How to find three managers wrapped into one

This month’s article was written with the help of ATI Director of Client Fulfillment George Zeeks.

I get it. You started this business and grew it all by yourself. Now you want to have time off, some time for yourself and your family. Who can you trust to run your baby? It’s an incredibly hard decision, and this won’t make it any easier. Keep in mind that every coach at ATI never ran a shop with the owner present. It’s just not the way we do things. You pay us very good money to run your shop, and you shouldn’t have to be there. If you want time off and to have a shop running so that you don’t have to be there then you need three managers, all wrapped into one, to give you the best results. Let’s listen to our Director of Client Fullfillment George Zeeks explain how you can accomplish one of the toughest challenges in any business owner’s life.

The retail manager

This is the easiest and most routine manager you can have. They keep the bathroom clean. The coffee area running right. The magazines neat and orderly. There is not a lot of creativity needed here. Just an attention to detail and keeping the basics in mind. The daily deposit is run and correct every day. The cash drawer is right and on the money. The biggest issue is that many of you haven’t trained your manager to do these things because they are too basic and you assume they will know what to do. Nothing is too basic. You wouldn’t believe how many owners don’t reconcile the cash drawer every day. They don’t even make a deposit every day. This is a huge first step in becoming an owner who is not in the business every day. This can be a challenge, but nothing compared to the next level.

The sales manager

This is the manager that can not only sell stuff. This is the manager that can manage the sales of service advisors in many cases. The basic principle of every business is that you have a product or service and you sell them to your customer. They must relate to your customers in the most basic way possible and relate why the customer needs your goods or services. Most owners do not do a great job of this due to fear. A lot of owners are afraid that people won’t like them if they give the bad news. Customers don’t want to hear bad news and being the bearer of bad tidings is a difficult task. Suck it up. That’s the job. We have to let people know what is wrong with their car. If it’s a lot of money, then they really need to know. Maybe they would want a new car? Maybe they don’t have the credit for the new car? We have a responsibility to tell them what is really going on, so they can make the right decision. The key is to have someone who can explain what is going on in a way that the customer can understand. I have, personally, never believed in selling someone a repair on their car. I have always believed that we need to cover everything that they need in a way they understand and then it becomes a logical choice to do the repairs or not. You need to build value in what you are going to do. You have to explain the pros and cons. You must cover, in detail, the features and benefits of what the repairs entail. The customer needs to understand what is involved, what it costs and why does it need to be done now. Anything less than that and you are taking shortcuts that will cause pain to the customer or the business.

The sales manager also manages the promises and the end result. Is the car done when promised? Are we communicating with the customer along the way? Many shops have said that we get way too many phone calls from customers. Maybe that’s because we don’t set the proper expectations and then follow up on them. The customer must be kept informed so they know what is going on. Anything else can turn into a disaster. The sales manager also has the responsibility for the next visit. A lot of people don’t want to hear this, but this is the foundation of any business. Employees don’t quit the business; they quit the manager, and so do the customers. The sales process doesn’t end until the customer picks up the car and is happy. Anything else is a fraud and will cost you your future.

So, let’s say you have the first two covered and all is right with the world. That still doesn’t mean that you are profitable; that doesn’t mean that your shop is running anywhere near capacity. What you need now is the production manager.

The production manager

This is the next and most important step for you to have a shop that runs without you there. The manager that can drive production, in addition to all the other things, is crucial to a profitable shop. This manager gets the most out of the crew. The most out of the shop. Technicians love and hate a good production manager. That manager demands higher performance from the staff. The common phrase is that “you’ll hate me today, but love me on payday.” The manager gets the most out of each member of the crew. They are always concerned with the training and improvement of every staff member, so that the shop is always improving and growing. They understand the time deadlines that everyone is facing. They always have a hand in making sure that the right person is assigned the right job. It doesn’t help anyone to give the wrong job to the wrong person. Everyone pays a penalty. Why would you want to set someone up to fail? It doesn’t help the staff member, or the shop and especially not the customer.

This the hardest job in the shop and most owners have a hard time growing the manager into this role. I know that you can do it better than anyone else. I get it. If you want the time off then you must put the quality time into the person that will replace you. This is the hardest thing to teach and to learn. This manager is constantly checking on the crew. Did you get the parts you needed? Have we gotten the approval for the repairs? Is there anything that you are having a problem with? If any of the above things are going on, then we take a step back and evaluate where we are. Do we need to call the customer and get more time? Do we have an issue where we must sell more time? These things are an ongoing process that the production manager must deal with. So you don’t have to!

To some of you, this must sound like an impossible task. How can I find one person who can do all three things at one time? Especially, to do them the way I want them done. I will be honest. It can be hard. It takes time and patience. It takes commitment and an investment in the individual to help them reach the next level. It doesn’t always work out, but every attempt makes you better prepared for the next one. Life isn’t easy and running your own business is even harder. You need to face up to the fact that you have to grow others in order to be successful. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.

ARE YOU READY?

If you would like a checklist to help evaluate your shop to see if you are ready to reach that next level, you can go to www.ationlinetraining.com/2017-12 for a limited time.