Concours Motors Hosts Biannual Management Success! TOP 20 Group in Ventura, CA

From February 19 to February 21, 2016, general repair shops from around the country gathered at Concours Motors in Ventura, CA for the Management Success! General Repair TOP 20 Group meeting, held biannually. The shops discussed best practices, key performance indicators (KPIs), management, marketing techniques, and much more.

The meeting kicked off with a visit to HAAS Automation in Oxnard for a tour of the facility to see how the processes and procedures of a manufacturer could benefit small business practices.  The group was impressed with what they observed and came away with many ideas.

The group reconvened the next day at J.R. Luna’s automotive repair shop to discuss ideas inspired by the manufacturing company tour, and how to incorporate some of the concepts into their businesses. They also did a comprehensive walk-through of Concours Motors work-flow lines, from customer drop-off to vehicle pick-up, led by Phil Sylvester manager of Concours Motors.

The intense 3-day meeting was highlighted with a catered picnic lunch on the beach and dinners at the delectable Beach House Fish on Friday night and The Watermark in historic downtown Ventura on Saturday night.

“It was an awesome meeting. It's really motivating to be surrounded by other professionals in our industry who are working to make their shops better every day,” stated J.R. Luna, President of Concours Motors. 

About the General Repair TOP 20 Group
The Management Success TOP 20 Group is comprised of shop owners who have been recognized by their peers for their top-notch management skills.  Membership is by nomination only.

About Management Success!
Management Success! is an auto industry consulting firm that specializes in elevating the quality of life of shop owners all over the US and Canada. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Glendale, CA, Management Success! helps shop owners become effective managers in order to increase profits.
 
Contact
For more information on Management Success! or the General Repair TOP 20 Group, please contact Morgan Scott at morgan.scott@managementsuccess.com.

Management Success Goes Global!

Glendale, CA – March 10, 2016 –

After successfully consulting managers with the government of Oman’s transportation division on  best practices for managing the maintenance of their fleet of vehicles in 2013, Management Success was asked to return to Oman to help another organization improve their efficiency.

Yousuf Abdullah AlZidjaly, one of the transportation division managers was so impressed with the training he received from Management Success; he recommended that his best friend and independent repair shop owner, Badar Mansoor owner of Basar Mansoor Trading try the program.

Badar Monsoor Trading contracted with Management Success to have Larry Monroe, Senior Management Success Consultant travel to Oman for a week to deliver training to Badar Monsoor’s staff. 

“We learned a lot of valuable things, including customer sales and service, how to properly organize the shop, and how to increase efficiency of the workflow process.  I feel this was a great opportunity!” stated Sandesh Poojary, a Badar Monsoor employee. 

As part of the Management Success training program, Badar’s employees partook in workshops such as, Service Writer School and Controlling the Front.  Badar’s shop also received a 2-Day, On-site Shop Inspection to help locate inefficiencies and improve workflow systems.

“It was a great experience and an honor to visit Oman and to work with the staff of Badar Monsoor Trading.  By the end of our visit they had all blossomed as team members” stated Monroe.
 
About Management Success!
Management Success! is an auto industry consulting firm that specializes in elevating the quality of life of shop owners all over the US and Canada. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Glendale, CA, Management Success helps shop owners increase management skill in order to increase profits. The Management Success team believes shop owners deserve to be well-compensated for their hard work. Management Success fully arms shop owners with every executive ability needed to win.

www.managementsuccess.com

Management Success! Receives Award for Excellence in Advertising

Readex Research recently conducted a survey sponsored by FenderBender magazine studying people’s perceptions of advertisements. The results of the survey revealed what types of advertisements communicate the most effectively to FenderBender readers.

The advertisements for the study were chosen from FenderBender’s August 2015 issue. The respondents were asked to report how they perceived each advertisement. The first method of reporting was to choose one of three categories (attention-getting, believable, or informative) to which they felt the advertisement belonged; the second was to provide their own personal feedback on what message or feeling the advertisement conveyed to them. 

The Management Success! advertisement is directed toward auto shop managers who are having a difficult time effectively managing their employees, thus creating a “black hole,” which pulls their employees’ production down and prevents the shop from becoming highly profitable. The main goal of the advertisement is to encourage the managers to take the Management Success! Black Hole quiz to find out what areas of their management need improvement. 

For more information about Management Success’ training and consulting services, please visit www.managementsuccess.com. 

About Management Success!

Management Success! is an auto industry consulting firm that specializes in elevating the quality of life of shop owners all over the US and Canada. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Glendale, CA, Management Success! helps shop owners become effective managers in order to increase profits. The Management Success! team believes shop owners deserve to be well-compensated for their hard work. Management Success! fully arms shop owners with every executive ability needed to win.

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Please contact Morgan Scott at Management Success’ Marketing Department at Morgan.Scott@managementsuccess.com or (818) 500-9631 for more information regarding Management Success! conventions and training programs.

FIND THE BLACK HOLE IN YOUR SHOP!
TAKE THE BLACK HOLE TEST!

Attributes Of A Good Service Writer By Mike Lee

There are many things that lead to a successful business. One of them is a good Service Writer. I have visited lots of shops where it was obvious that the Service Writer was not trained and was not motivated.

There are many important attributes of a good Service Writer.

1. They are alive.
2. They are motivated.
3. They like people.
4. People like them.
5. They enjoy their job.
6. They have good communication skills.
7. They have patience.
8. They know what they are doing.
9. They have stable lives.

There are others, but these are some of the more important ones. 

Are They Alive? 

It is amazing how many Service Writers are just going through the motions. They are not happy and this communicates to customer immediately. Customers react unfavorable to a Service Writer, who is acting like a walking zombie.

If they are not motivated, it greatly affects their sales. You can advertise like crazy, but the sales will be slow because the Service Writer is turning people off. This is especially true when they answer the phone.

In some shops, they have a mirror right beside the phone with the word “SMILE” above it. This way, when anyone answers the phone they will look at themselves in the mirror and remember to smile while talking to the customer.

Are They Focused?

I have seen in the past, Service Writers who are pretty good at their jobs, suddenly, start forgetting things and not following up or stay on top of their job. At the same time, the sales start to drop when it was busy. Later in talking to the Service Writer, you will find that he has some major problem going on.

Sometimes, you will find that they have a drinking or drug problem or they are going through a divorce or they have financial problems. When a Service Writer has personal problems, it will affect his ability to do his job.

Do They Like People?

When we do interviews with Service Writers, occasionally, we find that they actually don’t like sales. Mainly this comes from not knowing how to handle people in general or not knowing how to sell.

It is really apparent to customers when a Service Writer does not know how to deal with people or is not happy with life in general.

Often times, Service Writers get busy and are short with customers or they fail to take enough time with the customers to make sure they have handled all of the customers questions and considerations. Handling customers requires a person who likes people, who has patience with people that are confused and don’t fully understand what they are agreeing to have done with their car. Anytime a Service Writer loses his patience he generally loses the customers.

Do They Know What They Are Doing?

A high percentage of problems Service Writers have with customers come from their inability to handle problems thrown at them by customers. I have seen Service Writers start to lose their effectiveness when they start having problems that they don’t know how to handle.

They have problems with price shoppers, they don’t know how handle upset customers and what they or others at the shop did to help create the upsets.

Their lack of training causes them to lose sales, upset customers and not enjoy their job. Many do not fully understand their responsibilities and what is expected of them.

I can not tell how many times, I have seen Service Writers suddenly light up and take off once they understand what they are suppose to do and how to do it more effectively. Many times, you can turn a Service Writer who is not doing well into a happy, very effectively salesperson, who makes good money for themselves and you, by having them adequately trained on their job. Is your Service Writer producing at the levels you would like? It is only money…Yours!

Management Success! 

FIND THE BLACK HOLE IN YOUR SHOP!
TAKE THE BLACK HOLE TEST!

Management Success! Truck TOP 20 Group Meet in Ridgefield, WA

From April 24 to 26, Members of the Management Success! Truck TOP 20 Group, along with invited guests from the Management Success! Automotive TOP 20 Group, gathered at Ultimate Truck Service in Ridgefield, WA to network, discuss best practices, and enjoy three days of comradery.

The event was hosted by shop owners, David and Debbie Jennerjohn, and moderated by Management Success! consultants, Jim Smith and Desirae Smith. 

On Day 1, group members toured Pacific Truck Centers, a local big truck dealership, as well as Accurate Motorwerks, a local general repair shop owned by Automotive TOP 20 Group member, Michael Gallagher.

On Saturday and Sunday, the group spent time sharing advice, exchanging ideas, and discussing problems and solutions related to the daily work of shop owners, especially the unique situations facing truck shop owners.

TOP 20 Group meetings are a great way for shop owners to network and gain new knowledge and skills to apply to their shops. Lynnetta Rogers from 2^nd to None Service commented, “I love the networking! We always come away with new ideas.”

Steve Valenta from S&D Truck Service had this to say: “I found it interesting that no matter where on the scale you are, all shops deal with similar issues.” As for strategies addressing these issues, Nicole Ledford from Aaron’s Semi Repair thought the “statistics analysis discussion was informative and very helpful, and the profit and loss discussion assisted in knowing how to adjust and make improvements in managing our money.”

The group had some fun too, with dinner on Friday and Saturday evening and custom coffee drinks from an in-house barista on Saturday morning.

For more information on Management Success! or the Truck TOP 20 Group, please contact Morgan Scott at morgan.scott@managementsuccess.com. You can also check out Ultimate Truck Service at their website, www.ultimatetrucksvc.com.

FIND THE BLACK HOLE IN YOUR SHOP!
TAKE THE BLACK HOLE TEST!