Warranties Are Everyone’s Problem
Warranty! The word shouted from the other end of the telephone can cause some people to wake up screaming in the night. It seems that warranty problems grow exponentially – once one comes in they seem to multiply just in time to ruin a good month’s sales results. Who’s Fault Is It? Usually it’s yours
If You Win the Argument, You Lose the Sale
The true test of a business’ customer service effort is not when things are going right but, rather, what is done when things go wrong. In the book “Buying Trances,” author Joe Vitale wrote about the principle of “agreement melts resistance” and how when working with resistant sales prospects, agreeing with them is a more
10 Mistakes To Avoid When Selling Your Business: An Insider’s Guide
There comes a time for every business when ownership changes, whether through a transition to the next generation or an outright sale to a first time or an experienced buyer. The majority of challenges and frustrations experienced by sellers can be avoided with solid information about the pitfalls of selling a business in today’s market.
10 Ideas to Improve Shop Profitability
Profitability is the number one concern of shop owners across the country. And, as the cost of running a shop continues to escalate, it’s important to always keep your eyes open for ideas you can implement to improve sales, cut costs and make your shop more profitable. Babcox Research asked a sample of shop owners
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
Let’s Clean Up
Let’s talk about cleanliness. I mean really clean, not just on the surface. Ever walk into a business that looked clean initially, but really wasn’t? You could just tell. The next thing you know you’re looking closer at the places under tables and chairs, and then it’s pretty obvious it’s not very clean at all. I have very
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
Reputation Management: What Are Customers Saying About You?
A few years ago, social media took the world by storm. Search engines saw the opportunity to integrate ratings and reviews into local business directories. A wise move, seeing that statistics show that 78% of social networkers rate online reviews as important when making buying decisions. In today’s online environment, we are faced with an
Five Tips to Improving as a Leader in 2013
If you are like a shop owner friend of mine, you probably don’t think of yourself as a leader; most good leaders don’t. They just do what they do … lead, and they do it so well, that others take notice. According to author and speaker John Maxwell, the essence of leadership can be summed up
Conducting A Successful Focus Group
By Bob Roberts, market research manager, Babcox Media The hope is that the dynamic of hearing others express their views will cause those present to think about the subject in some depth and take part in a group discussion. Typically these participants are current or potential customers or industry experts from whom you expect to
Using Customer Feedback to Improve Your Business
Feedback. We all seem to get it — whether we request it or not. But, as a business owner, feedback is generally accepted as a way to make improvements to your shop or services, and is even a helpful method to short-term and long-term business decisions. For most shop owners, customer feedback is often immediate,
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,