We talked to three different owners to find out the difficulties they had in their shop before they attended the “How to Increase Your Profits” seminar. Here’s what they told us:
Peyton Knight
Knight’s Automotive
Ledgewood, NY
Dino Di Giulio
Body Best Collision
Sonoma, CA
David Saline
2nd To None Svc.
Moriarty, NM
Q: What was happening in your shop that prompted you to go to the seminar?
Peyton:
For me it was lack of control in the shop and not knowing where to turn to for the answers. I would be with a customer and the techs would just be standing around. I would finish selling the job, then would walk out and ask why they weren’t working on cars. They would say, “Well, I don’t know what to do next, boss.” And I would explain to them what needed to be done next with every car. “Well, I don’t know how to fix this one, boss, what do I do now?” they’d say, or “Well, I’m waiting for a part, the part’s not here yet.”
At the end of the day everyone would leave and I’d be stuck there working on cars at night.
I could fix a car alright, but I just didn’t know where to turn to for the answers of how to run my business. I knew for sure this wasn’t the way to do it.
David:
The reason we went to the seminar in the first place was that Management Success was able to completely describe our shop operation without even being there. I was doing service writing, being the mechanic, outside sales, managing. I was doing everything and was working from 14-16 hours a day.
I’d spend most of the morning writing up service, getting the customers checked in, and then the afternoon I was writing estimates, doing phone calls and trying to get parts ordered—all while trying to work on vehicles at the same time! Then I would make sure the customers that had to be done and gone by the end of the day were finished. Then I worked on everything else from 5pm to 10 or 11pm at night trying to keep up with the work. And I did have two other techs working with me.
I had no time with my family, I spent all my hours up at the business and all I was making was mechanic wages.
Dino:
I just needed help. I was at my wits end. I was not in a good place health-wise, I wasn’t in a good place mentally, very tired when I got home every day—especially on those days when we were really busy. We weren’t organized, that’s the simplest way to put it. My shop was very clean, but organization wasn’t one of the things that was in place. I was the owner running all the time from the front to the back. And if I added a new employee it seemed like things got worse. We were getting busier and busier and I just didn’t know how to deal with the workload like an owner should.
I was tired of chasing my tail and a friend had done the seminar and told me that it was great, he really got a lot from it. And this was someone who owned multiple shops. So—I went to the seminar.
Q: How was your point of view changed about what was going on in your shop after you went to the seminar?
Peyton:
I sat there for two days at the seminar trying to figure out how the speaker knew every single thing that was going on in my business! How did he know all the problems I was having? If he knew that much about what was going on in my shop and he’d never been there, then obviously he knows his stuff about running a shop. When I sat with the consultant to go over my business analysis you get with the seminar, he really broke it down for me. Between the speaker, the consultant, and talking to the shop owners who had actually been to the seminar before I realized there were real people out there with real shops that changed their business with the seminar. I could believe it. I got the confidence that Management Success would be able to help me repair my shop. And they did!
David:
After I heard everything the seminar speaker had to say and the seminar was over I realized I had to make some changes in the shop or we weren’t going to make it.
One of the first things that we did was improve the organization and work flow system in the shop. We had a system before but it was all verbal, whoever was doing the job did all the details verbally, we would end up doing the invoice with the customer standing in front of us. Sometimes we could only guess what should be on the invoice, and who knew how much we were losing there!
Now all the billing is done before the customer gets there. The Service Writer keeps track and everything is double-checked as it goes through the system. We also have Quality Control as part of our service now, to ensure everything is running smoothly before the customer is called.
I was able to get off the floor and was no longer working on mechanical stuff. I’m spending more time doing outside sales, bringing in new customers. Now I come in at 9 a.m. I’m off by 5 p.m. I have my weekends off and if I choose to go out of town I can just pick up and go and the shop runs itself, nothing to worry about.
Before Management Success the business was running me completely. I was at its mercy. Whenever customers showed up or called, I was on call 24 hours a day. I was in the shop more than I was at home. There were many nights I spent sleeping in the shop because it wasn’t worth my time to go home to sleep.
Now WE run the business. What a difference!
Dino:
After the seminar, I looked at my business differently. I started on the road to getting things organized, putting systems in place, making people accountable for their area. It’s as simple as that! I didn’t see the shop as a problem anymore. Before, I would go home after a long day and just go “holy crap,” you know? I mean there were days when I wished I had never gone into work. At the seminar, I was given this “toolbox” for my business and I knew I had to open it up and use it and fix my shop.
I had things I changed right away, including putting the correct work flow in the shop to handle the jobs. Putting everything in writing instead of being verbal was the first major shop policy that I put in and boy did that help, cause I was probably the worst of all at putting things in writing!
It was a change for my business, but also a personal change. Because of all the things I learned from that weekend at the seminar and after, my entire life changed. It changed the way I look at a lot of things for the better and the shop is now the best that it’s ever been.
Management Success! How to Increase Your Profits Seminar
Showing posts with label networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label networking. Show all posts
Monday, July 1, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
What About Helping Your Help? By Bob Spitz Management Success!
 |
| Bob Spitz Snr VP Business Dev Management Success |
Go ahead and read it anyway because I am going to lay it on the line right here, right now.
When repair shop owner say, “I can’t find good employees.”
Here is what they are REALLY saying. “I don’t know how to help employees.”
How’s that for a 180 degree shot right in the nose?
Ugly isn’t it?
But it’s fact.
When a business person is in the process of recruiting and hiring what they are really looking for is Potentially Great Employees. Trying to hire Great Employees who are already top notch technicians who are trained in all the procedures of the business and never needs to be told what to do because they just magically know exactly what the owner wants all the time is very difficult, there is just not that many of them in the pool!
This is not just a fact a shop owner has to “deal with”. This is about survival. It is something a shop owner needs to know all about. Otherwise that shop is going nowhere, and the owner finds him or herself stuck in the paint booth, or pounding on a fender from dusk till dawn.
If the shop owner knows how to take willing new employees and turn them into real help, well then the shop owner knows how to help a new employee.
It is as simple as that.
You have to know how to deliver the goods (real help) to the employee.
That is not backwards management. You are there FOR THEM. That is a head on, direct, “the-way-it-is” kind of truth.
Too many owners and managers get this in reverse then step on the accelerator and wonder why they are not moving forward. They think the employee is there to serve the owner, which is backwards. You want them there (A) serving the customer and (B) serving the business and then (C) the gold will flow to you.
There is a 500 pound gorilla in front of the treasure. This is it: The employee needs help actually getting squarely ONTO THEIR JOB.
And just when it is looking nice and smooth and profitable a 1,000 pound gorilla shows up. Here it is: Often the employee needs help getting BACK ONTO THEIR JOB when they have slipped.
This is not a pitch about “oh you poor, helpless, victimized technician let me help you get to work on time at least once this week”, or “I am so sorry I looked at you crosswise last Thursday when you completely botched those four procedures in a row and blew all the monthly profits but will you please be my best friend forever.” No, that is not the point here at all.
If you can bring a person UP TO THE LEVEL of doing consistent quality work then you have really helped that person. And all the while THEY are helping you. And they know it. And they are proud of it. And that helps them more than anyone may ever know. That is world-class help. There is not much better actually.
You think teaching is a saintly job? You’re right it is. It requires a high ability to tolerate stupidity! But what about taking all that teaching and focusing it on the real world so the person does something useful, valuable and beneficial with it? I think you would agree that would be real teaching. It is an even tougher job to do right - the job of bringing out the very best in a person so they routinely get exceptional results with whatever they set their mind to. And that would be a greater gift to the person than just textbook teaching.
Far too few shop owners know how to offer it.
Most shop owners sincerely want to help their team. But they do not know how.
It is tough to fess up that the real problem is not having the ability and know-how to help an employee – real help – getting them actually ON THE JOB and KEEPING THEM FOCUSED AND PRODUCTIVE ON THE JOB.
Some owners (not the most responsible ones) might spit out some tough sounding drivel like “Well the technician works for me”. Or “That estimator ought to know who butters their bread.” Maybe they will say something like “Don’t they know who cuts the checks around here? If they cross me I’ll send them packing.” It can be any such foolishness, and those comments are all pretty much the same shade of black and blue.
Here’s the straight scoop:
First you hire potential help and then you have to help them help you.
It really is not any more complicated than that.
But wow, does it get flipped-flopped upside down and around.
Technicians work with cars. Managers work with people.
Cars are cars and people are people. Not the same thing. But some of the concepts are a bit similar.
For example, take care of a car and it takes care of you. Do not properly maintain a car and it will eat you alive.
You get an employee to take care of you by showing them how to do their job and by getting them to do it!
That’s helping them.
Show them, teach them, push them, make demands, don’t accept “no”, teach them more, but all the time you are actually HELPING them.
They will be stronger for it. And so will you.
So the next time you hear a shop owner say “There isn’t any good help out there anymore…”
What can you say to s person who says that?
“Get some help. Get trained in employee management and learn how to recruit and hire the right potential employees and how to turn them into a winning team that can really get the work done!”
Then your team will get you your pot of gold, and they will get theirs. Wishing you nothing but success!
Management Success! The Employee Management Specialists
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Management Success! Experts Panel May 2013
We have a packed "Experts Panel". Our experts this month are Dave & Debbie Jennerjohn, Aldo Amirgholi and Steve Knowlton for being an inspiration to others!
Monday, May 20, 2013
In Search of a Good Technician By Bob Spitz Management Success!
Let me tell you a story about a shop in Anytown, USA. Anytown is an expanding upcoming prosperous suburb of a major city. The town has four dealerships and twenty independent service facilities. Pat’s Family Service Center is one of them. Nice shop, good customer base, plenty of work. In fact too much work as far as Pat (the owner) was concerned. Pat was frustrated and worn out from the long hours that come with not having qualified help. He fired one of his three techs that day and ended up back turning wrenches to get the cars done. He knew tomorrow was already stacked up and he would be turning away new work, which he knew was a really bad idea. So that night sitting in his office with his hand on his head he was thinking,
“Where do you find good help?
There are no good techs in my town.
I ran an ad for a month, but the only guy who showed up was the one I fired two years ago!”
Pat was disgusted and thinking maybe he should close the doors and do something else. He tried everything he knew how to do and it was not working. His kids were growing up without him and he and his wife had not had a vacation in years.
Although this is just a story this is one of the most common problems in any industry that requires skilled labor. It is not just the automotive repair industry. If you are suffering from this problem let us take a look at some things before you throw in the towel, hop in your truck and head off into the sunset.
In some shops, the solution will turn out to be getting more production out of the technicians you already have. In other shops the problem can actually be too many people on board. There is a guideline you can use to sort this out. Take your gross sales (minus sales tax) and divide by the number of production people you have. The resulting figure should be at least $17,500 per production person per month. Most shops should be in the $17,500-$20,000 range. If you are a specialist, your numbers should be in the $20,000-plus range. If your number is a lot lower, you’re not getting enough production out of the guys you already have.
All too often, an owner’s solution to low production is to hire more people. However, if the shop is not properly organized for production, more employees will only add to the confusion and adversely affect your income.
But sometimes you really do need additional help or a replacement. While you may have had some frustrating “adventures” trying to find a new technician, rest assured that there are good employees out there. You just have to maintain a good attitude and persist in your search. If you believe that “there are no good techs”, or “nobody wants to work,” you probably will prove yourself right and you won’t find anyone! So that is the first step; decide that it is possible to find someone. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready for the next step.
In every community there is an informal communication system called the grapevine. Good technicians don't usually have to look in the paper for a job; they just use the grapevine to find out which shops in town are good to work for. Here are some people who can help you get your message out on the grapevine.
Tool-man
Tell him what you need and want in a tech; give him your business card. Keep mentioning it to him WEEKLY.
Parts Vendors
Talk to the salesmen you deal with, and even the parts delivery people that go into most of the shops in your area. Again, give them a business card or two that they can pass on to prospects. Some parts houses have a bulletin board on which you can post a small ad.
Customers
This is probably the most ignored communication line available to you, your loyal customer base. Put up signs in your sales and waiting areas. If your zoning codes allow it, put a similar message on your marquee or on a signboard in front of the shop. Your customers might have a friend, a relative or a neighbor who is a technician looking for a job.
Local Trade Association
Many local trade association chapters actively help members find technicians. They run ads in the paper (paid for with membership fees), they contact tech schools, interview applicants and sometimes will even build a pool of prospects and resumes that their members can utilize. Usually the pool includes guys with all levels of skill and experience.
Churches and Synagogues
Talk to your minister, your priest or your rabbi. Let him know you want someone to join your family of employees. Give him a business card, a 3x5 ad for a bulletin board, or run an ad in the Church Bulletin. Or do all three.
Local Business People
Spread the word via everyone you do business with in town, from the person you see every week at the grocery store, to the guy at the printing shop. Give them all business cards and let them know what you need and want.
Vo-tech Schools
Contact anyone you know at the local Vo-Tech, or call one of the teachers and ask for the names of the best graduating students. You might even end up hiring one of the teachers! One note of caution: some Vo-Tech schools are magnets for addicts and criminals who choose tech training to stay out of jail or the army. Make sure the school has high standards for its applicants.
Military Placement Agencies
A local military base will sometimes have a placement service for guys leaving the service. Call and see if they have one of these offices.
If so, mail or fax them a description of what you need and want in an employee. Guys with motor-pool experience and military discipline usually make good employees.
By now you’ve gotten the idea that you cannot ignore any possible avenue of communication for your search. The more you tell people what you need and want, the better your chances are that you will find what you need and want.
If, in spite of your efforts, the grapevine does not provide enough prospects, do some advertising. There are some very good web-sites for placing help wanted ads. Not only are they less expensive, but you are likely to get higher quality prospects responding to your ads in them.
Your ads should be worded so that they will attract people with good attitudes and some experience. It is better to hire someone with less experience who wants to be part of the team and is willing to work, than to hire some “Super-Tech” with a giant chip on his shoulder. An employee with a bad attitude will affect everyone’s production and drive you crazy. I have personally heard from many clients how well the ads they got from Management Success work.
It is also better to hire two or three guys at the same time because one might not show up for work, one might not be able to produce and only one might be a “keeper.” Rarely will you run into the problem of having too many good technicians on board.
Your positive attitude can create a good, secure atmosphere that will attract and keep good employees. On the other hand, a negative disposition can repel the best guys. Good people don't want to work for a grouch, and sane people don't want to work in a chaotic, insane environment. Similarly, employees that have a lot of baggage, such as drug or alcohol abuse problems they bring into the workplace, will contribute to an “unsafe atmosphere” that will drive the good prospects away.
Sloppily run, unprofessional shops that have no basic systems or policies in place will attract non-productive, unmotivated technicians who cost you more money than they make you. On the bright side, a tightly run, efficient shop in which everyone is making decent money and which has policies that limit personal baggage will be most likely to attract good technician prospects.
The bottom line is that, in spite of any difficulties you might encounter in the adventure of finding technicians, over 80% of the people out there are decent and willing to help you achieve your goals. Positively decide you are going to find the right one of them for your team. And good luck in the hunt!
“Hi Honey, I leaving the shop early, things are under control. Why don’t I pick up the kids from school?”
Management Success! "How to Increase Your Profits" Seminar
|
| Bob Spitz Snr VP Business Dev Management Success |
“Where do you find good help?
There are no good techs in my town.
I ran an ad for a month, but the only guy who showed up was the one I fired two years ago!”
Although this is just a story this is one of the most common problems in any industry that requires skilled labor. It is not just the automotive repair industry. If you are suffering from this problem let us take a look at some things before you throw in the towel, hop in your truck and head off into the sunset.
Do You Really Need Another Technician?
In some shops, the solution will turn out to be getting more production out of the technicians you already have. In other shops the problem can actually be too many people on board. There is a guideline you can use to sort this out. Take your gross sales (minus sales tax) and divide by the number of production people you have. The resulting figure should be at least $17,500 per production person per month. Most shops should be in the $17,500-$20,000 range. If you are a specialist, your numbers should be in the $20,000-plus range. If your number is a lot lower, you’re not getting enough production out of the guys you already have.
All too often, an owner’s solution to low production is to hire more people. However, if the shop is not properly organized for production, more employees will only add to the confusion and adversely affect your income.
You Really Do Need Some Techs!
But sometimes you really do need additional help or a replacement. While you may have had some frustrating “adventures” trying to find a new technician, rest assured that there are good employees out there. You just have to maintain a good attitude and persist in your search. If you believe that “there are no good techs”, or “nobody wants to work,” you probably will prove yourself right and you won’t find anyone! So that is the first step; decide that it is possible to find someone. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready for the next step.
Working the Grapevine
In every community there is an informal communication system called the grapevine. Good technicians don't usually have to look in the paper for a job; they just use the grapevine to find out which shops in town are good to work for. Here are some people who can help you get your message out on the grapevine.
Tool-man
Tell him what you need and want in a tech; give him your business card. Keep mentioning it to him WEEKLY.
Parts Vendors
Talk to the salesmen you deal with, and even the parts delivery people that go into most of the shops in your area. Again, give them a business card or two that they can pass on to prospects. Some parts houses have a bulletin board on which you can post a small ad.
Customers
This is probably the most ignored communication line available to you, your loyal customer base. Put up signs in your sales and waiting areas. If your zoning codes allow it, put a similar message on your marquee or on a signboard in front of the shop. Your customers might have a friend, a relative or a neighbor who is a technician looking for a job.
Local Trade Association
Many local trade association chapters actively help members find technicians. They run ads in the paper (paid for with membership fees), they contact tech schools, interview applicants and sometimes will even build a pool of prospects and resumes that their members can utilize. Usually the pool includes guys with all levels of skill and experience.
Churches and Synagogues
Talk to your minister, your priest or your rabbi. Let him know you want someone to join your family of employees. Give him a business card, a 3x5 ad for a bulletin board, or run an ad in the Church Bulletin. Or do all three.
Local Business People
Spread the word via everyone you do business with in town, from the person you see every week at the grocery store, to the guy at the printing shop. Give them all business cards and let them know what you need and want.
Vo-tech Schools
Contact anyone you know at the local Vo-Tech, or call one of the teachers and ask for the names of the best graduating students. You might even end up hiring one of the teachers! One note of caution: some Vo-Tech schools are magnets for addicts and criminals who choose tech training to stay out of jail or the army. Make sure the school has high standards for its applicants.
Military Placement Agencies
A local military base will sometimes have a placement service for guys leaving the service. Call and see if they have one of these offices.
If so, mail or fax them a description of what you need and want in an employee. Guys with motor-pool experience and military discipline usually make good employees.
By now you’ve gotten the idea that you cannot ignore any possible avenue of communication for your search. The more you tell people what you need and want, the better your chances are that you will find what you need and want.
Place an Advertisement
If, in spite of your efforts, the grapevine does not provide enough prospects, do some advertising. There are some very good web-sites for placing help wanted ads. Not only are they less expensive, but you are likely to get higher quality prospects responding to your ads in them.
Your ads should be worded so that they will attract people with good attitudes and some experience. It is better to hire someone with less experience who wants to be part of the team and is willing to work, than to hire some “Super-Tech” with a giant chip on his shoulder. An employee with a bad attitude will affect everyone’s production and drive you crazy. I have personally heard from many clients how well the ads they got from Management Success work.
It is also better to hire two or three guys at the same time because one might not show up for work, one might not be able to produce and only one might be a “keeper.” Rarely will you run into the problem of having too many good technicians on board.
Your positive attitude can create a good, secure atmosphere that will attract and keep good employees. On the other hand, a negative disposition can repel the best guys. Good people don't want to work for a grouch, and sane people don't want to work in a chaotic, insane environment. Similarly, employees that have a lot of baggage, such as drug or alcohol abuse problems they bring into the workplace, will contribute to an “unsafe atmosphere” that will drive the good prospects away.
Sloppily run, unprofessional shops that have no basic systems or policies in place will attract non-productive, unmotivated technicians who cost you more money than they make you. On the bright side, a tightly run, efficient shop in which everyone is making decent money and which has policies that limit personal baggage will be most likely to attract good technician prospects.
The bottom line is that, in spite of any difficulties you might encounter in the adventure of finding technicians, over 80% of the people out there are decent and willing to help you achieve your goals. Positively decide you are going to find the right one of them for your team. And good luck in the hunt!
“Hi Honey, I leaving the shop early, things are under control. Why don’t I pick up the kids from school?”
Management Success! "How to Increase Your Profits" Seminar
Monday, May 13, 2013
Spring 2013 Management Success! Beach Getaway Convention
Management Success! 2013 spring convention offered excellent opportunities for networking with other like–minded shop owners, many of whom run some of the top automotive shops in the US and Canada, exclusive convention workshops tailored for auto shop owners to bring their shop to the next level of expansion and fun with the many planned outdoor activities.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Join us for the Spring 2013 Management Success! BEACH GETAWAY CONVENTION
Networking
Management Success! conventions offer an excellent opportunity for networking with other like–minded shop owners, many of whom run some of the top automotive shops in the US and Canada.
Outdoor Activities
Management Success! holds two conventions yearly (one in Los Angeles and the other at an exotic locale). Join in the fun with the many planned outdoor activities, including golfing, sight–seeing, snorkeling, poolside dinners and much more—depending on the Spring or Fall convention you attend.
Exclusive Workshops
Attend exclusive convention workshops tailored for your auto shop and bring home plans on how to get your shop to the next level of expansion.
Special Recognitions
Awards and prizes are regularly awarded to deserving shop owners and staff for achieving new levels of shop expansion. So, give them a hand—you might just be one of those owners called to the stage.
The Masters' Panel
Sit in and talk with the Masters of Shop Management at the Masters' Panel and learn what actions helped them to achieve success.
New Breakthroughs
You won't want to miss the latest news and advancements for shop expansion being released by Management Success!
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