Digital Shop Talk Radio

Latest Episodes:

How to Succeed at Overcoming Your Staff’s Objections & Getting Their Buy-In Jun 06, 2019

Show notes

“Why won’t they do this??” “How are they still not marking up the pictures taken??” “Why are inspections still not being done or sent???” “Why does this still happen?!” Sound familiar? Changing the habits of a group of people is very hard, especially when you’re trying to get them to buy-in to change an existing habit, start a new one, or improve a process that is broken. Despite all the talking, meetings, and efforts you put in, nothing seems to be changing and old habits keep re-emerging. Why is that?? To find the answer to this question, this week (Wednesday June 5th @ 1pm ET / 10am PT) we are joined by shop owner Frank M Scandura III (Frank's European Service) and ATI coach Eric M. Twiggs to teach you the steps you must follow to overcome these objections and how to prevent them from re-emerging over and over again. In this short but intensive 30-minute episode, you’ll learn: > How to position what you’re asking for from your staff in concrete terms, > How to align your change with shop goals and benefits for everyone, > How to overcome legitimate objections, > And how to get buy-in every time.

5 Things Your Technicians Aren't Doing in Their Digital Inspections May 29, 2019

Show notes

The tools your technicians use should support all of their daily tasks, but many of us still wonder: what tools do they need, and more importantly, how can they use these tools in a way that actually helps deliver higher job approval? Join Neil Daly (Oceanside Motorsports) and Tom Dorsey, for this week’s Digital ShopTalk Radio episode, as they describe what tools are available to aid your techs in getting their inspections done more effectively, what impactful pictures & videos are, and what inspection best practices look like. In this episode, you'll learn: > Common mistakes technicians are making during their inspections, and ways to avoid these mistakes > Examples of impactful pictures & videos and what that means for your techs, service advisors, and customers. > How to capitalize on your Digital Inspections and create more sales

How to Break Down Goals Into Manageable Steps With Russ Crosby May 23, 2019

Show notes

Setting goals for your shop and staff is critical. Goals provide direction, bring focus, prioritizes time and energy, and ensure that your team can objectively create better results. But just any goal won’t do. Goals are important, but the level of specificity and difficulty matters, and they need to be both clear and challenging to drive higher levels of performance. To set up his shop and team for success, Russ Crosby (Russ’s Wrench) sets realistic goals and uses data and training to improve shop operations and grow their weekly revenue. Join Tom and Russ as they talk about a few changes you can make in your process and mindset that can help you progress towards your shop's goals much faster and efficiently. You will learn how to: - Set measurable and attainable goals - Use data from the Business Control Panel to prioritize focus, time, and energy daily - Learn from setbacks and celebrate victories

The 5 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Shops Make and How to Avoid Them May 16, 2019

Show notes

Whether you are already marketing your shop or just starting out, there are a few big mistakes that you have probably made in the past, might be making now, and will most likely make in the future. In this episode, Roy Foster (Roy Foster’s Automotive) and Sara AV Savio (AutoVitals Trainer) will give examples of common pitfalls that shops face and provide actionable steps to make any shop’s marketing campaigns more successful! In this episode, you’ll learn: - What are the most effective marketing channels shops need to utilize to retain and get new customers - Tips and strategies for different marketing channels with high conversion rates - Why social media can’t be ignored - What metrics are true indicators of success

How Great Inspections are Like Great Stories May 08, 2019

Show notes

The practice of digital inspections and visual aids (pictures/videos, notes) has helped motorists better understand their vehicle’s problems and approve more work. But digital inspections can only be effective if the resulting inspection is properly managed and executed by your team (owner/manager, technician, and service advisor). Join Matt Fowler, from Airport Automotive, for How Great Inspections are Like Great Stories, as he shares what each team member needs to do with every inspection to get better results. You will learn: > What details technicians need to provide the service advisor in order to create a great inspection > How the service advisor properly scrubs and prepares the inspection to send to the customer > How the owner can help improve the inspection process through time management and volume control

Higher Shop Productivity Through Effective Digital Communication May 02, 2019

Show notes

Once upon a time, people had limited options for exchanging information with one another. With new digital tools to communicate and access content it’s probably hard for people today to imagine a world where you could only communicate by actually talking directly to another person, face to face or via telephone. In this weeks episode, Marty Mace, a master technician with over 20 years of automotive expertise in vehicle diagnostics and shop management, joins us to take a look at what does effective communication inside a digital shop look like, ways that your workforce can communicate faster and become more cost-effective, and the best practices to increasing shop productivity.

Inspection Tune-Up: How to Create Compelling Reasons to Buy Apr 25, 2019

Show notes

Matt Fowler (Airport Automotive) and Jamey Whitlock (Whitlock Automotive) share valuable insights into the inspection process and how your motorists BUY. Topics covered are: - What a well-edited inspection looks like - Key components that make up a “good inspection” - Why editing pictures & videos and adding notes are important - How to get team and staff buy-in

Why Henry Ford’s Horses Shouldn’t be AutoVitals’ Products Apr 19, 2019

Show notes

When changes in motorist behaviors are opportunities for a better future of automotive repair we want to seize them. Frank M Scandura III, Fred Gestwicki Jr Jr and Uwe Kleinschmidt discuss the opportunities and threats of that approach and how AutoVitals will release new features in the future.

Workflow Operation Secrets From 3 Highly Successful Shop Owners Apr 11, 2019

Show notes

Learn the strategies Adam Bendzick (Pro Service Automotive Repair), Christopher Petersen (Northwest Automotive) and John Long (Schertz Auto Service) use to manage the back of their shops from their front desks. How do they use The Digital Shop platform features, such as automatic status updates, paperless work dispatch, and real-time technician progress updates in order to increase Technician and Service Advisor productivity while creating a better customer service experience.

#9: Find and Attract The Customers You Want Apr 03, 2019

Show notes

Find and Attract The Customers You Want: Multi-Shop Owner John Herring from Stamps Auto shares the steps they took to attract the best customers