Franklin

Along the way, however, I've noticed that many of these owners and managers have become dissatisfied with their business base when they see another shop doing somewhat better with a different approach to the business. The guy who has a thriving fleet and commercial business sees a competitor doing better with DRP business and wants to jump into that specialty, as well. Another guy with several DRPs has experienced the unpredictability and precariousness of DRP programs and thinks he might do better and be more secure with fleet and commercial business.

It seems that few people are ever satisfied with what they have. Perhaps it's just the American way, but this "grass is greener on the other side" viewpoint often prevents shop owners and managers from taking full advantage of the specialty they do have. For every style and specialty, there may be a wealth of untapped potential business just waiting to be explored.

The cheapest job/discounter specialty

This type of shop may only exist in large cities where there's a big enough market to do a volume of low-cost business, but I have seen numerous shops surviving for many years on this type of business. The problem arises when the shop owner tires of doing cheap jobs for bottom-of-the-barrel prices, and decides he wants to become a DRP shop, or an authorized shop for a dealer. Regardless of which specialty a shop pursues, the number of years the owner has worked at it makes a huge difference. To now expect to jump into a new specialty without a comparable growth period is usually wishful thinking. A better choice would be expanding that low-end market to the max.

One example could be going after the student market. Young drivers, still in school, are unlikely to have big bucks for repairs. Ads in school papers are inexpensive, and many colleges and schools have bulletin boards where free ads can be posted. Public employees could be another market where discount pricing would be effective. Again, there are often public employee publications with reasonable ad rates. Every market has more depth to be explored - even this low-end market.

The family repeat business specialty

I'm often surprised at how many shops survive with no insurance, fleet, dealership, or other mass volume referral base at all. They survive strictly on repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals from prior customers. I'm often asked by owners of these shops how they might get volume referrals.

Actually, many of these shops might be successful in pursuing insurance, fleet, dealership, or referral sources. Their shops are usually attractive, well maintained, and have a wealth of customer satisfaction comments to pass along. The problem, once again, is encountering a long period of gradual progress to establish the necessary contacts and communications. A more immediate source of growth could be fully exploiting their existing specialty. I've found that most shops that rely almost exclusively on word-of-mouth referrals do very little to expand that resource and to press for additional referrals.

I've written extensively in the past about tapping more deeply into each customer's personal and business web of connections. Contact me for reprints of prior articles on how to expand this valuable source of added business.

The insurance direct repair specialty

Many shops now rely on a DRP relationship or drive-in status with one or more insurance companies. Shops that have this reliable source of business often do very well, but even these shops experience ups and downs in the volume of business referred. I've found many of these shops do little to exploit their relationship to the max. Any insurance company that uses agents or brokers to sell and service clients, provides an open path for a direct repair shop to stimulate an increased flow of business into the shop.

Monthly contact with the agents and brokers is a must, whether by live calls, a newsletter or just a postcard. Also, by asking every customer the name and number of his or her agent, it becomes possible to inform the agent of clients that have come to the shop for repairs. This simple procedure can greatly increase the volume of business coming from that insurance company's policy holders. Every couple of months, the shop owner should do an internet search to identify new agents and brokers to add to that contact database.