The numbers game

The reason so few shops take advantage of this simple reporting system is the amount of paperwork and administration involved. Shop owners are already drowned in paperwork, from estimates, repair orders, parts tracking, supplements, payroll and tax reports, and other required government and insurance reports. The idea of adding yet another layer of reports on top of this all could seem mind-numbing. The only way this can work is to treat it as a completely separate business activity.

Many of the large, successful shops I've visited have a full-time marketing person. Generally this person is already busy most of the time making live calls on agents, dealers, fleet managers and more. But there is a limit to how much can be accomplished with these repetitive live calls. In this day of e-mails and faxes (not to mention high gasoline costs), it can be more effective to use electronic media and the mails to maximize communications.

Even medium-sized shops that may not seem able to afford a full-time marketing person could afford an administrative person to generate this high volume of completed job and customer satisfaction reports.

It's just a numbers game. A massive bombardment of rewards for referrals stands a chance of doubling and re-doubling a shops business. The slight investment in shop personnel to execute the reporting necessary to get the job done is a minor expense compared to the potential profits to be made.

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing representative and consultant for forty years and is the author of the books, "Business Battlefield Marketing for Body Shops," "Tom Franklin's Top 40 Marketing Tactics for Body Shops," and "Strategies for Greater Body Shop Growth." His marketing company now provides marketing solutions and services for body shops and other businesses. He can be reached for questions or comments at (323) 871-6862, by fax at (323) 465-2228, or by E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it