Watch like a DOCUMENTARY … Learn like a SEMINAR.

The Academy Panel:

• Tom Palermo is General Manager of Preferred Automotive Specialties in Jenkintown, PA. Tom is a world class Master Technician and a Certified ASE Advanced Level Technician, is certified from ASE including Master Auto, MasterTruck, Master Truck Equipment, Master School Bus, Master Collision, Master Transit Bus, L1, L2, C1, X1, P2, F1 Besides the 2015 NAPA/ASE Technician of the Year, Tom also earned the 2011 AAIA-ASE World Class Technician Award from the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, and the Best Tech of the Year award sponsored by WIX Filters. The majority of Tom’s business is fleets. Listen to Tom’s previous episodes HERE. 
• Bill Nalu is President of Interstate Auto Care in Madison Heights, Michigan and has been in business for 30 years.  Bill collaborates with industry professionals, in building today’s “high-tech/old-fashioned” customer service system.Bill has been a big contributor to the podcast and he currently serves on several industry and educational advisory councils including AutoValue/Bumper to Bumper, Dorman Industries, and Cardone. Listen to Bill’s previous episodes HERE. 
•  John Constantin from Bison Fleet Specialists in Buffalo, NY, has strived to bring quality service and superior workmanship to the vehicle repair industry in Western New York. When John first started out as a technician, he was determined to identify with his customers, making sure every effort was made to maintain the integrity of Bison Fleet Specialists workmanship, and establish a long-term “care” relationship with each person who passed through their service center.John’s personal goal was to inform each customer of basic maintenance steps they could perform to keep their RVs, Trucks, Trailers, Buses, Campers & Cars running at optimum performance levels, achieved by following a few simple guidelines.  

Recruiting

• Can’t go on a date if you don’t ask her out. You always need to be asking. Look for every opportunity.
  • Knocking on doors.
  • Watch vehicles drive by your shop and write down all names.
  • Sit at a busy gas station and write down the names of the companies that are fueling there.
• Existing customer can steer you to a small fleet to start.
  • Do not start too big.
• Expectations from a fleet customer:
  • Convenience.
  • Done Right.
  • Quickly.
• You can modify what you do daily to help integrate fleet business.
• By calling on potential fleet customers, you become an option to them that they never had before. You are now top of mind and can capitalize when a change is coming. Could take a week or a year.
  • Ask when to follow up, Always on their time frame.
• Always be marketing. Stay in front of people. Find the right mindset to present.
• Go in with a presentation that you will be a value in their business.
  • Be yourself.
• Answer this. Why would a fleet customer drive by three other shops to get to you? That is your value proposition. Put yourself in their shoes and come up with talking points to build a conversation instead of a sales pitch.
• Don’t present yourself as a salesperson.
• Remember, it may take a year or more to land a new fleet. Never stop working your prospect list.

Reasons

• Revenue opportunity for the shop.
• Long-term growth strategy.
• Parlay your physical plant and people talent with fleet work.
• Larger ARO.

How to

• Every fleet has different expectations.
• You must be pliable.
• The relationship matters. Establish a relationship. You must value that relationship as the most important part of the transaction. Honesty. Forthcoming. Integrity. Always in the customers’ interest.
• Think outside the box.
  • Loaner vehicles is a possibility in the service you provide.
• Ask the fleet manager what their exact requirements are.
• Do fleets know the level of support you will provide? Lay it out. If you’ll do towing they must know. Details.
• Understand their requirements and meet them. Most fleets have individual needs.
• You must be convenient to them.
• Never say NO. Always say yes. If it has an engine you can fix it.
  • Remote starters, glass, collisions. You do it all. Sublet if necessary.
• Many fleet managers wear many different hats and you help them fill a special niche.
• Help the fleet systematize their controls so there are no major surprise breakdowns. Example of checking oil between services.
  • It is 100% avoidable if an engine needs to be replaced because of no oil.
• Involve the fleet manager in the repair of the vehicle and continue to re-enforce the value of the relationship. The fleet manager is your customer, not the fleet administrator.
• Offer to have a training session for drivers and for any higher up in the company. Help them understand how the vehicle needs to be taken care of.
• Make a lifetime customer by helping the fleet manager see your value and help them with their fleet management decisions.
• TIP:
  • Tom Palermo completely details all new fleet customer vehicles.
• The shop owner has a say in the safety and quality of repairs.
  • The customer not the fleet administrator and is the most important part of the equation.
• Fleets will review your website and even secret shop you.
• Create a fleet management program custom for every fleet.
• Never compromise your quality and reputation by doing any less quality work for a fleet vs. a regular customer. Your integrity must always rule.

Challenges

• You can lose a large chunk of your business if you mess up.
• Dealing with fleet administration companies. (a third party)
• Be willing to change and get out of your comfort zone.
• Never do the job of the fleet administrator.
  • Know your place and provide what they are asking for.
  • The bar is raised and there could be political issues inside companies.
    • Companies bought out and things change and will do fleet maintenance on their own.
• Don’t oversell and talk too much as you are out recruiting.
  • Peak their interest and stop talking and let the fleet prospect talk.
  • Focus on delivering their needs.
  • Every proposal must be unique to that customers.
    • Show how you can help them get better.
  • Don’t give up. You must be constantly marketing and recruiting.

Watch like a DOCUMENTARY … Learn like a SEMINAR.

The Academy Panel:

Kirk Richardson is a young and successful entrepreneur. Born into a blue-collar, hard-working family. At the age of 22, he left school and started his first business. He bought his first three bay shop at the age of 24. Seven years later he bought his second shop, South Street Auto Care in Rochester, MI. Today, at age 34, Kirk is a successful business owner.

Kirk prides himself on his ability to create a family culture within his businesses. The culture is a blend of hard work, accountability, and fun which combine to make loyal and dedicated co-workers. Kirk loves business and people in general and will talk for hours about business! Listen to Kirk’s episodes HERE.

Eric Svedberg was only 22 years old and ready to seize the opportunity of a lifetime.  He purchased an Amoco gas station and consequently made history by becoming the youngest Amoco dealer in the United States. What continues to set, Automotive Specialists apart from the others in the market is their customer-centered culture, concentration on quality and extended warranty.

Automotive Specialists routinely repair items on vehicles that are usually left to the dealer and often those that the dealer couldn’t fix themselves.  This foundation proved to Eric to be a very successful business model. Listen to Eric’s episodes HERE.

Bill Greeno owner of Quality Automotive and Smog in Truckee, CA and is also a business consultant with a focus on leadership and management and is big on communication. He and his team work hard on building strong internal communication, that he says makes huge difference in his unyielding customer service.

He also believes that having a satisfied staff is pivotal to customer service success. Having a shared vision is at the core of this. Their Vision Statement is “Your Trusted Local Auto Care.” Their service related conversations revolve around their Vision Statement and it is the launch pad for discussions regarding new ideas and/or changing a policy or procedure.  Bill teaches on building a strong business culture. Listen to Bill’s episodes HERE.

Talking Points:

• Deloitte survey shows 61% of employees believe that their company does not do enough to create a good culture.  The survey also found that 91% of companies with good culture have a history of strong financial performance.
• If you do not manage culture it will manage you. It is like your online presence.
• Managing culture is a full-time job.
• Every business has their own culture. Good or bad.
• Building and maintaining your culture is hard work and painstaking.
• Eric is currently working on a plan rev up his business culture with his business coach.
• Culture is bred from what owners pay attention to.
  • Culture is behaviors and norms.
  • Owners behaviors directly affect the business culture.
  • Owners actions reflect onto their teams. What the owner pays attention to, so will the team.
• We can start to have our staff become self-managing in your culture by sharing your numbers.
  • People pay attention to the security of the company.
• Eric is setting individual and company goals and feels it is a good place to start an improved culture.
• What are the good and bad behaviors?
  • We will build on the good and root out the bad.
  • Never about the person, but about behaviors. Good or bad.
  • Soft skills is a good place to start to improve. A set of common values or shared values. (how do we want to treat each other)
• If your people enjoy working with each other they will produce far more work than if all you talk about is perform more work.
• Your leadership must sustain your culture.
• Financial success makes a company, therefore, profitability is a key to sustaining and building a strong culture, but not everything.
• The Love Bank. With a human interaction, you make deposits or withdrawals.
  • Make 50 deposits per one withdrawal.
• You need a Trust Bank with your people and customers.
• Building a great culture (quick starts)
  • Starts with great communication.
    • Look for opportunities to become a better communicator.
  • At a minimum, be a strong leader. Your people will take cues, follow and watch your behavior.
• The quarterly conversation. Every three months discuss individual behavior within your cultural norms with each team member.
  • Owner/supervisor is subject to the same review (two way)
  • The shared values are reviewed.
  • Look for strengths
• To make a personal change, look inward. Are you hardened because of the many challenges from your people such as stealing and loss of trust among your people? You need to overcome it.
• Book recommendation: Nine Minutes on Monday by James Robbins
• There will be resistance to build a strong culture. It is difficult. You may have to come to terms with people leaving your company.
  • A longer journey in a small shop than in a larger shop because you are up against the potential of losing a person who may be responsible for a large portion of the work.
• Your culture should win over the numbers. If a person doesn’t fit but has great production, that behavior must be eliminated. Your team will ask you terminate a person who doesn’t fit your culture.
• You hire people for what they know and fire them for who they are.
  • Do you want to be around that person?
• Kirk hires for a cultural fit.
• The moment you set your intention (get serious) to set your culture it starts to gain momentum.
  • Keep in mind you have to set the example and the tone in the business by your actions.
• Be open with your people. Take the ownership of the culture that exists today and where the team is headed and the changes you will make for the good of the organization.
• Kirk started by defining what behaviors were good, which ones weren’t and then asked for the team’s input on his list.
• You must help your people focus on their strengths.
• Consider Strengths Finder test for your people and include in your hiring process. Just one tool for discovery and support.
• As trust is built you transform as a leader and so will your people accept your culture.
• Developing the right culture takes time and a lot of hard work. It is not easy. Prepare for slow steady wins over time.
• Culture trumps numbers.
• Create your new hire interview questions and process around your culture. Look for the behaviors and personal qualities. Hire them for who they are not for what they know.
• The moment you turn your intention to the culture, you want the processes start. You must manage it every day. Sharing your intentions, your vision, and teaching and you must lead by example.
  • Take ownership of where you are today (the baseline) and start to make the changes.
• If the culture is good but the results are not there, there isn’t a fit because results are a part of your culture.
• Praise for all the good that happens and correct the behaviors that are not in your culture.

Watch like a DOCUMENTARY … Learn like a SEMINAR.

The Academy Panel:

Tom Ham, with the help of his wife Deb, is the creator and owner of Automotive Management Network an 12,000 plus member website dedicated to the exchange of vehicle service management information.

Tom got his start in the auto service industry pumping gas in the late 60’s. Tom and his wife operate Auto Centric, an import specialty shop in Grand Rapids. Tom and Deb have five children including two sons and a daughter who served in the Iraq War as U.S. Marines.  He writes extensively on industry topics.  Tom’s previous episodes HERE.

Randy Lucyk from Midas in Kalkaska, MI is a very interesting entrepreneur. Randy is one strong aftermarket thinker and informally among Midas dealers, he is known as the data and IT guy.

Randy Lucyk proves that even if you are in a small town of 2600 you can have a very strong and growing business and be a very powerful force in helping your community. He’s been in business for 35 years has 12 lifts and has seven technicians at his Midas shop.  He’s got the dents of business hardships that helped guide his current success. Randy and partner/wife Cathy are strong philanthropists in their community.  Listen to Randy’s episode HERE.

Rick White has been working in the automotive, software & coaching industries for greater than thirty years and is currently an AMI-approved training instructor.  He owned and managed several successful automotive repair shops.  Currently, Rick is President and Lead Coach for 180BIZ, an auto repair shop training and business coaching company proudly serving the independent auto and truck repair owner since 2006.

Rick has been acknowledged as an industry expert and has been featured in many automotive trade publications. Rick has been training and speaking at industry events across the country including AAPEX, Vision and for AASP PA just to name a few. Find all of Ricks contributions to the podcast HERE.

Talking points:

• Business model changes may need to be considered where Labor rates reflect the loss of the parts margins.
• What will the distribution model look like in 5 years?
• Finding a good customer from the ones that walk in with their own parts are slim to none. There are exceptions but very rare. This is not a good foundation for a strong relationship.
• It is not our normal customers coming in with parts it is new customers.
• There is a fear, so people go to YouTube to find things out. Parts and repairs are very transparent and available on the internet.
• What is at risk:
  • Your reputation. What about the quality of the part.
  • You will have to own the repair cradle to grave. Even with a signed agreement.
• If you are getting more requests from customer’s to install parts something is wrong with your business.
  • You are marketing wrong or you are in the wrong location.
  • Why are you attracting these type of customers? They are not your target customers. They will never be profitable.
  • You will affect all your other customers if you change your policies to accommodate customer installed parts.
• When we install customers parts, we train the prospect that we compete on price rather than value.
  • It is a race to the bottom.
• Customers that want you to install their parts have a fear.
  • Is it the price or the cost that the customer is concerned about.
  • This allows you to change the focus on the price to the lifetime value and the benefits that your shop brings.
• Service adviser training is a big help to eliminate the price issue.
  • Your out the door investment is: $XXX.
• Smile! If you are going to install the customers supplied parts. Don’t punish the customer the whole time. Since you decided don’t frown about it. SMILE!
• Insurance liability is an important reason not to install customer parts.
• The Curse of Knowledge.
  • If you understand Auto Repair, so we assume our customers know as much as us.
  • When you present, they are considering only two things on a purchase decision. Time and Money.
    • We must guide them through the process to help them get to their decision.
  • Shop owners do not know the value that they bring to the transaction.
    • Get paid for that.
• Your gross profit on the job is the total price of the job, less the cost of the part(s).
  • The price they pay should be the same your parts or theirs.
• It is not a price issue with the customer it is a fear and trust issue.
• The entire idea is insane to install customer parts.
  • Call a contractor to build your house with all the materials you purchased.
  • Call a legitimate top tier roofing company to install the shingles you bought at the wholesale club.
• There are many home garages that will install parts for a walk-in customer for a low rate. A reality that will not go away. The e-com availability of parts will give these ‘parts installers’ a lot of work. The guys that are in the rural areas find this type of competition.
  • These ‘parts installer shops’ make it easier for the professional. They will leave the top tier shops alone and allow you the top tier customers to service.
• You are going to need to look and be professional unless you want to attract the wrong customer.
• The insurance industry will always say that they will not cover your shop keep liability insurance if you install a part that you didn’t buy the part from your legitimate supplier.
• Use the wisdom from the three-panel members in their experience on this topic.
• When the occasion occurs where you are asked to install their parts. Explain that you are more than happy to fix their car and give them the best value. Installing a customer’s own parts is not an option.
• Spend the money in the lobby. This is the customers first facing of your business.
  • This gives the first impression that you are not going to install their parts so they won’t even ask.
  • A really beautiful and professional waiting area repels bad customers.
    • The question is never asked.
  • Understand when some is coming to your shop to have you install their part, it is about trust and fear issues.
  • A future business model change: We need to consider how we price parts and include the margin that we would have made on the parts in your labor number. The transparency of pricing is available to everyone.

Watch like a DOCUMENTARY … Learn like a SEMINAR.

The Academy Panel:

Kim Auernheimer, AAM is the Co-Owner & Business Manager of CS Automotive in Brentwood, Tennessee. CS Automotive was opened in October of 2006 in the back of a warehouse and now they call a 6,400 square foot, 10-bay shop home.  Prior to joining her husband Rob in the business on a full-time basis, Kim had a career in Commercial Real Estate and Property Management. In July of 2011, she stepped out from the background of the business and joined her husband in the venture of creating an industry-leading standout.

Kim continuously seeks out training for her and her entire team and put the teachings to use. Her belief in industry education has been a large influence on how much success and growth they have had over last few years.  She has a passion to improve the reputation of the Automotive Repair industry working alongside other shop owners and industry leaders to improve the overall experience of the customer from the moment they make that first call to the shop until they drive their car off the lot instilling transparency and developing trust during the entire process.

In 2017, she obtained her Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation. This is a result of 120-credit hours of course work in several core competencies including leadership, marketing, customer relations, accounting, and several other areas of automotive repair business management.Kim and Rob are proud parents of two amazing young-adult children. Their son Jacob recently graduated from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a degree in Accounting and just two months ago, he married his beautiful high school sweetheart Nicole. Their daughter Ema is a Political Science and  Pre-law student at  Vanderbilt University in Nashville,  Tennessee. Listen to Kim’s Episodes HERE.

Shari Pheasant is “The Queen of Horse Power” is a DISC Certified Master Behavior Analyst, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Business Innovator, and Coach. She recently returned from a book tour for her book “25 Car Care Tips For Women” that made it to Amazon’s International Best Seller List June 2017! She is a member of Women in Auto Care and owns a service shop with her husband Jeff. Shari is the recipient of the Business Innovator Award at the Business Expert Forum at Harvard in July 2017. She is the creator of Driven from Within, Horse Powered, and Barn Boot Camp; three programs that develop human capital potential for business teams and individuals. Listen to Shari’s Episodes HERE.

Jeremy O’Neal  President and lead sales trainer for Advisorfix, began his career as a Service Advisor and moved into Service Management at the dealership level for VW, Audi, and Porsche. He consistently placed in the top 3% of Service Advisors across the nation. With a passion for helping others, Jeremy started coaching Service Advisors in 2007. Jeremy also owns an independent auto repair shop, Freedom Automotive in Hesperia, CA. Jeremy is a DISC Certified Master Behavioral Analyst. You can hear Jeremy’s Episodes HERE.

Watch like a DOCUMENTARY … Learn like a SEMINAR.

The Academy Panel:

Kevin Vaught is an Elite Worldwide Business Development Coach.

After starting his work in the industry at age 15, Kevin opened his own shop by the time he was 22! His shop, AutoTire Car Care Center, was an immediate success and Kevin was able to open up 4 locations over the next 15 years.

One of the reasons Kevin was a success as a shop owner was because he understood the importance of his people and his processes. He believed that he couldn’t provide great external customer service without first providing great internal customer service (to his employees) and that hiring the right people, giving them the tools, systems, and procedures that they needed, and then getting out of their way would be a huge key to his success. This business philosophy certainly paid off, as Kevin’s business has been featured in several trade publications over the years.

Kevin received ASE certification, as well as an AS degree in Business Administration while he was running his shops.

He served on several Supplier Dealer and Advisory Councils. He has 43 years of industry experience and was a highly profitable multiple location owner-operator for over 30 years. He sold his company so he could focus on another one of his passions; helping other shop owners build more profitable businesses.

Ryan Blair is owner of Blair Automotive and BMP Tuning in Dallas Texas. Blair Automotive is a 20,000 square foot, state of the art, Audi and VW service and performance facility. BMP Tuning is a leading nationwide European aftermarket parts distribution business and E-commerce platform. Ryan has 10 years of dealership experience as a Master Guild Audi Technician. Ryan won the Audi Twin Cup National Technician challenge.

Ryan has taken the amenities, employees, and equipment from the dealership and made them available in an independent environment.

Robert Sexton is the General Manager of First Tire and Automotive, a chain of four automotive repair shops located in the greater Houston region. He has worked in the aftermarket automotive industry since 1983 when he first started as an attendant in a full-service gas station. Robert has held positions as general service, service advisor, service manager, manager, and business manager during his automotive career. He has succeeded through the evolution of the automotive industry and its many challenges. As a member of the Elite Automotive consulting group, he has learned from the best in the industry how to thrive in today’s complicated retail market. Robert attended the University of Houston for Business Administration. He is married with two children attending Texas A&M University.

Talking points:

• Recruiting is an ongoing active responsibility. Everyday. Building your pipeline of quality and qualified candidates is an ongoing job.
• Recruiting takes goals and a plan.
• What is important to your recruit.
  • Your opportunity.
  • Growing their career.
  • Stability, benefits.
• Your own people will tell you what they appreciate about your business including your benefits program. It is important that you tell your recruit about what your team values about your business. Morale, Culture, Training, Team. Etc.
• Host training seminars at your facility. This will bring in potential recruits to see your business.
  • They will be curious because they hear a lot of good about your business.
• Never ask people if they know someone looking for a job. You must tell people you are looking for superstars.
• Segment your interviews via a grading system. (Could be A, B, C)
  • Some B techs that you interviewed a few years ago may be an A tech today.
  • As your recruit is grooming at another shop they are growing and grooming.
• Recruiting is the long game as you wait for the right person and right opportunity
• Your superstars take pride in what they do and want to work for a shop that has a high reputation.
• You must network with other shops in your market.
  • Never bad mouth other shops.
  • Work with them in your market to help each other to improve the image and quality of our work in the industry.
• Using Facebook to recruit and now Instagram helps you connect with your friends, your clients and your potential recruits.
  • Ryan Blair likes people to follow his business page and his personal page.
  • It helps customers and recruits to see what kind of person you are.
  • You can learn about them so you have conversation starters.
  • A great platform to interact with. It brings transparency to the relationship.
• You must know your WHY, because your younger recruits will want to know it. They want to know about the business and your purpose.
• You’ve got to invest time into recruiting; sometimes money (time is money). You may need to buy lunches, dinners and even a bounty program. Resources need to be allocated.
  • You may need to spend some money on Facebook to recruit through an ad.
• In direct mail, include a starburst that you are looking for superstars.
• Great people in the right spot makes the difference in a high culture business that is profitable and well run.
  • Recruiting for talent is no different than marketing for customers. Your payoff may pay off down the road. If you get no initial results it doesn’t mean it did not work.
• Go to technician seminars and pass out cards.
• Recruiting is a perpetual duty.
  • How bad do you want to fill your pipeline?
• Speak at automotive technology colleges.
  • Speak to parent’s groups about the automotive
  • Look for all opportunities to grow potential relationships.
  • Talk to the top 1% of the students at these institutes. Get to know them.
  • Bring young people under your wing with a mentor program.
• Kevin says that at Elite Worldwide they always look for attitude, aptitude, and ethics in hiring people and building a team.
• Recruitment is a long game.
• Recruiting through dealership parts counters works. They know their best people.
• Don’t think you can’t recruit from dealerships. Some dealership people may see earning a little less but getting a better work-life balance is very important to them. Never assume it is all about the money.
• Share your business plan not only with your people but with a potential recruit. Show them how they fit in it.
  • They can learn how they fit and see the culture.
  • This is the transparency that recruits want to see.
• Some of your best team members can be recruited by your best team members.
• Superstars recruit superstars.