“Fly upon the wings of the wind.” Psalms 18:10

In the early 1990s I went to work selling software for CCC Information Systems. I had been in marketing and sales most of my life, but I had never seen a product sell like CCC’s computerized estimating software. Shop owners practically lined up to buy CCC’s “Ezest” product. Mitchell and ADP also got in the game and enjoyed bountiful sales. What was the secret to their success?

CCC had the good fortune of having purchased the rights to a computerized estimating system at the exact moment that PCs (personal computers) were becoming a necessary fixture for nearly every business. In fact, body shops were a bit late in buying PCs and using computer software to run their businesses. To a large degree, change was being forced on shops by insurance companies. They were beginning to demand computerized estimate printouts. All CCC and CCC’s competitors had to do was “ride the winds of that change.”

Many companies benefitted from changes forced on shops by the government regulations, competition and insurance companies. They had to buy frame machines to replace floor pull systems. Paint spray booths were required to meet OSHA and EPA standards. Even now, many shops are having to purchase resistance spot welders to stay competitive. And the companies that manufacture and/or sell this equipment are all benefitting from these forced changes. They’re riding the “winds of change” all the way to the bank.

The big question is how can shop owners also enjoy “riding the winds of change?”

Technology gives shops a “leg up”

One big change at the moment is the shift from solvent to waterborne paints. Ultimately all shops will have to make the change, but is there a way a shop can “ride the wind of this change” right now? A simple rule that governs how much a company will benefit from change is how quickly they grasp it!

Many shop owners will assume the attitude that, “if everyone has to do it, there’s no point in rushing it.” This is a deadly attitude that will make this shop owner miss out on a “ride the wind” opportunity. What they have missed is that the public doesn’t know what’s happening! The shop owner who quickly announces he or she will be the first to use environmentally beneficial waterborne paint in the shop, will have a distinct marketing advantage.

In their 1993, classic book “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing,” authors Al Ries and Jack Trout list the NUMBER ONE RULE as “The Law of Leadership.” They say, “It’s better to be first than it is to be better.” They note that the first in any category will be the one that comes to mind: Xerox for copies; Hertz for car rental; Coca-Cola for colas. If you succeed in claiming the “environmental waterborne edge” first, you may be able to keep that mantle long after everyone else has the capability too.