You Net Results owner and guide Brian Gillis talks about how to increase auto repair sales using the Oil Change Chain. Oil changes are the lifeblood of your auto repair shop. You could even say they are a crucial loss leader.
When you blow off an oil change request, you may be rejecting a potential lifetime customer. For example, they may only come in for an oil change today. The next visit may be just for an oil change, too. On the third or fourth link in the oil change chain, they may need a higher cost service, such as a 60k maintenance or a brake job.
Remember: Your Ticket Average does not pay the bills – total sales does! Don’t break the chain! Creating lifelong customers is a long game, so patience is key.
The Oil Change Chain – Setting The Table
Brian opens up the clip discussing “real world language”. When we visit a foreign country, we want to know a little bit of the language in order to get around. In the automotive repair industry, a phrase we should all learn is “the oil change chain”. This phrase is such an important part of the language that makes up a repair shop’s “YES” culture.
What is the most requested service in an automotive shop? If you answered an “oil change”, you are correct. Everybody knows how important it is to regularly change your engine oil, so you don’t ruin your vehicle. Think back to the first time you met your most loyal customers. What need brought them into your shop? Again, it most likely was an oil change.
Some Service Advisors cringe at the thought of ringing up another oil change. Their ticket average is about to go in the tank. Well, that is short sighted thinking. As we mentioned earlier, your focus should not be on a short term ticket average. Rather, your total sales pay the bills.
Defining The Oil Change Chain And Explaining Its Importance
In order to fully explain the Oil Change Chain concept, Brian produces an actual chain for a visual aid. Each link in this chain represents a job the customer has done. The first three links in this particular chain were mere oil changes. On the fourth visit, however, the customer needed a higher ticket service: a brake job. The next two links represented oil changes, but on the seventh visit, the customer needed a 60,000 mile service. Two more oil changes followed, then a water pump replacement.
What if you blew that customer off when they needed one of those oil changes? “We’re too busy today. What about tomorrow or another day?” If you don’t say yes to their small request and find a way to fit them in, guess what? They will find another shop that will, and then that shop will reap the benefits of future high ticket repairs. Leaving out one link in the chain in the form of an inexpensive oil change just cost your shop the benefits of the whole oil change chain.
Is Your Auto Repair Shop Ready For The Next Step? Book Your FREE Strategy Session!
Your independent automotive repair shop is lacking in direction. Maybe your business plan has stalled out. You are definitely not meeting your goals for growth. You need an experienced automotive industry coach who can help you. Then why not schedule a FREE business strategy session with You Net Results guide Brian Gillis? You’ve got absolutely nothing to lose, so sign up today!
