Fight or Flight?
One of the most basic of all human instincts, it dates back to when man faced his first predator – be it an animal or another man – and had to make the decision: Do I stand my ground and fight, or do I run away so that, I hope, I live to gain strength and fight again on another day?
How Will Gasoline Prices Affect the Transmission- and Auto-Repair Businesses?
Many of us remember the “gasoline shortages” of 1973 and 1979. Some sections of the U.S. were hit harder than others. The New York metropolitan area, for example, still had the problem months after the rest of the country had all but forgotten about it. It was as if we were supposed to suffer longer so the message would be heard loud and clear throughout the country that gas wasn’t going to be a cheap commodity anymore.
That’s Gross!
Pricing jobs in the transmission- and auto-repair business has always been a complex issue. Coming up with a labor rate and a parts markup that make sense and are applicable in all situations is almost impossible. There are too many variables to consider.
Procrastination – Should We Talk About It Now or Wait Awhile?
When people attend seminars, listen to tapes or read informative books, they tend to get all jazzed up about fixing the problems with their businesses. Unfortunately, if they don’t take action to begin the change soon after the initial impact of recognizing the need and devising a plan to make it happen, the intensity can dwindle quickly or other factors can creep in and stop a good plan dead in its tracks.
Rich or Poor, It’s Nice to Have Money!
That title is a real attention grabber, isn’t it? I write it on the blackboard whenever I do a seminar to make the audience wonder what it’s all about. It’s actually a very simple concept: When you have money, this business is relatively easy; when you don’t, it’s awfully hard.
Tobacco Road
Outside sales is not a one-time task. It’s an ongoing process that allows you to identify the types and number of accounts you will want to service, to prepare the best possible sales materials, to learn techniques that get and keep your foot in the door, to handle objections so you can land the accounts and especially to visit all existing accounts periodically to make sure they continue to exist.
Attitude Adjustment
Every now and then we need to take a fresh look at how we are handling our businesses with respect to our customers, employees and suppliers. Are we giving them the respect and attention they deserve?
Education – Never More Critical Than Now
Yesterday I had the privilege of watching a very well-made training video by Bruce “Doc” Ginther (aka Dr. Dyno), a diagnostician and trainer to the auto-care and transmission industries. It had been quite a while since I had taken in any of that type of training, being mostly involved with sales and management these days. I must say, I was quite impressed with the simple explanations of what I always considered to be the most difficult of diagnostic problems – the electrical system.
Warranty Insurance Is Supposed to Protect YOU
There was a time when selling transmission overhauls was a simple matter. Most shops offered one service at one price. If the customer approved it, the job was carried out. The problem with that one service was that many times it didn’t suit the needs of either the customer or the shop. If a customer wanted more than a 12-month/12,000-mile warranty he was out of luck. If the shop needed a way to make an overhaul more profitable it had a hard time finding one. So customer choices and shop profits were limited.
Advertising – for Those Who Think They Can’t Afford It!
You have to advertise regardless of whether you think you can afford it. It’s one of the few ways you have to bring new customers to your business. What you can’t afford is making expensive mistakes. Advertising is supposed to be an investment in your business that pays you a return. You buy an ad; new customers call – at least, that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Many times it doesn’t work that way for any number of reasons.
The Psychological Advantage
In any sales situation either the customer or the salesperson takes the psychological advantage, meaning that one is better able to read and control the other. We should be able to read our customers far better than they read us, because we practice these techniques every day but the customer uses them only occasionally.
A Dozen Traits of the Highly Successful Shop Owner
Successful shop owners share certain traits, characteristics and methods of doing business. Here are the 12 that are the most prominent and mean the most to ongoing success.
