Baja 1000 Champion Joe Bacal to Keynote MACS 2012 Convention -

Baja 1000 Champion Joe Bacal to Keynote MACS 2012 Convention

For more than a decade, Bacal tested Toyota products at the company's Technical Center and eventually became their lead off-road specialist.

Off-road race champion driver Joe Bacal will deliver the Keynote presentation during the Mobile Air Conditioning Society’s (MACS) Worldwide’s 2012 Convention and Trade Show.

The MACS Convention and Trade Show will take place January 18-20, 2012 at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

The Keynote Luncheon sponsored by Delphi Product & Service Solutions is scheduled on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at noon.

Bacal has an impressive resume with over 20 years of vehicle dynamics and test driving experience. He pushes vehicles to their limits at high speeds on pavement or at very low speeds while rock-crawling.

For more than a decade, Joe tested Toyota products at the company’s Technical Center and eventually became their lead off-road specialist. He has also trained in extreme off-road driving with the legendary Ivan Stewart and U.S. Camel Trophy driver Bill Burke.

Being diagnosed in 2007 with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma changed his life and provided the catalyst for Joe to follow his passion and pursue a racing career. He formed his own company, JTGrey Racing in 2009 and began off-road racing by partnering with Lexus and the Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

In his first race Joe surprised the off-road community by winning his class in the 2009 Baja 500. In 2010, Joe won his class in the famous Baja 1000 and secured the Stock Production Full-size class championship after winning 4 of 5 races in the Lexus LX 570.

Joe has been featured in numerous magazines, brochures, and commercials, and has also done some stunt driving for the entertainment industry. He is ready for the next step in his pro driving career and will fight the race courses with the same courage and determination that helped him beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

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Although there is no silver bullet that will allow you to bring in every first-time caller, there are a number of things you can do to get more appointments. In this article, I would like to share some of the best practices your advisors can use that will generate immediate results.

By Bob
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With
vehicles being built better than ever before, and with service intervals
continually being extended, you are going to see your customers less often.
This means your service advisors are going to have to be razor sharp when the
phone rings. Although there is no silver bullet that will allow you to bring in
every first-time caller, there are a number of things you can do to get more
appointments. In this article, I would like to share some of the best practices
your advisors can use that will generate immediate results.
In order for
someone to buy from you, three things need to occur: They have to like you,
they have to trust you, and they have to view you as a credible expert. So when
your phone rings, the first thing your advisors need to sell is themselves; not
the service or repair. The best way of accomplishing this goal is with a
professional, courteous and upbeat greeting, such as “Thank you for calling
Elite Auto Care, this is Bob. How can I help you this morning?” By using these
words we’re showing appreciation, by volunteering the name of our company we’re
assuring the callers that they’ve called the right number, and by providing our
name we’re beginning to build personal relationships. By asking how we can
help, we’re asking a question that will allow us to control the conversation.
By being upbeat and using the right tonality, our likeability goes up, and the
customer’s anxiety goes down.
The second
thing your advisors will need to do is slow the conversation down so the
callers don’t feel rushed, and they’ll have to become good detectives by asking
a number of questions. By having the callers talk, it will take their focus off
of the price, and it will allow them to begin to feel more comfortable with
your advisors at the same time.
When it comes
to asking for the appointment, one of the best kept secrets I can share with
you is this: With rare exception, your advisors need to offer every caller a
choice of appointment times, and whenever possible, one of those options should
be for them to bring the vehicle in now. For example; “I can squeeze you in
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When it comes to auto repair, customers love finality, which is why
providing the “now” option is a powerful sales tool.
Now here’s
the absolute best-kept secret for dealing with the tough first-time callers.
Every one of your advisors needs to be aware that many “price shoppers” are
asking for price just to start the conversation, and beyond that, with rare
exception, callers don’t know the questions they should be asking. This is why
it’s a good idea to ask your service advisors to write down a list of the
questions that they think an educated caller would ask. Once they have their
lists completed, and committed to memory, then it’s easy for them to respond to
price inquiries with a statement like, “Well Larry, I know price is important
to you, and it should be, but if you call five different shops today, you’ll
more than likely get at least five different prices. Some of the other
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or not they have certified technicians and a drug-free workplace program, and
you might want to have them walk you through their diagnostic processes as
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that are available to customers when it comes to any recommended repairs, what
kind of warranties they provide, and if those warranties are in writing.”  Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve closed hundreds,
if not thousands of tough first-time “price shoppers” using this technique, so
I know it will work for you.
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this. If you take my recommendations, when those price shoppers start calling
other shops, you know as well as I do that they’ll more than likely ask some of
the questions your advisors suggested to them. Not only will your competitors
be caught off guard and struggle with the answers, but in each case, the
callers will be thinking of your advisors. This is when they’ll not only realize
how well your advisors handled the call, but they’ll trust your advisors, and
you bet; they’ll now view them as credible experts as well.
For help permanently
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