As an auto repair shop owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget to take time to celebrate your successes. But it’s important to take time to reflect on and celebrate your wins, both big and small. Here’s why celebrating business wins is important.
4 Reasons To Highlight Your Wins
It keeps you motivated. When you constantly see the results of your hard work, it’ll help motivate you to keep working hard, striving for even more success. The little business wins deserve celebration, because it helps build a head of momentum. It will protect you against the little losses over time.
It helps you attract and retain top talent. If your employees feel like their successes are being recognized and celebrated, they’re more likely to stick around. Furthermore, high-quality applicants will see your business wins on social media. Then, they will look to you as the type of shop they would want to work for. Let people see what you do so well, and let them come to check it out for themselves.
It makes your customers happy. When your customers see that you’re celebrating your business wins, they’ll be happy for you. They’ll also be more likely to continue doing business with you. Furthermore, customers want to know their money goes to the best of the best. Showing your wins is a great way to signal that.
It strengthens your brand identity. By taking the time to celebrate your successes, you’re reinforcing what your brand stands for. This will help it to become even more recognizable and iconic.
Celebrate Win-After-Win With Business Coaching Through You Net Results
So go ahead and take the time to celebrate your next business wins. You deserve it! Not only will it make you feel good, but it’ll also help keep you motivated, attract and retain top talent, and make your customers happy. All the while, it will strengthen your brand identity. All of these are good things that will help take your business to the next level!
Book a complimentary consultation today! Brian Gillis and team will help build your leadership foundation and plug you into a vast network of auto repair shops. We’re here working together to strengthen the industry! Let’s make December the best month of your business life!
Here’s a great discussion from our You Net Results group regarding auto repair sales analogies. Most customers wouldn’t understand complicated automotive repair terminology. Here are some great metaphors your service advisor can use to help them, and then close the sale of needed repair in the process!
What if a customer asks why you cannot replace just one side of their brake system? Or maybe they are angry they had to bring their vehicle back in soon after their last visit? These sales analogies cover these situations and much more! This is a MUST WATCH for Auto Repair Shop Owners, General Managers, Service Advisors, and Service Writers!
Auto Repair Sales Analogies – Brian’s Prompt
As the clip opens, Brian is discussing phone scripts. He focuses in on the important topic of word analogies. Throughout the years, he has asked some of the most successful service advisors he has met what their best analogies are.
Moving on, he encourages the callers to share their best examples and write them down. At first, they were not ready to share, so Brian recalled his own sales analogy. The customer’s car needs new brakes, and he explained that even though one side was like a worn out shoe, the other was in brand new condition. You can’t just replace the worn out shoe. Both need to be the same condition to work properly.
Group Member Examples of Sales Analogies
Each of our YNR members then provided their own great examples. Steve volunteered his comparison between error codes and Christmas tree lights.
In the case of mismatched tires binding up wheel bearings, Gene compared the failure to a pretzel being twisted up. The customer would always be best served to replace both rear or front tires, instead of just one.
Nick then offered up the analogy that coolant can conduct and store electricity as it ages, just like a battery. Over time, this can corrode the metal parts of your engine. This reminded Brian of another analogy. We may put liquor into the freezer, in order to serve it cold. Because of the alcohol, it will not solidify. Just like alcohol, the chemicals in engine coolant prohibit freezing, and it will stay a liquid, no matter how cold the temperature it is stored in is.
Denise used the analogy of blood work getting done when you go to the doctor. You have blood drawn and tested in order to diagnose any health issues that you may have. This is the same with the Check Engine light in your vehicle. Once the shop scans the code, they know what the vehicle’s health issues are. Denise never uses the word “diagnostics”, but uses “testing” instead. Customers tend to understand that term better.
Additional Samples Your Service Advisors Can Use
Frankie compares ball joints to kneecaps. Eli reiterated Brian’s earlier sales analogy about why we need to buy brakes and rotors in pairs, just like shoes.
Brian added a metaphor to the list about carbon buildup. He has explained the accumulation of carbon in engines to customers with a couple of analogies. When carbon builds up in an engine, it can be flaky like tar when it is cool. Just like cleaning the soot out of your chimney, you periodically need to have carbon cleaned out of your engine.
Rechecks, Milkshakes, and the Chattahoochee
Every automotive shop hates it when customers come back soon after their previous visits for rechecks. Let’s say your shop just completed a costly repair. The customer returns with a new issue, angrily stating that you had just fixed all the car’s problems a week ago!
This is where a simple analogy comes into play. You go to a friend’s house for dinner. You excuse yourself to go to the bathroom. When you step into the bathroom and flip the lightswitch, pop! The bulb goes out. There was no way to tell that the light bulb would soon go bad. Such is the case with many vehicle issues. Usually, we can tell when a part or system is wearing out, but not in all cases. Obviously, if we could have detected the problem, we would have informed the client.
Next, Brian compares intermixing of oil and coolant fluids to a milkshake. He also shared a regional analogy native to his former home in Georgia. The Chattahoochee River is well known as a muddy mess. Anytime Service Advisors in the area need to make an analogy about something nasty mixing up in an engine, the Chattahoochee is an easy comparison.
Finally, Brian compares modern vehicles to smartphones. When you need to have your car or truck flashed or reprogrammed, it’s just like downloading a software update for your phone. It is a necessary update in order to ensure security and functionality.
Put These Sales Analogies In Your Toolbox!
What’s great about the automotive repair industry is that you learn something new every day. Once your service advisors memorize these sales analogies and put them into practice, you will see your sales go up. When your customers learn an important fact about their vehicles in plain English, they invariably respond, “Let’s get that repair done”.
Learn More – Get Your FREE Strategy Session
Does your independent auto repair shop lack direction? Perhaps your business plan has stalled out. You need an experienced automotive industry coach to help you. Then why not schedule a FREE business strategy session with Brian? You’ve got nothing to lose, so sign up today!
Let’s talk about auto repair business ethics. Picture this: you are an auto repair service advisor. You present a necessary service to a customer. They tell you that they just can’t afford it right now. Do you let them go without fixing the issue, potentially letting them risk more harm to their vehicle? What about the other issues you haven’t even gotten to writing up for them yet? Automotive Service Writers have a professional obligation to tell customers about needed repairs, just like doctors are obligated to tell patients about illnesses they may not know about.
Group Discussion on Business Ethics in Auto Repair
In this video, Brian talks with shop owners in our You Net Results group about that obligation. Don’t let your worries about your client’s money troubles get in the way of your ethics. Whether you display integrity or not, the word gets around!
Brian then surveyed the group members on what they defined professional obligation as. Karen said business ethics means treating your customers with respect. It’s the only way to ensure they become repeat customers. Next, Bryce pointed out that auto repair shop owners should ensure that technicians watch their language around customers. Finally, Jared reiterated that we are all obligated as professionals to ensure each client a safe, reliable vehicle.
Each caller provided a correct answer. In conclusion, Brian provided the example that we must report everything wrong with the vehicle. Even if the customer is already hurting financially, we do not have the right to withhold that information from them. In short, that is business ethics.
Learn More – Get Your FREE Strategy Session
Does your auto repair shop lack direction? Perhaps your business plan has stalled out, and you need an experienced automotive industry coach to help you. Then why not schedule a FREE business strategy session with Brian? You’ve got nothing to lose, so sign up today!
Here’s a clip from our Clear Counter Communications webinar, in which Brian and the class discussed the concept of the Black Dot. This is a method Service Advisors can use to mark lost customers.
Tracking Lost Customers
Brian opened the clip by asking the group what a “black dot” could mean in the context of auto repair. Kim correctly explained the concept. Lost customers are those who may have either ghosted their appointments, or have not returned after one visit. Through call reviews, we can often determine how that happened.
How did these prospects become lost customers? Could it be because our Service Writer team is not saying “yes” enough? The first step to finding out is giving their record the black dot mark. Next, you need to put your customer service under the microscope.
Poor Customer Service Causing Lost Customers
Brian stressed the point that poor customer service is often the cause of shops losing customers. For example, a customer receives a coupon in the mail, and responds by calling to request an oil change appointment. The service advisor, rather than trying to fit them in same day, suggests a next day appointment. Customers hate that. Before the service advisor knows it, the call is over, and the now lost customer is looking for an appointment elsewhere.
Brian and Jim recalled an experiment in which they called other shops in order to test their customer service. This proved their point, as the service writers were rude and cut them off. The obvious lack of phone scripts and systems were major turn offs. Nobody would want to do business with a shop exhibiting behavior like that. More lost customers, thus more black dots.
Learn More – Get Your FREE Strategy Session
Does your auto repair shop lack direction? Perhaps your business plan has stalled out, and you need an experienced automotive industry coach to help you. Then why not schedule a FREE business strategy session with Brian? You’ve got nothing to lose, so sign up today!
Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make. If you’re like most auto repair shop owners, then you’re always seeking ways to improve your business. The key to success is happy customers who keep coming back, so you’re always working to find new ways to increase customer satisfaction. But did you know that one of the best ways to improve your business is to invest in business coaching?
Business coaching is an umbrella term that can encompass a variety of different services. However, at its core, business coaching is about helping you identify areas of improvement in your business, while providing advice and guidance on how to overcome challenges. A good business coach will use their years of industry experience to give you valuable insights that you may not have considered on your own.
Why Should I Invest In Business Coaching For My Auto Repair Shop?
But why should you invest in business coaching? Here are three reasons why business coaching can be a powerful tool for improving your auto repair shop.
1. A coach will help you take an objective look at your business.
As the owner of your business, it can be difficult to take a step back and look at your company objectively. You might be too close to the day-to-day operations in order to see where you need to make improvements. A business coach can help you take a step back and look at your company with fresh eyes, identify areas that need improvement, and develop a plan for how to address those issues.
2. A coach will hold you accountable.
It’s one thing to make plans and set goals for your business, but it’s another thing entirely to follow through on those plans and achieve them. A coach can help you stay accountable by regularly checking in with you and ensuring you’re on track. They’ll also provide support and motivation when things get tough.
3. A coach will help you maximize your potential.
A good business coach will want to see you succeed as much as you do. They’ll challenge you to think outside the box, while pushing you out of your comfort zone. This will help you tap into your full potential as a business owner. With their help, you might be surprised at what you’re capable of achieving.
You Net Results Brings You To The Next Level
You Net Results coaches a group of business owners sharing one goal: to reach their business dreams. We bring the auto repair community together and actively share what makes us all successful. We believe in an abundance mentality and a sophisticated network of process improvements to your daily operations.
If you’re serious about taking your auto repair shop to the next level, then investing in business coaching is a wise decision. A good coach can provide valuable insights, hold you accountable, and help maximize your potential as a business owner. Ready to get started? Then contact You Net Results today!
Book a complimentary consultation today! Brian Gillis and his team will help you build your leadership foundation and plug you into a vast network of auto repair shops. Everyone is working together to strengthen the industry! Let’s make November the best month of your business life!
Team Building: Building A Team That Helps You Build
A well-oiled machine runs more smoothly and efficiently than a team that doesn’t work together. You may be the only employee when starting your auto repair business, so team building is key.
As your business grows, you will need to learn how to delegate tasks, and integrate team members so they feel ownership over their roles. This will help take your business to the next level while freeing up your time to focus on your own strengths.
The first step to building a lasting team is delegating tasks and giving employees ownership over their roles. This allows them to feel invested in the business’s success. You want your team members to feel empowered to do their jobs without feeling like you are constantly breathing down their necks. Trust is key when delegating tasks and giving employees ownership over their roles.
Giving Your Team Members Ownership Over Their Roles
An essential step to building trust with your team is giving them ownership over their roles. This allows them to grow and be responsible for completing their tasks and meeting deadlines. It also means they have the autonomy to make decisions within their area of responsibility. Motivate them to motivate themselves. Allow them pride over their position.
Decentralized business models are always more efficient than micromanaged and centralized structures. Gift your employees decision-making power and free the stress from your life.
Freeing Up Your Time as a Business Owner
Once you delegate and give employees ownership over their roles, it is important to actually step back. This signals that you are serious about their autonomy. This can be difficult for many business owners who are used to doing everything themselves. However, it is essential if you want to scale your business.
By trusting your team and giving them the freedom to work independently, you will be able to focus on your strengths and grow your business even more.
Building a lasting team is essential for any auto repair shop owner who wants to scale their business. The key is delegation, integration, and giving employees ownership over their roles. By following these steps, you can free up your time as a business owner to focus on your strengths and grow your business.
Contact You Net Results, and we’ll assist you in becoming the leader you always wanted to be. Book a complimentary consultation. Brian Gillis and his team will help you build your leadership foundation and plug you into a vast network of auto repair shops. We all work together to strengthen the industry! Let’s make October the best month of your business life!
Leadership is a learned skill. Almost anyone can start a business. But, not everyone can be a successful leader. What makes a good leader with solid leadership qualities? And how can business coaching help you develop your leadership skills and style? In this blog post, we will discuss what makes a good leader and how you can become one too!
The Features Of A Good Leader
Leadership is a quality that is often difficult to define, but everyone knows when they see it. In the business world, strong leaders are essential for success. So, what qualities make a good leader in business?
First and foremost, a good leader must have a clear vision for their company and be able to articulate that vision to others. They must also be able to inspire others to buy into that vision and work together towards a common goal.
Additionally, a good leader must be able to make tough decisions and weather difficult times. They must also be willing to take risks and learn from their mistakes.
Finally, a good leader must build strong relationships with employees and key stakeholders. By possessing these qualities, a leader can set their company on the path to success.
How Can I Inspire My Employees?
People believe that in order to be a successful leader, you must possess certain qualities such as charisma, intelligence, and strength. However, many other important qualities are often overlooked, such as empathy, listening skills, and the ability to inspire others.
To be a successful leader, learning how to inspire your employees is important. One way to do this is by setting an example and leading by that example. Show your employees that you’re passionate about your work and that you’re committed to making a difference. This will show them that they can be passionate about their work as well. Additionally, try to create a positive and motivating environment in the workplace.
Encourage open communication and collaboration, and make sure everyone feels like they are a valuable part of the team. By taking these steps, you can inspire your employees and help them reach their full potential.
How Can Business Coaching Help Me Become A Better Leader?
Business coaching can help you become a better leader in so many ways. A business coach will help you assess your current leadership skills and develop a plan to improve them. Working hand-in-hand with honest feedback and guidance as you work to implement your plan.
In addition, a business coach can help you identify your leadership style and learn how to adapt it to different situations. With You Net Results, you can gain the skills and knowledge you need to take your leadership to the next level.
Don’t hesitate to contact You Net Results today for a complimentary consultation. Brian Gillis and our team will help you build your leadership foundation. We will plug you into a vast network of auto repair shops, working together to strengthen the industry! Let’s make August the best month of your business life!
Have you ever walked through your business and noticed people performing the same task in five different ways? You aren’t sure which one is the fastest, but you are sure that you would prefer everyone do it one defined way. At least then, you can measure what is wrong and decide how to improve. That is where SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) come in, and they only get better from there!
While SOPs may seem like a lot of work to create, they will save you time and money in the long run. By having SOPs in place, you can train new employees more quickly and easily. Making it easier to monitor employee progress, measure tasks, and improve company culture. Most importantly, SOPs can help you net more revenue!
What are SOPs?
SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are simply detailed instructions on how to perform a task. They vary widely! SOPs can be as simple as a one-page document or complex manuals that are hundreds of pages long.
When composing SOPs, and when considering how standard operating procedures can transform your auto repair shop. Keep in mind that they should be clear and concise. So that anyone who reads them can understand and follow the instructions. Standard operating procedures should also be specific enough to complete a task thoroughly but digestible and actionable.
As old as time, SOPs are nothing new. In fact, they have been around for centuries in one form or another. The military has used SOPs for millennia to ensure that their soldiers are efficient and effective on the battlefield. SOPs were first formalized in the industry during the early days of the automobile assembly line. The auto repair industry developed SOPs to ensure that each car was built the same way, with the same high level of quality.
Should I use SOPs in my auto repair shop?
Today, SOPs are used in businesses of all types and sizes, from small mom-and-pop shops to large multinational corporations. SOPs provide a process or set of steps to complete a task so that employees perform the same way every time. This consistency saves time and helps to ensure quality and avoid mistakes. You can use them in any industry, but they are especially helpful in service-based businesses, such as auto repair.
With the incredibly complex nature of auto repair tasks and workflows, it is essential that you take steps to standardize things. This will not only help reduce confusion and improve efficiency, but it will help you get new employees up to speed faster!
Business coaching Through You Net Results
We know this process is daunting, and that is why you have us at You Net Results. We guide you through the process with detailed templates and instructions. We’ve helped countless auto repair shops do the same, netting greater returns as a result.
Contact You Net-Results today for a complimentary consultation. Brian Gillis & team will help you build your SOPs and plug you into a vast network of auto repair shops, working together to make the industry stronger! Let’s make August the best month of your business life!
No matter how we work, whether virtually or onsite, we all struggle with time management. It never feels like there are enough hours in the day to accomplish all those goals we set at the beginning of the week. Finding the time to work on your family life is crucial. You can’t be your best self at work when you aren’t happy and fulfilled in your off time. That fulfillment is the essence of true work life balance.
Becoming a great leader means understanding how to be more effective with the time you have. Are there opportunities for improvement? Just like when we write our SOPs, we can structure our day more efficiently. Thus, we can go through the process more linearly, allowing us to spend more time with our families.
Work Life Balance – It feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day
Trust me; we know exactly how you feel. You see the clock ticking away and remember all those things you promised outside of work. How in the world are you going to get those tasks done, making sure you fulfill your role in everyone else’s life? It’s a struggle, but there is a way to take hold of the chaos.
We suggest you start by measuring your time, and then figuring out where the loopholes are. Physically time out your activities and develop a schedule where you meticulously plan certain tasks at certain times. You’ll be shocked just how much time you spend doing tangentially related tasks vs. tackling the objective at hand.
For example, if you need to respond to online reviews, don’t do it all day long; schedule a 1-hour period at the end of the day in order to tackle all of them at once. It’s too easy to stretch a short task into an all-day affair when we piecemeal every part of it!
Community support and business coaching through You Net Results
Lucky for you, there is a vast network of business owners who understand your specific trials and tribulations. We all experience it, and we share our methods of optimizing that work life balance. At You Net Results, we plug you into a vast network of auto repair shop owners that work together to improve each other’s businesses and share in this common goal of reaching our dreams.
We’ll show you how to identify your KPIs, write and structure your SOPs, and design your work to match your goals in life. Retirement, family, and your next revenue goals; they are all interconnected!
Contact You Net Results today for a complimentary consultation. Brian Gillis will help you build your KPIs and plug you into a vast network of auto repair shop owners. When we all work together, we make our industry stronger! So let’s make July the best month of your business life!
We’ve all heard the old adage, “you can’t change what you don’t measure.” Ok, that much is relatively obvious. But where do you start? What do you measure, and how do you measure it? Who do you ask for help? Those are the real questions that we want to address when we talk about a KPI!
Asking the right questions in the right way is the key. We are identifying what the underlying items are, which move that vehicle towards the finish line. We all have “distal” goals (long distance goals we want to reach in the future), but we can’t reach them without first setting “proximal goals” (small, easily attainable goals which stack to build a foundation).
What are KPIs?
“KPI” stands for “Key Performance Indicator.” Your KPIs are the steps you list out that you have to meet in order to reach a greater goal. Consider your KPIs your proximal goals, and “double my revenue this year” your distal goal (ultimate future goal).
Identifying the right KPIs can help you break down a monumental task into tiny little bite-sized pieces which you can then easily take action on.
Let’s use “Getting Buff” as a fun example!
Let’s build some KPI for your Auto Repair Shop
So, you want to get ripped, shredded, built, and buff for the summer season?! Ok, easier said than done; that’s the definition of a distal goal, right there! Here is what we really need to do. We need a list of KPIs; smaller proximal goals we can use to get us there!
KPIs for the summer season:
Establish a budget for a gym membership
Identify five gyms I like
Call all five gyms and get price quotes
Select my preferred gym and sign up for a monthly membership
Set aside time to go to the gym
Research workout routines
Spend my first day in the gym
Now, this is a silly example, of course. But do you see how we broke the bigger goal into tiny little victories that we can check off? Doing this allows us to measure our progress towards our bigger goal. After that, we can produce easily digestible data.
We have seven KPIs listed. If we complete the first three, we can tell our significant others that we are 42% of the way there. So, it works the same for your auto repair business. If you have a goal to “double my revenue this year,” what are the exact steps you need to take to start moving the needle?
KPI and Business Coaching with You Net Results
Building KPIs can be daunting, and we understand that the process can be frustrating. How to start, where to start, and why to start? These are all great questions!
That is where we come in at You Net Results! We make that process easier than you ever imagined. We will help you navigate the complicated world of KPIs in order to get you to your next revenue goals.
Please contact You Net Results today for a complimentary consultation. Brian Gillis and our team will help you build your KPIs, and plug you into a vast network of auto repair shops. We work together so we can make the auto repair shop industry stronger! Let’s make June the best month of your business life!
