Lessons Learned From This Past Winter
If Old Man Winter had an axe to grind, this past winter was certainly the year he decided to do it…and boy did he make that sucker sharp! With more than 60 inches of the white stuff and 13 separate storms, we had the third highest snowfall ever in the Philadelphia area. Without question, this
5 Ways to Rev Up Tire, Service Sales
Follow these five ways to leverage your staff and rev up your tire and service sales: 1. Hire salespeople on the basis of their sales ability, not on their knowledge of the tire industry. A good salesperson can almost always learn about the products you sell, but a person who knows a lot about tires
Rise of the Machines: Competing With Robots and Other Automated Adversaries
It’s fair to say that when most of us in tire/auto service sales business think of competition, we think of real people and not robots. But what if there were a robot that could do your job as well or, brace yourself, better than you? If I were an owner of the business that had
Price Sensitive vs. Fear Sensitive
Editor’s Note: This column by Andrew Markel, editor of Brake & Front End magazine (a sister publication to Tire Review) appeared in that publication’s September 2014 issue. The response that follows will appear in the magazine’s December 2014 issue. For 2014, I changed my health care insurance from a traditional plan to a health savings
Lessons from Jack Welch
Jack Welch is one of the most successful business leaders of the last century. For those unfamiliar with him, Jack Welch was the CEO of General Electric from 1981 until his retirement in 2001. Over his 20-year tenure, Welch earned numerous awards for his leadership as CEO, culminating with Fortune magazine naming him “Manager of
Are Your Tire, Auto Service Salespeople ‘Winging It’ with Phone Calls?
Each and every interaction your salespeople have with potential customers on the phone is an opportunity to enhance customer relations, the image of your business and increase sales. So, be honest, are your salespeople properly equipped to optimize each and every phone interaction they have with potential customers? If you’re like most businesses, then the answer
Pricing, Ethics And The Reputation Of Your Tire Business
At Elite, we know that once someone comes into your shop, you’ll do everything you can to generate a happy customer, and make a fair profit. Unfortunately, some customers will put you to the test when it comes to the prices you charge. They’ll tell you they can’t afford the recommended services, they’ll tell you
Army of Advocates
By now, you’ve been in the business long enough to know what it takes to earn a customer’s trust. Through top-notch employees, honest and thorough vehicle service, clean and comfortable showrooms – and of course, impeccable customer service – your tire dealership likely is reaping the rewards of hard work and focus. But there’s always
The New Consumer: Are We Ruled By the Dollar?
The past few years have proved tumultuous for almost every American, and hardest hit was the middle class. Today, even though the middle class American continues to struggle, there may be light at the end of the tunnel, and that’s positive. It’s time to capture those dollars as confidence in the economy increases. However, the
The Real Case for Consistency
To gain sustainable and profitable trust, dealers must create customer-focused consistency In his book, “The Trust Edge,” author David Horsager documented consistency as a pillar of trust, saying that without consistency you are not truly trusted. This is an important lesson to remember as a tire and auto service business. No customer likes surprises when
Young Social Media Users Can Learn From Older Generations
[Editor’s note: This column by Trent M Kays originally appeared in the Minnesota Daily on March 31. It has been rerun on our site with the publication’s and author’s permission.] The concept of social media is hardly original. Often, when we discuss social media, we do so in a way that refers to contemporary variations of media, chiefly Facebook
Sell Value or Pay the Price
Tire and auto service businesses lose substantial dollars in revenues and profits each year because their sales and service people do not effectively sell the value of their product and service offerings. If you have employees regularly interfacing with customers in a sales capacity, it’s a safe bet your business is not immune to this
