{"id":199,"date":"2011-05-13T17:37:11","date_gmt":"2011-05-13T22:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/?p=199"},"modified":"2011-05-13T17:37:11","modified_gmt":"2011-05-13T22:37:11","slug":"what-are-you-asking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/2011\/05\/13\/what-are-you-asking\/","title":{"rendered":"What are you asking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want to watch instead of read this article? Click to What are You Asking<\/a>?
\n\"\"When was the last time you took a course on selling? Or on attitude? When was the last time you provided SALES training to your staff? I’m talking about training that actually makes a difference in your ability to make a sale\u2026not product training that helps you to know how many pan bolts are on a 4L80E, or how the heck a dual-clutch transmission operates. I’m talking about training that impacts your PROFIT.
\nIn many ways, the automotive aftermarket is years behind the rest of the world. One of those ways is my favorite thing about the industry\u2014business is still done on a handshake. Your word means something. Your business is built on your reputation\u2014trust, respect, value, and integrity. It’s still about the little guy’s right to earn a dollar on his own. But another remnant of the past is the automotive aftermarket’s failure to adapt to the sophistication of the average customer. Most shops still focus on selling techniques instead of uncovering buying motives.
\nMost shops are afraid to use social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Most shops still use the old “base price plus hard parts” routine and fail to address customer fears until after the customer pulls his car out of the shop. That same shop wonders why its FTA rate is so high.
\nMost shops fail to capitalize on the power of video testimonials from ecstatic customers and instead are forced to do all the selling themselves.
\nMost shops still have a waiting area decorated with negative signage (think, “NO CHECKS”, “STORAGE FEES WILL ACCRUE AFTER THREE DAYS”, “WE DO NOT ACCEPT AMERICAN EXPRESS”) instead of creating a Sales Preparation Area<\/strong> that helps the manager warm up the customer for the sale.
\nAnd some of you will read this and say “Hey, Noah, that’s not me! We’ve become very professional.”
\nRight, and that’s the problem. You have to be friendly, not professional. Be helpful to the customer, not just the car. Be relatable, not scientific. Be a customer resource, not an encyclopedia of how transmissions work. Customers are coming to you for help, and you’re trying to sell them. Customers are coming to you in hopes that you’ll treat them fairly, fix their cars right, and stand behind your work\u2014and you’re still trying to sell them.
\nThe decision to have a major automotive repair done is an emotional decision, made first by considering WHY the car should be fixed.
\nSo why should<\/strong> a car be fixed?<\/p>\n