Darren Hardy, publisher of Success Magazine says that "There is one thing that 99 percent of 'failures' and 'successful' folks have in common -- they all hate doing the same things.”
He goes on to say, “The difference is that successful people do them anyway.”
“We know change is hard,” adds Hardy. “That's why people don't change their bad habits, and why so many people end up unhappy and unhealthy.”
Do you remember the adage “Stupidity is doing something the same way you always have and expecting different results?”
Just remember the solution is as simple as: “To get what you've never had, you must do what you've never done.” So just do it!
I recently read an article in a power sports magazine about dealer service departments and why some are profitable and some are not. I thought I’d share a few ideas that caught my attention in the article. By the way, my background includes many years managing a business that included a large automotive service department. That doesn’t make me a service expert, but it does make me very interested in how people are improving their service departments, processes and training.
One comment in the article said that many service departments do not fully bill for work they perform and don’t bill much per repair order they create. One solution is to use a “reception checklist,” resulting in additional sales of labor and parts and accessories as well as increased customer satisfaction. Using the checklist as you receive a unit into your service department results in more necessary repairs being uncovered and fewer phone calls asking for authorization for additional repairs discovered later.
Another idea I liked is to send out service follow-up surveys within a week of the service to uncover deficiencies and resolve customer issues. It’s another reason to always obtain your customers’ email addresses. Sending your brief survey out via email is very inexpensive. Increase your return rate on your survey by offering a small incentive like a coupon that will bring the customer back into your business. And create a customer list of email addresses so you can send our specials and reminders for additional service, and for parts and accessories specials. It’s so easy to do and inexpensive!
Another simple idea is to always post your technician’s Equipment and Engine Training Council (EETC) Certification certificates or their manufacturer’s certification certificates where the public will see them. Those posted certificates will build value in your customer’s mind to justify your labor rates. Don’t ever hide them in the back.
How’s business? I think it’s been a strange business year so far, which I suppose makes it normal. Good March, terrific April, good May, soft June, and a slightly softer July. It got dry and very hot in late June and early July. Rain has returned since then, occasionally a lot. And we have our normal July vacation month softness. But we’re still feeling good about 2010 overall. I hope you are too.
Harvey MacKay www.harveymackay.com, my favorite business Blogger, saw a survey about “worrying” that concluded “40 percent of the things we worry about never happen, 30 percent are in the past and can't be helped, 12 percent concern the affairs of others that aren't our business, 10 percent are about sickness--either real or imagined-- and only 8 percent are worth worrying about. I would submit that even the 8 percent aren’t really worth the energy of worry.”
Furthermore Mackay noted, “the English word ‘worry’ is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word that means to strangle or to choke.”
That's easy to believe.
Mackay added, “People do literally worry themselves to death… or heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, nervous disorders and all sorts of other nasty conditions.”
Is it worth it?”
Mackay then recalled the story of a fighter who, after taking the full count in a late round of a brawl, finally regained consciousness in the dressing room. “As his head cleared and he realized what had happened, he said to his manager: ‘Boy, did I have him worried. He thought he killed me.’”
You have to agree that's putting the worry right where it belongs.
