Proof of Concept [THA 206]
THA 206 Proof of Concept
The pandemic was the test of preparedness, fortitude, leadership, nerves, among others. Our topic “Proof of Concept” is the story behind the strong getting stronger.
The leaders who listened and implemented the strategies being served up by the industry pundits especially coaches over the last 3 to 4 years found themselves in a good place. You’ve heard them enforce on the podcast, … essential tactics like strong business culture, a commitment to training your team, firing non-productive or toxic employees, DVI, Cloud-based software, text to pay and the list goes on like strong leadership. Smart Marketing. Managing KPIs, Good financial statements, building processes, and systems, Etc, etc. In essence, the strong found their pandemic recovery easier than others. That is what we are talking about today: ‘Proof of Concept’
Joining me is Chris Cotton, AJ Nealey, and Michael Gallini. They all agree that they are in a better spot because they implemented and worked the strategies and tactics that the industry is known to create success and sustainable profits. Glad you are here, Let’s Talk About It.
The key talking points from this episode are already done for you on the show notes page at remarkableresults.biz/a206.
Listen and view episode notesBuying & 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.
Listen and view episode notesService Advisor Advice from Steve Shaw [RR 586]
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.
Listen and view episode notesMake Customer Service your Single Biggest Competitive Advantage [RR 559]
Make Customer Service your Single Biggest Competitive Advantage [RR 559]
If you are a customer service advocate, one who believes in the Customer Experience you’ve come to a well of information that will confirm your strategies and help to create a new and powerful commitment to your customer.
Author John DeJulius and business coach Alan Beech talk about John’s book ‘Customer Service Revolution’. This is a highly recommended read from me and you can find it on the books page on the website.
John DeJulius says you can’t out market or outspend your competition … You need to out love them with an exceptional customer experience. He also says that exceptional experiences is one of the only sustainable differentiators among competitors.
Learn about secret service systems and soft skills training. You have to know your customer even at the tiniest level like learning what their coffee preferences are. You can out-service the competition this way. Exceeding their expectations ensures having a repeat customer.
Find the key talking points and bios for John DiJulius III and Alan Beech’s at remarkableresults.biz/e559
Listen and view episode notesMulti Shop Operations – Acquisition – Selling [THA 171]
Greg Bunch is the owner of Aspen Auto Clinic, a five-location automotive and service business in Colorado. Greg started his passion for cars at 15 when he began rebuilding a 1966 Volkswagen Bug. Greg has moved from a Volkswagen mechanic to ASE Master Technician, to Management, to starting his shop 18 years ago in his…
Listen and view episode notesDebate: Just Say Yes – I Wish I Could – Darren Adams and Brett Bohlmann [RR 533]
Panel: Darren Adams from Dryfork Diesel and Auto in Carthage, MO Brett Bohlman from HWY 7 Service Center, Newell, IA Talking Points: “Just say yes, I wish I could” Brett lost technician- lower car count and sell more. Technician spend more time on a vehicle, less processing time Top 20% make up 80% of the…
Listen and view episode notesOur Customers Don’t Know How We Make Our Sausage and it is Time They Learned [RR 516]
Carolyn Coquillette of Luscious Garage, San Francisco, CA chairs the ASCCA Connected Cars Committee, serves on the ASCCA Board of Directors and is active in her local San Francisco chapter. She’s also the Founder and CEO of Shop-Ware. Look for Carolyn’s other episodes HERE. Scott Brown is an ASE Master Certified Automobile Technician with over three…
Listen and view episode notesService Advisor Role Play #4 [THA 159]
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 Advisers in…
Listen and view episode notesZero Dollar Customers – Tom Palermo [RR 511]
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…
Listen and view episode notesAre You Selling Tires? [THA 155]
Jae Malinowski has been in the automotive trade for 25 years, starting in the auto-body industry at 18, he then transitioned to auto sales for a couple years. When a chance encounter with a headhunter introduced him to the tire industry. He started out in a management training program starting doing commercial tires to learning…
Listen and view episode notesTHA 148: Generating Repeat Business
THA 148 Generating Repeat Business
We are talking marketing, mining and relationships with Kelli Weatherby, Accurate Automotive Mesa, AZ with husband Lee and David Roman from Done With Care – Auto Repair, Merriam, KS
Kelli and David shook the trees as it relates to the all-important follow-up visits, referrals, texting, emails, customer shop tours, mystery shoppers, the importance of using your own organic content for your emails and social posts.
Listen and view episode notesTHA 141: Selling Your Business – Valuation Strategies
THA 141 Town Hall Academy on Selling your Business – Valuation Strategies
This episode on ‘Selling your Business – Valuation Strategies’ will provide a great lesson on tactics to obtain a great value for your business. The caveat is that you need to have a successful business and we do discuss some strategies on how to make that happen.
I’m delighted to have Greg Bunch, owner of Aspen Auto Clinic a five-store operation in Colorado Spring, CO and the President of Transformers Institute that provides proven strategies to transform your business, Bob Ward from Wardden, LLC believes that a Perpetual Business is profitable and sustainable without you as you prepare for sale or succession and Joel Zaleski a partner at Cardinal Brokers.
This panel will inform you as we continue an important industry discussion on succession and business valuation. There are many misnomers about what can I sell my business for. If you’ve never done the research you’ll find out it is much different than what you may want for your business. You’ve got to have something to sell to a potential buyer. If your only real asset if location, you could do well, however you need much more than that if you want to sell and retire after years of hard work.
Listen and view episode notesRR 458: John Passante and Rob Tinson – Is Face To Face Communications Gone?
Fundamental Communicating and Selling. Is Face To Face Communications Gone?
Guests Dr. John Passante is a legacy automotive aftermarket Human Resource Professional and President/CEO of the Organizational Development Group. He is an adjunct professor at the University of the Aftermarket, listed in Who’s Who in Training and Development and in the Automotive Hall of Fame. John is also an Executive Coach to many aftermarket leaders.
Rob Tinson has held key sales and marketing roles in the industry. Rob is Director of Sales for North America at Schrader TPMS Solutions a leading manufacturer of Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems, a part of Sensata Technologies.
Do you understand the basics of communicating and selling? Learn the intricacies of creating a partnership before making a sale. Understand the importance of humanizing a lot of things which were oversimplified by the use of technology.
Life works better when we communicate either using tech or better yet face to face. (Do you remember how to do that?) Communication is very important because it is where we build trust and credibility and how partnerships are built.
Listen and view episode notesTHA 130: Service Advisor Role Play #3
THA 130 Service Advisor Role Play
My guests are role-playing these three situations: #1: Brakes- the client knows what is wrong and the car has been inspected somewhere else, $2: Oil change- just looking for a price and #3: The Check Engine Light is on – how much to replace the catalytic converter?
My panel includes Rena Rennebohm CEO of Empowered Advisor, Dave Nelson From Antero’s Automotive, Greenwood Village, Colorado and RJ Milnes from DK Automotive Repair, Antioch, CA
Let features and benefits be the service advisors strong tools and during a call, you are interviewing the customer and they are interviewing you, both looking for a good fit. If cheep is what they want and you can’t deliver you’ve learned.
THA 129: Customer Financing Options
THA 129 Customer Financing Options
What options do you have to help your customers with credit choices. There are many vendor credit options to choose from and they are great. Maybe you don’t use them, maybe you should. No one wants a customer to walk out on a major purchase especially safety related. This session is here to help you capture more of the big-ticket jobs.
You just may hear a financing option idea or two that you’ve never considered. And that is exactly what we do here, push the envelope on strategies and ideas to help you grow as a leader and build your business.
Hear about the acceptance rate of vendor finance programs and a few creative ideas on how to lock in customers with a pre-payment plan. Ever do a comparison of buying new or used vs fixing the vehicle that needs all the work? Have you ever heard of the M & D loan? You are about to.
Listen and view episode notesTHA 128: Valuing and Positioning Your Business For Sale
Are you ready to sell your business? Do you know how to prepare? Is it a buyers market or a seller’s market? Do you understand some of the financial principles that drive a transaction? About 50% of you will be impacted by this discussion in the near future.
We cover a large swatch of ground as we talk about the incredible opportunity for sellers as the industry consolidates, getting your financials right, processes, leases, and the all-important EBITDA number.
The panel includes three members of Cardinal Brokers: Norm Gaither, Dennis McCarron, Joel Zaleski and a shop owner who recently sold his business Jeff Pohlman Retired from Jeff Pohlman Tire a 5 Locations operation.
Listen and view episode notesRR 447: Jonnie Wright – Customer Service: What Are The Three Things You Want To Get Better At?
Jonnie Wright – Customer Service: What Are The Three Things You Want To Get Better At
Keeping customers satisfied is what most businesses strive for and it is what keeps them coming back.
Listen to the story of customer service from Jonnie Wright. Jonnie owns The Buyosphere. Jonnie and I get into a very deep conversation on customer service, generations, the future of phone skills, secret shopping, and reviews. Later in the episode, you will learn that the most important customer becomes the one you w
Listen and view episode notesFTR 035: Aaron Shaffer – Sell Premium Products For All the Right Reasons
Aaron Shaffer Wants The Service Professional to Consider Selling Premium Products For All the Right Reasons. Pick Replacement Parts That Best Serves the Intended OE Performance of the Entire System
Listen and view episode notesRR 405: Barry Barrett – Book Review – Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss
Barry Barrett – Book Review – Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss
Barry reviews and shows the principles of the book by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz called “Never split the difference – Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It”.
Barry covers the premise of the book that builds a foundation for negotiation on the basis of understanding the other party through empathy and active listening skills.
Barry does a good job summarizing the book and bringing its principles to an aftermarket perspective.
Listen and view episode notesTHA 103: Turn Price Shopping Callers Into Customers.
Turn Phone Price Shoppers into Customers
We bring light to the service adviser/manager position as the toughest job in the company. It is very possible that your caller may not be looking for a price because they don’t know what else to ask. We talk about getting your value story told and the power of the smile among about a dozen other great lessons from this episode. It is suggested to get in your appointment making mode every time the phone rings.
On the Academy panel is Emily Sundstrom, Service Manager at Valley Auto Electric from Covington, WA and Business Coach Bill Haas, AAM from Haas Performance Consulting.
Listen and view episode notesRR 399: Service Talk 1 – The Service Adviser | Center of the Hub – Customer – Technician – Owner
Service Talk Part 1 – The Center of the Hub: Customer – Technician – Owner
Service advisors are the liaisons between the customer, technicians and the owners. Their job is one of the most important in the aftermarket service industry.
Trust and Communications are the keys to building a relationship with your customer. Trusting your tech is also critical to building a strong relationship.
We talk female service advisors, curb appeal, the disadvantage of being a former technician and how to get the owner to make the SA the point person, among other topics.
I’m so glad to welcome Racheal Barraclough, Service Manager at Amton Auto & Truck, Chris Johnson, Service Manager at Total Automotive, and Nick Herberger, Service Manager at Scruggs Automotive.
Listen and view episode notesRR 391: What Happens When a Technician Becomes a Customer for Automotive Repair.
What Happens When a Technician Becomes a Customer for Automotive Repair.
Pete Meir, Director of Training for the UBM Advanstar Automotive Group, which includes Motor Age magazine, wrote a story “When a Technician Becomes a Customer for Automotive Repair Service.” You can only imagine the implications and ramifications this implores.
When Pete needed tires for his truck he became a customer. He was not delighted with the service he was given and it drove him to write about it. He may have never written it if he had a satisfying and complete service experience. It’s tough to be in this industry and not judge your own personal experiences and standards against all others.
Training and Customer Service are the very processes that needed improvement and constant adjustment to meeting trends and everyday situations. Having this can equip a technician and service adviser in most decision making situations.
Listen and view episode notesTHA 091: Workshop – Service Adviser Roleplay – Part 2
Service Adviser Role Play Part 2
Again this team digs deep to help aftermarket professionals learn more about the service advisor position. This is one of the most important and challenging jobs in the industry. The service adviser is the face of the business and is faced with building trust and strong relationships while generating profitable revenue.
Enjoy four different role plays and the ensuing discussion. Critique each role play yourself and enjoy the comments from this team. With me is Barry Barrett, Director of Training at RLO, Clint White, shop manager at Coopers Auto Repair Specialists in Tacoma, WA and John Vasquez, Service Adviser at Los Gators Auto Service Campbell, CA.
Listen and view episode notesFTR 013: Jeremy O’Neal on How to Train a Service Adviser
Jeremy O’Neal on How To Train a Service Adviser
Listen and view episode notesTHA 078: Low Hanging Financial Fruit That Will Increase Your Profits
Low Hanging Financial Fruit That Will Improve Your Profits
The cost of doing business rises each year. Net profits that are necessary to move your business forward are challenged each day.
Our panel talks about the value of inspections on your sales, association membership, and billing for all parts and fluids used on a repair. We get into some cost savings ideas and using the power of a company credit card to help with training costs.
Listen and view episode notes