 I moved from working in my business to working on my business!
Jim White, Founder Savor Dallas http://www.savordallas.com |
 I found a community of business leaders who make being in business a lot more fun and less lonely.
Jeannine Sandstrom, CEO CoachWorks International, Inc. http://www.coachworks.com |
 I now have a place to be open about my business success and future challenges.
Debbie Mrazek, CEO The Sales Company Author The Field Guide to Sales http://www.the-sales-company.com |
Posts Tagged ‘consultant’
By Ray Branch, President and CEO, The KEEPS Corporation
Imagine if your service advisors asked every customer that came to your service department to do regular, needed maintenance on their vehicles. In numerous studies, more than half of the customers said, “Yes!”
How much potential gross profit is available? $20-$30 per repair order is conservative. What would this mean in a year? For example, monthly customer repair orders: 800 x $20 = $16,000 x 12months = $192,000 per year.
Measuring for Increased Sales
Compare sales department measurements with service department measurements and notice the differences. In sales, most dealerships carefully measure every customer contact from the moment the customer arrives through the entire selling process. Qualifying, information gathering, presentations, demonstration rides, write-ups, turnovers…the list goes on. After the deal is closed, additional items such as aftermarket sales, finance reserve, credit insurance and others are also closely measured for the results attained and how to motivate each employee to achieve the best possible result. Untold hours are spent analyzing this data to develop action plans to improve the weak areas. At the heart of all of this information is a comprehensive, multilevel pay program that puts incentives on all key areas of performance.
In service, we have access to volumes of information, but does this information really report on the “sales process?” Hours sold per repair order, effective labor rate, gross profit percentages are all closely monitored. But does this tell what level of sales effort is being performed? Is there a “closing percentage” on services sold? The relationship of actual vs. the “opportunity” to sell maintenance and needed repairs is seldom, if ever measured. Over the years, I have heard from many dealers who told me that if their people could just sell more than two hours per repair order, they would be satisfied. Unfortunately, I must argue that if those two hours sold were heavy repairs without any maintenance, a large opportunity would still be missed. In fact, many dealerships have high sales per repair order due to a low maintenance to repair mix.
Dramatically increased profits can be found by implementing the measuring processes below:
1. Measure the “Ups” to sell maintenance. The KEEPS proprietary web-based program Repair Order Analysis and Management System (ROAMS), tells you how many customers had a mileage level close to each major service interval, then evaluates how many services were sold by each service consultant versus how many opportunities there were to sell. Coach each employee based upon their individual “closing” percentage and you will see dramatic results.
2. Measure maintenance to repair ratios closely. If service consultant (A) sells regular, needed maintenance to most of his/her customers and is at 1.9 hours sold per repair order and service consultant (B) sells only heavy repairs with little maintenance but has a 2.5 hours per repair order average, who does a better job? If hours sold/RO is the only measurement, (B) is better. If you want your customers to return to the dealership on a regular basis and possibly have less major failures, (A) is better. Note that the technicians that work for (A) are probably more productive and efficient as maintenance work is always done in less time than the flat rate time allowed. In many cases, service consultant (A) will also have more total sales than (B). ROAMS shows how many labor operations were maintenance related and compare this with the repair operations. Compare this ratio among each service consultant. In many cases, what you thought was your best service consultant could be missing a lot of opportunities. Use this information to pinpoint the areas where items are not being presented, and or sold.
Paying for Performance
Many successful sales operations use a comprehensive commission plan that pays for selling the vehicle but also pays for selling related products associated with purchasing a vehicle. Similar to sales department pay plans, service consultant plans should be based upon minimum sales objectives for many items. Major services sold, flat rate hours sold, upsold items, and a significant dollar amount for CSI attainment is just a starting point.
To create the plan, establish a percentage of last year’s total income that you will allocate to each of the above components. Divide the anticipated “units” sold or attained into the component dollars to create individual dollars per unit (see example in item (c) below.)
Be sure your pay plans include at least the following:
a. Eliminate or limit salary. Most powerful and effective compensation plans include the need to accomplish a minimum standard. If there is a salary involved your sales efforts and motivation will be limited by the income level desired above the salary level. While full commission plans can initially be intimidating to employees, incorporating a small dollar amount for flat rate hours turned by the shop will help with the anxiety.
b. Pay weekly. If you pay a draw or salary and then settle up at the end of a month, the motivation to do something this week is limited. With a weekly plan, there is more motivation to limit the nagging, end of month, “work in process” or “open repair orders.
c. Pay strongly for major services sold. Determine how much money should be devoted to this portion of the plan (example: $40,000 annual income x 20% for menu component = $8,000 annually for menus sold. If there are 21 working days each month and the standard is one major service sold per day, this would result in 21 services sold per month x12 months = 252 services sold divided into $8000 = $31.74 per major service sold.)
If you are looking to improve your service department profits, carefully measuring the sales processes and emphasizing the maintenance portion of the work mix will dramatically increase sales and gross profits. If the pay structure is directly related to maintenance items, the rate of improvement will accelerate.
For other free tools to find and keep hidden profits in your service department visit www.keepscorp.com. To discuss how these and other profit enhancing tools can greatly impact your dealership’s performance, contact your Auto Driving Force Consulting Group member today. We will be happy to discuss your unique situation and introduce you to The KEEPS Corporation.
Are you a professional athlete? Or a performing artist? Chances are good that you don’t fit into either of these categories so why, in the normal course of your life, would you need a coach? Well, not all coaches go to work in a jogging suit or leotards. There is a whole new category of coaches out there ready to motivate and guide you down the path to success. Today, you can hire a coach to help you achieve your personal, family and business goals. Coaching provides the support and structural mechanisms that are needed to help you focus on your priorities, remove barriers and learn from your own experience. The ideal coach will listen to you and challenge you. They will also encourage you to take control of both your professional and personal life so that you can strike a healthy work/life balance.
What can you accomplish while working with a coach? If your goals are personal, coaching can help you:
- Clarify priorities
- Deal with personal problems that are interfering with productivity
- Determine career direction, strategy and income goals
- Establish and achieve personal goals including ones relating to relationships, health and spirituality
- Help you create daily habits to support your goals
If it is professional assistance you seek, a coach can help you:
- Clarify your business mission, goals and strategy
- Communicate effectively in the workplace
- Cope with difficult co-workers and employees
- Develop leadership skills
- Increase productivity
- Make better decisions
- Tap into hidden strengths
Why hire a coach? Well, coaching is different from seeking advice from a consultant, a therapist or a friend. Consultants usually offer answers to specific problems. Therapists help you understand and deal with the anguish of past problems. Friends typically lend a sympathetic ear. Some describe a coach as part consultant, part motivational speaker, part therapist, and part rent-a-friend.
How does coaching work? Coaching is normally done privately though not always. Professional coaches typically conduct an initial face-to-face meeting. Then, most of their work is handled over the phone. Following the first meeting, a coach can begin to develop a plan for you to accomplish your goals as well as set up a structure for working together. You can expect coaching fees to range somewhere between $500 and $2000 per month if you average one session per week. Highly specialized coaching can approach $5,000 per month and may include several face-to-face sessions and 24/7 on call availability.
What to Look for and Where. Coaches typically have a specialty – career, relationship, business, etc. It is best if they have had some coursework in their area of expertise as well as some training in psychology and counseling. Though coaching has been recognized as a profession since the late 1980s, coaches are not licensed by any state or national agency. They do, however, typically belong to organizations such as the International Coach Federation (ICF). This organization offers a free coach referral service so you can select one that will mesh with your specific needs.
A Business Coaching Success Story. Dr. Fred Grosse, a clinical psychologist and renowned business coach, has dramatically improved the life of many realtors and insurance agents around the world. Dr. Grosse uses a sports analogy to explain the importance of business coaching. “No one at the Olympics got there without a coach.” He continues on to say that you need a coach to be a superstar in the business world as well. Dr. Grosse coaches in a group-setting and covers topics including: reframing thought patterns, focusing, establishing a morning ritual, and establishing systems within our businesses. A single realtor from one of his group sessions claims to have increased the number of transactions made from 43 to 95 during the course of a single year. Not bad!
To hire a coach and be successful, you must have at least one goal that requires you to grow and improve as a person. You must also be committed to achieving your goal and willing to try new things in the process. Regarding your coach, it is imperative to select one that not only has the appropriate experience, but with whom you feel mutual respect and trust. Your coach must be equally committed to your success. And remember, you are hiring someone to motivate you, so enthusiasm is a must as well. No matter what type of coach you select, you can bet that you will reap benefits in many facets of your life.
We have coached many businesses to increased performance, if this is one of your goals for 2008, it’s not too late. Give us a call today!
Last weekend I drove all the way over to Fort Worth to the Texas Christian University campus to attend a writing class with a wonderful woman named Carmen Goldthwaite. As I pulled up to the beautiful campus dotted with beautiful, expansive oak trees I could feel that this would be a special day.
I entered the class to see seven other smiling faces, including Carmen’s. She has been writing stories about Texas Women Pioneers in all fields for her new, statewide newspaper column, "Texas Dames(TM)," and her column will soon be a book by the same name.
I signed up for the course when I received the TCU continuing education catalog. There was something that really drew me to it, and as I sat there, another woman mentioned the same feeling and said, "It just kept coming back to me."
For many years I have read books about how to submit magazine queries, how to get your PR noticed, yet most of my success has come from face-to-face talks with reporters. The class would offer another perspective… how to submit cold and get published.
Carmen shared wonderful insights and practical tips about how to work in the publishing field. I enjoyed her colorful stories and how she shared about her colorful friends…"He is profane, so I won’t share it just like he said it."
I enjoyed Carmen’s information so much that I wanted more at the end of the two hours.
I approached her after class and asked if she had anything else I could have that would give me more of the wisdom she shared in the class. At the time I signed up for this class, I also signed up for her class about "How Not to Sit Alone at a Book Signing," but since more people dream of writing a book than actually do I was the only one who signed up and the class was canceled. After hearing her wonderful information, I definitely wanted to know what she was going to say in the next class!
"Do you have any books or programs with more information?" I asked giddy with excitement and yearning for more.
"No, I only teach classes," she replied with a warm smile.
"Okay, thanks. I really enjoyed the class!" I said as my heart dropped.
On the long trek home (while we live in what is known as the DFW Metroplex, Fort Worth is nearly 50 miles from where we live), I thought about my experience. It suddenly struck me that we all have an opportunity to offer our wisdom in many different ways (which wasn’t new), and that if we never offer them then that isn’t our loss, it’s our clients’ losses (that was the new part). The more roads to revenue you have, the easier it is for people to ‘buy’ into you. The more people can experience you, get a taste of you, the easier it is for them to stair-step up and up and up.
I have heard other consultants say it is our responsibility to serve our clients and prospects by making it easy for them to buy what they want, but I also have seen many people create all kinds of products just to have them sitting on the shelf collecting dust!
I thought about how I’ve bought things in the past. There are about a dozen or so people that I have bought virtually everything they have ever produced. I thought of these people and thought about how I used these products.
This is how they appeared in order of revenue spent. Which one of these do you fall into and what are your clients experiencing?
$$$$$ Has a Solution to My Problem & Created a Memorable Experience I Enjoyed and Wanted to Experience Again and Again – One particular person I spent thousands of dollars with offered a solution to a problem I had, and I enjoyed the experience so much that even if my problem wasn’t completely solved I still felt like I got value. I’ve purchased this person’s books, CDs and such and really don’t enjoy those as much – it’s the person that draws me. I feel that I am similar to this person in many ways and on many levels. I have referred this person thousands and thousands of dollars of business over the last few years. Value Rating: *****
$$$$ Has a Solution to My Problem & Creates a Fun Learning Experience – This person is a master teacher. In books, in seminars, in CDs, in DVDs… this person helps me see differently, which is something I enjoy doing. I feel I am similar to this person in many ways, but not in every way. I have met this person in person and the persona didn’t ‘match’ the books and such. Value Rating: *****
$$$ Has Information I Find Useful – This person helps me see what I do for my clients. We think very similarly in how we market and how we approach business. I am not going there for an answer to my problem, although I may do this in the next year or so as I make more changes in our business. Currently, I see this person as a resource, but I do not devour the information like I do the first two. I can let this information stack up. I feel that I think like this person and my be a bit like this person in other ways, but I do not feel a kinship. Value Rating: ****
$ Has a Solution to My Problem & Provides Useful , Timely Information – What I purchase from this person is one of the few things I tear open when I see it in the mail. This deals directly with the publishing industry, and is what I would call "insider" information presented in a way that appeals to my marketing brain. The key here is that it is timely. I would most likely buy more of this, but this is all that is available, and the next step up from this $50 product is nearly $7,000. Value Rating: *****
$ Has Information - This is the category for a book that can offer a solution. It has information. It offers no entertainment value. I might or might not find it useful. And I certainly wouldn’t refer people to it.
So what does all of this mean for you? Well, which level are you serving on?
Information only? Trying to compete with others who have similar information or, more importantly, what people perceive as the same information?
Solving a Problem? Are you solving a problem in a way that makes clients swoon? How can you make your experience more memorable? Are you doing it the way YOU want to do it or how your clients prefer to do it?
Creating an Experience? Are you creating an experience but doesn’t have the problem solving to back up the experience?
Solving a Problem Through An Experience? This is the one that builds buzz, keeps people talking, and gets you more referrals.
We could slice and dice this until the cows come home, but take these basics and ask yourself some questions and give yourself some HONEST answers about what you are offering your clients. Problem solvers will typically garner quite a few referrals. Useful information will draw in a hungry crowd. Combine useful information that solves a problem with a memorable experience and you have the basis for creating something big!
Here are some ways that you can turn your uniqueness into different Roads to Revenue – be sure you have an offering at every level!
Free – Always have something to give away that also solves a problem. Lots of people give away things for free that people could care less about.
$25 Bucks or Less – Give them a book, a CD, a DVD, anything that hits on the "everyone if they really wanted to can afford this" level.
$97 Bucks or Less – Offer more of you and your problem solving, useful information in a more in-depth, more personal style. Really give them a feel for who you are and what you can do to serve them.
$497 Bucks or Less – Create a program that puts your genius in a box. If you do something over and over again
that is something that you charge $2,000 or more to do, then put your brain on paper and let people have access to it for a fraction of that amount. I have met more people in the last 90 days that are looking for passive revenue, and this is the level to focus on if you want passive income!$2,997 Bucks or Less – The more you are with people, the more it costs. Create an intensive workshop where people have more access to you. This still falls into the problem-solving area, but it highly valuable to clients.
$19,997 Bucks or Less – This is where you transfer your genius to others so they can know what you know. Mentoring programs and such allow people who already believe in you to learn from you.
As a consultant, over the years I have stair-stepped my way up the dollars for hours value, but nothing can compete with taking your genius and putting it in a package where people can experience you without paying for you to show up!
It would have been nice to have a $97 Bucks or less product to buy, but that may not have been her intention for teaching the classes. She might have been there so that people could get to know her and then want to attend her Creativity Retreat. While I might have wanted to buy a product, that might not work for her to create products and such.
The thing to remember is to create a business where YOU and your clients are happy with how they purchase ‘you.’ You can bet that I’ll be looking to attend Carmen’s retreat… I have a feeling she has a lot of wisdom to share!
In the last few weeks, I’ve met with more people around this subject. Sales aren’t declining, nothing bad is happening, but there’s a nagging feeling that there’s more that could be done.
Enter… The Opportunity Audit!
This is a process we use where we basically ask a lot of questions about what you are doing, why you are doing it, and ask what you really want to be getting out of your business. As strategists, we are mining for the trends and patterns that you probably can’t see because your business is so familiar to you.
The effect?
One client moved from stamping out fires to taking charge. In two days what seemed like a huge problem corrected itself and this veteran entrepreneur has a plan of action to increase rates in a way that will deter clients from leaving.
Another client wanted more business but wasn’t sure where to start. We started with areas that haven’t been touched in years. In less than three months, this consultant’s client load increased a whopping 33%!
If you would like to chat about how we can help you do the same for your business, contact Brandie for a complimentary 15 minute consultation.
It would be cliché to say consultants are a dime a dozen … but in reality, they are! Why? Several reasons, most of which focus on company failures and layoffs. Finding a job is tough in a recession-oriented economy, so rationalizing the idea of going into business by becoming a “consultant” – or a hybrid of a consultant and perhaps another title – is getting easier and easier. People seem to understand the motivation behind working for themselves, admire the entrepreneurial aspects of the consulting lifestyle, and certainly comprehend the cost savings associated with hiring talent when you need it versus always having it around when you possibly can’t use it.
However, while there are many options in the consulting continuum, finding and choosing the one that most matches your needs is another story altogether. These days it seems you almost need a consultant to help you hire one!
What can you do to locate and find the consultant that will do the best job? Consider these 10 questions you should ask when hiring a consultant. Some of these are questions to ask yourself, and your company or organization, while others are intended specifically for the consultant.
Question #1: Have I done my homework?
First, do your homework by understanding your needs so that you know how to set engagement expectations. Ask questions to assess your situation. What areas are not running as efficiently as possible? Have you carefully written out your business plan for the next three to five years? What is it going to take to realize your goals? Where do you see yourself in the future, and what will you specialize in at that time? This helps focus the discussion with your prospective consulting firm.
Question #2: What kind of consultant do I need?
Once you’ve assessed the situation, you next must ask what kind of help you need. Often a problem is actually a symptom of a larger issue. Make sure you are being honest with yourself. Consulting engagements only work when companies and people are ready to make necessary changes.
Question #3: Can’t I educate someone internally to handle the responsibilities?
Life-long learning is great, but is it really viable to think you can train someone within the organization to handle additional matters that fall outside the realm of his or her current knowledge? Will the resources spent on training be more than it would have been just to hire a consultant?
Question #4: Should I hire a “firm” or “individual?”
Okay, so you’ve made the commitment to hire a consultant, and are faced with two choices – firm or individual. What are the pros and cons of each? A firm brings you several options and schools of thought, while an individual brings learned knowledge from years of experience. Which is better? The answer probably lies in how consistent the consulting firm is in its approach to use the same staff each time you need help. With an individual, you always get the same person, but with a firm, changes in staff may occur. If this is important to you, and you think the consulting engagement will be long-term talk to a prospective firm about their turnover rate.
Question #5: Do I need a specialist?
Working with a consultant that is certified in a particular technology, holds a specialty designation, or is committed to a particular consulting field will reveal many benefits that a general consultant won’t. These professionals commit many hours and several thousand dollars every year to ensure their skills are up to snuff. If you’re uncertain what a particular specialty is, ask the consultant to explain it and its significance to his or her work.
Question #6: Who will be the liaison to the consultant?
Even the freest spirit enjoys some order, and in the case of working with a consultant, someone within your organization must be appointed as the person responsible for working directly with the consultant or consulting firm. While the reasons may be obvious, consider the chaos that might ensue if several firm personnel were to ask the consultant questions or assign work without anyone prioritizing the list. You’ll end up with confusion and unproductive time.
Question #7: How much should I pay the consultant?
What is your own time worth? Consultants are in the business to make money just as you are with your firm or business, and to a consultant, any moment not spent conducting business is considered a loss. Ask the consultant about his or her rates, and be prepared to pay top dollar for the best talent. Network with peers in similar size companies to find out what they pay their consultants. If a return on investment (ROI) is critical, consider asking the consultant to work out a contingency deal based on results. This is becoming more commonplace in today’s competitive market.
Question #8: Does the consultant have to be local?
Not necessarily. Many companies enjoy a tremendous relationship working with consultants who are located across the country, and much of the business may be handled online or through conference calls with personal visits scheduled sporadically. Just because a consultant may be local doesn’t give he or she an edge, unless you’re looking for consultants who can “drop names” or assert influence in your local community.
Question #9: Should I interview several consultants?
Why not? Unless you are strapped for time, interviewing another firm can do nothing more than let you know you are making the right choice. Of course, if you have an established relationship with a firm that has just begun to offer specialty services, you are probably safe in presuming that their high customer service standards apply to their new consulting.
Question #10: Should I check the consultant’s references before hiring?
Absolutely. The best way to obtain a reference is to ask the consultant for a name of a client with whom the consultant did a similar engagement as the one you’re doing. If you’re hiring a consultant to update your technologies, you wouldn’t ask for a reference in human resource systems to offer an observation.
These are just 10 questions for consideration; the rest is up to you. Be smart and savvy, and understand that even though consultants may indeed be a dime a dozen, their actual net worth is based on how well the consultants helped you make solid, informed decisions and incremental changes that positively impacted your bottom line.
Okay, I’ve heard pretty much everything under the sun in the form of reasons why people aren’t marketing. I’d like to introduce a couple of ways to look at the way you are marketing and, hopefully, these will help you make some shifts that support you in this area.
Let’s be honest, shall we? If you signed up to be a consultant or an accountant or a interior designer or whatever it is you do because you enjoy it, chances are you didn’t think your primary job would be marketing (and sales), right?
When I work with people, there are typically only a few scenarios that really illustrate why their marketing isn’t working.
Integrated VS. Compartmentalized
Marketing is like a ribbon that flows through your business. You are actually marketing all the time. When people get that they are marketing all the time – every interaction, every phone call, every customer interaction, well, virtually everything becomes marketing. YOU become marketing.
Marketing isn’t a compartmentalized ‘to do’ item. Great marketers and servers of people in all industries know this. For these people who are at the helm of a company and wonder how they can ‘share the rain’ I would suggest teaching this one idea! This is the difference between YOU as the rainmaker and others who aren’t. Marketing = taking care of the client at every turn = rain.
Effective VS. Busy
This one usually goes with the one above. Compartmentalized people think, “Okay, I need to do some marketing, what should I do?” Then they just ‘pick something’ – any something – and do it. Check, that’s done!
Multiplier Marketing people – those who want maximum effect – market throughout the day, balancing more important activities with less important. They know what is effective and do more of those activities. They avoid those that are less effective. They obliterate those that don’t work for them, their personality and . And, they don’t cut corners on the things they do that they know are effective.
Something’s Wrong
Believe it or not, this is the place where we find the least number of problems. Usually, it’s just not doing something, not that the ‘something is actually wrong.
If you have clients and they continue to come back year after year and you’re reasonably happy with the company you’ve created, your problem is probably in the first two areas.
If your client tenure is like a revolving door, then there may be a problem with your messaging (your client hears one thing and gets another), your market (your client is not right for your company) or your product (your service or product needs work).
If you are having an issue attracting clients, then it’s likely something is amiss in the way you marketing and how you are marketing to your target market. Go to the pond, learn the pond, invest in the pond, then the pond will come to you.
When is the best time to address marketing? Now. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next quarter at the meeting. Now. If each person in your company does this – incrementally – your revenue will be multiplied by this time next year!
If you don’t have time, take a look around and cut one or two things that do not support your business – free up time for what’s important!
Besides being a GREAT example of direct marketing, Mimeo.com is a presenters and consultant’s dream partner. This company handles duplication of all sorts of products from manuals, notebooks and presentations to CDs and other specialty items.
This company produces over 2 MILLION PAGES a night – that’s a WHOLE LOTTA duplication. They serve some of the biggest (and smallest) companies out there, so I’m sure they can handle your needs, too.
Wondering what it might cost? Just fill out a form and they’ll send you a *FREE* sample of your job.
What makes them great direct marketers? No matter which way you go, you’ll have to enter in some info to talk to them! Want them to call you? No problem, enter your phone number? Want a free trial? Sure, just enter your information!