Carm Capriotto Remarkable Results Radio Podcast

Buying & Selling: A Tale of Two Deals [THA 199]

Buying and Selling – A Tale of Two Deals [THA 199]

An episode that showcases a sale and an acquisition and the story behind these aftermarket transactions from two couples who each had a great opportunity.

Kevin and Sarah Bickford bought the Fox River Tire & Auto, Richie and Leslie Zimmerman owned and sold 3 Shops to a big box brand. The reasons and method of these two transactions will help you realize how these opportunities take an immense amount of work and maybe some luck.

The key talking points from this episode, they are already done for you. Go to the show page at remarkableresults.biz/a199.

Customer Service vs. Customer Experience with Murray Voth [RR 591]

Murray Voth the owner and principal trainer of RPM Training and one of Canada’s most knowledgeable experts on the automotive industry. Murray specializes in the fields of business development of the independent automotive service and repair sector.

Murray is focused on the customer experience. In this episode, Murray differentiates customer service vs customer experience and their specific advantages and disadvantages.

The talking points of this episode can be found at remarkablersults.biz/e591.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Flipping through channels, there it was, the beloved ‘Wizard of Oz’. I just can’t help but stop and get a fix of this very special movie. I remember as a kid being glued to the TV watching this every year. I found the movie in its first 20 minutes at the part where Dorothy starts…

Science Based Hypnotherapy with Maureen Pisani [RR 590]

Science-Based Hypnotherapy with Maureen Pisani [RR 590]

I’m with Maureen Pisani a Certified Master Hypnotherapist and the founder of ProThrive Science-Based Hypnotherapy, where she works with individuals and groups (both in-person and online) to help empower, streamline success, and truly thrive.

Why this interview? I found the discussion with Maureen refreshingly different. I can see where some never reach their potential, yet we know they have it in them. Maureen offers solutions.

Imagine this as a tool for the automotive aftermarket. You do the math. Unlimited potential and untapped ideas.

We discuss how the brain works in hypnotherapy and the science behind it that proved useful in uplifting and giving us an edge in life! The talking points can be found at remarkablersults.biz/e590

Four Corner – Four Wall Shop Inspection [THA 198]

Four Corner – Four Wall Facility Audit [THA 198]

Welcome to an episode that brings to you the power and value of peer inspections of your facility and property. This discussion applies to the Four Corners and Four Walls of your shop. Does your customer see the organization and cleanliness of your shop? How about the environment that your people work in. Is it up to your standards?

I’m with Seth Thorson, Owner of EuroTech Auto Service and LMV Bavarian BMW Support; and Daniel Gravely, District Manager, EuroTech Auto Service. And keep in mind this is a peer review – some special power in that.

The key talking points from this episode, they are already done for you. Go to the show page at remarkableresults.biz/a198.

Doug Grills – 20 Questions in 30 Minutes [RR 589]

Welcome to another episode of 20 Questions in 30 Minutes. I’m with Doug Grills of AutoStream Car Care Center. Doug along with his partner Rick Levitan has been around the auto service business for over 25 years and has built their reputation by offering best-in-class service to their customers. Now he joins and answers his hand-picked questions on our format I call 20 Questions in 30 Minutes.

This episode highlights Doug’s early musical career and allowed us to understand how he uses his analytical skills to make decisions. He believes in process and that a strong culture is what people really buy into.

Find the key talking points, Doug Grills’ bio, and links to his previous episodes at remarkableresults.biz/e589

The Difference: Dealership Tech Now Works for an Independent. Why? [RR 588]

I’m with Matt Manzone and Jim Fleischman. Matt is an ASE certified master tech and service writer and works at Jim’s shop Automotive Alley in Arcade, NY.

Why this interview. Matt is a former dealer technician. Hearing the reasons why Matt Manzone went to work for an independent is important to how you think and approach hiring dealer techs. Jim also shares some of his process to bring Matt on board to work in his company.

We discuss the differences of techs at dealerships against techs at independent shops. Matt and Jim also talk about the dilemma of leaving your job of 14 years for the same yet new job. The talking points can be found at remarkablersults.biz/e588

Electric Vehicles – The Future Unfolds [THA 197]

Welcome to an episode ahead of its time. It may bring forth some brilliant thoughts and strategies moving forward that will help the aftermarket prepare for the future. It will be here sooner than we know.

I’m with John Eppstein, Carolyn Coquillette, Dave Kusa, and Rorry Balmer. We talk about the future with changing technology especially Electric Vehicles. Don’t shy away from this or any other topic that will define your future.

My Academy guests detailed our preparedness, the competitive landscape, predictions, legislation, powertrain, ownership structure, electric vehicles and more along with their recommendations.

If you want the key talking points from this episode, they are already done for you. Go to the show page at remarkableresults.biz/a197.

Four Ways to Generate Income Using ESBI with Gerry Frank [RR 587]

Gerry Frank, a business coach, and shop owner share Robert Kiyosaki’s famous CashFlow Quadrant in an easy to swallow and digestible way.

It has 4 quadrants and abbreviated as ESBI. He is correlating the ESBI approach to stages in the aftermarket. The stages are Employee, Self-employed, Business Owner, and Investor which relates to an individual starting himself as a technician becomes a shop owner and eventually, becomes an investor.

Find the key talking points, Gerry Frank’s bio, and links to his previous episodes at remarkableresults.biz/e587

Service Advisor Advice from Steve Shaw [RR 586]

Service advisor consultant trainer Steve Shaw of Steve Shaw Training brings his unique brand of training. Steve has some great ideas and concepts that can help you grow sales therefore dropping that margin gain directly to the bottom line. Steve Shaw teaches service advisors to get customers’ permission.

Steve shares 5 key reasons customers buy And he wants you to change the wording when you sell maintenance. There is also a simple approach to selling tires.

Steve also adds techniques in this episode. He advises, if you follow the tools and training you will sell more. He extends his understanding of customer behavior to your advantage. This episode can answer why customers buy and offer some great ideas on selling maintenance and tires.

Find the show notes at remarkableresults.biz/e586.

Cares Act & Payroll Protection Program Update with Hunt Demarest, CPA[THA 196]

CARES ACT and PPP Update with Hunt Demarest [THA 196]

I’m with Hunt Demarest CPA in this Payroll Protection Program or PPP update.

Hunt says that there is a document that says the deadline for PPP forgiveness is October 31, 2020. That is not true and Hunt explains. If you did get PPP funds there is a deadline to apply for forgiveness and he shares the timing on that. If you got an EIDL loan that must be paid back. Check with your banker or accountant. Don’t ignore it.

Hunt provides some tax consequence talk, but more importantly, you need to work with your banker, accountant or tax preparer to be sure you are compliant with the law i

Hunt is from Paar Mellis an accounting firm that exclusively works with aftermarket shop owners. Hunt has contributed in past episodes and he always offers great advice. Nothing in this episode is to be construed as gospel. You must do your own research and consult with your own professionals.

If you want the key talking points from this episode, they are already done for you. Go to the show page at remarkableresults.biz/a196.

Automotive Management Institute: Looking Ahead with Chuck Searles [RR 585]

Automotive Management Institute: New President Chuck Searles – Looking Ahead [RR 585]

I’m with Chuck Searles, the new president of AMI. I know many of you have your industry credentials from AMi, not only in collision but in mechanical. If you are not aware there are certifications and designations offered to the industry for management and service training. You may have your AAM designation, the Accredited Automotive Manager or master, AMAM and you should be proud.

Go behind the scenes and meet Chuck Searles and discover his background and what his plans are for leading AMi. Find AMi at amionline.org. AMi’s mission is to identify, provide, and promote qualified business education for the success of automotive service repair professionals.

Chuck shares his story of how he ended up in the automotive industry. As president of AMi, he wants to increase AMis presence on the service side of the industry. Find the key talking points, Chuck Searles’s bio and links to his previous episodes at remarkableresults.biz/e585

ADAS and Tech Advances – Joe Register [RR 584]

This episode speaks to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems or ADAS. Joe Register the Vice-President of Emerging Technologies at the AutoCare Association is back. One week ago we talked about Secure Vehicle Interface and this is our follow-up with Joe. He has brought enormous amounts of helpful information on the advancement of technology to my listeners.

Joe Register has over 40 years of experience delivering progressive system solutions to companies in every channel of the Automotive Aftermarket. Joe is well connected through his work in helping to create tech and interface standards with ISO (International Organization for Standards) and SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers).

Find the show notes and the video of Joe’s slides at https://remarkableresults.biz/e584

Coaches Lab: Why Employees Leave [THA 195]

You are about to embark on a brainstorming session with three of our aftermarket’s excellent business coaches that have a strong leaning toward people and culture. As you’ve learned throughout the last 194 episodes picking a panel and getting them to mesh seems to be a strength of mine and this one nailed our topic. And you benefit from this listen.

Employees leave for many reasons. This episode will give you more than five reasons and if you work on only three of them, you are on your way to creating a solid ‘sticky’ team. I say sticky because you want your people to stay, yet you need to create the right environment, culture, and engagement for it to work.

The panel: Dan Taylor, Senior Business Advisor at Transformers Institute, Dave Schedin, from Computrek Automotive Management Systems, and Murray Voth, owner and principal trainer at RPM training.

If you want the key talking points from this episode, they are already done for you. Go to the show page at remarkableresults.biz/a195 Use them for an agenda to help you implement the insights from this Academy.

Dave Kusa – 20 Questions in 30 Minutes [RR 583]

Welcome to another episode of 20 Questions in 30 Minutes. This format offers a quick, in-depth and on-point conversation like no other. You’ll hear from shop owner Dave Kusa from Autotrend Diagnostics, San Francisco, CA.

He talks about the impact of technology on his business, building a strong business culture, and getting training whenever you can. He also has some important tips about Gross Margin Hack which will be interesting once the episode hits the mid part!

Find the key talking points, Dave Kusa’s bio and links to his previous episodes at remarkableresults.biz/e583

This is raw, relevant and personal. All the necessary ingredients are concocted here to diminish your struggles and take you to the next level. Learn things aftermarket approved only here on the only remarkable results radio!

Secure Vehicle Interface – Standards Evolve as the Vehicle is Part of a Larger Transportation System – Joe Register [RR 582]

We are talking about Secure Vehicle Interface or SVI. We can’t get enough information on the plethora of technology that is happening at an enormous rate. My guest is Joe Register the Vice-President Emerging Technologies at the AutoCare Association. I love talking to Joe and we’ve done episodes in the past with big uptakes on technology. Joe also brought slides with him so we have the video on our youtube channel and on the show page on the website.

Joe Register has over 40 years of experience delivering progressive system solutions to companies in every channel of the Automotive Aftermarket. This is our third interview and we are also doing an ADAS update look for that soon. I love listening to Joe as he is so well connected through his work in helping to create tech and interface standards with ISO (International Organization for Standards) and SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers).

Find the show notes at https://remarkableresults.biz/e582.

Auto Repair in the Decade of the Eighties [THA 194]

Welcome to another trip down memory lane and a flashback to the decade of the 1980s. My guests recall that the new tech that came out in the decade was learned through trial by fire and carburetors could be diagnosed with your ears. A fun time where the music was made by hair groups…. what was your favorite group?

This was an era too where the Chrysler Caravan, Fiero and the IROC-Z debuted. When the phone rang during this period, they said that 80 percent of the time that caller would-be customers and 12 D Cell Batteries to make the Boom Box work. And of course, the mullet was the hair cut of choice. If you don’t remember because you are too young, then listen to what your brethren, who came before you, remember about the decade of the eighties. BTW There are pictures of the entire panel from the 1980s in the show notes

The panel, Kevin Eckler, along with wife Lisa own Foreign Car Specialists, in Poughkeepsie, NY, Paul Marquardt, Northwoods Auto Techs, Rhinelander, WI was the National NAPA ASE Tech of the Year for 2010 and is a NAPA Autotech Trainer
Rich Falco, Instructor at CTI (Carquest Technical Institute) and John Bridgwater, Wright’s Automotive Service, San Leandro, CA. The show notes at remarkableresults.biz/a194 where you’ll find pictures and links to my panel’s previous episodes.

Cybersecurity: Defend and Protect Your Business and Network [RR 581]

Cybersecurity: First Line of Defense for your Business – RR 581

Chris Cloutier has brought his wisdom and insights to the podcast over the years. // he and his brother own Golden Rule Auto Care and is CEO of Autotext.me. Jay Mikulovich is the founder and CEO of Revival Technology LLC. We will be traversing the world of cybersecurity.

As we all know, cybersecurity is the defense and protection of your computers, mobile devices, or any electronic gadgets connected to the internet against any form of malicious software and hackers. You may be saying why me, Carm. I don’t need to care about this.

Many say differently. You’ve got to take a proactive position to minimize threats that loom to affect computer systems. Learn from this episode, the best practices needed to protect your business from threats that include ransomware, viruses, and malware.

Don’t ignore this. We tend to overlook securing our network and systems with the attitude that it will not happen to me. Find the key talking points at remarkableresults.biz/e581

The Evolution of SEO: Make Your Website the Best For Search – Brain Walker [RR 580]

In this episode, we have Brian Walker talking about the basic core principles of SEO. We will be diving into websites, quality content, search engine, Google’s algorithm of search intent, marketing and many more areas that helps you improve your website.
Brian was a Mercedes Benz Master dealer tech and was ASE certified with L1. He owned Peak Automotive in Apex, NC. He is also the co-owner of Shop Marketing Pros. He does “Done for you” marketing services for auto repair shops.

We talked about websites and optimizations. A few years back you can trick search engines to position your sites a little bit higher but now SEO or search engine optimization has evolved. AI’s are being used to make search engines think like a human. It can adapt well. This means we have to go back to the basic core principles of why your site ever existed.

Find the show notes at https://remarkableresults.biz/e580.

Apprentice Stories [THA 193]

In your circles do you find that the discussion is trending toward finding top talent? All aspects from networking, writing great ads, improving hiring systems and improving your business culture is credited to finding and keeping top talent.

How much success are you having finding great talent out of the available pool? I believe the time has come, in a big way, to “grow your own”. For many that concept seems nebulous. Something you hear about, know you should do, but can’t even begin to know where to start.

I’ve done at least 10 podcasts on apprenticing and career pathing. Most recently Town Hall Academy #185 dedicated to understanding apprentice programs. This episode is a bookend to #185 and I call it Apprentice Stories. Listen to two apprentices and a mentor talk candidly about the process and results.

Anything worthwhile takes time and effort and installing an apprentice program in your shop is as right as having lifts in your bays.

I will have links to important apprentice programs you can embrace listed in the show notes at remarkableresults.biz/a193

Stress Busters to Deal with the Emotional Roller Coaster – Dr. Dave Weiman [RR 579]

Stress Busters to Deal with the Emotional Roller Coaster – Dr. Dave Weiman – RR 579

This year was like any I ever remember. I’m sure you have the same sentiment. COVID-19 hit us and the uncertainty of dealing with protection, safety, and serving our clients was and is a huge part of our daily lives. We are still figuring out our new normal and with it comes new struggles. With that comes mental stresses of all kinds and the roller-coaster swings that can cause emotional highs and lows.

I’m with Dr. David Weiman. He is the president of Weiman Consulting, a leadership consulting firm in Philadelphia PA. He is also an adjunct Assistant Professor at Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology, and he is a Certified Performance Coach through Johnson & Johnson’s Human Performance Institute. He will talk about keeping clients, overcoming the stress that the pandemic has thrust upon us all and how we can show gratitude to the people we care about.

I so enjoyed this discussion with Dr. Dave and I’m sure you’ll take some great advice on dealing with stress and showing your gratitude. Find the key talking points at remarkableresults.biz/e579

Diagnostic Processes – Matt Fanslow and Scott Shotton – Part 2 [RR 578]

There are different approaches to every situation and problem, especially in automotive repair problem-solving. My guests bring their different approaches in solving diag issues to the podcast. They did it before in episode 544, but this time they take it to the next level.

Matt Fanslow and Scott Shotton once again prove their own points in this second part episode. They may not agree on the processes but their approach to diagnose and solve problems are undeniable. They are relentless but their individual approach works. Matt and Scott are fine-tuned by years of experience diagnosing problems under the hood. In the end, we can pass the decision to you, the listener. Which pathway do you prefer? Possibly a hybrid of the discussion?

Both Matt and Scott agree that The customer supplies important data. The service consultant must write it all down so the tech has as much information available. Find the show notes at https://remarkableresults.biz/e578.

Improving Work Flow [THA 192]

Improving Workflow – THA 192

We are talking about Improving Workflow in the Shop. The panel gave their best in sharing disciplines and processes that work for them. If you are a student of process improvement you’ll appreciate the discussion and if you are not you’ll realize you must start.

The panel includes Mike Davidson, Parkway Automotive, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Industry Essentials with a DOL Approved Apprenticeship Plan, Corey Evaldi, Olmsted Auto Care, Olmstead, OH, Andrew Minkler, Bavarian Motor Repairs, Capital Heights, MD and Steve Wootton, Technical Adviser, Ultimate Auto, Truck and Equipment in Cromwell, CT.

The detailed key talking points can be found at remarkableresults.biz/a192. Remember you can use the talking points to help create your own next steps or meeting agenda.

Mike Davidson shares the most important question that he asks every one of his team members.

Shop Talk 9: The Ladies Have a Lot To Say [RR 577]

Shop Talk 9 – The Ladies Have a Lot to Say – RR 577

Three lady shop owners that will speak to marketing to women, offer their perspective on margins and cost management, how the pandemic has made important changes and how it changed the hiring process. Will you agree, take exception from their ideas or gain a new insight.

The panel: Jamie Carlson from Ervine’s Auto Repair, who was honored as the Female Shop Owner of the Year 2019 from AutoCare’s Women In Auto Care, Emily Chung
AutoNiceh in Markham, Ontario, and Rachael Wacha from City Auto Repair, Gainesville, FL.

Find the key talking points at remarkableresults.biz/e577

Life After Succession – Randy Pickering [RR 576]

Family businesses can survive the generations, needless to say, you’ve got to do a lot of things right. It’s the culture, discipline, and the brand that gives the necessary template for a successful transition.

Today we welcome Randy Pickering, legacy owner of Pickering’s in Lakewood, CO. Pickerings is an amazing company that is transitioning into the 5th generation, Randy’s two sons. That is a rare thing.

To help gain their independence Randy says his sons both wanted to join a 20 group of their own and opened their 2nd store to scale up for a solid exit plan. Randy shares his newfound life after leading Pickerings in Lakewood, CO.

Find the show notes at https://remarkableresults.biz/e576.