Your Business Needs an MVP: Mission, Vision & Purpose: Maryann Croce (Blog)
One of the challenges as a business owner is that you make a lot of decisions each day.
AutoInc. Blogs
Advice: Defining your brand strategy & telling your shop’s story
Do your uniforms look like every other shop in the area? Does your waiting room look the same? Do your advertisements look exactly like what everyone else is sending?
Bruce Howes' View from the Helm: Good community service & PR action
My article below, this is a great team building event, and public service, and also really helps with the public perception of our profession. Everyone had a great time, and learned a serious lifesaving skills. Plus, they felt…
Checklist for building a world-class shop
We work with many world class shop owners throughout North America, and over the years we have discovered that the majority of them have a number of things in common.
Tips to attract & hire more women employees: Jody DeVere
What can we do to attract more women to the automotive industry, specifically service and repair shops?
8 keys to selling auto service
You’ll need to know your customers’ buying habits as well as their service histories.
Emerging technologies lead to vehicle service needs
It’s no secret that the global automotive industry, as well as the overall transportation industry, continues to evolve as emissions regulations, fuel economy requirements, and new technologies take precedence.
Embrace tool & equipment technology — and its costs — for the long run
I still go to the city to visit my buddies who remain in business to keep up with how the car repair business is doing. I also still read the trade magazines to stay current on new systems and techniques.
Getting results from customer relationships: Advice
Early on after I came to work for Terry Keller at Keller Bros., I remember a woman calling in a panic.
Take the fear out of the customer experience & bridge the trust gap
It’s often the case that one too many shady shops gouged prices, recommended extra repairs, or didn’t stand behind their warranty in the past.
Advice: How to win over a tough customer
If you close your eyes and picture a tough customer, what image do you see? Is it a price shopper on the phone? An argumentative customer at the front counter? A Yelp reviewer who went directly to the internet instead of giving you a chance to address his or her concerns?
7 tips on delivering extraordinary service
Most shop owners will start pumping more money into their marketing campaigns when they are looking to increase their car counts.
Maryann Croce's Coach's Corner: Culture - your competitive advantage
Most owners and leaders are so busy with the day to day of their business, it leaves little time to work on their business. I get it because it happened to Tony and me in the early years of owning our shop. No words of wisdom suddenly made us see the light. We were simple tired. Tired of going at hectic pace and how it was affecting our relationship.
4 interviewing tips that will help you hire superstar techs
We all know it’s getting harder and harder to find the superstar techs, but finding those stars is just the beginning.
Column: The Power of Customer Reviews
When I moved into a new home, I needed to buy a refrigerator. After going into a store, I pulled up their website to do a little more research. The first thing I did after pulling up the refrigerator selection was click “Sort by rating.”
Shops need to communicate with customers where they live — on their cell phones
By Mike Risich / For Aftermarket Matters It happens to every shop: a customer brings their vehicle in, then opts to wait. They ply themselves with coffee and watch the TV in your waiting area, as you scramble to get…
Jody DeVere: The auto industry gets greener every day – are you keeping up?
When someone asks what the cleanest industry is, the automotive industry isn’t at the top of most people’s list. Unfortunately, the combustion engine has contributed to some major problems today.
Paul Eichenberg: The decline of vehicle ownership & what to do about it
What happens when vehicle ownership reaches its peak?
The best-kept secrets to dealing with sales objections
When it comes to dealing with objections, most service advisors shut down as soon as the customer says “It’s too much money," or “I’d like to think it over.”
Maryann Croce's Coach's Corner: Tap into your leader within series (Part 3) - Toolbox Success
The more you understand what tools work best for a job and how to use them, the better a job will go.
Pricing, ethics & the reputation of your shop’s business
At Elite we know that once someone comes into your shop, you’ll do everything you can to generate a happy customer, and make a fair profit. Unfortunately, some customers will put you to the test when it comes to the prices you charge.
7 employee recruiting tips for new technicians & service advisors
From Aftermarket Matters By Bob Cooper / Elite Worldwide 1. Most shop owners will wait until they need someone before they start recruiting. This is a major mistake. Instead of hiring the best service…
Jody DeVere: Marketing to women in the post-COVID world
We live in unusual times. Today, still in the midst of an uncertain pandemic, people tend to have either an abundance of free time, or no time at all while managing homeschooling, work, and relationships.
Jody DeVere: How Can We Help in 2021?
We’ve had a nice holiday break, and while we were enjoying our hot cocoa and gingerbread houses, we were also working on making forecasts and business plans for 2021.
Maryann Croce's Coach's Corner: Tap into Your Leader Within Series (Part 2) - Strategy Success
Most shop owners start with grit, drive and determination to build their dream. Doing it all and working long hours, believing that once they reach a certain level in business the day to day will become easier.
Tap into your leader within series (Part 1): Mindset Success
The day we open our business we start wearing many hats, making it easy to get caught up in the daily responsibilities.
Bruce Howes’ View from the Helm: The value of peer-to-peer coaching groups
Over the last 30 some years I’ve been involved with and a member of a number of shop 20 Groups, coaching groups, mastermind groups. You name it, we’ve done it. Nothing wrong with that,…
Maryann Croce's Coach's Corner: Gain control - assess your resources regularly
As a business owner and leader, you have a lot of responsibility. You’re responsible for your business success.
Bruce Howes' View from the Helm: Average tech quote & personal goals
"You can't always get what you want," so goes the old song by the Rolling Stones.
Maryann Croce’s Coach’s Corner: Work-life balance solution
What is work-life balance and is it worth striving for? Baby Boomers grew up during difficult times (World War II) and as a result many workers stayed with their place of employment for decades…
Maryann Croce's Coach's Corner: Modern auto shop owner
Today’s shop owner has an amazing opportunity. The way business was done years ago has changed due to technology advances and consumer buying shifts. Yet some businesses are being operated within an outdated model.
Maryann Croce’s Coach’s Corner: Mental toughness as owners & leaders
Over the past few months, I have watched everyone look to leaders. Whether related to their job, business, health, family, or government. They are looking for answers and inspiration. Feeling a loss of control in any…
Bruce Howes’ View from the Helm: Some Saturday Sharin' - On Mindset
The smartest and most skilled people I know are the ones who ask questions, who wonder if there is a better way to do something, a more efficient paradigm to operate from. They never hesitate to reach out to someone if they need advice, input, or seek to grow.
Tom Piippo's One Eye in the Mirror: Dealing with COVID-19
We have all been through it before: SARS, MERS, N1H1.
Bruce Howes’ View from the Helm: Shop coaching - reflections on a journey
Maximum performance in sports, as in business, almost always occurs with sound coaching. Realize that you are never beholden to anyone or anything that is not contributing to or bettering your life. In life,…
Maryann Croce's Coach's Corner: Business needs to survive, to thrive during crisis
Just as babies need to crawl before they walk, businesses need to survive before they thrive.
Blog (Maryann Croce): The Secret to a Better Team is No Secret
The number one challenge shop owners tell me they face today is finding good help. I hear it from all areas of the country.
Blog (Tom Piippo): Data access & privacy
The big topic lately is data access and privacy.
Blog (Maryann Croce): Leadership & your word
Each year I choose a word that represents what I will focus on that year. This year it’s “Self-Care.”
Bruce Howes' View from the Helm: Why we don't fix cars
I teach our people that at Atlantic Motorcar we don’t fix cars, we provide transportation solutions, be it a loaner car, valet service, shuttle, alternative financing, etc.
Blog (Maryann Croce): How does working with family work?
This is a topic I often have with shop owners. This is a controversial topic.
Blog (Maryann Croce): 10 business lessons I've learned
Whether you're a new shop owner or have been a shop owner for decades there are lessons to be learned at each of the 5 stages of business. The key word being learned.
View From The Helm: Let's talk loaner cars...
I often remind our team, that we are not so much in the car service business, as we are in the "transportation solution business."
Blog (Maryann Croce): It’s not your fault. Until it is.
The fact is you can’t grow your business alone without sacrificing another part of your life.
Blog (Maryann Croce): Is your business a resource or a hero?
I had a conversation with a client recently and they realized that they had positioned their company has a hero.
Blog (Bruce Howes): A Tale Of Two Customers
Noontime, I'm manning my desk, the SAs are at lunch, and Julie, aka "Our Awesome CRM Julie" brings an elderly woman into my office.
Blog (Maryann Croce): Solution to the auto industry 'silo'
I’ve been in the auto industry for over 20 years. As a shop owner and a coach, I’ve spoken with hundreds of people in the industry who are frustrated over the following. Technician shortage/wages…
Blog (Maryann Croce): Coach, consultant or trainer. How do you choose?
There is more to building, operating and growing an automotive business than most new business owners realize.
Blog (Tom Piippo): Decisions, decisions, decisions...
My first decision every day? What socks to wear.
Blog: Is your business receiving the rewards of customer service?
Do you know what the #1 complaint is from people looking for a service from a trade business? When I speak to potential customers, people in local networking groups (people who are searching for trade business services), they all have…
