We’ve all had a customer come into the shop with bumper damage. You write the estimate and he stares at the total cost, stunned! “How could a little bumper damage possibly cost this much?” he exclaims. After you show him the cost of the reinforcement bar, impact strip, (etc, etc.) and then explain how the impact also pushed the fender into the quarter panel requiring additional repairs and refinishing, he may look a little less stunned. And you hope he may begin to understand how what seems to be superficial damage may have traveled far deeper than he could have imagined.

Every professional has a pet peeve. In fact I’m sure that you, as a collision repair professional, have many things that really annoy you. But as a marketing consultant, there is one specific thing that bothers me most of all. People pay me good money for marketing tactics and strategies. Some will put them into practice for a short time, but soon will stop. Others won’t even begin to take the marketing measures I recommend. Why is this? Have I suggested actions that are too complicated? Too expensive? Too difficult to carry out?

I recently wrote an article berating shop owners who wasted marketing money on ineffective advertising (which is most of it). I pointed out that few people who have recently been in an accident will look to an ad to find a shop for repairs.

Recently one of my readers called to ask how he could find a professional salesperson to go out and sell prospects on sending business to his shop. He had run ads for sales people and interviewed quite a few. He advertised on Monster.com and other online job sites. He may have even tried out a few applicants. But basically he couldn't find any that could effectively go out and represent his shop. I told him he would probably never find anyone who could. Why is that?