How To Get The Results You Planned For

 “Becoming a champion is not an easy process… It’s done by focusing on what it takes to get there and not on getting there.” – Nick Saban

Are you getting the results you planned for?  I thought about this last week as I embarked on my morning run.   One of the specific running results that I planned for was to run two miles in under an eight minute per mile pace.  I even watched a running instruction video to learn the correct posture. 

How To Keep Your Shop From Stressing You Out

 “There is never a right time to do the wrong thing.” Lou Holtz

“Nobody can do it like Eric!” This was my motto during much of my career as a district manager.  My ideal picture of an effective leader was someone with an authoritative approach who had all the answers. 

Since I had all the answers, my people would contact me with all their questions regarding how to deal with unhappy customers, without first attempting to resolve the issues themselves. 

How To Use Your Greatest Asset To Get What You Want

How To Use Your Greatest Asset To Get What You Want

By

Eric M. Twiggs

 “If you can see it, you can be it.  If you can view it, you can do it.”

In the acting world you have Broadway.  In baseball you have the major leagues.  In the world of new car sales, you have the Mercedes Benz dealership. 

It’s understood, that if you sell cars,  a proven prior track record with a lesser brand, is required before stepping up to the Mercedes level.  This isn’t a mystery.  Everyone knows this.  Everyone, except for “Jeff.”

Jeff had a successful background in selling piano’s but had never sold cars before.   He always wanted to be a Mercedes salesman, and had the audacity to start his quest by inquiring at the local dealerships.  He went to the first location and spoke with a gentleman named “Ron” about his interests.

After telling Ron about his background, Ron said, “The manager isn’t here today, so you’ll have to come back later!”  Jeff checked the dealerships website that evening, and discovered that Ron was the manager! 

He visited the second location and was told that if he wanted to sell Mercedes, he should first apply at the Buick dealer down the road. 

At the third location, “Jack,” the manager, said that he wasn’t qualified, but he was welcome to pay his own way and take the upcoming sales training course that was being offered to his dealer employees. 

Jeff was so determined, that he paid the $403 fee, took the class, and received the highest grade possible for the course!   The instructor was so impressed that he contacted Jack, recommending that Jeff be hired. 

Today Jeffrey Twiggs, my brother, is a top producing Mercedes Benz salesman in Atlanta GA!   At this point, you may be thinking “That’s a great story about your brother, but what does this have to do with me?”   It has everything to do with you.  

Jeff’s story is proof that sometimes, what you don’t know can help you.  On the path to pursuing your goals, the right mindset is your greatest asset.  

Keep reading to learn two ideas that will help you leverage your greatest asset and get what you want.

Change Your Self Talk

Have you ever felt like you were stuck, and unable to make progress towards your shop goals?  Was the underlying reason the economy? Maybe it was your competition?  Did you lack the proper training?

In my nine years of coaching shop owners & service writers, I’ve discovered that 80% of the time, it’s a mindset issue that keeps you stuck.  Once you improve your mindset, you will change your self-talk.

In his groundbreaking book, What To Say When You Talk To Yourself, Dr. Shad Helmstetter concludes that up to 75% of the average person’s mental programming and self-talk is negative. 

He explains that the region of the brain known as “the lizard brain”, is constantly scanning the environment looking to warn us about possible danger.

When it finds a potential threat, it delivers warnings that can become negative self-talk. Since accomplishment and risk go hand in hand, the lizard brain speaks the loudest while you’re pursuing a game changing goal.

The following are examples may sound familiar: “I can’t use that pricing matrix, it will put me out of business!” “That’s a first time customer, so I can’t present the complete estimate!” 

“What if I hire that great technician, and I don’t have enough work to keep him?” “My customers ask for me by name, so I can’t hire my replacement!”

Here’s the bottom line: It’s impossible to say something positive and think something negative at the same time!  In spite of experiencing rejections, Jeff continued to tell himself that working for Mercedes was possible.  His speaking impacted his thinking, and his thinking impacted his result.

If you consistently speak about the positive possibilities, it will change your mindset. When you change your mindset, you will change your self-talk.  When you change your self-talk, you will start moving towards your goals. 

Become Delusional

The dictionary defines delusion as a belief or altered reality that is persistently held in spite of evidence or agreement to the contrary.  Jeff had to be delusional to think he could work for Mercedes, without any prior experience.

The fact that he continued to persist in the face of contrary evidence, is an indication that he was living in an altered reality.   His delusion is what made everything possible!

What would be possible if you ignored the evidence that, “Everyone’s buying new cars”?  What would be possible if you persisted with the exit appointment program, even after your service writer told you that it didn’t work? 

What would be possible if you lived in an “altered reality” where customers would find the money if they felt the value? 

I challenge you to become delusional this week as you pursue your goals.  You never know what’s possible!

Conclusion

So, there you have it.  If you change your self-talk and become delusional, you will leverage your greatest asset and achieve your goals.

Once you’ve succeeded, you can use the additional cash flow to buy yourself a brand new, shiny, fully loaded, Buick!

  

Sincerely,

Eric M. Twiggs

The Accountability Coach

www.autotraining.net

PS:  Email me if you would like a copy of my 50 questions to help you find your purpose in life.  Gaining clarity of purpose will help you to pursue your goals with the right mindset!

How To Move from Excuses To Excellence

How To Move from Excuses To Excellence

By

Eric M. Twiggs

“There is nothing either good or bad. Thinking makes it so.” William Shakespeare

Do your results at the shop depend on external events?  As I ponder this question, I’m reminded of a story I shared in a previous post about this single father with two young sons. 

The father was laid off from his job and struggling to make ends meet.  After several months of unemployment, he became desperate and robbed the local convenience store. 

The father was arrested and sentenced to twenty years in prison.  The two boys were separated from each other and placed in the foster care system. 

Fifteen years later, a news anchor got wind of the story and decided to check in to see how the boys were doing. The youngest son had become a drug addict who was always in trouble with the law. The older son had become a successful entrepreneur and community activist. 

The reporter met with the boys separately and asked them both the same question: "Why do believe you turned out the way you did?" 

They both had the same reply: "What else would you expect with a father like that?   The boys got different results, even though they experienced the same event.  But why?  

The Bridge

It’s the same reason that you, and that owner in your 20 group, can get different parts margin results, even though your customers have the same median income.  

It’s the same reason that you and that owner you met at The Super Conference, can have different car count results, even though you both share the experience of being in a small town.

You both are experiencing the same event, but one of you is making excuses, while the other is achieving excellence.  You bring a different perspective to the shared experience.

Your perspective is the bridge that can take you from excuses to excellence.  Which side of the bridge are you on?   Dictionary.com defines perspective as a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something. 

For example, when you watch the news and the reporter interviews two people who witnessed an accident, they usually mention a different account of the same accident.   Their individual beliefs have shaped the way they regard the event. 

Here’s the bottom line: If your beliefs about your situation, your shop, or yourself, aren’t moving you closer to your goals, then a change of perspective is in order.     When your perspective lines up with your goals, it becomes the bridge that takes you from excuses to excellence. 

The Question

I spoke with two shop owners this past week, one named “Tom” and the other named “Todd”.    Tom ranked in the ATI Top 25 for 2017, while Todd has a negative gross profit dollar lift average for the year. 

Both told me how their vendors were saying that the entire area was slow.  Both mentioned that their competitors were complaining about their bays being empty. 

Tom experienced a record setting week in mechanical sales and Gross Profit, while Todd blamed his local economy for his subpar performance.  Why did they get different results, despite experiencing similar slowness?  

As Tom was going through his experience, he asked himself the following question, “What can I do differently?” 

When you’re faced with a problem, like low sales, or low car count, ask yourself the previously mentioned question until you can come up with eight different options to overcome the issue. 

Doing this will change your perspective and cause you to move from excuses to excellence.   

  

Conclusion

So, there you have it.  Embracing the right perspective will move you from excuses to excellence.   Asking the right question will position you to experience profits while others are complaining about problems.  What else would you expect with a mindset like that?

Eric M. Twiggs

The Accountability Coach

www.autotraining.net

PS:  I have a Perspectives Tool that can help you to identify eight different options to overcome your most pressing problem.  Email etwiggs@autotraining.net  if you would like a copy.