Bob Cooper

In addition to setting clearly defined goals and deadlines for each position, you also need to establish what we at Elite refer to as Minimum Levels of Acceptable Performance. Your employees need to know how they’ll win by reaching the goals that have been established for them, and they will also need to know the consequences for not meeting the minimum levels of acceptable performance.

During December it’s easy for people in the auto service and repair business to find excuses for why their sales are down. They’ll tell themselves that people have the holiday season on their minds, they’re busy shopping instead of taking good care of their automobiles, etc. Don’t buy into any of these excuses!

Your customers are far more likely to believe what they see than what they hear, because being able to visualize a problem and solution provides them with verifiable information that makes their decisions easier.

Heard this one before? When a first-time customer comes into a service facility, it’s not uncommon for service advisors to “hold back” on some of the recommendations.

In the coming years, no component of your business will be more critical to your success than the caliber of the people who work with you. In order to hire and keep superstar employees at your shop, you need to have pay programs in place that ensure they stay motivated and happy to be a part of your team.

Value has always been a powerful motivator in marketing and sales, but with the uncertainty in today’s tough economic times, an emphasis on value is more important than ever before. Although you’ll find many definitions, I believe we can all agree that in the mind of your customers, value means getting the most bang for their buck.

After your employees have been with you for a probationary period of time, they should all be given their own business cards. This includes your technicians, shuttle drivers, lot attendants, etc. First of all, just like with your managers and services advisors, this shows that you view them as an important part of your company, too. This will create a greater sense of pride, and will increase the probability that these employees will actively promote your company.

During tough economic times you need to make the most of every opportunity that you have at your disposal to generate more sales. Follow these five tips to convert more first-time callers into happy customers.

When I was still in the auto repair business, I learned an invaluable secret from a remarkable man named Sol Price. For those of you not familiar with the name, he was the founder of Price Club; the company known today as Costco. Sol was able to take himself out of the price comparison game, and the way he did it was by making sure that every appliance he sold was unique to Price Club.

Institutional advertising programs, like print media, TV and radio, and electronic media, all have their place. Clearly they can help you keep the name of your company top of mind with your customers, which, in the world of advertising, is a good place to be. But regardless of how much name awareness your company carries, one thing is for certain: You sell a service, not a product.

If you are falling short of your sales goals, before you start blaming your service advisors, you need to make sure that your technicians are providing them with the adequate recommendations.

When it comes to dealing with objections, most shop owners shut down as soon as the customer says, “It’s too much money” or “I’d like to think it over.” There are a number of reasons why, but the single most common reason is that shop owners don’t know how to handle the objections.