Body Shop Guru

We’ve made some changes…

centercitycollision — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:46:03 +0000

Check out our website… we’ve added some videos and lots of new content with more on the way…

Center City Collision: Expert auto body and collision repair | Cincinnati, OH

Choosing an SEO company

centercitycollision — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:03:59 +0000

Any ideas on how to choose an SEO company? I’m getting bids from some various companies but they are wildly different. Not sure how to compare apples to apple in this mysterious (to me) world of site optmization.

Help!

Is it possible to promote your business without selling your soul?

centercitycollision — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:46:48 +0000

Sometimes selling can feel like selling out and marketing like shameless self-promotion. Here’s 4 guidelines for doing it right with integrity.

1. Be honest. We’ve heard the addage “Under-promise and over-deliver.” Sometimes its easier in the short run to do the opposite especially when the customer REALLY, REALLY wants to hear that their car will be ready in 2 days when everyone in the industry knows it can’t possibly be done right in less than 4. Break their heart on the front end and you might have the chance to really impress them on delivery day if you’re on time or a little early.

2. Build relationships. There’s a great book with tons of practical ideas and the best one might just be in the title of the book: Never Eat Alone. If you focus on building relationships with insurance agents, customers, adjusters, and mechanics you’ll have a steady stream of work year round even in this tough economy. Now, by “relationships” I don’t mean trying to be best buddies (No Bro-mances, please). I also don’t mean faking a relationship so you can use them later (you ain’t a pimp… and if you are, please get out of our industry). What I mean is a mutually beneficial business connection. I once the owner of a local dealership if there was anything I could do for him since he was sending us so much work. He said “Just keep fixing cars right and make sure my referrals don’t have to call me complaining you did them wrong.” Easy enough. He wanted a shop he could trust for his customers. I wanted his referrals. Good arrangement.

3. Create value. One rule you understand as an entrepreneur is that if you expect something from someone you have to offer them something of value first. There’s no entitlement here! No free lunch! Business Networking International has built an entire organization on the simple premise of “giver’s gain.” If you want to GET business then you have to GIVE referrals and help other’s businesses succeed. It’s an ancient concept: “It’s more blessed to give than receive” The more you give, the more you get.

4. Speak up. I once told my business coach that I didn’t want to promote my business among my friends from church. He asked me, “Do you offer something of value to them and are you honest with your customers and genuinely seek to help them?” “Well, yes, of course” “Then why wouldn’t you want them to come to your shop instead of somebody else’s who might just take advantage of them?” What I learned: Don’t be falsely humble. That’s just another form of dishonesty. You might have friends that are wasting their money and time with another shop that will not be as kind, honest and fair as you. (By the way, if you’re not kind, honest and fair please refer your customers to me. They deserve better)

Here’s to keeping your soul in tact while promoting your business!

Kevin

Who gets to them before you do?

centercitycollision — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:06:31 +0000

At a recent Business Networking International (BNI) training I was a part of the trainer asked us “Who has contact with your customers before you do?” A great question. This question uncovers a critical leverage point for your business. If you can answer this question you’ll discover who holds the keys to the success of your business. Let me cut to the chase and give you some very concrete examples from within our industry: insurance agents, dealerships, & mechanics. There are certainly others (feel free to list them in the comments section; I’d love to hear your opinion) but these are the three that have generated the most work flow for my shop.

What are you doing to reach out to those who have contact with your customers before you do?

(by the way, BNI is a amazing organization that I have greatly benefited from. I encourage you to check them out. At my first meeting I sat next to a guy (who happened to be a very influential insurance agent in my area) who said “We’ve been looking for a body shop we can refer to. Glad you’re here.” Yeah, I was glad to since I got 3 referrals in the first 2 weeks of attending my local BNI chapter. The revenue from those referrals was over $13,000.00. Membership costs just over $300 a year. The math is pretty obvious.)

I wish you success and a flood of referrals.

Kevin

life plan before business plan

centercitycollision — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:05:35 +0000

If you are a business owner one question that deserves almost constant consideration is, “Why did you go into business?” the answer to that question provides direction for nearly every decision in your business and protects you from getting sidetracked or distracted. A friend recently told me that their boss told them his goal was to take their company of 10 employees to 100 employees. My question was WHY? Was it growth for growths sake? Or was it going to help this owner fulfill his dream of having a company that would free up time and money for things that really mattered.

So why did you decide to become an owner (or independent contractor) in the first place? What did you hope was in it for you?

May your business and more importantly your very life flourish.

Sales vs. marketing

centercitycollision — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:07:31 +0000

I recently heard a simple way to understand the distinction between sales and marketing. Marketing is what you do to get the phone ringing (i.e. let people know you exist and how to access your goods/services). Sales is what you do once people call (get them to utilize your good or service).

Marketing involves things like advertising and positioning your good/service in the minds of your preferred customers. Yellow page ads, websites, banners, business cards, etc The most important thing you do for your marketing is to define your unique selling proposition which answers the question, “What makes you so special?” It’s finding what differentiates us from our competition and announcing that in every way possible.

So what do you do to get the phone ringing?
What do you do once it does?
(seriously, I’d be curious to know)

Big or great?

centercitycollision — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:56:41 +0000

Small business is hard. Sometimes its easy for small business owners (i.e. me) to get a complex and start to despair when larger shops get a lot of press and have huge advertising budgets to keep their names constantly before consumers. However….

Is there something that small businesses offer that larger ones can’t? More uniquely tailored ustomer service, a more personal touch, and confidence that you are not a number come to mind.

Small does not mean inferior. Check out this book: Small Giants.

Here’s to being small but great!

Added a new category

centercitycollision — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 22:00:45 +0000

Making your small business work for you (and the not the other way around). Just taking it out for a spin before I start tagging my posts with this one….

V-Dub in the house…

centercitycollision — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 17:06:28 +0000

Among my favorite commercials and since we work on many, many VW’s it’s a favorite around here.

A fresh start…

centercitycollision — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:42:08 +0000

It snowed today… or as we like to say in the body shop business “There’s money falling from the sky.” I know. It’s a little sick to get excited about people having accidents… and we certainly don’t want ANYONE to get injured but tis the season for body shops to flourish. This time of year typically feels like a fresh start in many ways. It’s time to catch up on any overdue bills (hopefully there aren’t many if any at all) close out the year and get a fresh run at the next one…

Snow makes me think of fresh starts though… its not just the change over to a new year either. There’s something about that first good blanket of pure white that resets everything. Everything seems simpler and memories of simpler times start to flood in. Memories like building half baked igloos and huge snowmen towering 7+ feet. Whatever happened to those kinds of snows? It’s been a while since a blizzard…. for now I’ll be thankful for the snow we just got and grateful for what could be a fresh start. Let it snow, let it snow!