Tom and Joe Palermo shed some light on the challenges they faced as they embarked on new service territory, how they equipped their shop and team to take on additional vehicles and their varied service requirements, and the opportunities that resulted from establishing a new service “profit center” for their growing business.
Equipment costs are unavoidable. Whether it’s the front of a shop, back office or in the bay, repair shop owners and tire dealers need a variety of tools to keep their businesses running. The debate for many business owners is if they should buy or lease this equipment. So when it comes time to make equipment acquisition decisions, it’s important for business owners to understand the pros and cons of buying and leasing.
It’s widely accepted that gathering customer feedback can help a repair shop better meet its clients’ expectations. After that, the clear-cut details start to fade. What’s the best way to gather feedback – and exactly what customer satisfaction data should be sought? And once you have the data in hand, how do you translate that to positive changes in your shop?
Looking for new ways to address flat sales and low profitability? Try turning all your employees into salespeople. Regardless of an employee’s position or job description, there’s an opportunity for people at all levels to be salespeople. Here are eight ways to make sales part of every person’s job, adapted from Patricia Sigmon’s new book “Six Steps to Creating a Profit.”
Payday. While it is music to an employee’s ears, payday presents logistical and legal challenges for your company. One of the chief challenges is ensuring your employees are paid properly under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Why does FLSA matter to you? Money. Improperly paying employees opens you up to potentially massive liability from a collective action.
Having difficulty finding talented employees? Take a good hard look at the engagement level of your existing employees first. Spending the last 20+ years in business consulting, the past 10 in my own practice, I have too often heard the plea “we can’t find good people” from business owners and/or management personnel. In fact, if you’re a shop owner or manager, there’s a very good chance you’ve said this yourself at one point or another.
