure to all of your customers. They may not buy everything that your advisor has recommended, but a few things are for certain: Your customers will know about everything that needs to be done, you’ll have detailed records, your sales and profits will go up, and you will be doing the right things for the right reasons. If you follow this advice, and if you never put money ahead of people, you can’t lose.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while having a positive impact on their employees, customers and communities. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.

  14. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper

    Anyone who has been selling service for any length of time will agree that there are two kinds of customers. The first is the customer who has a history of making good decisions, not just with auto repair, but with most decisions. And then we have the other kind of customer: the kind of person who more often than not makes the wrong decisions.

    Let’s use maintenance service as an example. When you’re dealing with a relatively intelligent person who understands the value of maintenance, all they need is information presented in a way that builds value in the service. You have then done your job, and if they decide not to buy after you’ve addressed their concerns, they may very well have a legitimate reason for postponing the service.

    On the other hand, if you have a customer who has a history of making poor decisions, such as constantly putting off maintenance that has led to costly repairs, then it’s time to step up to the plate and help them with the decision. It’s professional, it’s ethical, and it’s treating people the way they should be treated. Here’s an example…

    Years ago I had a young customer who had just lost his job. He was the proud father of a newborn, and his vehicle needed major repairs. When he told me he wanted to fix his car as cheaply as possible, I shifted from vehicle repairs to discussing the more important things he needed to consider. Now that he was a new father, the baby’s safety, in regard to vehicles, was dependent on him. He also needed a dependable vehicle so he could find and keep the new job he desperately needed, and since he was strapped for cash, it would be a mistake to put himself in a position where he would be running the risk of having to fix his car twice. You know what? He agreed, and the way I won had nothing to do with money. I won by helping him make a difficult decision that was good for him and for his family. We can never forget, selling is helping people make the right decisions. Not fixing cars.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite (www.EliteWorldwide.com), a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses.
  15. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper
    If you want to increase your shop's sales and customer satisfaction, these 5 service writer training tips are the most important for you to consider...
    #1. In order for people to buy from your service writers, three things need to occur: they need to like your service writers, trust them, and view them as credible experts. Accordingly, the first thing your service writers need to sell to your customers on is themselves. Not your shop, or any repair. The best way to accomplish this goal is by training your service writers to smile, greet the customer with a salutation, provide the customer with their name, then ask a question that invites a response.
    #2. Remember, your service writer's tonality is critical to your success. A study performed at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles), concluded that when it comes to what influences people during a sale, 55% is what the customer sees, 38% is the tonality of the salesperson, and the words used by the salesperson account for only 7% of the sale. Since your customers calling in can't see your service writers, tonality becomes even more important with callers. Regardless of whether the customer is walking in or calling in, your service writers need to slow down, smile, and speak with genuine interest and compassion.
    #3. Your service writers should always take notes, then repeat back the information the customer provides them with. This not only helps your service writers start a relationship with your customer, but it shows the customer that your service writer listening to them, it keeps them engaged, and it causes them to actively listen, rather than formulating more questions. This is one of the best-kept secrets to controlling the conversation with customers.
    #4. As soon as comfortably possible, your service writers need to get on a first-name basis with the customer. By doing so, they will be taking the relationship from one between customer and service writer to one between Bob (service writer) and Mike (customer). It can be trickier to obtain the customer's name if they are calling in, but your service writers should still typically be able to get on a first-name basis after the first two exchanges. An easy way to do so is by providing their name first: “By the way, my name is Bob. May I ask who I am speaking with?"
    #5. Your service writer training should emphasize that your team needs to let go of the age-old belief that your customers, and especially callers, are only interested in price. The reason most people ask for a price is because they don't know the questions they should be asking (how long the shop has been in business, whether or not you employ certified technicians, if you are approved by AAA, etc.). Accordingly, most customers calling in ask for a price to get the conversation started, and customers in your shop stay focused on price because they don't know where else their focus should be.
    Apply these 5 tips to your service writer training, and watch your sales and customer satisfaction soar!
    For help creating more confident and consistent advisors that generate higher sales and happier customers, learn more about Elite’s industry acclaimed Masters Service Advisor Training Program.
  16. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper
    If you what to sell more service, drive up employee morale and productivity, and see higher profits, then this is one article you may want to read. I realize that I just made a pretty substantial claim, but I sense that by the time you finish this article, you will agree... 
    Rudi Rudloff, who is now an Elite Coach, approached me a number of years ago when he was one of our coaching clients here in San Diego. He said that since his shop was only open Monday through Friday, his plan was to have all of his employees come in on a Saturday so that they could spend the entire day together. His objective was to not only learn from his employees, but to allow them all to learn from one another as well. He ran one of the top shops in America and I always admired the way that he thought, but I told him that I felt this was a particularly great idea. He then asked if I had any additional thoughts, and I suggested we invite a few of his customers as well. He liked my recommendation, so here’s what happened…
    His five techs showed up, along with his two advisors, his lot attendant and his secretary. Shortly after that, the five customers that he invited showed up. The shop was immaculate in every way, he hosted a breakfast, and arranged all of the chairs in a nice big circle. 
    Rudi and I started the session by asking the customers questions about their expectations. Not only were all of his employees taking a lot of notes, but for all of his employees to be able to hear the customer expectations directly from their customers made the entire meeting a huge win in itself. After spending about an hour and a half with the customers, Rudi thanked them for attending and walked them to the door. 
    We then spent the entire day analyzing every single part of the business, from the time a potential customer makes that first call, all the way through the customer follow-up calls. What I found to be the best part about the entire meeting was that every single employee was exposed to every single part of the customer and vehicle process, and what they all learned, was priceless.
    The technicians were able to better understand what advisors have to go through each and every day, and the recommendations they provided regarding how to make the advisor’s job that much easier were all well received.  Additionally, breaking down and analyzing what the technicians go through with each and every vehicle enabled the advisors to provide the techs with their recommendations, while at the same time this process gave the advisors a much deeper appreciation for what a technician goes through every day. 
    The day ended mid-afternoon, and the results from the meeting were no surprise. Over the course of the ensuing weeks their car counts went up substantially, they sold more service, and there was an increase in employee morale, productivity and profits. As a matter of fact, Rudi held his annual shop meetings each and every year until he finally sold his business. 
    Giving each and every employee the opportunity to see and understand the big picture worked for Rudi, and I am confident it will work for you as well.
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  17. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    Superstar shop owner and Elite Business Development Coach Nick Sallas shares a quick tip on increasing your productivity with the help of your service advisors. This great tip is sure to be effective for you and your shop.
     
    For additional help building a more successful auto repair business, learn how you can team up with a superstar shop owner like Nick through Elite Top Shop 360: Top Shop 360
  18. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    BY Bob Cooper
    Far too many shop owners don’t measure Customer Satisfaction in their auto repair shops. It’s not that they’re not interested in the results, it’s just that they’re not exactly sure how to do it. Unfortunately, the price they pay for not measuring their customer satisfaction is often staggering. To complicate things even further, the Gallup Association released a report which stated that most of the ways used to measure CSI are beyond bad; they’re actually worthless.
    As a business owner, I am sure you will agree that your CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) goal needs to be 100%.  You also need to establish a Minimum Level of Acceptable Performance with your team that is set no lower than 95% (With the understanding that your employees can “begin” to earn CSI rewards on an incremental scale once they pass the threshold of 97%). Now here’s where most shop owners get into trouble: they’re not sure what counts as a point against the CSI score. Now I realize that there are many different ways to measure customer satisfaction, and many of our clients have some relatively well-designed systems in place. But if you’re just looking for a simple, easy-to-use method, here it is…
     
    At Elite we recommend that you classify any comeback or customer complaint as a “failure”, and you should count that failure against the car counts for the measured period. For example, if you process 100 vehicles, you should not incur over five complaints, including any comebacks due to mechanical problems that were not properly solved during the initial visit, misdiagnosed, or simply overlooked.  If the vehicle was repaired six months ago, and it fails today, it still needs to be considered as a failure for the current period, even though your existing employees may not have had any control at the time the service was originally provided to the customer. The rationale is two-fold. One, the failure will be offset by any poor work done today that may not fail for months to come. The second reason we need to consider it a failure is because your income statement is blind to what, where and when. All that we do know is that the comeback is a failure “today”. Part failures also need to be counted against the CSI score. Not only is your financial statement blind to part failures, but your overall CSI score should take a reasonable percentage of part failures into consideration.
    So warranty claims, mechanical failures that include part failures, customer neglect (i.e. we failed to educate them on their responsibility), etc., are easy to classify as failures with this type of CSI scoring. It becomes more subjective when you are placing your customer follow-up calls. I would highly recommend that you ask every customer, “How did we do?” If their response is positive, and they have nothing to say in the form of criticism, then it’s reasonably safe for us to say that the customer is a happy customer. Otherwise, it’s a failure.

    So, what we need to strive for are fewer comebacks, zero complaints (customer returns with dirty carpet, upset that vehicle wasn’t done on time, felt your prices were too high, etc.), and follow-up calls that end with your customers saying they were pleased. Although you may have to massage the percentages and the criteria a bit, this method is a great starting point for you and your company, and is fair to both you and your employees.
    You should also ensure that all of your employees know that if there are any comebacks, or complaints that are knowingly not reported, then there will be a substantial penalty toward any reward they may be entitled to. If any employee is guilty of not reporting a complaint or comeback a second time, they go on report. A third failure to report should be considered grounds for immediate dismissal. You need to make sure all your people understand that openness and honesty in reporting are critical to improvement. Also let them know that their income, along with the success of your company, will always be predicated on continual improvement.
    Lastly, I would like to leave you with a couple of thoughts.  Far too many companies complicate their methods of monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction. They typically follow up with their customers, and they ask a series of predetermined questions. Rather than asking customers questions that are based on our interests, we should let the customers share their thoughts in any way they would like, and they should be able to address any part of their customer experience.
    Many shops feel that anything less than 100% is completely unacceptable, and I have to politely disagree. Here’s why. First of all, the system I just outlined allows for a 4% failure that takes part failures into consideration. Until we have perfect parts and perfect people, we will always see at least some failures. In addition, we know that no matter how hard we try, there will always be some customers who we just can’t satisfy. No one said it better than Bob Lutz, the past Vice President of GM’s European Division and the past Co-Chairman of Chrysler, who once said, “It is our goal to satisfy 100% of the satisfiable customers.” Please note that he said, “satisfiable.” As your next step, take this plan, put it into place, and you will be on the road to building a more profitable, successful business, while generating happier customers at the same time. On that, you have my promise. 
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  19. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper
    Over the years I have met hundreds, if not thousands, of shop owners who are suffering from burnout. They either tell me they have it, or it clearly shows in their behavior. Ironically, dealing with burnout is no different than fixing cars, in that in order to accurately solve the problem, we have to first identify the cause.
    So, let’s start by taking a good look at the cause of burnout.  The reason most shop owners have burnout is because they spend most of their day doing a job that’s not necessarily aligned with who they are.  Look at it like this: technicians and service advisors spend most of their day working in what I call “the moment”. They spend the majority of their time dealing with customers and vehicles that came in that very same day. To put it another way, they’re solving current problems.
    On the other hand, managers spend most of their time reviewing the past. They look at past productivity, past trends, past results, etc. By the way, this is all good, because we need sharp people who have a good understanding of past performance, and we need people who can quickly and professionally solve the problems that are at hand.
    Yet the job of business owners is to spend most of their time in the future; not in the past, and not in the moment at hand. Unlike managers, techs and service advisors; business owners are responsible for setting the company goals, developing the plans, hiring the stars, etc. Interestingly, when most shop owners first start their journeys in the world of business, they actually do spend the majority of their time where they need to: thinking about the future. They’re busy securing their locations, getting their signage, putting their marketing plans in place, etc. Yet when their businesses become relatively established, and they’ve reached their initial growth goals, they then find themselves spending most of their time managing their businesses rather than building their businesses. To put it another way, they start off as entrepreneurs, and end up doing something they never imagined they would be doing: working as managers, and spending most of their time reviewing the past rather than building their businesses.
    If this sounds all too familiar to you, then here’s the guaranteed cure for you: simply put, you need to reevaluate the goals of your company. If you look to the future and set some worthy long-term and mid-term growth goals for your company, not only will those goals get you excited, but they will give you a better sense of purpose. Add to that, your day-to-day decisions will be that much easier to make, and your new-found goals will put that spark back in you that will be seen by all of your employees.
    Clearly one of the roles of every business owner is to lead by example, and what better example can you set than by having clearly defined goals that will benefit you, your employees, your customers and your community.  I’ve shared these conclusions and this recommendation with thousands of people over the years, and I can tell you without hesitation that the people who have taken this advice to heart have seen their burnout literally disappear overnight, and in many cases, their businesses have grown well beyond their wildest dreams.
    In closing, I’d like to say this: if you are suffering from burnout, and if for whatever reason you decide to pass on this recommendation, then it may be time for you to pick up the phone and call your local business broker. Otherwise, as time goes on you’re going to struggle in business. True entrepreneurs like you all have one thing in common: they have what it takes to build really great companies, but as strictly managers for any length of time, well, with all due respect, they usually struggle at best. On that, you have my promise.
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  20. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    In the world of auto repair and service, one thing is for certain: You are going to lose customers. They will move, no longer have a need for their automobile, turn to one of your competitors, or buy a new vehicle and then take it to the dealer for service. Accordingly, you need a consistent stream of new customers, and since you more than likely have competition in your community, you need to help those potential customers see that your shop is the right shop. The way that you accomplish this goal is by identifying who your targeted customer is, and then investing in your marketing and advertising programs, along with your customer retention programs. The question is; how much money should you be investing in those programs? Well, here are the guidelines that we share with the top shops in America.

    If you have a general repair shop, a good place to start is at 4-5% of your annual sales. If you have a transmission shop, you may find that you need to increase your budget to 6-8%. Bear in mind that your budget needs to be a percentage of your “targeted” sales, not your current sales. For example, if you are currently generating $800,000 in annual sales, but your target is $1,000,000 in sales, then your marketing budget would need to be 4-5% of $1,000,000, not $800,000.

    The second thing you should do is something that very few shops do, which is invest at least 50% of your budget into what we at Elite refer to as non-traditional advertising programs. Whereas traditional programs include media like direct mail, TV, radio and websites, non-traditional programs are comprised of media such as fund raisers, social media, car care events held at your shop, and any other advertising programs that are outside of the mainstream marketing channels typically used in your community.

    Now here is one of our best kept secrets at Elite. We have long recognized the Y Generation (born 1980 - 1990) as the emerging market. These people are not only your customers of tomorrow, but since this generation was brought up using search and social media on their Smartphones, they are often turned to by older generations that are looking for a good auto repair shop. Accordingly, we encourage all of our coaching clients to invest 50% of their non-traditional advertising budgets into programs that are specifically directed toward the Y Gen’s in their communities. We have to remember that the first to reach this emerging market will benefit the most, so why not you?

    In order to get the best return on your advertising investments, there are a number of things you should do. First of all, we encourage you to explore every opportunity to use the strength of other respected brands. For example, using names such as Valvoline, Jasper Engines & Transmissions, and AAA can enable you to build even more customer confidence in your brand. You will also need to monitor and measure the results of your advertising programs. Here’s how…

    With all first-time customers, even if they are holding your coupon, you should ask, “By the way, may I ask who referred you to us? When I was still operating my shops, I discovered that this question would send a strong message that we received a lot of referrals, which is a very good thing. In addition, we discovered that many of those customers (even those with a coupon) would respond by saying something like, “I see your ads on TV all of the time.” Since brand awareness media like TV and radio is so hard to monitor, this question would often help us obtain the answers we were looking for. We also discovered that more often than not, customers would tell us that they were referred by a friend, which indicated that while the media (coupons, ads, etc.) were the calls to action that caused them to contact us, the customers were actually sold on us due to recommendations from their friends. We would then call our customers who gave us the referrals, and thank them for their trust in us.

    In conclusion, if you want to build a base of satisfied customers, you need to know who your ideal customers are, make the right investments in the right media, monitor and measure the results, and then do an amazing job of turning those customers… into raving fans.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com
  21. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    By Bob Cooper
    There was a time in our industry when shop owners were the only ones who knew the cost of their parts. Additionally, the amount they charged for their repairs and services was typically not public knowledge. If customers wanted to know how much it would cost to perform a specific repair, they had limited options; they would have to either call for an estimate, or visit a repair facility. The service advisor would then page through a catalog, find the price, and then share that price with the customer. As we all know, times have changed, and after decades of confidentiality in pricing, technology has now done more than just change how we diagnose and fix automobiles; it’s actually made pricing transparent. The days of holding your prices close to your chest are not only gone, but if you continue to follow that age-old policy, you’ll more than likely struggle in the coming years.
    As we all know, the web has dramatically changed how you operate your business. It’s changed how you market, how you communicate with your customers, how you order parts, and how you diagnose and fix automobiles. Yet the one thing most repair shop owners are reluctant to accept is that unlike in the past, pricing on every conceivable repair and service is now available within moments online. Now we all know that those prices found online can be as incorrect as often as they are correct, but the reality is this: as we move forward, more people are going to be turning to the web, not just for finding the right repair facility, but for a range in pricing as well.  It’s currently happening in every other industry, so there is no reason to believe that it won’t become even more commonplace in our industry as well. Here are the things I am going to encourage you to consider…
    First of all, you should accept the fact that an increasing number of your first-time visitors will have either already searched the web for a range in pricing, or they will do so within minutes after you provide them with an estimate. In many cases, they will do their price comparisons with their Smartphones, and they’ll do it while they are still at your facility.
    This brings me to the second point that I am going to hope you consider, which I refer to as integrity in pricing. With the ease of access that consumers now have to pricing information, in the coming years the top shops will be competitive in pricing, and they will be proud of the value delivered. Now before I go any further, I am not suggesting that a shop can’t charge more than its competitors do, but if the prices they charge are viewed as out of line with other well run facilities, there is no question: they’ll lose their customers, and their reputation, both at the same time. The proof is in every other industry, because history has shown us that no matter how good the hotel, airline or restaurant may be, if their customers don’t feel that the pricing is comparable to similar service providers, those companies never survive. 
    So here are my recommendations for those of you who want to grow more profitable, successful businesses in the coming years. Start doing what your potential customers are already doing, and survey your legitimate competitors. I’m referring to facilities that offer services and benefits that are comparable to yours. Secondly, ensure you are competitive with your prices. This doesn’t mean you can’t charge more, but you have to be comparable, and you have to believe in the value delivered. 
    Finally, I am not suggesting that you should quickly provide a price to every price shopper, or that you should provide a price before you have built value in the service. What I am suggesting is that you need to embrace the fact that your customers are no different than you and me. They have access to pricing info 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and they not only expect transparency, but they demand it. There is no question: transparency in pricing is now a mandate, not an option, for every shop owner, worldwide.
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. To learn more about Elite, visit www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  22. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    If you are in business long enough the time will come when you’ll need to let someone go, so my goal with this article is to help you through the process.
    The most common reason shop owners are reluctant to fire someone is they feel the employee is either irreplaceable, or it will take a long time to find the right replacement. First of all, everyone is replaceable, and as I have often said to clients, the graveyards are filled with irreplaceable people. With regards to the concern that it will take a long time to find a replacement, as a shop owner you can dramatically reduce this time by keeping your pipeline full. You do this by always being in “recruiting mode”, and by building relationships with the industry superstars. Secondly, if you have a low performer, or someone that is unwilling or unable to work well in your shop’s environment, in many cases you are better off without them even if your productivity and profits drop. Their behavior can take a dramatic toll on the morale of your other employees, and when you consider that cost, in many cases you’ll be better served by letting the employee go.
    The second reason many shop owners are reluctant to let an employee go is they feel partly responsible for the employee’s failure to produce or conform. In essence, they feel at fault for not providing the employee with the right opportunity, the right training, or the right support. Regardless, as a business owner you need to learn from any mistakes you have made in managing people, and move forward. Otherwise you are prolonging the inevitable and setting your business up for an even greater failure.
    The third reason shop owners hesitate to terminate is they find themselves feeling sorry for the employee. This is often the case when they have an employee that has been with them for a long time, and as the employee has grown older, their productivity has dwindled. Shop owners will tell themselves that the employee has been loyal over the years, and if released, the employee they will have nowhere to go and no means of support. In cases like this there are two things you need to consider: First, you should never feel responsible for any employee’s failure to plan for their own future, and secondly, you need to evaluate the true cost of keeping them on board. Over the years I have seen many shop owners that would be far better served by paying such an employee to stay home, and filling the position with a productive employee. I am not suggesting that you pay them to stay home, but that you consider ways of phasing these employees out of your company.
    Lastly, here’s the real secret: If you hire the right people, if you provide them with clarity in expectations, if you provide them with minimum levels of acceptable performance with deadlines, and if you give them the necessary training and opportunities, then you have done your job. Although letting them go will never be easy, it will be a lot less painful, and you can in most cases still remain good friends.  I have done this, and I know you can too.
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  23. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    If you want to build a successful auto repair business, you will need to strongly consider the length of the warranties you offer. 
    First of all, you need to know your failure rate. The top shops in America have extremely low failure rates in both parts and labor. I’ve also discovered that the overwhelming majority of those failures occur within the first 90 days of service, so regardless of whether your warranties are for 90 days or for years on end, you’re going to absorb all but a few of those failures within the first 90 days. 
    The second thing you need to consider is your level of exposure to risk. If you are using high quality parts, and if you have competent technicians, you’ll find your exposure to be surprisingly low. Consider this: If a repair makes it beyond the first 90 days, there is a high probability that the parts are sound, and that they were installed correctly. Outside of wear and maintenance items like brakes, tires, wiper blades and filters, I am sure you will agree that those replaced parts should last for a number of years.  If a part makes it past 90 days and subsequently fails within the first year, even if your standard warranty is for only 90 days, you’ll more than likely cover the repair in order to satisfy the customer. This is the primary reason why most shop owners provide a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty on the majority of their repairs. 
    The more important question for you as a businessperson is, what do you do when a part fails after the first year? Well, I can tell you that the best shops in America have a number of things in common, one of which is that they realize it’s a lot easier and more affordable to keep a customer than it is to replace a customer. So let’s examine the differences in the warranties offered by the average shop owners, and the warranties offered by the true industry leaders. 
    The average shop owner will typically warranty their repairs for one year or 12,000 miles, and if a part fails after that first year, they will tell their customers that they will do the repair at a discounted rate. Now here’s the problem with that approach. With every customer panel we have done at Elite, when asked how long they expect a repair to last, the customers all inevitably say, “forever.” When questioned further, they then tell us that they expect the repair to last at least as long as the original, which is typically four or more years. So if your repair fails after a year, and you offer to do it again at a discounted rate, you may very well have made a few dollars on that second go-around, but you’ll more than likely lose the customer. 
    At Elite we feel that in today’s competitive environment your base warranty should be 2 years, 24,000 miles. First of all, if you have the right part suppliers, and the right technicians, then the added risks are not only minimal, but after a couple of years a good percentage of those vehicles will be sold.  Secondly, if you plan on keeping your customers as your customers, you will need to not only meet their expectations, but more importantly, you will need to exceed their expectations.
    By offering a warranty of 2 years, 24,000 miles your team is going to have a lot more confidence in your services, and more pride in what they do. You’ll also find that a 2 year, 24,000 mile warranty will give you a competitive edge when marketing your services, it will be a great sales tool for your service advisors, and it will help take you out of the price-comparison game with your competitors. Now I realize that you may not be able to warranty some repairs for 2 years or 24,000 miles due to extreme weather conditions, the driving conditions in your community, commercial application, etc., but you can make sure you have the right parts and people, and you can talk to your part suppliers about your expectations. If you do, I am confident you will then do what the top shops in America have already done, and offer warranties that not only show your confidence in your repairs, but that allow you to be the hero with those rare failures that occur after the first year when you tell the customer… it’s no charge. Best of all, providing 2 year, 24,000 mile warranties shows your customers, and your entire community, that you truly do care… about people.
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  24. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    For an industry that was once dominated by males, I am pleased to have watched us evolve to a point where today we have female technicians, service advisors, managers and shop owners that are superstars in every regard. Without question, there are many powerful ladies throughout our industry that are role models for all of us. When I think of all those amazing women and the impact they have had on our industry, I can’t help but also think of a gal that’s not only changing our entire industry at the speed of light, but that has the power to take you and your shop to the top, as well put you out of business. At Elite we have a name for this amazing lady: We call her Mother Google.
    As you well know, the people in your community no longer have their auto repair choices limited to a few printed pages in a worn out directory. With just a click of a mouse, Mother Google, who’s on call 24/7, will now provide that potential customer with information on dozens of auto repair facilities. The only limits in place are self-imposed by the consumer: ­­How many pages of results they’re willing to search through, and how far they are willing to travel. So in essence, the consumer’s options are endless.
    Mother Google will also help that potential customer decide which shops they should call by scouring each website for relevant information, and then presenting the sites that she feels to be the best choices on the first page of her search results. Even though you could argue her job would then be done, she doesn’t stop there, as she will look at every word on those sites, and she will rank her search results in an order that she feels best serves the consumer. In essence, she’ll tell your potential customer, “This shop is more likely to be able to fulfill your needs than the one I’m showing you below it.” So if you’re not one of Mother Google’s top recommendations for your targeted keywords, you need to talk with a search engine optimization (SEO) expert about how you can move your website up in her rankings.
    Please keep in mind that it can be very difficult to evaluate the capabilities of one SEO expert versus the next, so I’d encourage you to ask other business owners you know if they can recommend an SEO expert that has delivered results. In today’s day and age there are many ways you can get your phone to ring, yet as I am sure you will agree, Mother Google will play an incredibly important, if not leading role.
    Beyond search results, through Google+ reviews she is now providing a platform that enables people in your community to share their experiences and overall opinions about your shop. The day is rapidly approaching when there will be no secrets due to her diligence and the insights to your customer experience that she makes accessible to the world. So while providing an amazing customer experience has always been critical to a shop’s success, it’s never been more important to ensure you offer a customer experience that’s second to none.
    And what about pricing? Not too many years ago it was a task for customers to look for price comparisons, but today she has reinvented that entire process. Not only are there companies like RepairPal that provide community-based price comparisons, but Mother Google will find prices and availability for your customers instantaneously. You can rest assured that when you call a customer with a service recommendation, and they tell you they’ll call you right back, in most cases they’re reaching out to their friend Mother Google for more information they can use to make their decision.
    Does Mother Google have weaknesses? Of course. For example, she typically provides more confusion and misdiagnosis than accurate results when it comes to providing diagnostic information. But when you judge her by her strengths, and you consider that she is available to each and every consumer at a moment’s notice, you will then see that she is not only the best friend of today’s consumer, but like many women today she is revolutionizing our entire industry, and she is absolutely critical to the success of your shop in the coming years.
    In closing, I hope you consider that people in your community now have far more choices than ever before, pricing transparency is becoming more the rule than the exception, and you have to be at the top of your game if you want Mother Google to recommend you. There’s a good chance those that fail to appreciate her power, that don’t offer an amazing experience for their customers to share and that are unable to get onto page one of her recommendations will ultimately find themselves in front of a bankruptcy judge. But if you stay sharp, and never put money ahead of people, Mother Google will help you take your shop to the top.
    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers coaching and training from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com.
  25. Elite Worldwide Inc.
    The top shops in America realize that in order to build a successful business they will need to have team players that are self-starters, who can produce, and who will never compromise their ethics. Over the years I’ve not only been fortunate enough to hire many of our industry superstars, but I have seen hiring mistakes made every day by shop owners all across America. In order to help you with your business, I’d like to share what I believe to be the 5 most common hiring mistakes that shop owners make.

    1. They are afraid to pay top buck. In business there are a number of rules that are timeless, and one is that you get what you pay for. The reason the superstars can command top buck is pretty simple; it’s because they can produce. The techs and advisors that earn average incomes all have one thing in common; they produce average results, and average employees will never take you to the top. Every top shop owner that I have consulted with will agree that once you hire a superstar, you will quickly see that they are one of the best investments you will ever make.

    2. They are afraid to provide a respectable guarantee. Most shop owners are reluctant to give a respectable guarantee because they are afraid the new hire may not produce, and they will be stuck paying a big guarantee. Now here are two important points that they don’t understand. First of all, if they believe they are providing the potential employee with a great opportunity, then providing a respectable guarantee shows the candidate that they have confidence in their business, and in the position they are looking to fill. Secondly, most shop owners are so concerned about how much the guarantee could cost them, they completely forget that if the employee doesn’t produce, there’s a simple solution: You let them go.

    3. They use the wrong criteria when making their employment selections. Most shop owners hire techs and advisors based on their level of knowledge and industry experience. Although those are both important considerations, what’s more important is the attitude of the applicant, their aptitude and their ethics. A wise man once told me we hire people for what they know, and we fire them for who they are.

    4. They don’t look beyond the candidate. The shop owners who employ the superstars all realize that when they hire Larry they get Mary. What this means is that if the candidate has a significant other in their life, you can rest assured that they will play a role in the candidate’s decision. This is why at Elite we encourage all of our clients to ensure their compensation and incentive package has what we refer to as “go-home” benefits. Examples would be retirement programs, paid holidays and vacations, well-days, etc.

    5. They forget that the superstars will be interviewing them. The top shop owners all realize that the superstars they are interviewing will have no trouble at all finding a shop that will hire them. Accordingly, throughout the interview process the superstar will be interviewing the shop owner, and they’ll be asking themselves whether or not they would like to work at the shop. They will be evaluating you by the type of questions you ask, and the interviewing-qualification process you take them through. If at any time they feel you are hiring out of desperation, rather than ensuring it’s a great fit for everyone, one thing is for certain: They’ll walk, because what they are looking for is the opportunity to work at an ethical shop that enjoys a good reputation in the community, has team spirit, and has leadership that allows them to clearly see their future with the company.

    Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite, a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can learn more about Elite by visiting www.EliteWorldwide.com


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