Hey, YOU!
Yeah, YOU!
Did you know – there will be more than 120 million vehicles 12 years and older by 2014 on U.S. roads, a 50% increase since 2001.
What about – a respected team of marketers did a survey to project that dealers will account for less than 22% of 2011 service market (DIFM) product volume at user-price.
It’s ok if you didn’t know these things.
And by ok, I mean it’s average.

Just like everyone else.
Which means you’re falling behind.
Two quick things to think about:
According to a 2007 Washington Post study, 1 out of 4 people (25%) didn’t read a single book in a year.
And yet according to that same poll, of those who’ve read 1 book in the past year, the median number is (with half reading less and half reading more) 5 books for men, and 9 books for women.
It’s fascinating to think about 1 in 4 read zero books, and yet the median is five books.
Five books.
You say you have no time.
I get it.
I don’t have time to read all the time either.
And yet I easily stay ahead of my peers, even without reading books.
How?
Simple. Here are 3 ways to stay ahead of them all.
1) Subscribe to Relevant Newsletters – Newsletters are easy ways to stay on top of trends. Newsletters like this one that have 1 or 2 articles and some actionable stuff you can actually DO every week, or every month. Not a crappy newsletter that does nothing but advertise what’s on sale this week.
Newsletters help you stay on top in a bite-sized, easy-to-read format. Look at the industry leader’s websites, or your competitor’s websites, and see if they have a newsletter you can receive. Subscribe to it. Then each time it comes into your inbox, read it and put 1 new thing into your business after every issue. If there isn’t 1 new thing you can use, and you’ve given them 3 or 4 issues, unsubscribe and sign up for someone else’s newsletter. I got the tips in this newsletter from the Lang Marketing newsletter. There are many others.
2) Attend an industry conference or trade show – and go to ALL the breakout sessions – We just held some training at ETE. There were some fantastic keynote sessions, which were hugely inspirational, and great for getting my butt moving in the right direction. Know this: A lot of the meat happens in the breakout sessions. Those are the sessions presented by folks like you, and your competition, who’ve had a problem, figured out a way to overcome it, and generously volunteer to share what THEY learned with you. And often, if you’re nice and you’re willing to wait around until after the crowd dies down, you’ll be able to ask them a question or three about resolving YOUR problems.
There are tons of conferences and trade shows. Show up early, stay late, and meet someone who can help your business, your career, get to the next level.
3) Read/listen to book summaries – If you don’t have time to read, then pick up a few book summaries. Listen to them while you’re driving to work, while you’re working out. Read them on your computer screen, or your phone, or print them out and read them in the bathroom. It doesn’t matter. Make time to finish at least 1 a week. My suggestion: check out Read It For Me, where you can get a summary of a new business book every week in just 12 minutes. There are others.
Don’t be afraid to pick up a book, though. The author spent a lot of time researching, writing, editing to give you something you can use. The average book price is $20. At $20, if you get 1 new idea that makes you $1,000 this year, you’ve made 50 times your investment. Go down to the library, and buy yourself a new book. Or go to Amazon.com. Put in the topic you need help with and buy a book.
And those things you didn’t know from the beginning of the newsletter – Good news!
You know them now.
You’ve taken 1 step towards staying ahead of your peers. How about forwarding this e-mail to the rest of your shop and all your friends and your favorite customers so they can stay ahead too?
Just don’t let your competitors know, or they’re going to keep pace with you.
Got a favorite way to stay ahead of the field? Share your favorite insights with Captain Reman, and if we share it in our newsletter, we’ll send YOU a free t-shirt. Or a free book.
See you next week!