Founder - Elite Shop Coaching
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The Importance Of Non-Solicitation Agreements

When properly written, non-solicitation agreements state if an employee leaves your company they will have every right to compete, but they are disallowed from soliciting any of your customers or any of your employees. Engine builder business owners work hard, often for many years, to develop a customer base. The last thing they want to

The Best-Kept Secrets to Dealing with Sales Objections

Here are what I’ve discovered to be the best-kept secrets when it comes to dealing with sales objections. 1. Accept the fact that the single greatest cause of sales objections is a poor sales presentation. If you don’t follow the eight steps of the sales cycle (1. Build rapport; 2. Fact-find; 3. Identify the need; 4. Identify the

Strategies For Success in Building a World-Class Shop

We are in an era whereas with each passing day technology is making pricing more accessible

Setting Your Goals In 2013

When it comes to setting your long-term goals, the best advice I can give you is to make sure that they all align with your core beliefs and that they are challenging enough to inspire you. As the leader of your company, you are not only responsible for setting the goals, but it’s your job

Transparency In Pricing: It’s Now A Mandate, Not An Option

There was a time in our industry when shop owners were the only ones who knew the cost of their parts. Additionally, the amount they charged for their services was typically not public knowledge. If customers wanted to know how much it would cost to perform a specific repair, they had limited options; they would

Creating Team Spirit In Your Shop

Here are six easy steps that will not only help you create team spirit, but will help you build a more profitable, successful business at the same time. Step #1. Know your responsibilities. Teamspirit will always start with you: the business owner. As an owner, it’s your responsibility to set the goals of the company,

How Much Is Your Shop Worth?

During the interview with Janke, we were discussing thethings that shop owners can do to get top dollar for their shops, and towardsthe end of the interview we started talking about how shop owners should goabout establishing the value of their businesses. As you can imagine, Hal saidthat there are a number of things you

Ten Percent Growth Needs To Be The Goal

There’s a lot to be said for that, but even if you’re pleased with theperformance of your business, you still need to set a growth goal of at least10%.  Why? Because not only is there no certainty in the future, but youcan bet that the competition is going to be tougher in the coming year.

What Every Customer Needs To Hear

This will not only let yourcustomers know that you were paying attention when they were speaking to you,but will communicate that you truly understand the positions that they arein.  Try sayingsomething like, “Jim, I know you mentioned that you’re on a tight budget thismonth, so I took the liberty of exploring some options for you.

Marketing During Tough Economic Times

These are any campaigns where you reach potential customers while they are outside of their homes and workplaces. Little league games, charity drives, local fairs, etc., are all good examples. So do this … Each Monday put 10 business cards in your pocket, and make sure you pass them all out, off premise, by the

With Today’s Customer

Although you’ll find many definitions, I believe we can all agree that in the mind of your customers, value means getting the most bang for their buck. In the auto service business, there are a number of ways we can create value for our customers in both marketing and sales. Here are some recommendations you

Pricing Your Shop’s Services Without Adversely Affecting Customer Relationships

What I decided to do with this article is break the subject of pricing down into three components: Base pricing, price modification andmeasuring ­results.   Base Pricing At Elite, we believe that in all cases, your prices need to be competitive. By “competitive,” I’m not suggesting that you need to charge the same price as