All This and More – for $300
What if someone came into your shop today and told you they would do all your marketing and promotion, would represent you and your products at numerous trade shows across the continent, would produce dozens of print and video news releases supporting your business, would monitor media coverage of your business in virtually every newspaper
Uptime, Downtime and Profitability
Uptime, Downtime and Profitability Since the primary focus of this month’s issue is profitability, and the subject matter of this column is commercial tires, let’s take a close look at some of the trends in the commercial vehicle industry and brainstorm a bit to see how these might positively impact your business.One of the most
Vehicle Service: Most Dealers Offer Service, But Opportunities Remain
Profit Handbook Vehicle Service: Most Dealers Offer Service, But Opportunities Remain Most tire dealers don’ consider themselves as vehicle service outlets, but most dealers derive a substantial portion of their revenue – and overall profits – from vehicle service sales. According to Tire Review’s 1999 Tire Dealer Profile Study, 81% of tire dealers do some
Get Some Wheel Salvation
Profit Handbook Get Some Wheel Salvation Picture this scenario: Sometime during the process of dismounting, servicing and mounting a tire, the customer’s expensive custom wheel gets seriously damaged. Or this scenario: The wheel comes in damaged, unbeknownst to the customer. Every tire dealer has lived at least one of these situations in the past. And
Marketing & Promotion: Creative Approaches Give You a Competitive Edge
Profit Handbook, Marketing & Promotion: Creative Approaches Give You a Competitive Edge Newspaper ads. Yellow Pages. Radio spots. Flyers. Direct mail. And if you can afford it, the occasional cable TV commercial. These are the basic marketing and promotion tools available to every tire dealer. All come with varying price tags, and all afford varying
Business Operations: Minding Your Business Can Be Simple Way to Profit
Profit Handbook Business Operations: Minding Your Business Can Be Simple Way to Profit Independent tire dealers are truly entrepreneurs. Some have the past experience or education necessary to navigate the travails of being an independent businessperson in today’s world. Others rely on pure guts, guile and plenty of hard work, accepting that they will make
Takin’ Care of Business
Profit Handbook Takin’ Care of Business There is an over-used, oft picked-on phrase that goes something like "TCB." Better known as "Takin’ Care of Business." It’s a business model for some, a laugh for others. While the phrase is trite, it is still accurate in describing tire dealers that handle commercial accounts – especially time-sensitive
Programs Offer Options
Profit Handbook Programs Offer Options There’s a quiet confidence about Dave Crawford. He can get animated, mind you, especially when it comes to discussing "the program." When you ask him why a tire dealer wouldn’t want to join American Car Care Centers (ACCC), the group’s marketing director answers bluntly, "I don’t think they understand the
Custom Wheels: Solid Source of Shiny Profits
Profit Handbook Custom Wheels: Solid Source of Shiny Profits It’s unfathomable the amount of money that a dealer can make carrying custom wheels. At an average of at least $500 per wheel, a dealer is almost forced to take a long, hard look maintaining custom wheels. But making the money isn’t easy. As with everything
Customers Getting Tagged
Profit Handbook Customers Getting Tagged There are problems, and there are opportunities. And for most people, the two are totally separate. But for Griffin Brothers Tire Sales in Charlotte, N.C., persistent computer problems opened the door to vast new opportunities to attract and keep retail customers. The five-store independent leveraged computer problems, a borrowed idea
Turn Scrap Into Gold
Turn Scrap Into Gold For today’s tire dealer, take-offs and scrap tires can be a unique profit center – and produce bottom line money on multiple levels.And one national company is working to help dealers not only make more money, but make a positive environmental statement, as well.If the two sound divergent, they aren’t. In
Consumer Tires:Get Back to Basics to Increase Sales
Consumer Tires: Get Back to Basics to Increase Sales There are few options available to dealers when it comes to increasing profits from retail tire sales – passenger, performance and light truck/SUV.After all, your suppliers aren’t likely to suddenly give you better pricing, and you can be somewhat limited in how high you set your