Posts by Carm Capriotto, AAP

“We fix cars and trucks … all makes and models” is a strategy.

Are you a Euro Specialist?  Are you known for high-level diagnostics? Have you ever considered mobile diagnostics? Will you ever create a business plan to become an ADAS calibration center? Ever thought about becoming a fleet specialist? Are you heavily invested in air-conditioning diag and repair? Is it time to change the brand to include the name ‘hybrid specialist’? And do you do alignments, they may be more important than ever. What about a detailing program?

Will someday being a ‘general repair’ service center earn my team and me a great living? How many years do we have as vehicle technology, and the cost of specialty tools and training pass up the general repair shop?

Do you need to equip for all I mentioned in the second paragraph? Probably not. However, this blog is about thinking and knowing that the decisions you make today will affect your business vision and success tomorrow. And tomorrow could mean next year, three years, five years or ten years from now.

This discussion is about opportunity. Creating opportunities for you and your team to zig or zag as you invest in equipment, find talented people, and train on new technology. Look at your customer base and realize they will need you to do some of the above-mentioned repairs.

Don’t be stuck in the mud as you look to prepare your business for the future. Is an ADAS calibration center right for your market? Is a stand-alone new store that specializes in Euro a good move? How will air-conditioning systems be deployed to cool our electric fleet? And does your best and brightest diagnostic technician have all the latest equipment, subscriptions, and training to handle everything that comes your way? Are you so good with diag that other shops come to you for what they cannot repair?

Just some thoughts from the aisle seat for you to ponder. Put your vision hat on and think of positioning your business for tomorrow.

I admired a man who made deals on a napkin. The napkin has been an iconic representation of ideas and deals for a long time. From simple doodles to business deals, it has been used as a tool to write down agreements, develop ideas, and to store information.

There is a lot of consolidation going on today within our industry. Many looking to grow, and many looking to sell or retire. When you sit with a potential buyer or seller, don’t forget the napkin (or a sheet of paper), so you can collect thoughts and ideas and share numbers. Deals written on a napkin remain an iconic symbol of business transactions.

Many agreements start out as unstructured ideas and offers that are tossed out as “what ifs.” Sometimes writing on the napkin signifies you are listening and thinking. Sometimes ideas or deals get clearer. Use as many as you need. Set them up like trading cards so you can clearly see the evolution of the idea or deal.

Today I use an app that helps secure ideas for me, but if I had the choice, there is nothing better than writing down, with a pen, your deals or ideas on a napkin.

OK, it is 2023. Not sure about you, but 2022 flew by. Is it because I’m getting older, 🙂 or is it the state of ‘rush’ we all seem to be in? Let me know why it went so fast for you.

I always use the beginning of a new year for some re-invention, a time to implement ideas that have been incubating in my mind. You may do the same. 

Here is an idea that has come to reality that will contribute to you and your teams’ success.

High-fives to our association executives and trainers who come together for the good of their members to provide training to improve their member’s skills. While sitting in a class listening to a business coach preach their passion to a packed audience, I’m getting ideas for future episodes and knowing we’ve also covered many topics on the Remarkable Results Radio podcast. 

Do we need to bundle related podcasts into training themes? YES! And what to call it? Simply what it is, ‘A Classroom.’ A mini networking opportunity. I created a web page to package our hundreds of panel discussions and interview forums so you can engage yourself and your team on being a perpetual student, therefore continuing the education you seek.

It is there for you, ready to help advance your learning and a tool to help develop your people. Your job is to find the thirst and desire for knowledge and set the career path for your team. What tools do they need to get to the next level? Just because one of your team members wants to be in a higher position doesn’t mean they have a clue about the new responsibility once they get that position. Shadowing, interning, and training are key. Many don’t necessarily know ‘that’ they don’t know it.

Many in the shop’s management team are in twenty or mastermind groups. Essential today. However, unfortunately, many aren’t.

So introducing Classroom, where we’ve bundled, so far, 21 special groups with specific topics. Leadership, Culture, MSO Strategy, Operations, Compensation, Labor Rate, and Customer Experience, to name a few.

Get a good start to 2023 and utilize the incredible content library of the aftermarkets premiere podcast since 2015. Many aftermarket service professionals still need to subscribe to the podcast, so please share this with a friend who can use the power of our enormous content library. For your edification, find the ‘Classroom’ HERE.

Finally: Please be sure you and your people discuss the talking points and their takeaways from each episode. You should be involved in their takeaways. Learning happens when we are challenged to recall or recite our new knowledge.

This ‘classroom’ topic bundle will not take the place of attending training events but will help supplement them. Remember, the networking opportunity and time with your people far exceed the total value of the training.

Keep in mind that every Town Hall Academy has a corresponding video that you can find on the show notes page and on my YouTube Chanel HERE.

Seriously. I get all tense inside when a shop owner tells me their techs won’t go to training.

I’ve had the honor of being the industry’s premier podcaster for almost eight years. I’ve interviewed hundreds and hundreds of shop owners, technicians, service advisors, coaches, and trainers. I can say that 90% of them have a strong training culture and consider it part of their success.

When I attend Vision, ASTE, AAPEX, the TST Big Event, and others, I see, in aggregate, thousands of industry professionals attending training.

So why would an owner say they can’t get their people to go to training? My next question is, who owns the business and sets the company’s purpose and culture?

How many hours a year of training is required to work at your place? Is that number in the job description? Does your company have a thirst to learn so that your customer benefits? Do you, as a shop owner, appreciate how quickly technology travels and the need for knowledge?

Have you ever gone to tech or management training as an owner? Would you go to training with your team? Do you pay for training and the time they attend? Hiring and keeping rock-star technicians will require this commitment.

I’m putting out a challenge to you to consider the answers to every question I asked in this blog. Training must be a pillar of your company’s success. Without it, you are going backward faster than you know. Silver bullets may work, but the foundation you need to even consider silver bullets as an answer to a diag issue is necessary. Needless to say, the parts cannon does not favor or benefit your customer.

Become one of the hundreds of shop owners closing their shops and taking their teams to training events around the country. Yes, airfare, hotel, food, time away, and the cost of courses are a big consideration. Your ROI on that investment will return in spades sooner than you think over and over.

If you need to talk to a shop owner who takes their people to training, I can hook you up with one. Drop me a line and turn the corner on your commitment to training.