It’s All About The Choices
When I had difficulty coming up with ideas worthy of the space between the covers of this magazine it took only a couple of phone calls from customers before the light bulb came on: I realized I needed to examine the past to address the present. After two or three calls from customers relating their
To Succeed in Business Reality, You
How are your business dreams looking today? I’m not hearing about many dreams. Maybe some nightmares, but few dreams. To be truthful, we need to look at the good signs. For one, business is picking up. There seems to be a positive attitude in many places. But how many more years like 2011 can you
ZDDP: When, Where, What, Why, How?
Government regulations and demands for lower emissions levels become more important than power and performance. Proven components are no longer acceptable and the inevitable changes occur – not always for the best. Things seemed to be much simpler in the 1930s. Engine bearings were made from a soft tin/copper/antimony alloy, commonly referred to as babbit.
The Greatest Show(s) On Earth
Every time, it seems, one way or another, the announcer always managed to get in those lines. I always wondered which was the “Greatest Show” and which was only the “Second Greatest Show” on Earth. Well the year is rapidly coming to an end, but before it’s gone, we’ll have made our decisions about which
Do Your Customers Qualify?
If you’ve been following along the past couple years, you know that when I say qualify, I’m referring to the act of “qualifying” your potential customer. First and foremost, can they afford to pay for the work and the parts you will provide. The best test for this is to require a deposit. A down
Parts Sales and Profits: First Admit There
Yes, believe it or not, I am attempting to show a parallel between the famous Twelve-Step programs – plans designed to help one admit the size and scope of addictive or dysfunctional problems and reinforce the need to ask for help for success – and a plan we can create to resurrect parts sales and
Parts Sales and Profits: First Admit There
Yes, believe it or not, I am attempting to show a parallel between the famous Twelve-Step programs – plans designed to help one admit the size and scope of addictive or dysfunctional problems and reinforce the need to ask for help for success – and a plan we can create to resurrect parts sales and
Respect Between Shops and Stores Strengthens Both
I have been lucky enough to make sales calls on hundreds of machine shops over the past 30-plus years. Some are still here today and sadly, some are not. In that time I have met a few machine shop owners who were hard working and quite successful. They put in their years, formed an exit
Stroker Motor Opportunities: Love the One You’re With
Let’s face it: there are only so many 340 Chryslers, Boss 302s, 427 medium risers and 440 Six-pack engines out there. Luckily, many combinations of less-familiar engine components are readily available and can rescue you from the cookie cutter mentality. A quick inspection of a few of the many forged piston manufacturers’ catalogs reveals a
Question: What
Someone recently lamented to me that things aren’t really that good in the engine rebuilding business these days. Is this news to you? Of course it isn’t! We all know that there are many pressures on the industry that affect our jobs everyday. Statistics show that people are keeping their cars longer. This was traditionally
Take The War Out Of Warranty Claims
While it may have been an uncomfortable topic for some, I feel I succeeded with the previous column. Of course there are always those who dispute the need for personal responsibility. Since we live in a world full of handouts and government programs, why be responsible for yourself? I have a good friend who describes
Profiting From Personal Performance
Ifyou’ve been following my articles over the last year, you may bestarting to get some new ideas for finding profits in selling highperformance engines, parts and accessories. We’ve discussed various sales techniques to battle internet and catalogparts sales, or “walk-in parts,” as I like to call them. I wrote aboutstrategies and gave them creative names