The Easy Way to Hire Your Next Employee

“Hire character, train skill.” Peter Schutz

“Harry” is a hiring manager for a Fortune 500 company. One fateful morning, he’s driving into the crowded company parking lot to begin his day of scheduled interviews.

After several minutes of circling, he finally locates a space and pulls in. He doesn’t notice “Bruce,” sitting in a brown Buick, waiting for the same spot!

“Hey, Jerk!” Bruce yells. “Don’t you see me sitting here? Are you blind?” Harry’s running late, so he doesn’t take the time to reply.

How to Overcome Your Employee’s Resistance

"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." - Voltaire 

Don’t try this at home! The year was 1999, and I was a new manager who was having a problem getting my people to embrace the courtesy checks.

During a shop meeting, I was explaining all the reasons why completing the forms was good for the car, the customer, and the company. Before I could finish, “Terry,” my ‘A’ technician, interrupted me by asking, “How does filling out these #$@! courtesy checks benefit me?”

The Hidden Secret to Growing Your Car Count

"You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read." Charlie Tremendous Jones 

Hard work doesn’t pay off. I know Shop Owners who work around the clock but still have low car count. They arrive early, stay late, but have a low retention rate.

They work hard to fill their racks, but their customers don’t come back. These examples lead me to believe that hard work doesn’t pay off.

Now, before you work hard to close this post, allow me to clarify my point.

The One Thing You Never Hear from Employees

“Time is what we want most but use worst!” William Penn 

“Traffic was really bad!”
“There was a bad accident on the beltway!”
“I was pulled over by a state trooper!”

If I had a dollar for every time someone has made one of these statements, I’d have about 327 dollars! 

How to Gain an Unfair Advantage in Your Area

“Not following up with your prospects is the same as filling up your bathtub without first putting the stopper in the drain.” Michelle Moore 

How do they do it? I asked this question several years ago, as a new member of my local Toastmasters International club. The meetings were held every Tuesday, and the room was always packed with aspiring speakers.

At the district conventions, the leaders of the other clubs complained about member count being down in the area. When one club leader spoke about their low member count, the others would console her by saying, “It’s not just you; everybody is slow.” (Sound familiar??)

Three Steps to Build a Leading Brand

A brand is worthless if it doesn’t connect with the right audience in a relevant way.” Cory Torella 

It’s late in the evening and you’re out of town, driving without your GPS device. You don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you’re going, but you do know that you’re hungry! Up ahead, you see the next exit has fast food options so you turn off and go down that road.

You pull up to the stop light and are faced with a difficult decision: you can either turn left and go to McDonald’s, or you can go right and eat at The Twiggs Burger Joint. What would you do?

Moving From Good to Great as a Shop Owner

“Don’t expect victory or defeat. Plan for victory, learn from defeat.” Gary John Bishop 

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins communicates the concept of The Stockdale Paradox. It’s based on the experience of James Stockdale, a high-ranking naval officer who was held captive as a POW for seven years during the Vietnam war.

He was tortured repeatedly and had no rational reason to remain positive. The dates on the calendar would change, but his situation remained the same.

Are You Getting Thrown Under the Bus?

“The starting point of success is taking ownership of your failures.”

If you Googled the phrase, “To throw under the bus,” an image of my six-year-old son Eric would appear! 

He’s infamous in the Twiggs household for throwing his older sister Erin under the bus! If I ask, “Eric, why haven’t you gone to sleep yet?” His reply, “Its Erin’s fault, she keeps talking to me!”

How to Get More Buy-In at Your Shop

“When a team takes ownership of the problem, the problem gets solved.” Jocko Willink 

Think back on all your extended vacations. How many times did you take the rental car to the car wash? I conducted an official survey of a select group of leaders who have high attention to detail.

I added their combined total of lifetime rental car washes and placed their numbers into my special spreadsheet. The total came to ZERO!

You have NEVER washed the rental car!  Why?  It’s because you didn’t own it, and you place a higher value on things that you own.

How to Conquer the Car Count Paradox

"The greatest gift to give yourself is the willingness to change your mind." Marianne Williamson

Have you ever seen a fight break out at the dentist’s office? Let’s think about your last visit. The receptionist handed you a card and said, “Your next appointment will be on May 1st.”

She didn’t ask, “would you like to come in on May 1st?” or, “You don’t want to schedule your next appointment, do you?” She just told you the date and assumed you would accept it.

The Difference Between Losing and Being Beaten

“He who chases two rabbits catches neither.” Confucius 

In his book Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeon tells the story of Larry Gelwix, one of the most successful high school rugby coaches in history.

In thirty-five years, his Highland High School Rugby Team compiled a record of 419 wins, 10 losses, and 20 national championships! 

If you played for coach Gelwix, here’s what he would tell you:

The Batting Cage Strategy

“Some defeats are only installments to victory." Jacob Riis 

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is judging the success of your effort by the initial response you get. I was reminded of this as I sat through a 20 Group meeting. Mike Haley, the former hiring class instructor, was the guest speaker on the agenda.

He opened his session by asking about the current state of hiring in the shops. One owner talked about running an employment ad that didn't work. Someone else mentioned having a scheduled interview with a great candidate who didn't show up for the appointment. Then there was another entrepreneur who chimed in about using a head hunter only to have the resulting hire quit on them.

How to Increase the WOW Count at Your Shop

“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”  Richard Branson

Imagine that you’re a customer getting your car serviced at your shop. What are the first words that come to mind when you pull up to the curb?  

What’s the first impression you get as you walk up to the counter? How do you feel after interacting with your service advisor? 

Be brutally honest. If you weren’t the owner, would you enthusiastically refer your shop to your friends? If your first words, impressions, and feelings weren’t “WOW,” you would be unlikely to refer.

The Reason Your Shop Meetings Aren't Working

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw

I was all in, on-board, and “drinking the Kool-Aid!” As a new district manager of automotive service, I had a just returned from a national meeting where our president clearly communicated the company direction. 

What he said was good for the car, the customer, and the corporation. My next step was to have a meeting with my managers to get their buy-in. 

The Secret to Finding Success When You're Feeling Stuck

“Never take constructive criticism from someone who has never constructed anything.”
Dr. George Frazier

“Harry” is a shop owner in your area. One day he’s walking down the street thinking about his dreams, his dollars, and the upcoming decisions he will have to make at his shop. 

He’s so focused on his future that he fails to notice that there is a hole in the sidewalk. As a result, Harry falls in the hole! 

Harry’s best efforts to climb up result in him falling down! To make matters worse, it’s starting to rain and the water is up to his ankles. (BTW, why does it only rain on the days when you wash your car and fall into a hole?)   

The Fastest Way to Build Trust With Your Customers

It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. Warren Buffett 

"That's outrageous! It's just too much!" Said "Gary,"  the owner of a 2007 Toyota Camry in need of a power steering pump and fluid exchange.

I overheard this conversation as I was listening to the recording of "John," a service writer from Maryland, present the technician's findings. It was painfully obvious that this call was not going well!

How to Lose Your Good Customers Over Price

"There are no price objections; only value questions." Art Sobczak

"I'm losing business because of the pricing matrix!" This statement was made by a shop owner named Rich, during our weekly coaching call. Both his car count and average repair order (ARO) were down from the previous year.

He had two service writers named Steve and Chris. Even though they had the same invoice count, Steve held a 61% parts margin and a $400 ARO, while Chris hovered around 45% and $230.

I had Rich make the "where have you been" calls to determine why people weren't coming back. He spoke to ten customers; five from each writer.

How To Profit From Your Biggest Problem

“Don’t be upset by the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.”  

The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most successful franchises in professional basketball.  They’ve won five NBA Championships and have the highest regular season winning percentage in league history.  

With all their success, the Spurs still have the same big problem as you.

The Surprising Secret of the Influential Leader

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. - George Bernard Shaw

Jimmy Johnson was the head football coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 through 1994.  He had a reputation for being a no nonsense, disciplinarian who was tough on his players.

Falling asleep during one of his meetings was considered a “career limiting move.”  Everyone knew this.  Everyone, except for a backup linebacker named John Roper.  

Getting The Best Performance From Your People

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”  John Quincy Adams

A Shop Owner named “George” was meeting with his General Manager, named “Ed.”   

Normally, they would have their Monday one on one meetings at George’s office, but this particular day was different.  George decided that a field trip was in order.

He took Ed out to this gorgeous field.  As they walked, George pointed to the blue ocean to their left. As they continued to walk, he directed Ed’s attention to the breathtaking mountains to their right.