A prospective repair customer takes your estimate, smiles and says they need to talk to their Insurance company...they'll get back to you. Normally, If you're the shop owner you do everything you can to sell the job, even if all the staff members don't feel as passionate and take the attitude of "There are more customers out there..."

In today's market place it really hurts to lose those opportunities and as the owner you owe it to yourself to invest in more than the latest shop equipment. Invest time into how your shop is perceived by a complete stranger and a repeat customer. Think like the customer in-terms of what might impress them that they can understand. It's not always where one has to invest a lot of money to make that great first impression, but you do have to invest the time. A fair question to ask yourself; "What makes us different than the shop down the street?"

As the Managing Principle Owner of Web-Est, I make sure we ask ourselves this all the time. We hold regular meetings and it's always one of the sessions everyone must participate in. We know we must continue to invest in the improvement of our product, just like most of our customers do with new equipment, the latest repair techniques and so on. But we find ourselves pushing the question of how does Web-Est improve the experience of doing business with us. As such I am constantly keeping an eye open for new ideas.

Recently I came across a relatively inexpensive product that has shown impressive results for body shop's closing new jobs and keeping customers. The tool makes it easy for the shop to send out a short video update on the status of the customers repair. The tool is an online application that appears very easy to use and the tool does the work to send it out to the customer's phone, making it easy for the most non-technical person to use it.

However, the most impressive part to me is how putting up a professional sign in the lobby has prospects in many cases "signing up" for the service before the estimator even gets back from finishing writing the estimate! Meaning, the prospect likes the idea of getting short video updates so much they are often sold before they see the estimate. Clearly this must assume the customer has the ability to pay for the repair, but the numbers have been impressive on first time visitors.

Another example of how taking a little time to create these video updates is impacting sales, the customers are showing their updates to friends saying... "Want to see something neat...this is the status of my car right to my phone." The net results are new repeat customers and a walking bill board promoting your shop to their friends! The product I saw is called vStatus and is an email type tool, meaning there are others out there but this one is custom to body shops. Cost is somewhere around $100 month.

Like I said, you don't have to spend a lot of money, but you do have to keep looking for things on how to make your shop stand-out from the others and make sure that it is in a way the customer can understand. Customers want it to be something different for them and are not always impressed with the shop's years of service or the investment into their tools (even though they should). Think like they think and your efforts will not go unnoticed.

Ask yourself..."What makes our shop different than the shop down the street?"

If you work in the automotive industry, you may have at one time asked yourself how to start an auto repair business. As an experienced and skilled technician, the prospects of owning your own company may provide a level of satisfaction that cannot be found working for others. Starting an auto repair business is a major commitment that requires careful planning and preparation. Before taking any action, create a list of the logistics for the idea in an effort to begin finding resources. As a business owner and manager, you will need to be able to resolve problems quickly.

The process of how to start an auto repair business is straight forward. There are a number of resources available that offer training and support on how to create a business plan and find potential financing. Enrolling in a course to learn the details on starting an auto repair business will provide the needed information required to get the organization up and running. For the unprepared, the difficulty comes after the firm has already been formed. New business managers find themselves caught by surprised when an unexpected situation occurs. This is why it is helpful to consider various scenarios and develop appropriate responses before they occur.

It is unlikely that a new business owner will fathom everything that could possibly happen when starting an auto repair business. Consult with others who own small companies to gain their unique perspectives on what they wish they knew before they began their operation. A robust response plan will lessen the likelihood of an unexpected occurrence to greatly harm the new business. Taking this approach when embarking on the endeavor on how to start an auto repair business will make you a more effective manager. Having appropriate resources to help respond to crises will allow a new firm to thrive.

For a small business owner and manager, all of the responsibilities will fall on your shoulder. If a company is struggling, your personal finances will be affected. In order to build a vigorous and comprehensive business plan on how to start an auto repair business, allow experienced business owners to review the documentation. They can provide feedback that you may not have considered. These additional opinions on starting an auto repair business will get you off to a strong start. Your motivation and professionalism will then allow you successfully keep the company operating smoothly.

The uses of an auto repair shop business plan are as varied as the operation itself. These forms can be used to document ways to obtain funding, establishment of standards within the organization, provide training guidelines for employees and detail a vision for the future. While many potential business owners focus on only the beginning stages of forming a new enterprise, a robust plan will include aspects of all areas included within the company. Considering these various aspects before undertaking a new objective can help gain greater understanding in the need of the business and how to resolve potential conflicts.

The traditional auto repair shop business plan details the need for the operation to begin. It communicates the necessity for this endeavor to be undertaken for potential investors. Lending institutions need to understand why this problem exists and how you intend on resolving the problem. Investors are interested in learning more about the people involved and what qualifications they will be bringing to the table. Details of how the operations will be conducted and the procedures put into place to meet project deadlines need to be examined. This will help convince these financial backers that their money will earn a valuable return.

Forming a new business requires that employees become familiar with how procedures should be followed. If the workers have an understanding of the auto repair shop business plan, they can integrate this into their daily work habits. The objectives stated in this document can be used to establish appropriate procedures that need to be followed. It can also be used as the basic outline for any training materials that need to be created. Following this approach will allow a consistency in the materials that cannot be achieved in other ways. Using a standardized format makes it easier for employees to gain a good grasp on the underlying mission of the organization.

All organizations need to change their scope and processes over time. The auto repair shop business plan is meant to create a starting point to create a solution to a found problem. While this document is important to the long term well-being of the firm, it will undergo changes as the organization discovers improved processes and becomes more knowledgeable about the operation. An informative business plan can help a manager create a robust initiative that will focus on continually working toward improvement of the quality and vision of the firm.

An effective auto repair service business plan will offer distinction that stands out from normal proposals. While the content should cover the necessary details, finding a method to present the idea in a unique way can sway potential investors to seriously consider the proposition. One way to craft an effective document to help form a new organization is to concentrate on special services that will be offered. For a small business to truly succeed in the marketplace, it is important to find a way to offer a new level of service. This can help attract customers and provide a new type of value for their needs.

Solving a problem to a unique situation can pique the interest of people looking for new ways of accomplishing everyday tasks. With a large number of new companies being formed on a daily basis, it can be difficult to stand out from these competitors. An auto repair service business plan that addresses a specific problem and details a robust solution is more likely to garner the attention of people looking to delve into a new business proposition. Incorporating this new approach toward service within the business plan will help investors gain a better understanding of the objectives of the organization.

A thorough understanding of the current nature of the marketplace for the industry is essential in developing a solid auto repair service business plan. Familiarity with the services currently being offered in the marketplace will reveal potential shortcomings. Addressing these problems and providing a viable solution will help a small organization succeed. This idea can change the nature of the business resulting in more efficient operations. Finding a method that has more value for investors will encourage them to back the organization. This can be the core of the proposal that helps launch the business idea.

When considering the formation of a firm that fulfills a unique need, make sure that the market has been fully researched. Any additional information that can be used to state the case for the new enterprise will help convince people that may have doubts. Drafting a creative auto repair service business plan can take these concerns into account and provide effective solutions. With the appropriate financial backing, the original plan can mark the start of a successful endeavor. While the unique service will be the core of the business, this can allow the new firm to offer similar services to existing organizations that allow the business to grow into a solid company

Expansion of a small business into a larger operation or maintaining locations in various cities is one way for a firm to realize more profits. The creation of an auto business center can provide many benefits to consumers while helping to grow a business. A manager should carefully review all of the specifics that are entailed in creating auto repair franchise operations. Not only can this assist the owners in earning more wealth, but it allows other people to gain good paying employment opportunities without the stress of owning their own businesses. With a carefully constructed plan toward growth, a small business can become an established organization.

Many of the small businesses that work with vehicles are finding success in expanding their efforts. Rather than just focusing on the maintenance of automobiles, the owners are combining these services with other needs that people desire. Creating a one stop auto business center is a viable approach toward expanding the function of a business. A smart business manager can continue to analyze the various components of the firm and make improvements that will offer more value to the consumer. With the right mixture of amenities in the business model, it presents the perfect time to offer auto repair franchise opportunities to others interested in making a business investment.

Managing an established company can result in the owner becoming complacent with the operation. Although the processes and technology involved with vehicles have changed throughout the years, many of the daily details remain the same. This can lead to dissatisfaction with the industry and responsibilities of the job. Expanding upon the mission of the company and converting to an auto business center can breathe new life into a stale operation. Taking on the added responsibility of overseeing auto repair franchise locations can present new challenges that allow a professional to grow within their career.

Increasing demands on the average individual require them to make better use of their available time. Work and family obligations prevent them from attending to other pressing matters such as car maintenance. The rise in auto business center locations is in direct response to these concerns. A smart business manager understands the benefits of making a transition from a small repair shop to a full-fledged service operation. A solid implementation of this idea can allow the owner to seek auto repair franchise possibilities to expand the business. This small change can lead to many future prospects for financial success.

Normally I tend to think there are three types of business people, those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder, "What the heck just happened?" Unfortunately, the same could be said about many small businesses. The problem with some small businesses is the failure to do three things on a consistent basis: plan, evaluate and make changes where the business is off course from the plan.

Planning:

Planning is not just writing a business plan when starting out (which is very important); it's a never ending task. At Web-Est we regularly review our plan and our forecasted revenues to compare how we are doing. We start off by pinpointing where we are off, then we start asking why. Planning can be formal; maybe talking to your accountant, lawyer or other business professionals but it can also be as simple as having conversations with customers & employees. Web-Est puts a ton of value in surveying our customers on a regular basis; the results often serve as a road map for our plan in the coming quarter or year. My favorite question to survey customers on is to ask if they would refer us to an associate or friend if that individual needed our service. There is no better and honest feedback as to how well your company is delivering for those paying the bills than that straight-forward question. Web-Est takes that information and adjusts our planned resources, sets goals to have improvements or services completed by a time specific date. If you don't plan to get better, it will never happen.

Evaluating:

"What gets measured gets done"...One of my favorite quotes from Peter Drucker; however, it is only a partial truth. First, don't get carried away. I have seen too many small businesses measure things that are not relevant. For Web-Est, its simple sales steps and customer service ratings we track the most. One helps us get new customers and one helps us keep customers. But remember, just because you measure something does not make it improve all the time. Web-Est is in the competitive market place licensing Collision Estimating Software. It's important to know how we are doing in service, our product and of course we always evaluate our revenue results to our forecasts and pin-point where we are not on track. Web-Est looks at the results where we have excelled and asks ourselves what we are doing in that area of our plan that we are not doing in an area that is deficient.

Making Changes:

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. This statement is especially true in small businesses. Once a business owner has identified that their company is not meeting its plan, it's time to focus on those areas; look at the people your industry that are having success and reach out to them. In many cases, owners of similar businesses are more than willing to share. Online industry blogs are a great place to come up with ideas on what changes you may want to try. Talking to non-industry business owners are a great source as well. I cannot begin to tell you how many things Web-Est has tested that were basic ideas from other industries. Here is something important to remember when implementing changes: have goals for those changes and a timeline you think is reasonable to give it a chance to work. Often after implementing a change in ones business the original idea normally has to be adjusted to fit and work. The bottom line...change is good.

After looking at the three steps to planning for success, it's easy to see how most over-lap and all fit together. Web-Est is in the Collision Auto Body Shop Business. We have some very hard working customers but don't make the mistake of just working "In" your business; remember to carve out time on a regular basis to what is going "On" your business.

If you run an auto body shop, you probably spend more money than you want to on a regular basis. This is not a cheap business to get into, especially when a downturn in the economy sends all of your customers away for awhile. Luckily, there are some things you can do to minimize the amount of money you spend each month so you can maximize your earnings. The simple auto body shop profit training tips below will give you an idea of what you can do with your auto body operations to make more money.

One of the first things you need to do is figure out how many staff members you need. Your staff is a vital part of your auto body operations, but having too many staff members around can cause nothing but trouble. You should assess your traffic flow logically and see how money people you actually need on staff on a regular basis. If you have too many working one day, send someone home.  Its a tougher part of doing business, but if you can't pay a man and stay afloat, tough decisions have to be made.   

Another part of your auto body shop profit training to look into is to reduce the amount of debt you have. Any excess money you make should be going towards paying off debts that you have in the shop. Once those are all paid, you can focus on getting new equipment to make your auto body operations run smoothly. Try to get money for parts upfront from your customers so you do not order them and then have them collecting dust until you get paid. You can lose a lot of money that way, especially if the person never needs the part.  

Learn to negotiate prices down for anything you need to buy in your shop. If you buy from one store in particular a lot, you should be able to work out better prices on parts and equipment because of the loyalty you have shown them in the past. Learning how to negotiate can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year in costs that would be better put towards improvements to your shop. Stay firm on whatever your offer is and let people know you are not backing down. Your shop will benefit from this in the end.

If you own an auto body shop, you may be discouraged by how steady it seems to be. While having a consistent flow of income is never a bad thing, most business owners want to see growth from year to year. If you have been stuck in a rut with your revenue stream this past year, there are some simple things you can do to potentially improve your business as a whole. Here are some tips for how you can increase profits in the near future.

Where are your customers coming from? If you want to make your show grow, you need to understand what got you the customers you have in the first place. Was it a marketing campaign you did? Was it simple word of mouth? Did people happen to drive by and come in because you looked like you could help out? What part of your business lured them in to begin with? When you understand where you got your current customers from, you may be able to figure out where you can get your new ones from as well. Once you figure out where they're coming from, invest some more cash flow into that source. Maybe repeat or refresh some of your old tactics and see what works for you.

What do your current customers have to say? You can also make your body shop grow by talking to your customers and seeing what could logically be improved about the shop. They are the ones that experience your auto body operations day in and day out. Thus they can make the best suggestions for what you may need help with. If you listen to their suggestions, you may make a more pleasant experience for customers in the future. Those customers could spread the word, and you would be seeing growth in no time. All you have to do is listen and respond to see a positive change.  Adding a "Customer Comment" card, or sending scheduled email publications to previous customers with customer feedback sections are some useful tools here.

What are some expenses you can tackle? You can also improve the growth of your auto body shop revenue by reducing the amount of debt you pay every month.  Evaluate your expense reports diligently to see what you can cut.  If you can keep your overhead below 40% and start making additional payments on any loans you have, you can have a cushion of savings ready for when you decide to expand the shop. Even one new machine could lead to a completely different set of clients who will all make you money in the end. Advertise any improvements to the site well and see where that takes you. The better you save and invest, the more money you can make in this industry.

Some shops can do the following, some can't, and thats understandable.  But it goes to show that a good presentation of your shop to your customers will make them feel more comfortable.  The following article is shared content from refinishnetwork.com, in which they talk about their own personal experience from changing the way their shop looks.  Take note:  $6,000 in renovations influenced a customer that brought in a $3,000 job.  Again, not everyone can afford that kind of re-work to their shop, but just keep in mind that you're selling your brand just as much as your services.  Attention to how that brand appears to customers could go a long way in positively affecting your shop's profit.

Good Shop Image = Impressed Customers

Our shop has recently become a memeber of a nation chain in an effort to grow our buisiness. At which point we were required to do a serious overhaul on the image of our building, our office in particular. After doing some work costing around $5000-6000 we were a little concerned over the money spent. Well it hasn't taken us long to see the differnce in the attitudes of our customers, aswell as our own. Having a professional looking office makes us feel better about the image we put off & the customers pick this up and seems to increase their confidence in us.

Yesterday we had one customer whom came to see us for an estimate & afterwards was directed to a preferred shop. After visiting the preferred shop he immediately took his car and brought it to us and stated the reason was that our shop seemed more professional. This was about a $3000 job that would have went elsewhere had we not had that image, a few moths ago it probably would have!

Anyhow, it seems to me the cost of these renovations will quickly go from minus to plus. It reinforces the saying image is everything....I am starting to beleive!

Oldsmar, Florida. In a recent survey of small to mid-size auto collision repair shops, auto body shop owners shared that they do not charge all of the industry accepted fees for their work. The survey was conducted by Web-Est, LLC, a provider of auto collision repair estimating software, from Dec 4th, 2009 to Dec 11th, 2009.

Results from the survey showed the majority of small to mid-size body shops were not consistently charging for acceptable labor related tasks as a direct result of not having their collision estimating software fully configured. The most common error was in not having their estimating software's "Pre-Set" charges turned on and/or not set-up properly. Pre-Set fees are various repair charges and can include items such as hazardous waste removal, car covering for over-spray and flex additives. Many other common labor charges and other common tasks or costs associated with most collision repair jobs should be considered by shops and added to the estimate as they generally reflect additional cost in repairing the vehicle.

"The survey results demonstrated the need for body shop owners to set aside more time to ensure their estimates include these real expenses" commented Eric Seidel, CEO/President of Web-Est, LLC. Seidel continued, "We know adding normal pre-set charges in their estimating software can add thousands of dollars in revenue to an auto body shop, when using collision repair estimating software. This can be done very quickly and generally means estimating software pays for itself and will make the shop owner a profit on their software investment."

The survey participants provided insight to items they add to their estimates, which can be seen below. The online survey was sent to over 1,000 auto collision repair shops; nearly 80% of the shops had identified themselves as having 3 or less employees.

Shops' Recommended Items to Set as Charges:

Color, Sand and Buff
Hazardous Waste Removal
Car Cover
AntiFreeze
Pin Striping
Front End Alignment
Mask Jambs
Clean & Re-tape emblems/mldgs
Seam Sealer
BAG FOR OVERSPRAY
Flex Additive
Corrosion Resistant Material
Chip Guardon
specials - promotions such as 'bumper day'
Protect undercoating
Tire Mount & Balance
Rack & Measure Frame
Towing
CLEAN VEHICLE FROM REPAIRS
Masking
Color Spray Out Card for Color Match
Used Part Clean-up
Broken Glass Clean-up
Wheel Alingment
refridgerent
Shop Materials
PDR Repairs
Let-Down Panel
Batteries
Adhesive Removal
Clips & Hardware
Prime & Block
Set Back Truck Bed