What Will 2021 Be Like? [THA 204]

Greg Buckley is the CEO of the 50 + year young Buckley Personalized Auto Care in Wilmington, DE. He’s a member of ASA, an ATI Coach, a member of the Delaware Automotive Service Professionals, past member of the NAPA advisory board council, is vice-president of NAPA business development groups, and is involved as an advisory board member of Kukui, along with AutoVitals. Hear Greg’s previous episodes HERE.

Gene Morrill, owner of Certified Automotive in Glendora, CA. Hear Gene’s previous episodes HERE.

Joe Marconi, Osceola Garage, Baldwin Place, NY (Coach with Elite Worldwide). Joe’s Episodes HERE.

Key Talking Points:

• You need a survival guide for 2021We’ve never been thru anything like this
• It ain’t over yet
• Proactive about letting customers know we are open
• “Move the Dang Couch” (do something different)
• What should we maintain doing what we’ve been doing (in 2020)We’re not immune to any kind of economic downturn
• Look at what happened, see how well we were prepared for it
• Move forward, learn from it, and put a plan in place
• Fundamentals… Moving into 2021 you don’t want to reinvent themFall back on what has worked in the past
• Knowing your margins, knowing your KPI, knowing your team
• Hone in on your fundamentals
• Stop being reactive and be proactiveMoving the couch is being proactive
• Join an organization
• Talk to friends that own shops
• Be forward thinking as much as possible
• Getting burned sometimes is not a bad thing to learn a lesson
• Is 2020 the year to admit that we don’t know what we don’t knowIt takes ego
• Encourage to ask the questions
• People are willing to teach
• Maintain your marketing thru tough times
• Maintain your resolve, maintain your resilience, maintain business as usual
• Look back at 2021, learn from it and push forward
• Walk with us down the 2021 mentalityLoaner cars for customers
• Contactless operations such as payment
• Refocus on client base that you already have
• What service can we provide in a lower mile environment  
• Customer service and e-commerceA lot of things went wrong in December
• A good thing is to go back to roots, quality of service
• Technology cannot replace quality of service
• Understand who the customer is
• Is it time to incentive technicians for training?That’s a loaded question based upon personality types
• Build training into your culture
• Alot of unknown going into 2021Marketing in 2021
• Notify customer let them know we are open
• Find out who the spenders are
• Expensive marketing campaign, instead…
• Phone call, email, text reminder – costs nothing
• Educating your staff
• Reach out and touch someone in 2021
• Final WordsJoe MarconiWhat’s your crisis continuity plan look like?
• Employee development plan
• Goal setting – what does 2021 look like in June?
• Strive for a plan
• Greg BuckleyMake sure you’re fundamentals are good
• Don’t forget what got you there
• Learn to hit a curveball
• Learn to throw things at a wall to see what sticks
• Make sure you take care of the people that are working for you
• Be better a leader than you are now
• Gene MorrillLet it go
• Don’t be the elephant, be the duck, let the water roll off your back
• Move that couch and try something new
• Get to know friends and owners
• Build a war chest of knowledge with your friends and coaches

Resources:

• A special thanks to Greg Buckley, Gene Morrill, and Joe Marconi for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Listen to all Remarkable Results Radio, For The Record and Town Hall Academy episodes.

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