No. 8 August 2010

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.

No. 6 June 2010

April 2010 turned out to be one of the best months our distributorship has ever had.  I hope our customers - that means you - had a great April too.  With June inching closer as I write this column, I already know that May won't equal April.  I wonder if you're working down inventory this month, and thus reduced your purchasing, particularly on equipment.  I hope so.  Every month of every season of every year is different from the same month, season and year before, and I can guarantee the year after too.  Sorry, but it's true and a sure bet.

In more than four decades of working in this industry, I have yet to see the "perfect" year.  And I don't believe I ever will.  It just takes a 30-day dry spell, or a late spring, or a non-existent fall when the leaves fall one night in late November to ruin the "perfect" year.  And people wonder why they hear me occasionally repeat out loud to myself, over and over, "I love the OPE business.  I love the OPE business.  I love the OPE business."   I guess I just have to remind myself that I really do, even with all the uncertainties we all face every year.

I was delighted to be able to attend the Equipment and Engine Training Council’s (EETC) annual conference in early April, after missing the last few meetings, and to see so many familiar faces belonging to good friends.  I have a particular fondness for the organization and what it’s members are striving to do. 

The EETC is a non-profit professional association that is addressing the critical shortage of service technicians through its school accreditation and technician certification programs. With over 450 members, the EETC promotes and supports the recruitment, retention and education of service technicians in the OPE industry. 

If there is one organization in this industry that was created and works hard every day every year for the benefit of the entire OPE industry, the EETC is it!   It deserves your support and your participation. 

Visit the EETC’s Web site at www.eetc.org .   Attend its annual conference.  Look at its membership list and marvel at how these dedicated people leave their ego's and competitive nature outside the meeting room door and work together to help provide us with the certified technicians we all so desperately need in our businesses.

In a guest post on the Blog “Great Leadership,” Simon Sinek states that great leaders aren’t necessarily born “great.”  “People can learn to be a great leader.  But a fancy title or a high rank doesn’t make you a great leader.  Nor does holding the highest office or making the most money.  Great leaders are the ones who inspire people around them.” 

“Great leaders inspire those around them not because of what they know, but because of how they make other people feel.  When someone of vast achievement or status shows genuine interest in the ideas of those around them, it makes those people feel valuable.  It makes them feel like they are contributing.”

“Great leadership is not just about the ability to get things done.  It’s the capacity to inspire others to take responsibility to get things done.  When people in an organization believe in the greater cause and are made to feel a valuable part of it, they become vastly more conscientious about everything they do to contribute to the success of that cause.”

“Great leaders ask the question ‘why?’ quite often.  By asking ‘why,’ a great leader reveals he doesn’t understand something.  It shows vulnerability.  It reveals not knowing.  And that is exactly the reason great leaders ask ‘why?’ so often.” 

“They are aware that they don’t know what they don’t know and they aren’t afraid to show it.  They understand that the more ideas, perspectives and things they can learn – inside and outside their own disciplines – the more information it gives them to make better decisions.” 

“There is a rational and analytical part of our brains that can access the conscious information when we think about a problem, when we consider the facts and figures before making a thoughtful decision.”

“There is also a sub-conscious part of our brain that actually controls behavior and decision-making.  This area of our brain is filled with our entire life’s worth of experiences, lessons, ideas, perspectives and information.  This is the information that is tapped when we make gut-decisions or when we act instinctively.  No data is weighed in these decisions yet they are, very often, better quality decisions.”

So ask “why?” often.  Don’t just ask questions to prove people wrong.  Ask questions to understand what they mean.  Show genuine interest.  Seek out new experiences, lessons, ideas, and information to help you become a great leader in your business life.  You will be sought-out by people who know a great business leader when they see one and who trust that you will lead them to great accomplishments.