What would a Professional Service Advisor do?
Professional Service Advisors are prepared for the day ahead of them and don’t get caught in the “why bother because everyday is the same” rut.
Now, why is this so important? I mean, c’mon, isn’t every day just the same?
Open the door, reset the alarm, start the coffee, turn on the computers, check for night drops, check your email, flip through the stack of carry-overs, etc, etc, etc.
Sounds like the “same ol’, same ol’” to me. No change required. No need to do anything different. You can live your life like a sheeple. Lots of companies need sheeples.
If that is the kind of career and the kind of earnings you want, then go for it. It is easy to be easy. You can let your whole life creep along this way, no problem.
What you have to realize is that it is not the daily routine that gets you; it’s the thinking behind the daily routine. If the day before you looks like and feels just like yesterday, then it must be the same.
And that’s when the rut gets you. Ruts do not grab you suddenly from behind like a mugger on a city street. It is not a full front assault. Because if getting into a rut was like that, we would all take precautions and avoid it.
No, getting into a rut or “stinkin’ thinkin’” is more like being smothered by a soft layer of blankets, one blanket at a time. When you get that first blanket, it’s all warm and cozy (just like your daily routine) and it feels good. Who wouldn’t feel secure in a snugly little blanket?
Then the next blanket gets piled on and you feel even more warm and cozy, just like Grandmas house at night in the winter after a cup of hot chocolate. Doesn’t that sound nice?
And every day another soft blanket gets piled on and before you know it, you are being crushed by a pile of blankets a thousand feet tall. You can’t breathe, you can’t move, in fact, you can’t even get out from under that pile of blankets. It’s so freaking heavy it squeezes the life out of you like hot cheeze wiz. Gruesomely gooey.
Blankets don’t seem so warm and cozy now, do they? Ruts are like that. Softly smothering you while wrapping you up with a false sense of security. And nothing rips through that blanket like a bucket of cold water than the Dealership getting sold, or the manager getting fired. Where is your blanket now Linus?
Earl Nightingale said “A rut is nothing more than a grave with the ends kicked out.”
We all want our days to have some routine and normalcy. It is what makes the world go around. What we don’t want to do is assume that everyday will be the same as the last one and start assuming that our Professional life and career growth stops merely because we have figured out a way to stay “warm and cozy.”
Professional Service Advisors get prepared for their day and their careers because they know that every Customer is different and it is better to be prepared to Take Action that to have Action Taken. And they take that into their Professional life as well. They don’t stand around and wait for the manager to say “Hey, have you completed training this year?” They are constantly taking the time to become better at their profession and better prepared than their competition.
Here is another way to think about it. If this does not describe you, then it’s the Advisor standing next to you getting prepared. Your immediate competition.
Here are 10 ways you can get ready for your day, your career and your Professional life. Get out of your rut.
1.Read more. Read anything that contributes to your abilities, your skill sets and education. You own those 3 free and clear. Making them better pays dividends to you 10 times what you put into it.
2.Practice your skill sets frequently. Role play, write a new greeting, new script, anything that will stimulate your mind and get you thinking about how you can do something better or different for your Customer. This will lead to a sense of satisfaction and just as important, more income.
3.Start a focus group in your workplace with other Advisors. You don’t need permission from anyone, JUST DO IT! Believe it or not, there are other Advisors in your store that have issues just like you. Waiting for someone to help is not going to get it done. Pick a subject that needs attention in your Service Drive, get the other Advisors together and get started on taking care of it.
4.Mentor someone at work. Teaching them the right way to do things will keep you on the right track, stimulate new thinking and may, just maybe, lead you to a new way of doing business.
5.Join a Professional Organization or Association. This will let you connect with others in the car biz while allowing you to gain knowledge and skills. Google it.
6.Join Toastmasters. If you are a true Service Professional and have not taken advantage of learning how to speak on your feet (for nearly nothing by the way) how Professional can you be?
7.Take a class. Writing, Speaking, Computer etc… Get new knowledge!
8.Teach a class at work. Teaching and Mentoring is the new “old school.” Skills and knowledge are being lost in the workplace faster than can be replaced. Someone has to lead the way, why not you?
9.Write down what you have to do the next day before you leave that day, go through all of your carry-overs, go through all of your appointments and make notes so you are prepared to talk to your Customer, check with Parts and make sure the VOR Parts got ordered (can you see where this is going?) etc.
10.GET HUNGRY! GET PASSIONATE! People love doing business with people who are HUNGRY and PASSIONATE about what they do. ( I use Caps to show you how PASSIONATE I am about the Service Business) There is absolutely no better experience than dealing with a Professional who wants to do a better job because they are HUNGRY and PASSIONATE about their Profession.
Preparing for the day ahead is not just about the very next day. It’s about being ready for every day, about changing your life and getting out of it what you want.
Professionals get prepared.
“Missed it by that much”
There is an old saying carpenters use. “Measure twice, cut once.”
I recently went to a Dealer to present DealerPro and our Performance Driven Training Program and guess what…I measured once and missed the cut.
I didn’t miss by much. About a 1/16th of and inch or so. When you really think about it, on a small scale, 1/16th is not that much at all. It really does not seem that big a deal.
But miss by 1/16th of an inch when you are calculating something like the square footage of your home and taxes are involved and suddenly you remember things like high school algebra and can quote complex mathematical theories.
The point I am making is everyday we all say things to ourselves like “Oh, it’s ok if I don’t give that Customer a menu because I know that they don’t buy anything” or “I’m not going to worry about that multipoint inspection. They were in just a few months ago” and we give ourselves a pass.
Why?
It’s just a little bit and it won’t make a difference. Right?
I flew 200o miles to present our program to a Dealer that was not prepared to see me because I failed to follow my own process. I got busy with other things and did not “measure twice, cut once.” Can you guess the end result?
It’s never the big disaster that kills a deal. Big disasters almost always start with small decisions that don’t really seem that important when you are making them.
Deciding not to personally call this Dealer and get him on the phone even after we had talked a couple of times, did not seem that big a deal. I mean, everybody reads their email…right? And everybody can read and follow directions…can’t they?
It was only a little shortcut. And it caused a huge miss.
Are your Service Advisors taking those little “shortcuts” because in their minds “it’s just a little thing” and nobody will notice? Are you allowing your Service Team to circumvent, use “choice implementation” or refuse to follow processes that are in place? Are they “missing the cut?”
Take the time NOW to review everything you are doing that is working and everything that is not working and find out why.
Grandma dropped her car off and did not get a multipoint inspection? Why?
Mr. Jones came in for a recall and was not offered a menu? Why?
Billybob the local twice a month customer came in and was not greeted properly? Why?
Silly Sally the Service Advisor did not complete and walk around on her 10 writeups today? Why?
Ms. Coffeecellphone came in and was completely taken care of and even wrote a letter to the owner about her recent service experience. Why?
It’s not just about what is not being done. It also about what is being done correctly.
Find out what is being done correctly… train, show,coach, review, train, show, coach, review, lather, rinse, repeat daily for maximum results.
Do this enough and missing by just a 1/16th becomes a footnote in your Success Story.
Me, I’m back to measuring twice. I hate missing the cut. Don’t you?
I recently went to a Dealer to present DealerPro and our Performance Driven Training Program and guess what…I measured once and missed the cut.
I didn’t miss by much. About a 1/16th of and inch or so. When you really think about it, on a small scale, 1/16th is not that much at all. It really does not seem that big a deal.
But miss by 1/16th of an inch when you are calculating something like the square footage of your home and taxes are involved and suddenly you remember things like high school algebra and can quote complex mathematical theories.
The point I am making is everyday we all say things to ourselves like “Oh, it’s ok if I don’t give that Customer a menu because I know that they don’t buy anything” or “I’m not going to worry about that multipoint inspection. They were in just a few months ago” and we give ourselves a pass.
Why?
It’s just a little bit and it won’t make a difference. Right?
I flew 200o miles to present our program to a Dealer that was not prepared to see me because I failed to follow my own process. I got busy with other things and did not “measure twice, cut once.” Can you guess the end result?
It’s never the big disaster that kills a deal. Big disasters almost always start with small decisions that don’t really seem that important when you are making them.
Deciding not to personally call this Dealer and get him on the phone even after we had talked a couple of times, did not seem that big a deal. I mean, everybody reads their email…right? And everybody can read and follow directions…can’t they?
It was only a little shortcut. And it caused a huge miss.
Are your Service Advisors taking those little “shortcuts” because in their minds “it’s just a little thing” and nobody will notice? Are you allowing your Service Team to circumvent, use “choice implementation” or refuse to follow processes that are in place? Are they “missing the cut?”
Take the time NOW to review everything you are doing that is working and everything that is not working and find out why.
Grandma dropped her car off and did not get a multipoint inspection? Why?
Mr. Jones came in for a recall and was not offered a menu? Why?
Billybob the local twice a month customer came in and was not greeted properly? Why?
Silly Sally the Service Advisor did not complete and walk around on her 10 writeups today? Why?
Ms. Coffeecellphone came in and was completely taken care of and even wrote a letter to the owner about her recent service experience. Why?
It’s not just about what is not being done. It also about what is being done correctly.
Find out what is being done correctly… train, show,coach, review, train, show, coach, review, lather, rinse, repeat daily for maximum results.
Do this enough and missing by just a 1/16th becomes a footnote in your Success Story.
Me, I’m back to measuring twice. I hate missing the cut. Don’t you?
“An Enemy Called Average”
The title of this article comes from the book “An Enemy Called Average” by John Mason. The purpose of his book is to get you from where you are currently to where you dream to be. Mr. Mason says “Break the chains of mediocrity and then live the life you dream of.” This of course can apply in your personal life as well as your professional one.
Far too often in our industry we have Dealers, General Managers, Service Directors, etc. who focus on and measure themselves in terms of the “average” dealer. Here are some examples:
“The average dealer is grossing $700 PRU in F&I income”
“The average salesperson sells 11 units per month”
“The average Service Advisor sells 1.4 HPRO”
“The average CSI for my region is…..”
“The average …….for my 20 Group is ………”
Does this sound familiar to you?
Additionally your manufacturers also provide composites and reports showing the average this and the average that so you can compare yourself to what’s average.
Here‘s a simple exercise for you complete after reading my article. When you get up tomorrow morning ask your family to sit at the kitchen table for a brief family meeting before you go off to work and before the kids are off to school.
Stand up in front of your family and say the following: “It looks like it’s going to be an average day here in Hometown, U.S.A., and your average Dad and your average husband is going to his average job to put forth an average effort to maintain my average paycheck so I can support my average kids and my lovely average wife.
By the way kids, at school I want you to focus on getting average grades and you don’t really need to put forth the effort to be a great student so a “C” will be just fine.”
Does that work for you? How’s that average wife comment going to work out for you? Are you excited about holding that meeting?
If you are a manager how about you ask to meet with the Dealer and say the following: “Boss I just wanted to let you know that I think you are an average Dealer, so I’m going to give you an average effort today so I can produce for you some average results and manage my average department.” I bet nobody is taking notes on this one!
Let’s not forget what average really is. It is nothing more than a reference point.
Average means you are the “Worst of the Best or the Best of the Worst!”
Is that where you really want to be? I hope you answered NO WAY!
Well if that is true then why is it that when I speak to hundreds of dealers across our country I hear comments like “Well Don the average HPRO for my 20 Group is 1.4 and I’m averaging 1.5 so I’m doing a pretty good job.” No Sir-you are still hanging around with that “Best of the Worst crowd! Why do so many of you use the word average like it is a good place to be? Do you really want to be a straight “C” Dealer? Does the term mediocre Dealer appeal to you? I think not.
So how do you go from being average to becoming a Top Performer?
It all starts with one word-Commitment.
Are you committed to change? Are you committed to leaving your comfort zone? Are you committed to achieving different results? Think of it this way—when it comes to making “Bacon & Eggs” the chicken was a participant but the pig was totally committed.
If you, the Dealer, are not totally committed then nothing is going to happen differently. As Zig Ziglar says “You have the perfect processes in place to get you exactly what you got last year.” Get committed to change.
Next you must establish SMART goals. Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Time based.
Here is an example: “I want to increase my retail HPRO by .5 over the next 6 months”
Specific: Yes it is—retail Ro’s only—increase .5 HPRO (Don’t forget to calculate how much specific gross profit you will produce on parts as well as labor with that extra .5 HPRO)
Measurable: Yes it is—your DMS can print a Service Advisor Performance Report DAILY showing the HPRO for each Advisor
Achievable: Not sure—what are my Advisors going to do differently to achieve different results? If they could sell the extra .5 HPRO why haven’t they already done so? Do they have a good menu to sell from? Do they have the proper communication skills and processes to make a feature benefit presentation to your customers? Are they willing to leave their comfort zones? Are they committed to change? (Chickens or Pigs?)
Realistic: Yes it is—since the average dealer is averaging 1.4 that means a lot of dealers are doing much better than 1.4 and since there is a multitude of dealers out there averaging 2.0 to 2.5 HPRO then another .5 is very realistic.
Time Based: Yes it is—you have 6 months to decide what you are going to do differently, what new processes will you implement, how will you train everyone on new skills that will increase their sales performance and provide the customer with a higher level of service?
Once you achieve your SMART goal then move on to the next one. Long term success is a journey not just a destination. That first SMART goal is just the first leg of your journey. Do not allow yourself to become complacent because you will gravitate back toward mediocrity.
John Mason in his book ”An Enemy Called Average” states: “Mediocrity is a region bound on the north by compromise, on the south by indecision, on the east by past thinking and on the west by a lack of vision.”
Every department in your dealership must be a profit center for the dealer who wants to thrive and not just survive in this very competitive industry of ours. The aftermarket service providers currently have over 80% of all the parts and service business in America. Don’t you think it’s time we started taking it back?
Don Reed-CEO
DealerPro Training Solutions
Far too often in our industry we have Dealers, General Managers, Service Directors, etc. who focus on and measure themselves in terms of the “average” dealer. Here are some examples:
“The average dealer is grossing $700 PRU in F&I income”
“The average salesperson sells 11 units per month”
“The average Service Advisor sells 1.4 HPRO”
“The average CSI for my region is…..”
“The average …….for my 20 Group is ………”
Does this sound familiar to you?
Additionally your manufacturers also provide composites and reports showing the average this and the average that so you can compare yourself to what’s average.
Here‘s a simple exercise for you complete after reading my article. When you get up tomorrow morning ask your family to sit at the kitchen table for a brief family meeting before you go off to work and before the kids are off to school.
Stand up in front of your family and say the following: “It looks like it’s going to be an average day here in Hometown, U.S.A., and your average Dad and your average husband is going to his average job to put forth an average effort to maintain my average paycheck so I can support my average kids and my lovely average wife.
By the way kids, at school I want you to focus on getting average grades and you don’t really need to put forth the effort to be a great student so a “C” will be just fine.”
Does that work for you? How’s that average wife comment going to work out for you? Are you excited about holding that meeting?
If you are a manager how about you ask to meet with the Dealer and say the following: “Boss I just wanted to let you know that I think you are an average Dealer, so I’m going to give you an average effort today so I can produce for you some average results and manage my average department.” I bet nobody is taking notes on this one!
Let’s not forget what average really is. It is nothing more than a reference point.
Average means you are the “Worst of the Best or the Best of the Worst!”
Is that where you really want to be? I hope you answered NO WAY!
Well if that is true then why is it that when I speak to hundreds of dealers across our country I hear comments like “Well Don the average HPRO for my 20 Group is 1.4 and I’m averaging 1.5 so I’m doing a pretty good job.” No Sir-you are still hanging around with that “Best of the Worst crowd! Why do so many of you use the word average like it is a good place to be? Do you really want to be a straight “C” Dealer? Does the term mediocre Dealer appeal to you? I think not.
So how do you go from being average to becoming a Top Performer?
It all starts with one word-Commitment.
Are you committed to change? Are you committed to leaving your comfort zone? Are you committed to achieving different results? Think of it this way—when it comes to making “Bacon & Eggs” the chicken was a participant but the pig was totally committed.
If you, the Dealer, are not totally committed then nothing is going to happen differently. As Zig Ziglar says “You have the perfect processes in place to get you exactly what you got last year.” Get committed to change.
Next you must establish SMART goals. Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Time based.
Here is an example: “I want to increase my retail HPRO by .5 over the next 6 months”
Specific: Yes it is—retail Ro’s only—increase .5 HPRO (Don’t forget to calculate how much specific gross profit you will produce on parts as well as labor with that extra .5 HPRO)
Measurable: Yes it is—your DMS can print a Service Advisor Performance Report DAILY showing the HPRO for each Advisor
Achievable: Not sure—what are my Advisors going to do differently to achieve different results? If they could sell the extra .5 HPRO why haven’t they already done so? Do they have a good menu to sell from? Do they have the proper communication skills and processes to make a feature benefit presentation to your customers? Are they willing to leave their comfort zones? Are they committed to change? (Chickens or Pigs?)
Realistic: Yes it is—since the average dealer is averaging 1.4 that means a lot of dealers are doing much better than 1.4 and since there is a multitude of dealers out there averaging 2.0 to 2.5 HPRO then another .5 is very realistic.
Time Based: Yes it is—you have 6 months to decide what you are going to do differently, what new processes will you implement, how will you train everyone on new skills that will increase their sales performance and provide the customer with a higher level of service?
Once you achieve your SMART goal then move on to the next one. Long term success is a journey not just a destination. That first SMART goal is just the first leg of your journey. Do not allow yourself to become complacent because you will gravitate back toward mediocrity.
John Mason in his book ”An Enemy Called Average” states: “Mediocrity is a region bound on the north by compromise, on the south by indecision, on the east by past thinking and on the west by a lack of vision.”
Every department in your dealership must be a profit center for the dealer who wants to thrive and not just survive in this very competitive industry of ours. The aftermarket service providers currently have over 80% of all the parts and service business in America. Don’t you think it’s time we started taking it back?
Don Reed-CEO
DealerPro Training Solutions
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