Selling Your Auto Repair Services Is Doing Right By Your Business
Car Count Daily
Hey, shop owners. Welcome to this edition of Car Count Daily. My name’s Ron Ipach, but you can call me Captain Car Count because that’s all I’ve done for the past 20 plus years is help thousands of auto repair shop owners, just like you, to get and then keep all the top quality customers your shop can handle.
Today, I’m inside of my car right now. Have the top up, I’ve got the windows rolled down a little bit because it’s kind of hot outside, but the reason why I’m out here and and not in my regular studio recording this is because I’m going to go on a rant today, an absolute rant, because something is driving me absolutely batty.
Maybe you’ve seen it before. I have a video that’s on Facebook right now where I’m walking down the beach talking about why it’s important that you learn to sell your services properly, so that you sell the much needed repairs that are on all the cars that are coming into your shop. That’s really the gist of it. We have a brand new training that shows you exactly how to do that, and I was promoting that, and while most people had a lot of positive comments to say, a lot of shares, a lot of likes on the video, there were a few … and there’s always a few of them … that are going to, I don’t know, be a little contrary, and it’s these people that have got me absolutely baffled, confused, shocked, stunned, dazed, flustered, befuddled (does anybody use that word?) discombobulated, mystified… Quite frankly, they really surprised me.
Let me show you what I mean. Andrew writes:
Well, it happens every day in shops all over the country, and that’s because a service advisor needs to be trained in order to be able to sell those items. You’re not selling unneeded services. Don’t confuse that with scamming people and overcharging or selling things they don’t need. We’re talking about doing a good quality adequate inspection and then going to the customer and telling them why they need to get these services done. Now that’s what I call sales. Advising is nothing more than saying, “Hey, here’s a list of things. Do you want to do any of them?”
Well, if they say no, well, if you’re finished advising, well, that’s the job of an advisor. Hey, I advised them and they said no. What a true salesperson, a true service advisor does is they sell the services so the people understand why they need them, why it’s important that they get done now, why they can hold off on other repairs.
See, it’s a sales process. And maybe we’re talking semantics. You may call it advising. I call it selling. Advising is nothing more than showing a list. Selling is actually convincing a person that they need the service and they need it right now. Okay, how many big jobs go out your door unsold every single day, simply because you don’t know how to sell the services? And that’s really what we’re talking about it. It’s not a matter of doing the inspection and just advising. It’s doing the inspection, advising, and then selling the services that they need.
Maybe it’s just a different way of saying it and maybe Andrew is … and we’re on the same page. I don’t know. But too often people take no as the final answer. And what I’m talking about is being able to turn that no into a yes, because they’re not turning you down on the oil change. They’re turning you down on a much more expensive job that needs to be sold in most cases. Look, if you’re going to be advising the person that they need to get it done, you need to sell them so they actually do it.
Now I have another much more colorful comment from a guy with two first names that begin with Robert. His first and last name begin with Robert. And Robert writes:
Well, man with two names that begin with Robert, you’re right. This is not 1985. Okay, back in 1985, there were plenty of cars rolling onto the lot that needed repairs and needed them right now because they broke all the time. That’s not true today. The name of the game right now is maintenance. Yeah, sure, there’s a few things that break and every day you got a car coming in that has something broke on there, but the overwhelming majority of them, maintenance is what they require. They’ll last forever if you maintain them properly, and that’s what we’re talking about. We’re not talking about scamming people and selling them unneeded services.
We’re talking about selling the maintenance that’s imperative that they get so that their car rolls safely down the road and they don’t get stuck on the highway somewhere because a fan belt broke that you decided that well, since it wasn’t broke when it came in, we’re not going to replace it now, even though it’s worn and it’s about ready to break. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right? Well, man with two names, what you’re talking about is only fix what’s broken and that is a recipe for disaster.
Look, if it’s my kid and she took her car in to a shop and it had belts and hoses that were ready to go out or other wear items that were going … a timing belt that was ready to go and nobody talked her into getting that repair … because again, if it wasn’t broke, why would she do the repair? But then she’s toodling down the highway and it breaks, and not only does it trash the engine, but now she’s unsafe on a highway with trucks whizzing by her. I’m going to come and get you if you didn’t do a good job in selling her those needed services.
Also understand, we’re selling maintenance. We’re selling services that aren’t broken. That’s the name of the game right now. It’s not a matter of trying to extract as much money out of the customer. We’re talking about doing our job. Our job is to do the needed maintenance, because they have a lot of money invested in this vehicle and if they don’t maintain it, it will break, and when it does break, it’s a much more costly repair.
Get it out of your head that if ain’t broke you ain’t going to fix it. Understand, you have to maintain cars these days so that they stay safe and they stay running as long as possible. Otherwise, the car gets trashed. They go out and buy a new car. How much money can you make off of a brand new car? Nothing. Man with two names, understand this is not 1985. You’re 100% correct on that. This is the day and age of maintenance, and you have to do a proper inspection and you have to be able to sell the services that are needed to keep that car on the road.
I’d like to hear what you think about this little dilemma. Stay away from the four letter words like the man with two names used. We don’t need to go that far into it. I understand you have some passion in there, but look, we’re not talking about scamming people. We’re talking about selling the needed services here. Go down below this video.Let me know what you think.
Hello Ron.
As a shop owner and Service Adviser I can tell you. If a service adviser only advises I could have my much lower paid CSR do that and save the cost of an Adviser. An Advisers value comes from advising the client about required repairs then SELLING the most important ones. No business wants an adviser to just advise. They are an investment on the owners part and we expect a return on that investment. Simple business. Profit and sales are not a dirty word. They are the engine that drives employment and decent wages for many people. Whats wrong with people. Oh I know, they don’t have half a million dollars invested, they don’t have to make payroll and pay suppliers. That’s just what those lazy owners do!!.
Zig Ziglar said, “Timid sales people have skinny kids”. That about sums it up!
Good job Ron! You handled this much nicer than most of us could. If the guy with two first names wants his Mom broke down on the roadside in my town I’m okay with that. We will give her an excellent experience, “Show” her whats broken and all the other things her son was too afraid to show her. Then we will “sell” her what she needs to have a safe and dependable car. We will also suggest she finds a quality mechanic willing to do the same in her hometown. Saving Mom $800 dollars may feel good until the timing belt brakes and she has $400 per month car payments for 6 years. Robert is a dumb ass. Way to go Robert.
My guess is that he’s not really a shop owner, rather, he’s a tech that has no idea what’s going on up front. A big clue is his attitude combined with bragging about making an income of $150K.
This guy needs to get with the times with this attitude he probably only works
on shit that nobody else whats to work on and deal with what a asshole. Is this
guy one of your clients. no wonder you were RANTING
I personally vet each and every potential client to make sure we’re a good fit to work together, and I can assure you, my jackass detector would have been on full alert if I ever spoke with him. (To be clear, I’m talking about our friend with 2 first names ;-))
Ron, I think you are absolutely correct. Every car manufacturer spells out the minimum service requirements to keep their vehicles reliable. I like to stress that to my customers, that at certain intervals, there is more to do than just the motor oil and oil filter. The intervals are all different now, not like years ago, and every manufacturer has a different schedule. I no longer call these “major” service intervals, but refer to them as “supplemental services” required by the vehicle manufacturer. However, this is where we have trouble: We get pushback on everything, you name it: The air and cabin air filters, coolant changes, transmission fluid changes, and even spark plugs too. Wow, our new cars don’t need spark plugs until 100,000 to 120,000 miles, and we are still having push-back. The last thing I need is to have a customer break down because their car was not maintained.
Mike, the sales process begins long before you even do the inspection and present your customer with your recommendations. It’s important to find out early on who will be traveling in the vehicle (is there a child seat in the back?), the use of the vehicle (spare car or only mode of transportation to work?), driving conditions (don’t want to risk breaking down on the interstate, right?), how long they plan on keeping the vehicle (Big difference if they say they’re going to drive it till it dies vs. planning on getting rid of it soon), etc. Then armed with this knowledge, you can use it during your presentation to show the benefits of doing the maintenance and reduce the push-back that you’ve been getting.
By the way, we just recorded a 2-day sales training and the videos will be available very soon. Call my office at 800-797-0537 if you’re interested in grabbing a copy. All of this and 1000% more are all covered in detail in this training.
Ron,you hit a big one Here , every car that enters our bays ,Starts with road test, gets Courtesy Check, gets Battery tested & codes read,Finishes with road test. WHY ? because our clients are treated like family, we watch out for them. Every shop has had,hopefully in the past?, the dreaded call back :next day, end of week or sometime way to soon, my car will not start, my wipers don’t clear the rain, I have a light out, or worse I found a scratch, dent etc, or ever since you worked on my car……..
we want to be involved in all aspects of their car, getting the maximum service life, no break downs, & with proper maint. no major failures.When we meet new clients, we often see them at the worst of times for them , they have Lights on, we test & find cause , many times LACK OF PROPER FLUID CHANGES, Timing belt failed because no one ADVISED them, transmission failed , never changed fluid, Brakes failed ,all calipers failed full of mud, not brake fluid, never changed ! we get to do a $2,500 Brake job ! great for us, but sad for Client. $5,000 Transmission ,$10,000 Engine all could have been avoided with on time service, we advise them!, we sell the needs , it is our Job! , anything less is wrong.
Very well said! Thanks Stephen!
RON!!!! yes!!! I am a woman advisor (seller) and i have been doing it for 20 years!!! Times have changed! I must first build relationships with customer once that is done selling maintenance with trust is not hard at all! It must be done! Every time a car comes in to my 9 bay shop I ALWAYS do 21 point inspection, I take pictures, I print service intervals and show videos etc explaining why and how we do these services! Call me crazy but selling (explaining) and making a customer UNDERSTAND will turn your business around If you have nothing to hide and are honest this will not be a problem! Open since 1981 and continuing to grow in trust and respect!!!
Ron, well done. If my Service Advisor only advised he would no longer be employed by me. You are 100% correct. I hope these are clients of yours so you are able to show them the right way to do things. Not sure how you kept your cool with these 2, however, you did a great job. If we did business as he does I would guess we would have some very ticked off clients. As their service center, it is our job to make sure they are taken care of now and in the future. As you said, if we saw a tie rod end that was badly worn and did not let them know about this, somewhere down the road they are sitting on the side with a flipped out tire wondering how this could have happened. Thinking, I just had my car in not that long about, why didn’t they take care of it at that time. Nice job Ron!
Spot on Ron, I personally have zero time for sitting on the side of the road and I would go nuts at the thought of my wife, children, or customers being broken down at the side of the road. How do you prevent brake downs? Maintenance. Do your customers a favor, sell them maintenance.