The commercial landscape today is vastly different than what it was just 10 years ago.
Customers who buy a product or service are expecting so much more than just that. A report from SEKO Logistics says that more and more, customers are looking for “wholesome and efficient” experiences when they shop.
“Customers subconsciously expect a personal touch in the customer journey through tailored recommendations and curated product selections,” the report says.
The collision repair industry is no different. At a time when the market is super competitive and finding dollars is harder than ever, Premier Truck Group Director John Spoto says it’s essential to branch out and think creatively to bring more business into your shop.
"It's not easy. If the customer isn't bringing the vehicle to you, how do you entice them to do that?" Spoto says. “We're always trying to provide a quality and safe repair, but beyond that, we’re trying to do everything in our power to take care of our customer and add additional revenue."
When trying to expand your services beyond the typical collision shop offerings, Spoto says it’s critical to think outside the box.
As told to Noah Brown
In terms of what other services you have to offer to bump up revenue, the key is to treat customers the way you'd want to be treated. We can't oversell our services, but we can't undersell either. The customers need to know they’re getting a good value.
In the facilities I manage, we use the philosophy that Sears came up with years ago: good, better, best. What they did is they took three products and let the customer pick what they wanted. They're all good quality, but if you spend a little more money, you're going to get an even better product. What we really have to say to the customer is that the choice is theirs.
For our shop, that means we write them three estimates. The customers like that. They feel like we're being honest. Transparency is key. If I've offered them three estimates, they know we're not trying to take advantage of them.
Beyond your standard interactions with customers, look at more industrial vehicles like the Ford F-450 through F-650, the Ram 5500, transit vans. Those are really an untapped area for the collision industry. That's the type of vehicle that doesn't fall under the umbrella of a car collision shop, but at the same time they're not quite to the same level as larger trucks. Where are those midrange vehicles getting repaired?
Start asking questions and try to find those gaps. What are those mid-class vehicle ranges that your shop can go after, and where are they in your area? It can be a construction fleet. Keep an eye out when you're driving around town -- you'd be surprised at the number of fleets you'll see.
We had a backhoe come in once that one of our shops worked on. It had been on the side of a cliff, digging away, and it broke loose and rolled. Now this thing is twisted and completely shot. But here's the cool part -- our frame guy had done work for this construction company, so they reached out to him and asked him if our team would be able to take a look, so we did, and it was repairable. What I'm getting at is, you've got to think outside the box. If it has wheels and is used for transportation, there's opportunity for repair.
Get out of your shop and drive the streets. Where are the industrial parks? Where are your town's emergency services? Go into those areas and talk to people. You've got to, because those folks are thinking about it, too. We just got two fire trucks in that need to be painted. Where are those firefighters going to take those trucks for that? Not a lot of places have the ability to do that job. Those trucks provided 265 hours of refinish time. The county gave us the money and said make it happen.
Those jobs didn’t just fall in our laps. We went door-to-door at local firehouses and asked if they were planning on having their trucks touched up at all, and guess what? It brought in business for us. Sometimes we forget about those emergency vehicles.
There's enough business for everyone; it just comes down now to who's the individual who's the best storyteller? Who's going to connect with the customer? Get out there and win work for your shop.
Now, at the same time, each stall in your shop has to produce a certain amount of revenue for you to be profitable. If I tie up three bays for three to four months for a project, that's not good. What you have to do is go back to your finances. How many sold hours do you need per month to keep yourself in business?
Here's a simple example: If I need $100,000 in gross income for a month to keep my shop afloat, and I've sold 1,000 hours of work, I need to make $100 per hour to meet that $100,000 requirement. You need to have a good idea of the amount of work you need and the work your shop is capable of doing.
When you go door to door, you have to remember that, to start, you should work with municipal agencies and other groups as fill work. Start small and build it up.
