There are 2 first opportunities that are key in attracting and securing good customers in business: advertising, formally or by referral, and phone inquiry (''I passed by your shop today and have been looking for a good repair shop'', ''I spotted your ad in the paper and need some work done'', ''My friend told me about you….'', and on and on). Regardless of how prospects find you, most often, your first personal contact with them will be by phone. The phone is our connection to what makes business work everyday, all day long. Just consider the days when the phone doesn’t ring. On occasion, it can be a good thing for catching up but can never happen for very long. Our phone must ring; we must talk to customers, old and new; we must communicate with the outside world; we must consider it key to a certain degree of our success or fail! With business today so overwhelmed and high-paced, it’s not uncommon to spend untold dollars on advertising to make the ph ... read more
Working to maintain adequate business performance today while endeavoring to grow to keep up with rising costs can be a business owner's toughest struggle. The greatest challenge in achieving both goals can be in deciding which areas of business need special attention for the moment and how to give that attention adequately. The performance of any business largely relies on maintaining balance in a combination of 4 key components: skillful staff, adequate work environment and equipment, efficient resources in vendors and effective financial management. Having any one of these four out of alignment is tampering with the potential our business has to meet expectations. Although financial management was listed last, it was the first on the list in opening the doors of your business and mine, too. Some may argue that skillful staff (beginning with their own expertise) was the original key, but, money was the resource that funded the tools to attain that exp ... read more
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 ... read more
Hello Everyone, A client sent me this link and I thought it had an important message, please take a minute to follow this link and read the article written by Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad series of books. I don't feel you have to have the biggest ad, but you need to put your name in front of your clients and potential clients consistently. Top of mind awareness is crucial. This is not the time to be lowering or eliminating your advertising budget. Be on the offense not defense when planning you advertising strategy Please plan on joining us in January for a brand new advertising and marketing seminar. Call for details. As always please call if we can be of any assistance to you. Thank you to John @ Orinda Motors for finding and sending this to me. Have a great holiday season. Maylan Please follow this link ... read more
Educational Seminars Institute (ESi) Provides Automotive Management Solutions for all types of Repair facilities located across the USA. The one thing that all the repair shops I visit seem to have in common is the lack of effective communication. This lack of communication affects everyone from the technicians to the customers. As the owners and managers we can’t understand why our employees can’t read our minds. We expect certain things to be done in a certain way but we never communicate what we want done or how we want it done. Our expectations are not met because we do a poor job of explaining what we want. For any shop to be profitable we need open honest communication from all parties involved. The technicians need to feel comfortable in speaking their minds on any subject. The managers & owners have to take this information as business and not take it personally. The number of employees that will not speak honestly to their employers is astoundi ... read more