Give Your Customers Options
Recently, I was at an affair with a few people I met for the first time. As usual, once they found out what I did for a living, the auto-related questions directed toward me flowed faster than the wine was flowing.
The Best-Kept Secrets To Servicing Fleet Accounts
We all know that the industry is continuing to evolve, and you will be seeing your customers less often as time goes on. Accordingly, you will need to find ways to keep your service bays full. One way is through commercial accounts, which we will call fleet accounts. Now, I realize that fleet accounts may not be practical for some of you, but for those of you who are open to servicing such accounts, here are some tips you may want to consider.
10 Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Business, Part 2
The majority of challenges and frustrations experienced by sellers can be avoided with solid information about the pitfalls of selling a business in today’s market. While there are dozens of challenges to overcome, in the January/February 2013 issue the first five most common mistakes were discussed that can have drastic repercussions and cause both stress and loss of value on a business sale.
Common Customer Service Myths, Work As A Team To Ensure ‘Customers For Life’
Ever since the phrase “the customer is always right” was coined, it surely has been the bane of every worker whose title includes the word “associate” or “representative.”
Westside Auto Pros: Internet-Savvy Shop Still Going Strong After 16 Years
In today’s ever-changing digital media landscape, with thousands of tweets per minute and videos going viral every day, it’s becoming more and more important for shop owners to stay on top of marketing technology. Ron Haugen, owner of Westside Auto Pros in Des Moines, IA, has seen first-hand how a well-mastered, intentional social media plan can attract new customers.
No-Pressure Selling Is A ‘No-Brainer’
As I pinball across North America training independent tire and auto service businesses on sales and customer service, it has become clear that many salespeople are under the impression that they must aggressively work to close the sale when interacting with customers, or they will lose business.
Executive Interview: Nicholas Jacquez, Vice President Of Marketing & Product Development, Affinia Global Chassis
With the sale of Affinia’s brake division, Nicholas Jacquez became the Vice President of Marketing and Product Development for Affinia Global Chassis. With an even stronger focus on chassis parts, Jacquez explains how he and his team plan to refresh the relevance of the Raybestos chassis brand and increase the efficiency and profitability of its customers.
Strategies For Success In Building World-Class Automotive Repair Shops
If you want to ensure that 2013 is your shop’s best year yet, there are a number of things you need to consider. Vehicles are being built better, and service intervals are constantly being extended. Accordingly, you will be seeing your customers less frequently.
Weathers Motors Is Named Federated ‘Shop Of The Year’
What some shop owners might consider a negative has actually been a positive for Weathers Motors, Inc. in Media-Lima, PA. At its current location since 1922, the business started as a repair shop, servicing Model T Fords and Packards, but now repairs any make and model of vehicle. For many years, Weathers Motors was a new car dealership selling and servicing Chrysler vehicles.
2012 Tax Changes For Businesses
It’s that time of year again: tax time. Whether you file as a corporation or sole proprietor, here’s what business owners need to know about tax changes for the 2012 tax year.
Help Service Advisors Sell Value And Benefits
We all know that selling the benefits of a particular service is far better than selling parts and labor. But sometimes, especially when we are busy, we forget and fall back into bad habits. To help the service advisors and add value for the customer, we have been changing all of our most common service operations to include a note that features the benefits of the service or item we are presenting to a customer.
Bring In More First-Time Callers
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 that your service advisors have to be razor sharp when that 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 bring immediate results.