ARE ALL EMPLOYEES CREATED EQUAL?

ARE ALL EMPLOYEES CREATED EQUAL?

Just as important as acknowledging that 'all men are created equal' is acknowledging that all employees are not, or, at least, not where skills and job performance are concerned. As job success relies largely upon the success of technology and equipment provided by people seeking to customize for the individual yet diversify for the majority, ‘accomplishing’ can be a test more often than a task. Anyone who works with equipment where the word 'leads' actually refers to that which connects them to the ability to do the job knows both, the good and bad of the meaning of the term 'hi-tech'. Whether perched in front of a sewing machine or a computer monitor, today’s employee is either, directly or indirectly plugged into hi-tech maneuvering somehow. It’s no wonder the frustration for both employers and job seekers trying to find the perfect fit.

It’s been said that employees are like street cars..... if one doesn’t work out, just wait a few minutes and another will be along shortly. I say that good employees ARE the streetcars carrying the rest of the employees who are mis-matched for the job.

Choosing and placing the right person for the job will always be a great challenge but can and must be done. If your ‘search in progress’ has you butting your head against the wall, don’t give up so easy. Refine your focus to easier separate 'qualified' from ‘not’.

Remember to always have minimum production goals and expectations for every position. Be sure to explain their detail to your applicant BEFORE you do the hiring. This helps eliminate disappointments from poor performance that you might otherwise have.

RULES FOR HIRING A GOOD EMPLOYEE

RULE #1 Don’t allow desperation to force you to hire the first 'warm body off the street'. Desperation must always give way to the greater priority, finding good help!

Yes, with costs in training and paying for mistakes that can happen with new personnel, we’d all like to score the best person for the job the first time around. But, those chances are slim. Just like building quality into anything, it takes time to build a good, workable team. Rely on your patience and take the time needed to make right choices. Hits and misses are a natural step in the process but be patient-your team will come together.

RULE #2 You should always be recruiting qualified employees, always looking to replace the weakest performer in your business. Remember, the right person comes along rarely, in fact, usually when you’re not looking. Don’t let the right employee leave.

RULE #3 Keep the interview process in balance, neither rushed nor lengthy. Review the application thoughtfully, considering several issues:

A) Was the app filled out completely and, if information is missing, why?

B) Did anyone witness prospective employee filling out the application or was it ready in advance, just submitted? It’s important that the applicant be able to read and write and this is one way of knowing.

C) Are there gaps in their employment history and, if so, what is the explanation?

RULE #4 Don’t be afraid to want to know what you need to know about the person. Keep in mind that priority is to employ someone qualified to help maintain and grow your business to the fulfillment of your goals.

A) Because particular questions cannot be asked of neither, applicant nor former employee, have a list of questions written down so that you don’t miss anything as you stay within the limits of the law. Don’t rely on memory.

B) Listen more than talk. Remember that the idea of the interview process is not to tell the applicant what you know, but to find out what he or she knows including their priorities, goals and expectations of your business. This information will explain a lot more than what you may realize.

C) Arrange for qualified applicants to have lunch with the rest of the team, without owner or manager. Make sure team members know what can be discussed and what can't.

RULE #5 Don’t hire people who don’t have good job references. Make a list of reasonable minimums acceptable in references based on qualifications the job needs and don’t allow desperation to adjust it.

Always verify references both, job-related and personal. I am often amazed with the information I receive about the person in doing this so don’t miss this step.

Remember, there’s a difference between not having good job references and having bad ones. Of course, you wouldn’t hire someone with a bad reference, but, would you bring someone aboard who doesn’t have good ones? If you can’t get good references from former work sources, you only fool yourself hiring the person anyway.

Someone who appears to have had problems on every former job will, most likely, be a problem for you, too. Chances for a good choice are better when at least 75% of their references are favorable.

Rule #6 Ask about work habits

According to the standards your business dictates and what the applicant’s position requires, define good work habits. Ask about the applicant’s work habits with former employers.

Pay attention to the applicants' body language, what they are wearing and the condition of the vehicle they drive. This will give you insight to their self esteem and professionalism.

Rule #7 Be prepared to provide adequate training

It’s human nature to believe a little better of ourselves than what’s true. Be prepared to benefit only about 60% of your new employee’s claims of abilities and ready to provide training to bring them up to 100%.

Ask how he or she feels about further training. You should have a minimum number of training hours recommended and arrangements available for each position. Training is not an expense, but an asset to your business.

Rule #8 never believe that any one particular person can save your life

Although one employee can certainly impact your chances for success, never, can one, alone, provide it. Counting on someone else to do just that is never wise. You must choose each employee based on both, the idea and the environment of 'team'.

Sharing responsibility of interview and choice with co-workers should be an asset to the tasks.

GOOD LUCK

ESi has a great hiring resource available in our Automotive Business Survival Kit.
http://www.autosurvivalkit.com/

LOOK AT YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH CRITICAL EYES

Last issue, we discussed long-term problems that are occurring on both sides of the automobile. These include customer apathy, the higher complexity and lower service requirements of today’s cars, and the fact that cars, customers, and employees have changed, but too many repair shop owners and managers have not.

So, how do you fix the business? It starts with you! Look at your business through critical eyes. Better yet, hire someone to be very honest with you about it all! Grow in knowledge with fresh ideas and a strong will to try new things. Read books and take classes at the local adult school or community college. Attend the local chamber of commerce and service clubs, find someone successful, and pick their brain.

Clean out the attic in your brain and accept new and different thoughts. Look at your business differently, advertise, join community events, and make your business the automotive hot spot! Solve problems for customers, educate them, and establish your business as the authority on car repair. Very important: become a leader of your business and lead by example.

Write down your vision of where your business should be one year from now; five years; 10 years, and include an exit plan. Describe what the perfect staff is. Decide your goals for the year (and make them ones that are reachable… challenging, but reachable). Determine yearly, monthly, and daily sales goals, monthly car count, average repair order goals, and gross profit goals. Your true aim should be handling fewer cars at a higher average ticket. Determine what needs to change to reach these plans. Do you have the correct staff, and in the correct positions? Do you have the correct customers? (That is a tough one because of our personal attachment with some, but it must be done and without emotion.)

Financial foundation: Understand what the important numbers are in your business. Confirm that your hourly rate is correct for your overhead. Measure everything. Think of the numbers as the score of the game of business (you must keep score to know who’s winning). Confirm that you have the information to make good decisions. Update your technology to manage your business; embrace the management software that allows you to manage your business with the least amount of time invested.

Employees: Establish goals for every position. For the service advisor, that means daily sales goals, gross profit goals, and average repair order goals. For techs, production goals and hours billed to the customers. Develop job descriptions for each position - even for owner - and share your expectations with each employee, including full-shop goals. Educate your employees about the business; share some of the numbers and make sure they understand why you need the goals met. Each position should have a minimum number of training hours per quarter (if you’re not learning, you’re going backwards!).

Marketing: Market in three phases, including for service reminders and recommended work, to keep your name in front of current customers, and to attract new customers (customers leave for lots of reasons, so the task of attracting new customers must be forever ongoing).

Customers: Study the demographics of your customer. Can you upgrade - newer cars, higher average income, etc.? Determine what your customer really wants from you. Remember that true customer service is not what you think is needed, but rather what the customer desires.

Win your battle through change - it’s the only way, but will keep you motivated! Act like it’s your first day in business. Many businesses failed to evolve through change and are gone forever. Good luck

HOW TO GET AWAY

For too many business owners today, the idea of jumping ship and heading out the door for a week’s vacation is unheard of. After all, there’s a business to run and that’s already a full-time job and a half! Somebody’s got to make sure the cars go out, the money comes in, the bills get paid, and the uniform man gets handled along with the plumber, the oil distributor, and the tool guy, too! So, how can it be possible to drop everything and take some time off?

Let’s take a peek at your true circumstance and make some evaluations. Do you wish you could take more serious time off? Can you trust your employees to do the job you need done? Do they work well together and with customers? Are they dependable and loyal? Are they self motivated and do they work through directives and tasks executed through the strategies of a self-directed team?

For owners with shops operating through a self-directed team, taking time off on a moment’s notice is a reality enjoyed more often than you’d think. For those driven to bless every move made in your business every day, however, here’s the good news and bad: The good news is that, sure enough, with you at the helm, business stands a good chance of moving right along the way you’d like. The bad news is that, in your zeal to master it all yourself, you’ve exchanged that victory for the chance to bask in the sun with the special people in your life - the personal time so desperately important in maintaining a healthy attitude today.

Is the idea of taking time off for a personal life truly unrealistic? Here it is in a nutshell: Self-directed team operations can be as much a reality in your shop as they are in shops just like yours. Your business is not unique - neither are your circumstances with it, problems and all. The difference is that others have taken the time to make the conversion that you haven’t. Maybe it’s time you did.

Consider transferring your responsibilities as a self-driven business operator to a strong self-directed team instead. Act on the following:

1) Most employees, even those who enjoy working independently, want to believe that they are part of a team working toward common goals. They need reassurance that they are valued members of a team.

2) Employees want to feel you are thinking of their welfare. They want to know you care about what’s going on in your own business, right along with what’s going on in their personal and professional lives. You must acknowledge the positive with as much zeal as you notice the negative in employees’ contributions.

3) Team members want to feel employers listen to them. They like being a part of your business and feel ignored when you don’t listen to and act on their recommendations. Poor communication is the number one problem in employee / employer relationships. Employees are the biggest part of your business and it’s wise to listen to what your business is saying.

4) Team members want to feel special, not easily replaceable. They each want to feel like they are your best choice for what they do for you, and that takes complimenting their performance often and sincerely.

5) Team members want to be informed about your business. Inadequate or lack of communication about business expectations affects productivity too greatly to not inform employees about what’s going on.

6) Team members want to work for an employer who works efficiently and confidently. The character and performance employers display either inspire the actions of employees or discourage them. As team members experience the positive in you, they will easier take the action needed to be successful inside of business goals.

Although there is a continuous process of refining team strategies and performance to gain what the business needs, to seriously consider the reality of a self-directed team in operation is my biggest recommendation to increase odds to succeed.

TIME MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY

A simple improvement in daily productivity can result in a substantial increase over the course of a month. Let’s do the math based on 3 technicians working 8 hours a day. Your inventory labor is 24 hours of billable time each day and, in a perfect world, the shop will bill 24 hours. The question is, “How many perfect days do any of us ever really have?” We average about 72% productivity across the nation, which an 8-hour day tabs out to billing only 5.75 hours! If you are within the average 72% productive, billing 5.75 hours per day, per tech, strategies for improvement could start with increasing productivity to just 80%. You’d bill an additional .65 hours per day and, multiplied by 3 technicians, that totals an added 1.95 hours per day. In an average month of 21 working days, this is an additional 40.95 billable hours, an increase that many would consider substantial. Remember that this simple improvement represents only slightly more than one half hour per day!

Low productivity happens, but why? It’s always easiest to blame the techs, but several factors contribute.

Battling strategies between technical and sales staff created by inadequate skills: An example would be a service writer who does not agree with the charges and timeframes the technician has recommended. The service writer ignores the proper resale rules and adjusts the charges to the customer, selling the job for less. This heavily impacts productivity. On the flip side, regardless of skillful sales management, inability in technicians to perform the work properly will always impact productivity, too. Insufficient space to handle the car count: Too few work bays, too many work bays inside of too little space, poor work space layout, poor access to equipment - all of these impact your time management. Very often, we choose to work with familiar struggle rather than endure change and make it right. So, what are the psychological working conditions in the business? Is that environment stressed with problems?

Insufficient time available for the service advisor to properly write the estimates: This may or may not be an “understaffed” problem. Sometimes, adjusting the work responsibility will free up more time for better estimate preparation. There is a certain percentage of service advisors, however, that start fires when none are currently burning to help substantiate their participation at work (putting out fires is work) as they avoid the “dreaded estimate write up.”

The service advisor lacks adequate time to properly present the estimate to the customer: Proper presentation must include a description of goals and strategies for repairing the vehicle to show value for the money you’ll be asking the customer to spend. Just because the service advisor finds time to close the sale does not mean that a “good sale” has been closed. Making a sale simply confirms that a transaction will take place; making a good sale rewards both business and customer by satisfying all expectations.

Lack of adequate car count: Correcting this problem needs to include reviewing the success rate of your advertising and contact strategies; the ratios in curiosity calls versus calls converted to appointments, and the ratios of appointments honored versus “no shows.” Tracking these will help decide if low car count can be due to poor phone skills or poor advertising; maybe both are culprit.

Too many cars (yes, it happens): Too many cars but low productivity can equal the service writer needing to qualify the customers better. Failing to thoroughly inspect every car for needed work is another contribution to low productivity. Consider this: you’ve spent a ton of money advertising to get the car in there; you’ve spent a healthy sum on training and continue to invest in motivation and knowledge for your employees to bring that customer in and make good sales; you plan your future according to prospects that are based on customers’ needs… why would you not take full advantage of reaping full benefit from the opportunity you have when the car finally comes in?

OPEN DOOR POLICY WITH EMPLOYEES

Talking to clearly communicate your intentions is not just a workplace practice, it’s a real job. How you deliver your message implies the response you are seeking from your recipient. Your attitude behind the words can tell someone that you’re looking to blame, when you’re really just frustrated and looking for help. Each exchange has its own level of intensity, so each one risks potential loss or gain in efforts to truly achieve the goals targeted for the encounter. How the words are delivered and their reception by the other will make the difference. If you regard “communicating” as anything less than a real job, you’ve set yourself up for a mental rollercoaster with everyone you share your day with.

You’ll be further ahead if you can grasp the concept of “job” and remember that not many jobs are easy… that’s why they’re branded “job.” Striving to succeed, we can never disregard changes we’ll need to employ. Customer demands and industry regulations force practices to be constantly refined. For most employees, though, change is difficult. They entered the job through a list of expectations that were acceptable to them at the time. As changes are enforced, our expectations for their job description and performance often change, too. While some employees may accept this, it’s not always the case.

Their comfort zone has been disturbed and that, to them, doesn’t always say, “Good job, but I want you to change.” Often, they’re hearing, “I want you to change” and missed the “good job” part. We must somehow be able to transfer information that will satisfy a clear explanation to them that includes actually saying the words, “Good job.” It gives two opportunities to settle their disrupted comfort zone. Employees are more motivated to participate in change when they truly feel they’re making a positive contribution based as much on “whom” they are as “what” they do. The “who” substantiates a position in your employ but the “what” substantiates only the job, something they were looking for when they came to work for you.

We’re all capable of “thinking” a problem into existence and employees are no different. When we fail to communicate correctly in “approach, words and attitude,” they see a problem. They can dwell on a situation negatively in their mind until, at last, it’s true and suddenly they’re justified in what they’ve been thinking all along! Anger in our employees is not always our fault, but, nonetheless, the frustration they can feel from their perception alone can exist. For the sake of success, it’s imperative that we open up those lines of communication.

We must remember, too, that we’re not the only ones with problems. With today’s staggering economy, personal debt is higher than ever. The pressure is on at home and at work, so employees get angry more often and stay that way longer. People want to place blame for their problems.

Good communication with your employees can offer them understanding and support and actually aid in minimizing their dilemmas. It can create a happier employee and, therefore, one who is more productive (happier plus more productive usually equals longer employment with you, too).

So, how do you widen the door of your “open-door policy”? There are four key requirements. First, talk to your coworkers about the problems in the business that includes their position. Second, open the conversation by announcing that you’ll be looking for their input (advanced invitations for them to participate will quickly capture their attention and motivate them do just that). Third, enter the conversation open-minded, anxious to have them share their ideas for solutions.

Fourth, have patience when listening. Give a strong ear to their comments and feedback, because very often the solution is closer than you know. Employees who feel they are being heard will produce more and be happier to do so. So, widen that open door.

GOOD SALES?

America’s true entrepreneurs today display through every type of advertisement an eagerness to meet the challenge to be the best at what they do. Once prospects accept your invitation to try your business, the results will ultimately be justified through these means: applying four very basic yet critical strategies in the four rules of business. Your ultimate goal must always target a customer encounter that will leave both you and your customer beaming with gratitude for the experience that just took place. You should never have to ask yourself, “What just happened with this sale? It didn’t feel like a ‘good sale.’” Regardless of how strongly you believe you’re doing it right all the time, revisit the four rules of business regularly. Post them somewhere in a private area to do a self-check and be honest with yourself in your relationship with each of the strategies.

The first of these rules is: Customer satisfaction before profit. This is the most important rule because it strengthens your odds to make every good customer a repeat customer. Satisfied customers come back and satisfied customers tell others about you. Satisfied customers remember they were truly satisfied with how you handled their problem, and satisfied customers are who we want filling up our waiting rooms. As I’ve continued to say for so many years, “Without money nothing happens, and without good customer service nothing happens for very long.”

The second rule is: You must know who the boss is in your business. Most of us decided to challenge the rest of the business world with our talent and open our business based on our ability to beat the daily grind of taking orders from someone else. Finally and at last, we opened the doors of our own business and lo and behold we found ourselves with a whole new boss: the customer! Now, we have lots of bosses! Do we like our new bosses any better than the old one? Most of us would answer “yes,” but at great sacrifice. Customers are tough to deal with regardless of industry. We’re customers ourselves so of course we know that, which makes owning the responsibility to provide satisfaction a goal we must meet!

The third rule is: Know what’s in the job for you. You invested in both your life today and your future tomorrow when you opened your business. Take care not to give the store away-your life and future depend on it! You must make the profit you need while building a good customer base at the same time. You must not leave yourself out of the loop trying to satisfy all but yourself. While the customer is the most important component in your business, their satisfaction can never be at the cost of sacrificing your own dreams!

The fourth rule is: Profit before work. This is the most abused rule! The average repair shop in America today records a substantial amount of debt in accounts payable that they’re behind on in payments compounded by additional personal money invested through credit card debt just to sustain business. Add this to regular operating expenses each month and the light at the end of the tunnel begins to get real dim! If you see your name on this list of statistics and you’re tired of being last in line for a paycheck, I have some words of encouragement that should help: You can conquer this situation, but only when you begin to get paid for everything you do and at the right price!

To see if you’re minding all four rules, consider the following statements and answer “yes” or “no”:

I have more complaints than satisfied customers

I see many of my customers at other repair shops and don’t know why.

I didn’t make the money I thought I would with opening my own business.

My customers tell me how to repair their car and don’t want to pay me to diagnose the problem.

I’m afraid my employees will quit me if I don’t do what they want.

I always say “yes,” even when I mean “no.”

I quote prices to customers before I research the labor and call for parts prices.

I don’t want people saying my prices are too high.

If you answered “yes” to six or more, your road’s end may be closer than you think and it’s time to change direction now!

SUCCESSION PLANNING

This month we are going to task about something that makes most of us very uncomfortable… What happens to our business when something bad happens? Anytime we bring this subject up most people tune us out, because we have never given any thought to the idea that we may not going to be in business tomorrow. Part of what makes us Automotive Business owners is the personality type that we are invincible. Succession planning is something we all need to have discussed, and have a plan in place; otherwise we can burden the business and our family with debt, uncertainty and fear.

What is succession planning? The dictionary defines succession as; “the act or process of following in order or sequence.” In most cases small business owners are so concerned and involved with running the business they never get to plan for the future. In our opinion succession planning needs to be a high priority, because without a succession plan the future of the business is not defined. What areas does the succession plan help us in?

• Preparing for loss of leadership.

• Responsible planning for the future.

• Leadership development of the younger generation.

• Smooth transition of control

In most cases we have not planned the future of our business; In fact we don’t give a thought to our exit plan. We work very hard for 20 or 30 years and then in the last year or two of our careers we decide what to do with the business. We have never spoken to our family (spouse, children) about what happens to the business when we retire or if we have illness or death. We need to have a succession plan for these reasons;

• Planning the future direction of the business.

• Provide a training plan for future leaders.

• Ensure business continuity.

• Reduce tax liability.

• Provide peace of mine for your family and employees.

• Security for your family.

The facts are… we as an industry are aging and have not realized it. Consider this; the average shop owner is 53 years old, and has been in business an average of 28 years. We have spent no time planning for the future and some cases we are in poor health. Long days, short nights, high stress levels and poor eating habits have made us the poster children for heart disease and strokes. And because we live and breathe only our business, we have spent zero time planning for the future; in fact we don’t plan next week much less twenty years into the future. Our biggest potential failure is that we keep all of the business information in our head, and when this happens, if we can’t function, the business can’t function.

Some interesting facts about family small businesses…

Only 30% of family businesses survive to the second generation, and of this 30%, only half make it to the third generation.

A lot of small business owners think the sale of their business will finance their business retirement, but in most cases the business has not been staffed or structured correctly to allow for a profitable sale. One thing to keep in mind is that if you are the main point of contact to the customer and you go to sell your business, it could bring half of what it is worth. If you have a team in place and they are the main point of contact your business is more valuable. Part of a good succession plan is an exit strategy for you that is planned and not based on a major negative event.

How do I start this succession plan? As we have talked about in other seminars and articles you need a Team of professional to provide guidance in many areas. We feel we need to have a relationship with these professionals.

Accountant

Attorney (a business attorney and a succession planning attorney)

Financial Advisor

Insurance expert

Business Coach / Consultant

Now, when I talk about a relationship with these professionals, I mean we want them to be familiar with you and your business. It’s never a good idea to wait until you need one of these professionals to hire them. Interview for these positions until you find someone you’re comfortable with, and then check their references until you find the right fit for you. Once you have your professionals located, put them on retainer, or build a working relationship, so that they can jump into action as/if needed.

After you have your professionals in place, the next step is to review and assess your current employees. Identify the strengths and weakness of each employee, and understand that not every weakness means they shouldn’t be there! . Ultimately, the end result is that you are looking do develop the Team so that we feel comfortable leaving our business. If you do not have the crew now, this needs to become a priority! Once the Team is in place we need to develop processes and procedures for the day-to-day shop operations.

We need to have enough processes and procedures that will allow the Team to run the business profitably, and without you! We have seen many shops struggle to survive because the shop could not function with the owner sick or worse, out of the picture all together. Your also business needs an operational manual, a step by step manual of how to perform each job in the business. Now do we need to spell out what direction the toilet paper should roll out in this manual, well maybe, that depends on the quality of the employees you have!

Having regular meetings with your staff is an important step to having a Team that has the knowledge to make sure the business survives. These meeting should include such things as an overview of what is currently happening within the business, where the facility is on the company goals, etc. Some of these meeting should also be used to develop an emergency operation plan as well as “what if” contingencies.

Next we need to developed leadership in our employees. You want a group of decision makers as employees, not followers, and then you need to empower them to make decisions. What is empowering your employees? Simply allowing your employees to make decisions based on their experience, AND the policies & procedures for your facility. Empowering your employees also means that you aren’t micro-managing them, which in theory means you have more time for working in instead of on your business.

We also need to cross train all of the employees to be able to cover all positions in the company, even if only basically and temporarily. Remember that cross training should make your life easier in the long run as it allows you to fill a temporary position from within.

What else should you do? Get all you legal issues handled. These should include but are certainly not limited to, a properly set up, living will or trust that is set up and funded correctly. Then there is the insurance required, be sure you and the agent of your choice have your insurance coverage set up correctly, and you have all the coverage you need! Failure to have the right insurance will cost you more in the long run in most cases than you’ll save going with the least expensive insurance.

You also need to have a date for you to exit the business. Don’t get mad, you don’t have to leave, just have a plan in place so your business is ready for you to leave. There are four basic ideas for an exit plan;

• Retain ownership and manage control

• Retain ownership, but not manage control

• Sell it and hope for the best. Most repair shops are sold and the seller carries at least part of the loan. In many cases they end up with the shop back in 3 to 5 years.

• Close the shop

By being prepared, empowering your employees, making sure your business is covered, and plan on selling will protect not only your investment, but also help protect your family and the businesses extended family!

Succession Planning is available as a recorded Webinar on our web site www.esiseminars.com. We have 17 1 hour long Webinars that cover all aspects of repair shop management available. Many of the Webinars come with other resources such as spreadsheets and sample documents to help you improve your business and profitability of your shop.

THE ENEMY WITHIN

We are spending a lot of time discussing within the industry this challenging time with COVID-19. Fear is running rampant. The industry is spending a lot of time on what we need to do and what we need not do. These discussions recently reignited a thought I've had for some time. The industry has struggled with it for many years, but it is more apparent than ever today. We are fighting with The Enemy Within.

I field many phone calls from repair shops of all kinds and sizes; A significant worry is the competition. "The Outside Enemy," what I call your competition. Every shop looks for the edge, that "something" that nobody else has or is doing. And if they find that "it," they want to keep it top-secret. The thing that makes them different, to stand out from the rest of the shops in town. If the truth is known, none of us are all that different, and there are very few top-secret things that you can do that no one else has already tried or will be trying. These shops are so concerned about The Outside Enemy; that they are blind to the damaging effect caused by The Enemy Within.

Just what is The Enemy Within, you ask? This Enemy is with you every single day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week! It is you. To find this Enemy, look in the mirror, and you will find that he or she is staring you right in the eyes. It's also your employees, your vendors, and yes, even your customers. Primarily it is you. Being conservative, I would say 90% of all the shop owners we come across are the most significant detriment to their own business. These shop owners are focused on the wrong thing, they are burnt out or complacent, or a combination of all. And they are focused on fixing cars, not running a business. They don't know the numbers of their own business; in fact, many of them are losing tens of thousands of dollars and don't even realize it. They have the wrong employees working for them. In many cases, they may know this but decide not to act on it because dealing with employees is difficult. These same shop owners set no expectations and hold no one accountable, including themselves.

These shop owners beat their vendors up for price and buy cheap components because they think they are saving their customers money. In the long run, these shop owners cost themselves more time and money. These shop owners advertise low prices instead of value and fail to attract a great customer who will pay a fair price, want outstanding service, and a great warranty. But they're worried about the competition which unfortunately is also doing the same thing they are in 99% of the cases, want to be different from your competition? Pay attention to your business!

More than one shop owner has told me they won't send their employees to training. Why? They are afraid their employees will share one of their secrets, find another job, or open a shop, and become their competitor. Hearing this, I have a tough time, not laughing. It helps me understand why they're not successful. These shop owners don't train their employees to be better, and they don't want them to grow as professionals. The owners don't treat their employees as professionals or even humans. These are the owners that don't implement new ideas because they are so focused on fixing the car. Or because change is difficult and scares them. I get it. They are good at fixing things, and that's where they are the most comfortable. Then they got this entrepreneurial seizure,  acquired a repair shop and have not had a paycheck for the last 20 years; these owners spend tens of thousands of dollars on technical training and technical equipment. They don't even have an adequate phone system or shop management system that allows us to track the numbers; to keep the Score that would tell us if they can afford the equipment which was just purchased. I hate to break this to you, but if you would understand your business thoroughly, and I mean, Understand The Numbers of Your Business. If you hire the correct staff, set expectations, and hold yourself and your team accountable. If you would take a paycheck just like your employees, and worry about fixing your business rather than worrying about what everybody else in the automotive repair industry is doing, you would be more successful. I'm always amazed when shops that are barely surviving have an owner who advises other repair shops. Let's fix The Enemy Within ourselves first! 

 Let's change your attitude about business, and let's find your passion again—this same passion you had when you opened your shop. Let's stop making this an automotive repair shop that we own as a hobby and make it a for-profit business. Stop advertising prices and begin selling value. At every get-together, I hear people complain about price shoppers, and yet as shop owners, they turn around and price shop their own suppliers. In turn, the suppliers then provide us with lower quality parts that cause more comebacks, their warranty rate increases, which ends up costing them more money. In turn, they get mad at the parts suppliers. When you buy quality parts, mark them up correctly, provide a great warranty, and stop worrying about the repair cost, the rest will fall into place. Most of your customers don't come to you because of the price; they come to you because they trust you and have an excellent reputation. Every day, shop owners damage our reputations by trying to compete on price. And then get angry at their customers because they make cost an issue.

 Make sure your staff is productive, helpful, and passionate about this industry. Those of you who have attended my classes know that I talk about attitude—a lot. I genuinely believe each day that I decide the kind of day I'm going to have, good or bad—it is my choice. It doesn't matter what is going on in the world or my life. It is all about my attitude. Be intentional, make a choice every morning, get passionate about your business, and find the good things that are happening around you every day. Worry first about fixing The Enemy Within you and then within your employees before worrying about the other shops in town. 

In 2018, there were 276.1 million registered vehicles in the United States. This number tells me there are plenty of cars for every repair shop. The owner and manager's job is to find the right customers. These are the customers who want your level of service, your quality of repairs, and your auto repair philosophy. The Enemy Within is costing you far more than your competition is. Spend your time, effort, and yes, money on fixing The Enemy Within. The External Enemy will take care of itself.

All of us at ESI hope you and your family are safe. We are here to help you in any way we can. This pandemic will pass, and we will be busier than ever. Now is the time to get your house in order. There are quality employees out there looking for jobs right now. Start replacing your weakest links, correct the deficiencies in your business, and advertise like crazy. We are going to be busy again soon. 

With a lifetime of hands-on, real-world auto repair shop experience of teaching and coaching in the business, each member of our team at ESi Educational Seminars Institute is here to serve you. Whether you are looking for social media marketing help or a business coach in the automotive industry with the knowledge and experience to help you rekindle your passion, turn to the experts at ESi. We pride ourselves in helping you gain control of your business and require no contract for our services. Call us at 866-526-3039 or schedule an appointment today, and we will help reconnect you with your why, your passion, and help you turn a profit.

Confident Selling and You - Do You Believe?

When I first started selling automotive service I was always puzzled by why some customers bought and others did not. At first I thought it was that they did not need what I was selling, but the more I became a student of my position I realized that everyone who I came in contact with needed what I was selling; their car fixed. They did not get up in the morning and say “I have nothing better to do today so I’m going to take my car to the repair shop!” So when I came to realize that I was doing something to create the “no sale” customer, I started to analyze each and every sale, both yes and no. I spent a great deal of time learning about sales and the psychology of selling. Very soon it became clear to me where the issue was... it was ME! This was a harsh reality and it was darn hard to accept, but true.

I had lost slam dunk sales... they never said no till today. I made sales that I would have never have thought possible. Why? Because of my level of confidence, in myself, my product and my business.

To sell, and sell at a high level you must believe in yourself. Your confidence in the presentation of your services has a greater effect on your success rate than anything else you do! Your sales skill depends on your level of confidence. This type of confidence cannot be faked, you either believe or not, there is no in between!

So how do you gain this level of confidence and even more importantly, how do you keep this confidence? First realize that most of us did not set out to be service advisors, it was a twist of fate that put us in that position. Some of us became a Service Advisor because we were brilliant or stupid and accepted the challenge and some by default because no one else would do the job. But for whatever reason we started doing a job we had not been trained to do. Learning on the job can be a brutal teacher. Really how many times do you have to be told NO, our you’re too expensive, or you’re a crook, before you start believing it? So, most of us bring self doubt to the job, created by our upbringing or other influences we’ve had.

Now, let’s get started on building and keeping our confidence!

First and foremost, everyone lacks self confidence at some time and we need to be constantly working on improving and maintaining it. I use my morning ritual to maintain my confidence. Each day, wherever I am I start the morning out by having a good talk with myself, and yes, I said I talk to myself. I have a mini seminar, out loud, to bring the entire positive to the front of my mind. I don’t dwell on any negative(s), only the positive(s). I remind myself that I’m a great person, I’m exceptional at my job, I have an amazing family and Ii work with the best people in the world….and yes, .that’s you! So let’s start with 10 steps to build and maintain your self confidence

Believe in yourself unconditionally - you can do anything you really want to do. The key is to really want to succeed. Strive to be the very best at what you do, every day and you will reach levels you never thought possible.

Believe in what you are selling - What do you really sell? Brake pads? Alternators? Oil services? Timing belts? NO you do not sell parts or customer service or labor. In fact I believe the biggest issue we have today is that to many of you still think you are selling automotive repair, those days are long gone! Our product these days is psychological; we sell peace of mind, reliable transportation, dependability, safety and yes confidence in their transportation. If you’re just fixing the broken parts, you’re not fixing the customers real needs.

Expect to make the sale! – Ever write an estimate, look at the total and say... WOW that’s a lot of money! In reality you just helped the customer say NO to you. This type of thought process actually means you’re expecting the “NO” and the objection that generally follows. Any time you ask for the sale or even the appointment you must, with every part of your being, be expecting a YES. This one process will close more sales and appointments than anything else. I answer the phone expecting the appointment, every time. I call a customer expecting the sales, the whole sale, every time, no exceptions. The only question I should ever have when calling a customers is, how soon I can get it done. No, Ii don’t get a 100% close rate, but I will always do better than someone who calls the customer hoping for some of the sale.

See yourself closing the sale - you have to visualize success. Pro athletes play the game in their mind and see themselves winning. Why? Because if you see success you will achieve it more often. This is a must do if you want to achieve a higher level of success.

An attitude of servitude - become other peoples focus. Be helpful – put others needs before yours. Do things for the right reasons, and NEVER put money, the dollars you will be paid for the services provided, before the customer’s needs and satisfaction. A satisfied customer will spend more money easier than a first time customer who just got their car fixed. Service is the key; show consideration and patience and be empathetic. Remember that empathy can make you money while sympathy will cost you money. Be kind and courtesy to everyone, even the people that make your life difficult (I know that all of you just had a certain customer pop into you head) for it is those people who sometimes become our best customers!

Start liking yourself - the more you believe and like yourself the better confidence level you will have. Most of us have some form of “baggage” in our personal backpacks, things we have carried deep in our minds from long ago. This baggage is what is holding you back, get rid of it. This psychological weight is preventing you from reaching success. Figure out what is making you think less of yourself and get rid of it. Maybe it was a teacher, parent, sibling or a friend saying you’ll never be good at anything, calling you dumb or just saying negative things to you for a long period of time. These people obviously never saw your potential, so why give them the right to get inside your head and hold you back? Cast them off and become your best friend! Listen to only the positive people in your life, and know that you should be one of the strongest positive people in your life. Get up every morning, look into the mirror and talk positively to yourself, never allow negativity into this process, not from yourself or anyone around you!

Desire to create good things for others – whether you believe it or not, you have a huge influence on others attitudes and moods around you whether they be family, friends, employees, vendors. Think about the number of people you come in contact with each and every day and set out each day to enrich their livers and you will receive a bigger return in your life. Set out each day to improve yourself, for me, it’s that I strive to learn something new each and every day.

Look at each Issue (problem) as an opportunity – Each issue is a challenge, make every challenge an opportunity to improve your life. Take each “NO” and analyze it to make you a better service advisor. Ask yourself, what could I have done differently, what questions should I have ask, and could I have changed my response to the objection and ended up with a better outcome? In other words, review the film; look at each sale as an opportunity to do things differently. Learn from every sale, what worked, what didn’t? To be the best you have to be willing to change and improve yourself.

Have a plan - work the plan - Systems and process in the shop are what makes sales happen. Every one doing the sales process and following the same procedures will allow you to have confidence in what you are selling. Make sure you fully understand the technician’s request. Ask questions. You do not need to know how to repair cars to be a great service advisor; however you need to have an understanding of what you are selling and why. This information needs to be supplied by the technician. The systems and process will help you build a level of confidence in the information given to you. Have a plan – and stick to it!

Always be passionate about what you do! – be excited about the job, the interactions and remember that you are helping people achieve success. The energy that your passion fuels is contagious. Energy and passion can overcome a flawed plan, but a perfect plan with no passion will fail faster. Having passion is the fuel for a positive and successful life, in what ever you do!

Confidence comes from within... I cannot give it to you. Believe in yourself and others will believe in you! During this last year I have had many people write me and comment on a seminar that they attended. The most common comment is that the seminar renewed a confidence and passion in them that had been slowly disappearing. Please spend some time talking to yourself and rekindle the confidence and passion in yourself.