Joe Marconi

My shop goal for productivity is to be above 100%. That's for my techs. Lube/tire techs are different. If a tech cannot give you a least 100%, then something is wrong. It could be the tech, it could be you are not estimating a job correctly or the shop environment has too many obstacles that prohibit the tech from achieving his productivity. It could also be the time that’s wasted when the tech is waiting for approval on a job. To achieve high technician productivity requires following systems and constant tracking to find out the weak areas. My techs are paid by the hour, but get a bonus when the reach certain productivity goals.

Right on target. There is a lot of money in steering and suspension work, if you have the right people. Most shops in my area do not do alignments. This gives me a competitive advantage over them. What cars do you sell camber kits on?

You need to get your billable hours up and they only way to do that is to have more manpower. You cannot afford to turn away work. People are too busy these days and if you are not accommodating they won't come back. Part time techs are an option. When I was expanding I hired “B” rated techs part time with the opportunity for full time as the business grew. I also paid them a wage that was lower than they would expect, but paid them commission based on productivity. I found that techs like this. In a busy week they can make money. As our client base grew, I put them on full time. In my opinion, the most important thing you need to do now is concentrate on getting your car counts up. And this requires not turning away work. Another thing, your manager needs to manage. That's the way you make money. Keep him out of the bays. I struggled with the same thing. Trust me, do this first.

Gary, nice clean site. Visually pleasing. Colors are nice too. A few thoughts, expand the info on your services and also put a page about you and your staff. If you are invloved in the community, put that in there too.

I was wondering what other shops do for their customers during the holiday season. We send out cards to all our current customers along with calendars. We also give out $5.00 gift cards at the service counter and pens.

Now that's funny. I am glad to see that there still are a few smart people left in this country.

Do you have a cap? I have some people with me for more than 20 years. We also rent a room at a local resturant for our anual Christmas Party.

I guess the key is to try to calculate the return on investment from a program such as this. This will require accurate tracking and a sufficient amount of time to estimate the overall value. What other forms of advertising do you do?

That can be a problem. That's where your sales skill come into play.

I have a Hunter Alignment rack. It's 12,000lb scissor lift with jacks to do other work. I have it flush mounted so I can get any car on the rack without the worry of damaging the front of the car. We do sell a lot of alignments but we also do a lot of other work. We service about 180 to 200 cars per week and sell about 25 to 30 alignments per week. We also do alignments for other shops. Are you having a hard time selling alignments?

I purchase around 5,000 names per year. The response rate is anywhere from 2 to 5%. That's about average with any direct mail program. The response rate will get better the more you do it. The key is to have a consistent advertising program and balance it with other forms of media: print ads, radio, TV, flyers, newsletters, etc. Advertising will not work if it's not consistent. Advertising builds on itself, month after month, year after year. Don't worry too much about the response rate. It's more about branding and reaching people. The more people you reach and the more times you reach them makes the difference.

I purchase around 5,000 names per year. The response rate is anywhere from 2 to 5%. That's about average with any direct mail program. The response rate will get better the more you do it. The key is to have a consistent advertising program and balance it with other forms of media: print ads, radio, TV, flyers, newsletters, etc. Advertising will not work if it's not consistent. Advertising builds on itself, month after month, year after year. Don't worry too much about the response rate. It's more about branding and reaching people. The more people you reach and the more times you reach them makes the difference.

I think you are right. There are certain people that do things only because it is politically correct. I have learned that life is not as easily definable as they may think. Take a look at the global warming issue. This planet has been going through climatic changes for 4 billion years. Who caused the ice age? Dinosaur poop? I just don’t want to feel guilty because I drive a pickup truck and not a Prius. Don’t get me wrong, I care about clean air and clean water. But, let’s be sensible about it.

Yes, I have been planning. Part of the reason I redeveloped my property is to insure that I have a marketable business with desirable commercial buildings. I re-did my will a few years ago and put my entire business on a written business plan. I don't think my business will be taken over by my family. That remains to be seen. But, I am exploring the idea of an employee purchase option. I have few key workers that actually run the business for me now. I don't have any immediate plans for retirement or a set date. But, my plan is to have options within 6 years.

Yes, I have been planning. Part of the reason I redeveloped my property is to insure that I have a marketable business with desirable commercial buildings. I re-did my will a few years ago and put my entire business on a written business plan. I don't think my business will be taken over by my family. That remains to be seen. But, I am exploring the idea of an employee purchase option. I have few key workers that actually run the business for me now. I don't have any immediate plans for retirement or a set date. But, my plan is to have options within 6 years.

My area is a very blue collar area. It is a suburb located about 40 minutes north on NYC. Most of the people commute to work. Most of my customers understand the need for preventive maintenance. My experience with Hybrid customer is that it’s their magic bullet to cure all of society’s ills. God forbid they lose a mile per gallon after we replaced their tires, they want to kill someone! Maybe it’s my area only. But, this is what we have found.

I use the Mitchell system to organize my service reminders: State inspections, recommended services and major services. I had the Mitchell Company doing it, but found that their CRM was overkill. I now have a company through CARQUEST Auto Parts called Auto Alert, manage my service reminders. I have more control and it costs less. I go back 14 months. I also purchase a mailing each year list for a radius of 5 miles from my shop. For these people I send a quarterly newsletter. This helps prospects for new customers. The newsletter also goes to my regular customers. Another thing I do is email blasts. I collect emails from my customers and all the local businesses in my area. Once a month I send an email newsletter which highlights seasonal tips, promotions and has links to my web site. For the emails I use a company called Constant Contact. Check it out, you can create your own professional looking email and it's very inexpensive. The link is below: http://www.constantcontact.com

The fact that you are thinking about it puts you ahead of most. This is critical, I am 54 and would like to think I have built something to sell or at least create options. Too many shop owners have just walked away after 40plus years with nothing more than memories.

We do a fair amount, but just regular service and brakes. We have found that the Hybrid customer may not be our ideal customer.

I know this may be long way off for some shop owners, but every business owner needs to think about an exit strategy. Our future is dependent on the strength of our business that exists today. Our exit strategy is not something way off in the future, it must be part of our daily plan. Below is a link to an interesting article that addresses this subject. http://bit.ly/4JHOLM

Let me tell you, I have been around the block more than a few times and the effort some people put into underhanded things is incredible. If these people focus the same energy in something legitimate, they would be millionaires.

Of all the business I can think of, an illegal used tire business is not one of them.

We only charge a tire disposal when someone brings us their own tires to dispose of. ($2.50 per tire).

I agree, the concept of marketing to women is great, but the cost are a little steep. What impact can they make in your business that could make that much of a difference? That is the question. The jury is still out for me.

We also are mandated by the state to charge $2.50 per tire. We keep 25cents of the $2.50. The tire companies do not charge us and will take as many tires as we pruchase. If we get a delivery of 10 tires, they take 10 old tires.