Remarkable Results Radio Podcast

Trained By Techs. There To Help. Recorded at Vision 2018 Studio this tight group of technicians are part of a large community effort called ‘Trained By Techs’. Tanner Brandt, Brin Kline, Chris Martino, Justin Miller and Brian Culotta share their stories. These guys are committed to helping technicians excel at their craft; to make a difference personally and professionally for the industry. The group was started to help bridge the gap between basic and advanced training. They are producing short tutorial training video’s that can be viewed without a major time commitment. Like a lunch break. Hear their story, their dreams, their thoughts on training. We talk about the training hours necessary to keep pace with technology, and what to do to get the most from training at events like Vision. There is a special storyline in the interview regarding the winner of the 2018 Ed Schaeffer Memorial Management Scholarship. Also, hear this teams’ opinion of Day Time Training.

Your Ideal Customer Part 2 – Training Your People to Understand and Embrace Your Customer Avatar. Knowing your ideal customer is an important part of a very successful business and helps define who you want as your customer. Commonly called your customer avatar, or your cardboard cut-out you are defining a customer that trusts you and are advocates for you. These customers are least likely to stray and are most likely to recommend you because they are also advocates. You must talk to your ideal customer and find out what makes them tick. In this episode find out the many ways you can engage your team to embrace your ideal customer. Hear from Ron Inchausti Coast Motor Werks in Irvine, CA, a multi-shop owner, Brian Weeks from [atc] Auto Center, a 3rd generation multi-shop owners from Augusta, GA and Patrick McHugh from Bimmer Rescue in Richmond, VA. Part one is Town Hall Academy Episode 56

Are You Prepared To Change? Jeremy O’Neal from Freedom Automotive and AdvisorFix, Barry Barrett from RLO Training and Chris Cloutier from Golden Care Auto Care and Autotext.me bring a lively discussion and debate on the need and necessity of change. President John Kennedy said: “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” We all realize that our industry is in constant change, however many do not embrace the vision necessary to keep pace and improve. Listen to how these aftermarket professionals look at and embrace change. It is part of the vision. We cover two ways leaders lead. First is the fear of change, and second is that we are willing to change as long as there isn’t any pain. We get into communications, connecting, and that winners and losers have one thing in common. Listen to find out what it is.

Five Years A Shop Owner and a Succession Plan in Place. The secret to success, according to Sherri Stock is doing the right thing for the right reasons. No matter for your team members or your customers she is passionate to always treat people well. Sherri Stock from InMotion Auto Care in Lincoln, NE has worked at dealerships for over 25 years and had the opportunity of a lifetime to go into business for herself. She shares some early strategies that has set up her succession plan. We talk with the Sherri Stock, the ASA Midwest Service Facility of the Year 2017, about the power of a strong business culture, technician pay, business coaches, vendor partners and her commitment to technician training.

A discussion on the state of mandated periodic motor vehicle inspections. There are only 14 states in the US that have some sort of mandated vehicle inspection. There had been almost twice that amount. There is momentum to eliminate these safety inspection programs. The panel discusses the reason we are at such a low level and what needs to be done to help arrest additional states from phasing out any more inspection programs. With Carm, recorded live with a studio audience is Robert L. Redding Jr., ASA Legislative representative, Joe Battista, the Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Parsons Corporation, and shop owner Sybren van der Pol, an ASE Master L1 Technician and owner of Adolf Hoepfl & Son Garage, in Houston, TX and serves on the local ASA Houston chapter Board of Directors. Listen to find out what you can do to help bring awareness to safety inspections as all aftermarket professionals see first hand the number of unsafe vehicles traveling our roadways today.

Looking To Get Out? Candid Talk on Succession Planning. Cecil Bullard joins Carm Capriotto for this interview at ATE in Seattle. A very special interview with a deep conversation on succeeding your business. Statistics reveal that the average shop owner is in their late fifties. A quality succession plan can take 5 to 8 years. There are many great pieces of advice and wisdom discussed including family issues, what happens after I sell, what place does your ego have in the transaction, and when do you become a coach and not dad. For non-family transactions, there is some wise advice on structuring a deal. Cecil gives a blueprint on the steps to building a succession plan.

Finding Momentum and Camaraderie in the Canadian Aftermarket. Three members of the Momentum group from British Columbia, Canada, Peter Foreman, Cody Olshaski and Scott Waddle are in Seattle for the ATE Show in March 2018 and we sit for a roundtable interview. Canada has the same opportunities, challenges and struggles as the US aftermarket. Yet they do have a few rules and regulations that are different. They also have nationwide technician licensing and an apprentice program that requires a four-year automotive degree. It is obvious that these shop owners are competitors but help each other out whenever they can. As members of the Twenty group, Momentum, they are serious about supporting each other.

Do You Have Control of Your Business Intelligence Data? Data is king. It is ok to share your data if you know who you are sharing it with? If and when you share your customer database with vendors; what do you want them to do with it and how should you expect them to treat it thereafter? These topics and many more are covered in the lively and wide-ranging discussion and debate over data and what happens to your data once you sign an End Users License Agreement (EULA). Guests include Karim Morsli, Winkler Automotive Service Center, Bill Nalu, Interstate Auto Care in Madison Heights, MI, Chris Cloutier, owner of Golden Rule Auto Care in Dallas, TX and president of Autotext.me and Greg Buckley, Buckley’s Personalized Auto Care in Wilmington, DE.

Your Story, Your Accomplishments Brings Authenticity To Your Website. Jennifer Filzen from Rock Star Marketing helps shop owners bring their story to life on their website. Her purpose is to bring joy to millions of people and she has a proven method. Jennifer says when you tell your story, you are being authentic and putting your company in the limelight. There is an excitement level in this interview that will keep you engaged as we talk content marketing and how the power of your story connects you to your clients and prospects. We also get into her training seminar she held at Vision 208 called Fishing for Millennials.

Shop Of The Future. A Business Coaches Perspective. Bill Haas from Haas Performance Consulting and Bob Greenwood President and CEO of Automotive Aftermarket E-Learning Centre bring their viewpoints on the future of the service professional. Bill and Bob talk about training, culture, the dealership factor, pricing transparency, and the importance of daytime training. They also share their viewpoint on competing, hiring and retaining top talent, both technicians and service advisors.

Workplace Organization: Waste. Clutter. Standardize. Improved Efficiency. 5S came from the Japanese and the concept of Kaizen, continuous improvement. 5S is a method to improve workplace organization. The 5S’s are Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain. The benefits of 5S helps you eliminate waste, and in many cases reduces your steps, minimizes injuries, and removes clutter. Start by finding the simplest task. Perfect it and move on to the more complicated. This panel has the expertise and experience to help you on the process of improving your workplace organization. Pat Brown retired from Cooper Tire and learned lean and took the manufacture training to translate 5S into shop management working with Twenty Groups for DSP (Dealer Strategic Planning) Twenty Group, Keith Tucker form Triple ‘T’ Tire in Dyersburg, TN and Brad & Ryan Goff from Rogers Tire in Caldwell and Meridian, ID. Learn about 5S and how these shop owners translated the method into improve processes where they saw a measurable difference in their operation including the generation of more revenue.

Association Membership is Right for Today’s Business Climate. If you are not an association member, it is time. National and statewide organizations need your membership and you need the association. Association membership helps improve your ‘future think’ so you can align your business for tomorrow and they make it easier to run your business because you will have resources to help you. For the majority of members, their dues cost is zero based on participation in endorsed programs. Many times the dues ROI is more than doubled and many times even a triple payback.

Trial By Fire Was the Pathway and Learning Curve for This Shop Owner. Once Kathleen Jarosik from Xpertech Auto Repair in Englewood, FL bought the business from her former husband she went from the background to the foreground of the business. Trial by fire was the norm. Her story is one of renaissance as she knew there was a better way. Working with her business coach, industry colleagues and association members, Kathleen started her turn around. She is actually doing what she loves to do most for the business. Kathleen is not without her challenges, but she sees great light ahead and hopes one day to be an industry coach. She wants to help people and give back to the industry. She’s worked hard to build the reputation of the shop and create a positive culture for her team and an environment that her customers feel comfortable in.

The Qualities of a Good Partnership or How to Make Partnerships Work. Partners and brothers Vinnie and Anthony Lucido from CoAuto, Community Conscious Car Care in Reno, NV and partners Shawn Kline and Jeremy Austrum from Next Generation Auto in Baldwin, WI., share how they make their partnership work. They share advantages and disadvantages of having a partner, the role of each partner, and the qualities of a partnership. They say that knowing each other’s communication style or DISC respects each other’s way of getting and sharing information These partners believe that their business coach has improved the partnership. These partners also share the pitfalls or challenges that can creep into a partnership. You’ll also hear about buy-sell agreements, life insurance and work-life balance.

Ask for help. Offer help. Reaching out to help your peers. Become the fly on the wall at ASA Northwest’s training event, ATE, and listen to an enlightening panel discussion with Butch Jobst, the ASA Northwest Chairman of the Board from B & B Automotive in Aberdeen, WA, Brian Smith the ASA Northwest Immediate Past Chairman of the Board form Gig Harbor Automotive Service in Gig Harbor, WA and Bryan Kelley the ASA Northwest Chairman-Elect from Valley Automotive Electric in Covington, WA. The panel was very transparent on their own business career’s and they offered up their wisdom on coaching, the E-Myth, the power of networking and the invisible hand of ASA Northwest, the opportunities for growth with the aging vehicle car parc and embracing advanced technology. There is a strong message to young shop owners that cannot be missed.