Down Time – What To Do With It!
Binge Worthy Listening Part 1
We may have some downtime on our hands as we deal with COVID-19 It is time to schedule training sessions in light of having extra time available. There are many things that can be done from equipment maintenance, painting, repairs, fix-up, clean up and training. Dig out the seminar books from the last year and…
Secret Sauce. Really?
Eleven Tips for Creating ‘Extreme Employee Loyalty’
It is not important that you love to come to work and enjoy what you do? With my ear to the ground as the aftermarket podcast guy, an enduring culture rings strong as one of the most important strategies of an extremely successful business. One critical component of that success and the only way it…
The Power of Your Story is Effective Marketing
Do You Know the Enemy of Leadership?
Technician Training Strategies and Rewards
Training is a top-five strategy in the automotive service business. Shop owner CEO’s must focus on culture, marketing, financial results, processes and creating a learning culture in their business among others. Owners must lead the way by attending business management/CEO training. Training is a retention tool; keep that in mind. Shop owners must create a…
Succession – Planning One of Your Biggest Decisions
Ready to Sell Or Succeed Your Business? Is Your Business Attractive to a Potential Buyer? Do You Have an Internal Candidate To Buy Your Business? Statistically, 88% of current family business owners believe the same family or families will control their business in five years. However, succession statistics undermine this belief. According to The Family…
The Extreme Value of Shop Tours
Ready for your next shop?
I am one of the luckiest people in the industry, I get a chance to pull together smart people who have a passion for sharing and helping others. In the Town Hall Academy podcast panel discussions we cover the context of the automotive aftermarket. One ongoing conversation in the podcast is consolidation. Now and even…
Seeding Our Future Technicians is Your Responsibility.
I keep hearing about that greatest challenge in the aftermarket, a technician shortage. Recently instead of listening to the ‘woe is me’ story, I asked, ‘How are we going to fix it?’ and no surprise, there were great answers to this question. The top solutions to the tech shortage are not new, but they will…
Concierge Service
I have completed over 400 interviews with aftermarket professionals and there have been a few common threads I have been hearing as of late, they include: Getting paid for what you do. Letting ethics and integrity drive your business culture. Using quality parts. Paying attention to your numbers and measuring your KPI’s. (Key Performance Indicators)…
The Dreaded Comeback: Four Keys To Prevention
In an April 2018 Town Hall Academy with three shop owners, we discussed comeback prevention. They all agreed that prevention starts at the front door. There were some very common themes that resonated with this discussion and I want to share four of them with you. It is all About Communication. When you provide enough…
Fleet Business: A Great Opportunity for Sales Growth
Many service professionals have improved their businesses by documenting and honing their processes and systems. They also found that creating a strong unwavering culture that put their people first was a positive turning point in their business. When your people come first, they take care of your customers and allow for organic sales growth. Your…
It’s time to do a SWOT
This could be the best team exercise you’ve ever done; that is, unless you’ve done some team building exercises on an obstacle course or at a horse ranch. For the small business person, a SWOT exercise is like creating a strategic plan. A strategic plan you say, that is for the big world of corporate…