RR 310: Ron Ipach from Repair Shop Coach

Without Customers You Have No Business.

One of the most important jobs of a service professional CEO is to be a marketer; to make the phone ring. In this episode Ron Ipach, co-founder and President of Repair Shop Coach will share with you a very simple tactic that he says could double the number of visits from your customer. Ron is known as ‘Captain Car Count’ and he received that moniker from one of his customers many years ago and it stuck.

Ron has some very simple strategies on how to create business from the customers you’ve already served. You’ll hear some very profound stats on the number of messages we are bombarded by each day and how you can get through the clutter of emails, texts, ads, social media and ‘market’ to your customer.

Ron’s got a simple message to share. “Pay more attention to the people you’ve done business with in the last year.” Get them to move to a more experience relationship with you than a transactional. Invite them back in the shop.

THA 058: How to Become the Employer of Choice

How to Become the Employer of Choice.

Join Ryan Clo from Dubwerx in Cincinnati, Dwayne Myers from Dynamic Automotive in Frederick, MD and the Director of Training at RLO, Barry Barrett.

You have an opportunity to listen to three of your aftermarket colleagues who will share their perspective on becoming the employer of choice. We opened up some great thinking pathways to help you create and improve your position in the marketplace when it come to attacking and keeping great talent.

We talk the extreme importance of creating and having a great business culture, career ladders, putting your people front and center in your business, pay, reputation and so much more.

RR 287: Bill Haas – Millennials – How to Lead and Engage This Generation

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Hiring and Leading Millennials

Every twenty years or so a new generation of workers arrives. For many of us, we raised today’s Millennials or Generation Y. They are made up of the 22-40-year-old’s who number 79 million in the workforce; the largest segment.

If we are to seed our industry with youth and grow our own, we must look at the Millennial Generation. We must understand how to integrate them and nurture them into our workforce.

Each generation has its quirks. Gen Y is no different. Once you learn what moves and motivates them you’ll find it so much easier to accept and keep millennials motivated in your business culture. The lessons here works for all team members, but you’ll learn what really makes the Millennial tick and why they behave like they do.

THA 046: Revving Up Your Business Culture | AMi Credit

Building a strong business culture can be one of the hardest things a business owner can do yet the most rewarding.

It is one of the key principles in the business that you cannot touch. It’s the soft stuff. For many, it is tough to get your hands around it. This academy panel does a great job explaining culture and shows you many ways to implement and lead it.

The power of a strong business culture can be one of your biggest differentiators as a business and a strong reason you attract top talent.

THA 038: Is the Goal to Bring Cars Into the Bay or Clients Into the Business?

Are you viewing your client and their car as one?

There are too many disruptions in the industry that drives big reasons to hold strong relations with your customer. Understanding your customer and their vehicle as ‘one life condition’ is the foundation of this Academy discussion.

Jeremy O’Neal, Greg Buckley and Jason Malo discuss the power of moving from transactional to ‘relationship holding values’.

They say future technology will minimize the number of calls that come in the shop, therefore, you cannot see the vehicle without seeing the customer. It must be personal.

There are plenty of cars to repair, and you must maximize your staff’s training and extract their intelligence to move your business to new heights and even into other markets. They conclude that the culture of the shop creates the clients.

THA 036: Ten Reasons For Buying Technician Tools

Is Tradition Preventing Shop Owners From Buying Technician Tools? FACT: Shop Owners Are Already Paying For Their Employee Tools, And At A Super Inflated Premium With A Ton Of Interest To Boot.

This Academy panel feels that making employees supply tools is an outdated tradition, based on poor understanding of economics and is commonplace for all the wrong reasons.

We cover a lot of ground including the debt load carried by technicians, tool truck time, improved retention and loyalty. We talk side work, and how to approach starting this new strategy. The panel agrees it takes more than just money to retain top talent.

When the shop provides all the specialty tools you need to have them cataloged so everyone knows where they are located to prevent wasted time finding them. In the end, what is in the best interest for your shop will guide how you tackle this.

THA 014: Customer Retention Strategies

Do you have a customer avatar, a profile of your ideal customer?

Listen to this great lesson on customer retention and marketing from Gene Morrill, Ron Haugen and Maylan Newton as they bring to the forefront, customer marketing budgets and a yearlong plan, social media, special events, car care clinics and digital service reminder.

Many great ideas to jump start or re-invent your customer retention strategy.