Connect with the Podcast

-Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/

-Join Our Private Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1734687266778976

-Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/carmcapriotto

-Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/

-Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/

-Follow on Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz

-Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider

-All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books

-Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom

-Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm

-The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com

-Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections

Guest host and shop tour with Danielle Vila, Red Rock Repair, Las Vegas, NV. How has Danielle’s team maintained 30% growth over the last 3 years while being located in an automotive repair complex?

Danielle Vila, Red Rock Repair, Las Vegas, NV. Danielle’s previous episodes HERE

Watch on YouTube

Key Talking Points

• Located in a complex that was developed 20 years ago- only area that is zoned for automotive repair, sandwiched between other repair shops
• Occupy 2 spaces- originally designed to be two separate shops. Limited space with parking. Not able to do pick up service/car wash etc. How can you still have a customer experience? Clean, smells clean, waiting area, snacks and coffee (also available to vendors). Only shop in complex that has a break room for employees. 
• New customer orientation- discuss what they can expect 
• Growing every year by 30% the last 3 years 
• Labor rates General $150, Diesel $190, Custom and Classic $200

Connect with the Podcast:

Aftermarket Radio Network

Subscribe on YouTube

Visit us on the Web

Follow on Facebook

Become an Insider

Buy me a coffee

Important Books

Check out today’s partner:

Dorman gives people greater freedom to fix vehicles by constantly developing new repair solutions that put owners and technicians first. Take the Dorman Virtual Tour at www.DormanProducts.com/Tour

Guest host and shop tour with Jeff and Shari Pheasant, A Master Mechanic, Reno, NV. Find out how a media story on converter theft led to Jeff collaborating with the local sheriff’s department.

Jeff Pheasant, A Master Mechanic, Reno, NV

Shari Pheasant, Horse Power Strategies. Listen to Shari’s previous episodes HERE 

Watch on YouTube

Key Talking Points

• NAPA BDG group- Shari is the president 
• Cat Converter Theft- orange stencil with high heat to leave VIN number on has deterred thieves so far. Also has a “Property of U-Haul” stencil.
• Started with a media story  
• Installing and painting stencil- shops sign on with the sheriff’s department program
• “It’s not about being a competitor, it’s about being an ally in the community.”

Connect with the Podcast:

Aftermarket Radio Network

Subscribe on YouTube

Visit us on the Web

Follow on Facebook

Become an Insider

Buy me a coffee

Important Books

Check out today’s partner:

Dorman gives people greater freedom to fix vehicles by constantly developing new repair solutions that put owners and technicians first. Take the Dorman Virtual Tour at www.DormanProducts.com/Tour

How well do you truly understand yourself and the people you work with? Are you going beyond the surface-level interactions and diving into personal development? In this Town Hall Academy, my panel not only discusses the different strength finder assessments but also the ‘why’ that drives and motivates different personalities within your business. A very important episode.

Watch Episode on YouTube

Shari Pheasant, Horse Power Strategies. Listen to Shari’s previous episodes HERE 

Shawn Gilfillan, Automotive Magic, Kenvil and Lake Hopatcong, NJ. Listen to Shawn’s previous episodes HERE

Dave Luehr, Elite Body Shop Solutions. Listen to Dave’s previous episodes HERE

Key Talking Points

• The best asset for business is your people- they are your profit
• Get Naked, Get Real, & DIG IN -It starts with you
• Culture starts with the interview
• Self-discovery- understand how your interactions matter with other people, understand your blindspots and overextensions. Bridge the gap between other people’s styles
• Getting buy-in from the others on the team to discover & work on their strengths & potential
• Getting to know each other’s strengths & how to align for best team results
• What intrinsically motivates your employees?
• There’s always more money to find, there isn’t enough time
• Hiring- 7 candidates in 1 room, Shawn evaluated how the candidates interacted
• Be aware of non-trademarked assessments

Connect with the Podcast

Aftermarket Radio Network

Subscribe on YouTube

Visit us on the Web

Follow on Facebook

Become an Insider

Buy me a coffee

Important Books

Check out today’s partners:

More Time. More Profit. Shop-Ware Shop Management getshopware.com

See how Broadly can help YOU grow your auto shop. getbroadly.com/chat


Shari Pheasant, the Queen of Horsepower, believes in building people first and uses her own brand of horsepower to drive people from the inside out.  She is a dynamic speaker, multi-award-winning business innovator and president of the Reno-Sparks NAPA Elite Business Development Group. Shari owns A Master Mechanic, with her husband Jeff, and transitioned to an “out of the shop owner” in 2014.

Shari has over thirty-five years of business management, team building, project management, operational development, marketing/branding and sales experience building scalable, sustainable models. Her strategies strengthen the value of your company brand, improve relations and motivate your team to bring in greater profits naturally, confidently and with ease. She has worked successfully with small businesses and companies to create thriving, sustainable cultures that build profit and wealth through accountable, responsible actions. Find other episodes that feature Shari HERE.

Barry Barrett an authority on sales and selling is a Professional EOS Implementer. His company is Business With Purpose. During Barry’s career as a Service Manager and top salesperson, he honed his talents in communicating with people.

Barry is tireless in his pursuit of excellence in the automotive industry and in all that he does. His passion for providing tools to train owners and their teams to the next level is unlimited. Barry is a Ziglar Legacy Certified Coach. Listen to Barry’s previous episodes HERE.

David Eschbach has tenured more than twenty-five dedicated years in the automotive aftermarket.  After graduating from the University of Kansas, David committed his professional career to become an industry-leading coach and trusted source for guidance. He understood that earning a position of leadership required experience and a catalog of achievements.

Throughout the past two and a half decades, David has served and counseled leaders of the mahogany hallways as well as one-man start-ups on dirt floors in tin-roofed repair bays. He has learned that there is wisdom in every handshake and a story in every success.

David prescribes the importance of process, with the understanding that money is a byproduct of great service experience. He has learned that the automotive aftermarket is an industry of families. That is why he is humbled that thousands of service managers and hundreds of business owners have trusted his guidance while on their journey to success. Listen to David’s other episodes HERE.

All the books mentioned on the podcast can be found on the Books Page.

Key Talking Points:

• Break down the silos of your environment
  • We are experts at automotive repair and look at other industries and people who don’t know your business
• Strong confident leaders are engaged to listen and learn from their team and understand that they don’t have all the answers.
  • They also know that their team wants to provide input to help the company grow
• Culture is incredibly important that encourages the openness
  • Culture comes from core values
    • They must be identified so your company has a northbound direction
  • One of Barry’s core values is ‘Radical Transparency’
    • This is the truth as you see it.
    • Book Ego is the Enemy
  • Creativity comes from culture
• Adam Grant Ted Talk – The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers
• It is about capturing and using great ideas
  • They may need time to grow
• The brain is used for having ideas not storing them
  • If you wake up at night write down what your thoughts are. Your brain will rest
• Brainstorm with the team on how you can find another $100 increase to your average repair order
• In an ideas factory, Walt Disney says there are three types: Three Stages of Thinking: Dreamer – Realist – Critic. You need all three on your team.
• Barry: Ideas are a dime a dozen. Execution of ideas that matter.
  • Applied knowledge is power
• Barry: Create an issue list. Every team member has their own issue’s list. The list get assembles weekly and up to leadership team.
  • Every issue has an idea
  • Your ideas must solve problems
  • When a team member gets one of their ideas implemented they know how much they matter to the business
• Shari: Leaders must:
  • Listen First
  • Allow Brainstorming
  • Support the Change
  • Teach Transformation
• David: Creativity is an emotional process
  • As leaders, we need to keep an open mind and ideas come to you respect the emotion that has built the idea
• Leadership and culture does not change overnight
• Creative conflict can be respectful when ideas are being shared.
  • Trust me to be part of the relationship
• Looking at your ideas ask the five whys.
  • Ask Why 5 times based on the answers you get as you dig into the idea
• David: Create a statement of benefit on everything in the shop
  • Does the item or process really benefit the business? Is it useful?
  • Create a tag and write it on the item.
  • You may find items or processes that may not lend value to the business
• Even bad ideas from the past may work today. Do not prejudge.
• David: Play the explain game   
  • Explain the internet to a person from 1920
  • Explain a lightbulb to a person from the year 1515
  • This is a great activity for service advisors
  • It is an activity that sparks creativity
  • This can be used to explain leadership
• Take an idea and ask to explain how it will work.
  • Are there any holes in there.
  • Questions are the answers.
• Get great ideas from outside the industry
  • We talk a lot about doctors
  • Go observe customer service at other companies that have a ‘walk-up’ counter. Customers reactions are important to observe. Get ideas from this.
  • Find local business groups that all members are from different industries
• Every failed idea is grounds to build upon it
• Barry: We don’t like to change or like to be innovative
  • Seth Godin says that we have to admit if we are not competent to do new things and implement new ideas.
  • We have to come to an area of incompetence. We become afraid of that.
  • Get past your ego and get feedback
  • Have a creative conflict and culture to implement the best ideas

Resources:

• A special thanks to  David Eschbach, Barry Barrett and Shari Pheasant for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.

Subscribe to a mobile listening app HERE.

 Your Learning Curve Never Sounded So Good

This episode is not intended to give advice on the tax law or accounting principles. Please check with a professional for all your tax or accounting requirements.

The Panel:

• Vic Tarasik is the Founder and Managing Partner at Shop Owner Coach. A business management consultant to shops across North America that assists shop owners in achieving their dreams through the intentional application of best practices and personal development. Previous Episodes HERE.
• Maryann Croce of Croce Transmissions in Norwalk, CT and business adviser at smallbizvantage.com. Previous Episodes HERE.
• Bob Greenwood, AMAM, is President and CEO of Automotive Aftermarket E-Learning Centre. Previous Episodes HERE.
• Greg Buckley is the CEO Buckley’s Personalized Auto Care in Wilmington, DE. Previous Episodes HERE.
• Shari Pheasant and her husband Jeff own A Master Mechanic, and she is known as the Queen of Horsepower. Previous Episodes HERE.
• Chris Cloutier is co-owner of Golden Rule Auto Care and CEO of AutoText ME. Previous Episodes HERE.
• Brian Walker is the founder and CEO of 5 Stones, a marketing agency in Hammond, Louisiana and former shop owner. Previous Episodes HERE.
• Bill Hill owner of Mighty Auto Pro from Medina, OH. Previous Episodes HERE.
• Brett Bohlmann of HWY 7 Service Center, Newel, IA.  Previous Episodes HERE.

Key Talking Points:

Listening: Vic Tarasik

• Have we earned the right to be heard because we take time to listen?
• If the leader shows they care then they earn the right.
• The leaders care about their people and demonstrate that they can be trusted.
• Listen first then speak.
• Listen for solutions and answers.
• Stephen Covey habit #5. See First to Understand then to Be Understood.

Resilience: Maryann Croce

• A leader sets the direction and empowers productivity.
• Leaders are not born they are made.
• Be curious.
• Don’t focus on the obstacles but take what we can learn from them.
• It helps us become the best version of ourselves and it builds competence.
• Resilience helps to build a healthy relationship.
• As the five closest people to you what are your biggest challenges. Have them be brutally honest.
• Stop comparing yourself to other shop owners. Focus on your wins and your accomplishments.
• Don’t take things personally.
• Align your team to your values.
• At the end of the day know you made a difference.

Become the CEO of your company: Bob Greenwood

• You can ‘t learn to be a CEO if you work in your business, you must be working on it.
• You need to use a telescope and a microscope as a CEO
• Look at facts to make discussions about your future.
• Gather facts. It takes 3 to 4 years to develop cultural change.
• Look at all opportunities for revenue in the future.
• Your microscope if your business.Set deadlines and goals with timeline and responsibilities to an owner.
• Hire remarkable people. Do they have the desire and belief in the business or are they just bought in to have a job?
• Bring out the best in your people.
• It is your responsibility for your success. You are responsible for every family who works for you; this is a huge weight on your shoulders.

Perseverance: Greg Buckley

• Rely on your convictions so you can move forward.
• Perseverance gets you over when things are not perfect. It helps you adjust accordingly.
• The Genius/Idiot Quotient. The number of days you feel like a Genius and divide by the number of days you feel like an idiot. Seek help from people to get the next goal.
• Walls to climb and rivers to swim to reach out goals.
• You need a great core of yourself, a strong moral compass if you are going to be successful.
• When a leader walks into the room people can see them.
• Look at your horizon and make sure it is not a mirage.

Invest in your staff: Shari Pheasant

• Jim Collins book Good To Great. Go to Books Page Here.
• The word discipline is good to know and understand. It is a good word.
• Training opportunities increase employee retention.
• Training costs less than turnover.
• Build people first and they will build the business. Zig Ziglar
• It is easy to get training today.
• You should spend 3 to 5% of your payroll costs on training.
• Employees need to learn at their own pace.
• The Missed Effect:Miscommunication (90% of the breakdown of a cohesive team)
• Miss understanding
• Miss directed teams
• Missed opportunity
• Invest in training so you can attract the right people.
• Training involves forward thinking.
• Untrained employees are unhappy employees.
• Invest in training for yourself to be a better leader.

Delegate and get out of the way: Chris Cloutier

• Are you running your business or is the business running you.
• There are many reasons we do not delegateWe are Type ‘A’ ‘Doer’ people. We want to know things are done. Others don’t do it as good as us or are as smart as us. Get out of the way and let me do it.
• We don’t want to fail.
• We need to look beyond our fear and delegate.
• We are heroes in our business. We are the key people. We need our customer to tell us how great we are. You may not feel you are providing value so you don’t delegate.
• If you are asked, you never say you are a leader. You are an owner. Train yourself to become a great leader or hire someone to be the leader in your company.
• Set a goal to replace yourself. Don’t reply to text messages for help. Let them figure it out.
• Stop giving the answer, let them fail forward as you did. Don’t fear failure.

Be Your Word: Brian Walker

• Brian’s coach told him to stop lying.
• The lie you tell that you don’t realize you are.
• You tell yourself lies and others.Like: ‘We’ll buy a new alignment machine soon’ and you’ve been saying that for the last three years.
• You need to become a person of your word. Your wife family and your work team.
• There is a point when people will not believe you at all.
• Don’t lie to yourself.We use stories as crutches.
• You must become a man or women of your word.
• Conscious self-creation. Affirmations.Create them and repeat them every day.
• Show through your actions that your Word

High Expectations of your Staff Building A powerhouse team. Bill Hill.

• Find the weakness in the people you’ve hired in the past and then look to overcome them in your new hires and your current team.
• Your people are the most important part of your business.
• Overachievers love to train, they love to have responsibility (power)
• Hire people who can be better than you.
• Be involved in your community.
• Create a strong culture. Have fun.

 Train and Develop Within- Brett Bohlmann

• We are responsible for our people and their family.
• We can have human waste around us if we are developing our people.
• We have to have core values and match new hires to them and match your team’s behavior to your core values.
• RATE: Relationship + Attitude * Talent + Expectation = Production
• He doesn’t believe in the technician shortage.
• Our biggest shortage is in leadership.
• We need to get in the classrooms and get involved early.
• We need to invest, develop and train our people. (new or established)
• Training within is not easy.
• When times get tough that is when we get good.
• Developing never ends. Training has a start and a stop. Keep developing.
• Be in the people building business.
• Success is not measured in dollars, it will be measured by what you become.

Resources:

• A special thanks to Vic Tarasik, Maryann Croce, Bob Greenwood, Greg Buckley, Shari Pheasant, Chris Cloutier, Brian Walker, Bill Hill and Brett Bohlmann and  for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.

Facebook   Twitter   Linked In   Email

This episode is brought to you by Jasper Engines & Transmissions. When a car’s engine or transmission fails, it’s not the end of the road. A remanufactured drivetrain product from Jasper Engines & Transmissions will give your car a new lease on life. JASPER has over 2000 Associates, three manufacturing facilities, two distribution centers, and 45 branch offices across the country. They’re all working to produce, transport and deliver the perfect product. That’s what they do best… keep customers happy. Visit jasperengines.com

RepairPal. Many of our industry’s high-quality shops have gone through an evaluation with an independent automotive team to ensure their techs are trained, they use the right tools, and their customers are happy. In fact, over 2,200 repair shops have met these requirements, have become RepairPal Certified and are getting new customers every month.

Why has the number of RepairPal Certified shops grown so much? These shops are proud to have passed the certification and value the new customers they’re getting, both from the 5 million monthly visitors to RepairPal.com and their partnerships with CarMax and USAA. Certified shops can cancel at any time, so RepairPal works hard to produce value for them. Learn more at repairpal.com/shops to learn more.

Subscribe to a mobile listening app HERE.

 Your Learning Curve Never Sounded So Good

The Extreme Value of Shop Tours Panel:

Frank Scandura from Franks European in Las Vegas, NV started working on cars as a teenager in upstate New York and moved to Las Vegas in 1988. After years writing service for Mercedes, he opened Frank’s European service in 2001 and grew to a 12,000-square foot, 10 bay shop in the northwest part of Las Vegas, not far from the famous Strip!

Photo courtesy of Shari Pheasant

He has 15 team members and is partnered with his wife Deborah. From his first immersion, in the business, pumping gas at 15 years old in Orange County New York, to writing service at a Mercedes dealer in Las Vegas Frank Scandura shares his business acumen and offers insights and trends on leadership as a business coach. Frank’s previous episodes HERE.

Vinnie Lucido has had his hands in the automotive industry since 1996, starting in High school as a CSR at one of the last 76 Full-Service Gas stations in Reno. He found a passion for helping people through their most prized possessions, their automobile. Vinnie and his brother Anthony partnered together & opened CoAuto in 2014 and have been nothing but success in their new undertaking. Vinnie is ASE certified and has operated in every capacity of the automotive repair field. Throughout his career, he has been a customer service representative, a service writer, a technician, a manager and now an owner. Ultimately, he finds he is happiest when he is in communication with his clients and gets the opportunity to get to know his guests. Vinnie spends his time building relationships and networking and in turn, the shop continues to grow. Listen to Vinnie’s previous episodes HERE.

Deb Van Batenburg is the vice president of Automotive Career Development Center [ACDC] and a former repair shop owner with his husband Craig. She and her husband engaged full time in the understanding of the technology used in hybrid and electric cars. Students worldwide attend their comprehensive six-day trading class called ‘Up Your Voltage’. Deb also writes human interest ideas, business trends and critical thinking for Auto Inc and AASP magazines. Listen to Deb’s previous episodes HERE.

Andy Bizub is a native of Chicago. His first career was 25 years as a commodity trader. He entered the professional auto industry in 2014 by acquiring a failing shop in downtown Chicago that he was a customer of and start a turnaround. At bought his first car at age 19, a 1972 Triumph Spitfire, which was the start of his gas, oil, and automobile obsession. Listen to Andy’s previous episodes HERE.

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 garage, to an award-winning multi-location business.

Greg is currently a board member for the STEM-based charter school call “Automotive Institute of Science & Technology” and on the Advisory board of Ratchet and Wrench Magazine. Greg is also a board member of the Autocare organization and a certified instructor for the  Worldpac Training Institute and Carquest Technical Institute.  Greg’s unwavering passion for the industry has also led him to form a company called Transformers Institute, a coaching and training company dedicated to transforming the automotive industry. Listen to Greg’s previous episodes HERE. Transformers Institute 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 industries and educational advisory councils including AutoValue/Bumper to Bumper, Dorman Industries, and Cardone. Listen to Bill’s previous episodes HERE.

Shari Pheasant, the Queen of Horsepower, believes in building people first and uses her own brand of horsepower to drive people from the inside out. She is a dynamic speaker, multi-award-winning business innovator and president of the Reno-Sparks NAPA Elite Business Development Group. Shari owns A Master Mechanic, with her husband Jeff, and transitioned to an “out of the shop owner” in 2014.

Shari has over thirty-five years of business management, team building, project management, operational development, marketing/branding and sales experience building scalable, sustainable models. Her strategies strengthen the value of your company brand, improve relations and motivate your team to bring in greater profits naturally, confidently and with ease. She has worked successfully with small businesses and companies to create thriving, sustainable cultures that build profit and wealth through accountable, responsible actions. Find other episodes that feature Shari HERE.

Vic Tarasik is the Founder and Managing Partner at Shop Owner Coach. A business management consultant to shops across North America that assists shop owners in achieving their dreams through the intentional application of best practices and personal development.

Shop ownership, public speaking, business management, finance, and leadership skills are some talents he acquired as a service professional that made this position perfect for him. 

A recipient of Montgomery County TX business of the Year and a congressional commendation are a couple of achievements Vic is proud of.

Vic took an interest in all things mechanical at a young age. He worked on a variety of vehicles for friends and family. His interests grew into racing at local drag strips driving his 55 Chevy, which he still owns.

In 1986, he returned to his roots and launched Vic’s Precision Automotive from his two-car garage. The heart of Vic’s Precision Automotive was galvanized for Vic as a boy; he watched his single mom struggle with service providers over the years. When he opened his shop, he was determined to make it a place where female customers felt comfortable. Listen to Vic’s previous episodes HERE.

Jimmy Lea is the Regional Sales Director at Kukui Corporation. Kukui enables success. The Kukui All in One Success Platform® empowers Independent automotive shops with quantitative data showing their return on investment, the number of new clients based on their POS system, statistics revealing their customer retention rate, and areas to improve their business through the tracking of phone calls, appointment forms, digital inspection results, and feedback from customer reviews.

Key Talking Points:

• Understanding the client experience. This allows you to walk into a new shop and have a clean slate & an unbiased perspective of what the client is experiencing. Its too hard to analyze your own tornado, as your in it. It’s much easier to see issues with other shops from an outsiders perspective.
• Gaining a new perspective into your own shop by visualizing & feeling what other shops are doing then noticing where you can Improve your space. The end result may be taking some of those good ideas and implementing them in your own shop. I do not consider this stealing as if we better our services then our industry as a whole will be lifted.
• Establishing relationships with other shop owners. No one understands a shop owner like another shop owner. Visiting other shops allows you to converse with the owners and staff about what’s working and what’s not working. In the Independent automotive industry its all to common to keep things to ourselves and not share with other shop owners. Sharing our struggles and triumphs can be very helpful and positive to our fellow shop owners and our industry as a whole. 
• Learned not to work on pre-1995 and older vehicles
• Reach out when you visit a city and tour a great shop.
• You will find ideas to compare what you are doing.
• Willing to share your ideas and success will help elevate the entire industry.
• Share facility ideas. Both can learn.
• Ask questions to find out why ‘things’ are what they are.
• Work hard to build the comfort level of your clients. Vinnie Lucido.
• R & D: Rip off and Duplicate and make ideas your own.
• When you are in your tornado you cannot see what is wrong or analyze an issue because you are in it too deep. It may take a visit from another shop owner to ask a question to get you to re-think what you are doing.
• Start locally. Call up a friend across town.
• When you travel to look up a top shop and call to get an appointment to visit.
• Use social media to search for or request a shop tour in a city you are going to be in.
• Shop tours help build your network.
• Twenty groups by rule do shop tours and benefit their business through this learning mode.
• Be honored if you get asked to offer your shop for a tour.
• On shop tours:Andy learned a lot about intercommunication among your team.
• Vinnie looks for what makes shops unique.
• Frank says: Don’t be afraid to make a decision and don’t let analysis paralysis cloud action.
• Greg Bunch: Visited a shop in Ireland. Challenges on tariffs to buy equipment. They use forklift type lifts. No waiting room. They have a four-year program for technicians with six months doing apprenticing. The real diag guys run around in their vans. There is a higher respect for technicians and the industry in Europe better than the US.
• Shari hears the excuse, ‘It’s different here’ (overused)
• Deb says that if your webpage and physical presence do not match you will get a big disconnect with your brand.
• Jimmie Lea says that ‘curb’ appeal is critical.There is no tech shortage at shops that are involved in education either high school or post-secondary.
• Vic recommends that you listen to everyone while you are in the shop. Listen to the Advisors, Technicians, and all the staff. They see a lot more than we think and might have valuable ideas we might not have considered.
• When on a shop tour ask a lot of questions to the entire team and share with the owner.

Resources:

• Books Page HERE
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.

Facebook Twitter Linked In Email

The Town Hall Academy is supported by:

Jasper Engines & Transmissions. When a car’s engine or transmission fails, it’s not the end of the road. A remanufactured drivetrain product from Jasper Engines & Transmissions will give your car a new lease on life. JASPER has over 2000 Associates, three manufacturing facilities, two distribution centers, and 45 branch offices across the country. They’re all working to produce, transport and deliver the perfect product. That’s what they do best… keep customers happy. Visit jasperengines.com

RepairPal. Many of our industry’s high-quality shops have gone through an evaluation with an independent automotive team to ensure their techs are trained, they use the right tools, and their customers are happy. In fact, over 2,200 repair shops have met these requirements, have become RepairPal Certified and are getting new customers every month.

Why has the number of RepairPal Certified shops grown so much? These shops are proud to have passed the certification and value the new customers they’re getting, both from the 5 million monthly visitors to RepairPal.com and their partnerships with CarMax and USAA. Certified shops can cancel at any time, so RepairPal works hard to produce value for them. Learn more at repairpal.com/shops to learn more.

The Panel:

Ron Ipach, co-founder or Repair Shop Coach, has helped over 5536 auto repair shop owners to get and keep all the top-quality customers they can handle.

Marketing auto repair services are all he does. He lives, eats, and breathes it every day. He has seen, heard, and tested practically every kind of marketing there is out there today. He’s examined the results. He’s tweaked and tested dozens of strategies over and over in order to maximize their results.

Because Ron has personally worked with so many shop owners over the years, he has the distinction of being the only person in the world that knows exactly what marketing works, and what doesn’t work for auto repair shops in today’s economy. He finds passion in amplifying time & freedom for his clients while helping them take back control of their businesses. Find other episodes that feature Ron HERE.

Shari Pheasant, the Queen of Horsepower, believes in building people first and uses her own brand of horsepower to drive people from the inside out.  She is a dynamic speaker, multi-award-winning business innovator and president of the Reno-Sparks NAPA Elite Business Development Group. Shari owns A Master Mechanic, with her husband Jeff, and transitioned to an “out of the shop owner” in 2014.

As a successful business coach, Shari’s uses a scientific approach to transform the connections between executives and teams. Shari shares her ideas; “Employee happiness is the strongest profit driver in every business. Today’s Workforce’s demands cultural change. There is a war on talent.  We have to level up our ability to connect with and understand the people around us in order to stay in business.”

Shari’s passion as a 5 Sciences of Self Professional Certified Behavior Analyst and accredited Growth Strategist assist her with globally proven tools that get to the root of people and business quickly and accurately. Her approach allows clients to predict rather than resolve problems, improving performance.

Shari has over thirty-five years of business management, team building, project management, operational development, marketing/branding and sales experience building scalable, sustainable models. Her strategies strengthen the value of your company brand, improve relations and motivate your team to bring in greater profits naturally, confidently and with ease. She has worked successfully with small businesses and companies to create thriving, sustainable cultures that build profit and wealth through accountable, responsible actions. Find other episodes that feature Shari HERE.

David Roman began his automotive career in 1999, attending an automotive technical school at a local community college. While attending college, he took a part-time job at a large parts retailer, hoping to gain some experience in the field. This part-time job turned into full-time employment, as he was promoted to management, culminating in placement as a store manager in East Central Illinois.

David discovered a passion for helping people and sharing his automotive knowledge. This passion for serving others allowed him the opportunity to successfully manage multi-million dollar operations in Illinois, the St. Louis area, and eventually Kansas City. His approach to customer service garnered him several accolades and awards, something he eventually wanted to bring to automotive repair and service.

In 2012, he opened Done With Care Auto Repair with the goal of bringing exceptional customer service, transparency, and honest work to his clients. The business was started with only some savings, no prior clients, and no history. Over the last six years, David has been able to bring a servant’s mentality to helping his clients with their automotive needs resulting in loyal customers, excellent reviews, and a solid reputation.  Find other episodes that feature David HERE.

Key Talking Points:

• The Customer Retention Myth. You just cannot just fix the car right to keep customers coming back. Average is like everyone else; it is not enough.
• Average return rate from customers is 1.3 times per year. Based on the average age of the vehicle, (11.6 years old) visits should be higher. There are 2.3 vehicles per household.
• You need to be exceptional and unforgettable.
• Reactivating a lost customer:
  • Anything over 8 months is a lost customer.
  • Others are bombarding your customer.
  • You must stay top of mind with your customers.
• Keeping a customer starts at the service counter.
  • You must build report during the transaction.
  • Build the relationship.
  • Explain in detail the value they’ve received.
  • They feel indifferent. Nothing special.
• Invest in your customer in an ongoing way through e-media, texts, direct mail. Jerry Frank says, “Be an invited guest not an annoying pest.”
• You will need to have a crucial conversation with a lost customer.
  • What can we do better?
• David realized he needed to have loaners to provide loaners to increase convenience for his customer.
• If you have your ideal customer, your avatar, created and in mind, what you do and say to provide an exceptional experience starts to build a customer who will stay and be an ambassador of your brand.
• A great google review is all about the experience they had.
• Your culture of caring for your customer needs to be a behavior that extends to all areas of the business.
• Eleanor Roosevelt said, ‘It is not who you are when people are watching, It is who you are when no one is paying attention.”
• Get them back in by reaching out and getting in front of them on a consistent basis. Make the phone call
  • They know that there is a shared interest
    • Could be sports, kids, animals
  • You must share space. Mailers, mugs, etc.
  • You share their concern for their safety and vehicle reliability
• 5 Steps to Winning Back Your Customers (Shari Pheasant)
  • Extending the Olive Branch
  • Call Them
  • Create a “We fixed it campaign”
  • Give them an incentive to come back
  • Get personal – they want connection
    • Identify your customer’s communication style and build your relationship by knowing what style (DISC)  See Academy less on DISC HERE.
• The follow-up call is an amazing tool (Ron Ipach)
• Auto repair to the general public is perceived as a commodity. Our job needs to change this perception. Create an exceptional experience.
• In any relationship, you need three positives to get a win.
• Your culture should be to reach out to find problems or complaints.
  • If you don’t get complaints, that is a warning. Remember 64% of people leave from indifference.
• ‘Customer Forever’ campaign
• Never a lost customer ‘Swing Thought’
• Many people build their business on a one time visit. That is a customer and you are off chasing the next one.
• You need to be looking for clients. We have a relationship. They like us and tell people about us. A percent of them can become an advocate. A client is worth $22,500 in a lifetime. An advocate is worth $100,000 lifetime.
• Mistakes are the path to success. (Shari Pheasant)
• The best customer you have is the one in front of you. They know a ton of people.
• Be vulnerable, raw, real, honest.
• Your culture needs to be on your website and open for the world to see.
• You have to take extreme ownership:
  • Build the right team
  • Make sure the repair gets done right.
  • Ensure a customer’s experience was better than average.   

Facebook   Twitter    Linked In    Email

This episode is brought to you by Jasper Engines & Transmissions. When a car’s engine or transmission fails, it’s not the end of the road. A remanufactured drivetrain product from Jasper Engines & Transmissions will give your car a new lease on life. JASPER has over 2000 Associates, three manufacturing facilities, two distribution centers, and 45 branch offices across the country. They’re all working to produce, transport and deliver the perfect product. That’s what they do best… keep customers happy. Visit jasperengines.com

This episode is brought to you by Jasper Engines & Transmissions. When a car’s engine or transmission fails, it’s not the end of the road. A remanufactured drivetrain product from Jasper Engines & Transmissions will give your car a new lease on life. JASPER has over 2000 Associates, three manufacturing facilities, two distribution centers and 45 branch offices across the country. They’re all working to produce, transport and deliver the perfect product. That’s what they do best… keep customers happy. Visit jasperengines.com

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:
Facebook   Twitter   Linked In   Email

This episode is brought to you by Jasper Engines & Transmissions. When a car’s engine or transmission fails, it’s not the end of the road. A remanufactured drivetrain product from Jasper Engines & Transmissions will give your car a new lease on life. JASPER has over 2000 Associates, three manufacturing facilities, two distribution centers and 45 branch offices across the country. They’re all working to produce, transport and deliver the perfect product. That’s what they do best… keep customers happy. Visit jasperengines.com

The 200^th  episode is a milestone. I had envisioned, it but it was so sweet when it got here. I’m humbled for the mounting support for the podcast and frankly could not have provided the aftermarket this huge resource without the guests that have come on the show and shared their story and their passion; from service professionals to industry leaders, trainers, coaches, industry execs, et al.

Keep in mind you can listen, audio only, right here on the website, on the FREE podcast APP, on iTunes, Google Play and iHeart Radio. The video is also available right here on the site or on my You Tube channel.

Joining me on the retrospective are 10 podcast alumni who discussed a plethora of subjects with a focus on what transpired with the podcast in the past last year. We also got into some top industry topics.

I know how much the podcast is valued in the industry, but to hear from these respected peers shows how it has impacted many lives.

You know I care about building a stronger aftermarket; to fundamentally transfer the way professionals think about their success by putting it out there in a most transparent way. So enjoy the behind the scenes moments, the nice accolades sent our way and to the camaraderie that transpired during this fun and inspiring episode.

Joining me on the show:

Bob Greenwood Automotive Aftermarket E-Learning Center, Episodes 40 and the Town Hall on Succession Planning Shari Pheasant Horsepower Strategies, Episode 68 Bill Nalu Interstate Auto Care, Madison Heights, MI, Episodes 39, 69, 100, 118 and Town Hall Resolutions 2017 Bill Haas NACAT and Haas Performance Consulting, Episide 106 Matt Fanslow Shop Manager and Diagnostician, Riverside Automotive, Red Wing, MN, Episode 122, 146 and Town Hall Best Conferences to Attend 2017 Barry Barrett Director of Training at RLO, Episode 130, Town Hall Resolutions 2017, Town Hall Great Traits of a Service Advisor John Eppstein John’s Automotive Care, San Diego, CA, Episode 119 and Town Hall Resolutions and Town Hall Qualities of a Service Advisor Joe Hanson Gordies Garage, Madison Heights, MI, Episide 177 Jeremy O’Neal President of Advisor Fix, Episode 124 and 178 on the Digital Sales Process Tristan Realubit Realhouse Automotive, Westmount, IL, Episode 179

Episode Topics that have Creamed to the Top

• Business Culture
• Customer Service
• Technician Shortage
• Technician Training
• Technology: Vehicles, Autonomous Cars
• Digital Vehicle Inspections
• Processes and Systems Win Wars
• Service Advisor Training
• Overcoming obstacles

Podcasts by category (multiples may be listed)

• Coaching – Advice – Leadership Series (18)
• Entrepreneur Series (99)
• Face To Face Series (10)
• Industry Thought Leaders Series (43)
• Industry Women Series (28)
• Married Partners: A Wife’s Perspective (2)
• MSO: Multi Shop Owner Series (13)
• ON-POINT Series (75)
• Support Services Series (9)
• Technician Talk (9)
• Technology Series (15)
• Training/Future Technicians Series (31)

New since the 100th episode is the Town Hall LIVE Forum. Broadcast live very Friday at 12 Noon Eastern on Facebook Live. A powerful weekly discussion on a single industry topic with a panel of experts.

In late 2016 we released our own podcast APP. Get it at your APP store. Search for Remarkable Results Radio

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

Facebook  Twitter  Linked In  Email

This episode is brought to you by Federal-Mogul Motorparts and Garage Gurus. With brands like Moog, Felpro, Wagner Brake, Champion, Sealed Power, FP Diesel and more, they’re the parts techs trust. For serious technical training and support – online, onsite and on-demand – Garage Gurus is everything you need to know. Find out more at fmmotorparts.com and fmgaragegurus.com

You are about to experience a first for the podcast. I went on the road to Orlando to the Car Care Council’s Women’s Board Winter meeting. Going to a conference is not the earth shattering news. Bringing my recording equipment was.

This episode is a compilation of short interviews done in Orlando in early February 2016. These interviews were done randomly in a make shift mobile studio set up.

Why Listen?

The women interviewed, spoke on their experience at the meeting, their take-a-ways and of the value the agenda brought to them both personally and professionally.

Get a feel of the buzz that enveloped the participants and reactions to the value of networking.

Forgive the background noise as we were LIVE on site. The women’s board was very supportive in my quest to record these moments and thoughts of these twelve industry professionals. I thank the women’s board team and president Amy Mattinat for their support.

• Jill Trotta, Director Automotive Group, Repair Pal
• Shari Pheasant, COO Institute for Automotive Business Excellence
• Ann Coffin, Director of IT, Auto Value/Bumper To Bumper
• Janis Roznowski, Executive Director & Founder, Operation Comfort
• Rena Rennebohm, Automotive Business Coach, ACT
• Suzanne Hawley, Executive Director, Family Service Day
• Nancy Anderson, Key Account Manager, BOSCH
• Dawn Griffiths Gonzalez, Brand Manager, Trico Products Corporation
• Grayce Nance, Head Innovator, Motor City New Concepts
• JC Lindquist, Head of Retail, Automatic
• Anna Matisak, PR Manager, Radius
• Amy Mattinat, President Women’s Board, Owner Auto Craftsman

Visit the Women’s Board web site here.

Listen to all interviews with women industry leaders here.
Listen to Amy Mattinat, shop owner interview here.
Listen to Amy Mattinat Women’s Board interview here.
Listen to Jill Trotta episode here.
Listen to Shari Pheasant, Horse Power Strategies interview here.
Listen to Shari Pheasant, COO interview here.

This episode is brought to you by Federal-Mogul Motorparts and Garage Gurus. With brands like Moog, Felpro, Wagner Brake, Champion, Sealed Power, FP Diesel and more, they’re the parts techs trust.  For serious technical training and support – online, onsite and on-demand – Garage Gurus is everything you need to know. Find out more at fmmotorparts.com  and fmgaragegurus.com

Shari Pheasant is owner with her husband of a professional repair shop in Sparks, NV and the COO of the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, and also the founder of Horse Power Strategies.

You may recall Shari Pheasant with us in an earlier episode, #68 where we talked about her unique equine leadership training program called Horsepower Strategies. If you’ve not listened to episode 68 you owe yourself.

Shari is a very dynamic person and brings a strong perspective on shop ownership and leadership, not because she and her husband own a shop in Reno, NV but also what she sees in her role as COO of the Institute.

Why Listen?

Learn about how the relationship with her husband and partner works, as shop owners

Understand why she says, people, process and product are the most important areas to focus on and in that order.

Learn to allow yourself to be uncomfortable as a leader and see how ego and confidence can live in the same box.

Understand how you win every day and that it doesn’t matter how great it gets, it doesn’t stay there.

Quality of our personal lives matters and can affect our work environment.

Shop owners need to get paid what they deserve.

Get her view on the future of the professional shop and why it must become neighborhood centric.

Shari & Jeff Pheasant, founded A Master Mechanic in 2004 experienced its most successful year in 2014 and hit 1.6 million in gross sales double what it was three years prior.  We did this largely due to what we learned at the Worldpac Smart Group meetings and in between under the teachings of Cecil Bullard, CEO of the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence. Shari is now the COO of the Institute and is helping others succeed by using the same strategies.

Jeff is rebuilding the shop because of a landlord issue. After being at the same location for 11 years, their landlord did not follow through with her commitment to sell them the building. They knew moving was the only thing to do so Jeff found a building, purchased it and completed a $200K renovation in 4 months to save the business. A huge challenge for any established business. It builds character and turns people into stronger business leaders.

Shari Pheasant has a strong resume in philanthropic support in her community. She founded a nonprofit, Parent Patrol Inc in the late 90’s that was instrumental in bringing bullying to the fore front nationally to what it is today.

Shari’s national accomplishments have been acknowledged with several Congressional and Senatorial Recognitions, and the Service to Mankind Award. Recently, Shari received the Kukui Trade show Female Shop Owner of the Year, and was recognized as a Delegate by the International Woman’s Leadership Association and as Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women.

She has been an ambassador member for Miss Rodeo America for four years and continues to mentor western young women.

This last year their shop, A Master Mechanic, was heralded as the Small Business of the Year by the Northern Nevada Chamber of Commerce and previously as a finalist for Healthiest Place to Work. Shari maintains her local memberships with the Nevada Center for Entrepreneurism & Technology, as a Presidents Circle member. Fall of 2013 Shari became a TedX Youth Speaker in Franklin Tennessee with a Ted Talk entitled, Engage.

Shari is engaged in her community through volunteerism that supports the traditional Nevada lifestyle. She knows Nevada is one of the BEST places for entrepreneurs and feels blessed to call it home. She is dedicated to entrepreneurism, business, its commitment to the community and to building & growing our entrepreneur climate.

A Master Mechanic Web Site

Institute for Automotive Business Excellence Web Site

Shari Pheasant is owner with her husband of a professional repair shop in Reno, NV and the COO of the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, and also the founder of Horse Power Strategies. This episode brings a focus to Shari’s passion for and focus on personal growth and professional development through equine based strategies. Her program offers hands on workshops, events and sessions both individually and for team building.

Shari quotes an often discussed reality that 11 billion dollars is lost annually due to a lack of employee engagement, which she says occurs largely due to the lack of competent leaders in our companies and businesses. At the Horse Power Strategies ‘Boot Camp’ she has a methodology of training, through live equine interaction to improve leadership and team building skills. Shari says only 20-30% of in classroom learning is retained and executed to improve lives but  experiential learning research shows participants retain up to 70% or more.

She uses the DISC communications profile and Gallup’s Strength’s finder assessment in the ‘boot camp’ to best help her students improve their leadership skills and show how different personalities of a horse can zero in on deeper knowledge of their own personal communications style.  We cover how you can learn a new language to communicate to the horse and thereby flipping the switches inside our own capabilities to best understand how to communicate to your peers or direct reports.

Shari says that a horse is always looking for a leader and are very easy to forgive. This episode is one like you’ve never heard before and is so worth it, like all episodes, to spend your time on the up-take. I promise that you’ll take-a-way more than one thing from this episode so get out your yellow pad or personal digital recorder.

Find Shari Pheasant’s Horse Power Strategies on the web at http://www.iamhorsepower.com