How To Prevent A Blowout in Your Bank Account

“It is the neglect of timely repair that makes rebuilding necessary.  Richard Whately

“This tire is defective!  I want to talk to the manager!”  This is what I overheard at the service counter while conducting a shop visit back when I was a district manager for a national automotive chain. I won’t tell you the name of the organization, but I will say that the employees had a lot of “Pep” in their step!

My anxiety levels increased as I heard the service advisor confidently proclaim, “Sir, the manager is off today, but my district manager, Eric Twiggs is here!”   The customer’s name was “Larry”, he drove a grey Lexus, and he had an angry look on his face.

As Larry and I looked at the tire, we noticed the run flat wear markings around the sidewall, along with a nail up in the tread section.  Both were indications that the tire was driven on while underinflated, which caused the blowout. 

“Larry, how often do you check your tire’s air pressure?” I asked. “Never!” he replied. “The TPMS light came on, and before I could come to the shop, your defective tire blew out!”    

I then asked, “How long had the light been on?”  With an embarrassed look on his face and in a low tone of voice, he replied: “About three months.”

Failing to listen to your ATI coach is like riding around with your TPMS light on, and then being surprised when you experience a blowout.

Larry’s blowout was the result of him neglecting the basics of tire maintenance.     Did you experience a “blowout” in your business bank account during Labor Day week?   Most of the blowouts could have been avoided, if the basic maintenance had been applied. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Twiggs, you’ve got it all wrong! My blowout was the result of Monday being a holiday, and the kids being back in school!”   Stay with me to learn why I disagree and what you can do to prevent a future blowout in your bank account.

Refocus on The Process

In an article titled , The Most Successful Entrepreneurs Love Their Mistakes, best-selling author Thomas Corley, revealed the results of a study he conducted on a sample group of 119 entrepreneurs who became self-made millionaires. 

The goal of the study was to determine what separated them from the average business owner. 

He concluded that one of the biggest differences was how they viewed their past mistakes.  Corley found that the millionaires had a habit of analyzing and gaining knowledge from their failures, and using their new-found information, to proceed in a better manner.   

They documented what worked and what didn’t, so they could do more of what worked.   In other words, they used their failures as an opportunity to refocus on the process.

If your September experience has felt like a blowout, I have some good news:  Your obstacle is just an opportunity to refocus on the process. 

Get Back To The Basics

Hop into your Delorean time machine for a moment, and go back to the week of June 4^th.    How many 90 day exit appointments did you schedule?

If you scheduled 100% on 40 cars, and only 50% came in for their 90 day appointment, that’s 20 additional cars you would have had during Labor Day week.

How many “Where have you been calls” did you make to your customers who you haven’t seen in 6 months?  The average response rate on these calls is 15%.

40 calls would result in 6 additional customers (40X15%=6)

How many incoming phone call recordings did you listen to?  Improved execution of the phone script can produce at least 2 additional customers per day who would not have come in. 2 customers a day for 5 days is 10 additional cars.

In these scenarios, executing the basics would have resulted in an additional 36 customers who would not have normally come to your shop.  (20+6+10=36)

A back to the basics approach, could have prevented a Labor Day week blowout.    

Conclusion

So, there you have it.   Larry’s story is a cautionary tale of what can happen when you neglect the basics.

I challenge you to refocus on the process, and to get back to the basics, so you can afford to upgrade your Lexus to the latest model!

Sincerely,

Eric M. Twiggs

The Accountability Coach

www.autotraining.net

PS. Email etwiggs@autotraining.net to receive a listing of everything I know about the hiring and retention process.  Hiring and retaining the right people, will prevent a blowout in your bank account!