High Gear Podcast

Parental Advisory Explicit Content: In this episode of Near Me Radio "Covering Your Shop's A#$", host Ryan Burton welcomes Jonathan Sparks, the founder of Sparks Law, to the show. Jonathan shares his journey into the legal profession, which started with reviewing artist contracts for record labels and eventually led him to study business law. As a classic car enthusiast and musician, Jonathan brings a unique perspective to the legal world.

Jonathan discusses how his law firm helps business owners navigate the complex world of legal positioning, brand protection and partnership agreements. He believes that the law can be overwhelming for many, and his job is to make it understandable for his clients. In addition to his legal career, Jonathan is also a singer-songwriter, and Ryan plays one of his songs, "Marry Me To The World."

Sparks Law Website: https://sparkslawpractice.com/

Jonathan Sparks Music Website: https://jonathansparksmusic.com/

Near Me Radio is sponsored by Leads Near Me a marketing company for auto repair shops https://leadsnearme.com/APAC ATI which can be found at https://apacati.org/ and the High Gear Auto Repair Marketing Conference November 29th to December 1st, 2023 in Atlanta https://highgearconference.com/

ATLANTA, GA—The first-of-its-kind High Gear Auto Repair Marketing Conference, presented by Leads Near Me ®, gets underway November 29 through December 1, 2023, at the Atlanta Airport Marriott.

“Repair shops will be marketing for their share of $58.7 billion in repair industry revenue in 2024,” says Ryan Burton, owner of Leads Near Me ®. “Getting customers, getting cars into shops is the most important thing any repair shop does, which makes marketing the most important part of your business.”

“Owners often don’t spend enough time on marketing or understand how to do it properly,” Burton adds. “We are going to do this conference over two or three days, digging into this, to help auto repair shop owners better understand, make decisions with their chosen marketing company, and help them better execute their current marketing efforts.”

The conference focuses on everything from Google to direct mail, to television and radio advertising, customer relationship management, networking, social media marketing— everything that affects an auto repair shop’s marketing, including marketing to up-and-coming EV owners, and using tech like AI as a marketing tool.

“Marketing is the most important thing you can do for your business. Without customers you have nothing. So, marketing effectively is critical. This conference is the first of its kind to arm repair shops with a clear plan of how to specifically market in 2024 and beyond.”

The High Gear Auto Repair Marketing Conference will dive deeply into every aspect of auto repair marketing, explain succinctly how it is done, and how to look at success metrics.

Auto repair shops plan their marketing late each year for the following year. The High Gear conference’s media experts will walk attendees through how to grow their business into a high- trust, high-visibility local brand.

“At the end of the day, it’s about how you can spend half the money and get twice the results,” Burton says.

“We want repair shops to learn how to truly qualify where their leads come from,” says Burton. “It’s not enough to be operationally sound, have manicured grounds and a nice building. If you can’t convert leads into customers, you waste valuable marketing budget.”

Conference attendees will range from mom-and-pop shops with limited marketing resources to multi-shop owners with larger marketing budgets who want to get the highest ROI for their dollars in both market knowledge and in finding and keeping customers.

“John Wanamaker once said, “‘Half my advertising spend is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.’” That was true then; it’s just as true now, says Burton. In fact, some experts tout it as being worse—that 63 percent of advertising spend is wasted. Either way, the issue of wasted money is there.”

The High Gear conference will synergistically teach auto shop owners how to get the most out of their marketing efforts and their budgets, covering all intersections of business, branding and marketing in the auto repair shop niche. That intersection is success.

“This event will be like nothing you’ve seen before,” Burton adds. “It will be only marketing and we will finally demystify it. It takes knowledge, creativity, and discipline to make it work. I’ve been in the business 32 years and my team is top tier in their respective fields. The dissemination of the collective knowledge we’ve gathered over the years as well as of the High Gear speakers will give auto repair shops practical marketing knowledge to successfully increase car counts and their revenue for 2024.”

Registration will open soon for the High Gear Auto Repair Marketing Conference. Tickets and special room rates will be released soon. Get updates at highgearconference.com

About Leads Near Me:

Leads Near Me, a 2023 Google Premier Partner, is a digital marketing agency for Auto Repair Shops. They have become known for their ability to Effortlessly Increase Car Count (TM). Leads Near Me combines many years of experience, proprietary Google Ads software and a thirst for getting better every day to help auto repair companies grow their shops. With hundreds of shops in 43 states and Canada, Leads Near Me is uniquely qualified to help shop owners dramatically grow their revenue. Leads Near Me manages $10M+ annually in Google ad revenue for auto repair shops and has become one of the fastest growing marketing companies for auto repair.

Ever wonder how they put together Ratchet & Wrench Magazine? How they choose who gets in and who is on the cover? Then don't miss the latest episode of Near Me Radio which is out now! Learn from "The Meticulous Chronicler of Auto Repair "! Join us for an exclusive conversation with Chris Jones, the editor of Ratchet & Wrench Magazine, as he shares his insights into the leading publication in the automotive aftermarket. Discover the art of storytelling and gain valuable insights from an industry expert. Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind episode.

Chris' Podcast and the "All Star" nomination form:

https://www.ratchetandwrench.com/multimedia/podcasts

https://www.ratchetandwrench.com/awards

In the latest episode of "Near Me Radio" titled "Ask Them To Come Back," Parker Swift, the founder and CEO of Steer by Mechanic Advisor, addresses one of the most significant issues facing auto repair shops today: customer retention. According to Swift, nearly 50% of customers who visit a shop do not return, which can be detrimental to a shop's success in the long run.

Fortunately, Steer has a solution. The customer-centric marketing platform is designed to establish trust and transparency between auto repair shops and their clients, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and retention. By leveraging customer data and feedback, Steer helps shops understand their customers better and provide more personalized and effective service.

During the podcast episode, Swift discusses how Steer is different from other marketing platforms and how it can help shops overcome the challenges they face in attracting and retaining customers. He also highlights the importance of customer feedback and how Steer is using it to continuously improve its services.

Swift's entrepreneurial journey is also an interesting topic of discussion. He founded Mechanic Advisor back in 2006, following a career in sales in Boston. His passion for creating something of his own led him to start the company, which has since become a leader in the auto repair marketing industry.

Outside of work, Swift is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hiking, skiing, and fishing. He is also a runner who has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and the highest peak in the continental US, Mount Whitney. Swift's family background in entrepreneurship, as well as his current role as a husband and father of two young children, further add to his insights on business and leadership.

Overall, the podcast episode "Ask Them To Come Back" is a must-listen for anyone interested in learning how Steer is revolutionizing the auto repair industry and helping shops overcome the challenges they face in attracting and retaining customers. Swift's entrepreneurial journey and personal interests also provide a unique perspective on leadership and success.

In this episode of Near Me Radio "Perpetual Improvement - A Leadership Lesson" we talk to Sunil Patel the Founder & CEO of Tekmetric the leading cloud based Shop Management Software. Sunil talks about his diverse background from auto repair, to law enforcement, to medicine, he is a unique leader that is an inspiration to any business owner working towards the American business dream. It's a powerful episode you should not miss.

Near Me Radio is sponsored by Leads Near Me a Marketing company for Auto Repair Shops https://leadsnearme.com/and APAC ATI which can be found at https://apacati.org/

In this episode of Near Me Radio "The Million Dollar Month" Todd Hayes reflects on 30+ years in the auto repair business. Todd is the COO of 6 shops that do $30M in annual revenue. One of the shops Todd works with is the highly successful Adams Automotive in Houston, Texas the shop that regularly does $1M in monthly revenue. Todd tells us his thoughts on how the shop accomplishes these astronomical numbers, he also talks about his training from Houston, Texas.

Link for Training with Todd: https://www.autoshopanswers.com/signup

Near Me Radio is sponsored by Leads Near Me a marketing company for auto repair shops https://leadsnearme.com/and APAC ATI which can be found at https://apacati.org/

WEBINAR REPLAY: Guy Roberts the Director of Sales Fix appeared on the Leads Near Me webinar series on March 24th, 2023. Here is a replay of the audio portion on Near Me Radio. Improve your phone skills.

Near Me Radio is sponsored by Leads Near Me a marketing company for auto repair shops https://leadsnearme.com/and APAC ATI which can be found at https://apacati.org/

In "Turning Tragedies Into Triumphs" episode #3 of Near Me Radio a podcast for automotive professionals, Mason Bragg from Gulf Breeze Automotive & TurnKey Auto Repair in Gulf Breeze, Florida talks about going from $465,000 a year to $4,200,000 per year in revenue (10X growth) and doing so through serious adversity, including the tragic death of his 20 year old son Brandon. Mason shows us that even through the toughest times a shop owner succeed. "Turning Tragedies Into Triumphs" shows us we can rise to any occasion or any circumstance, both in business and in personal life.

Near Me Radio is sponsored by Leads Near Me a marketing company for auto repair shops https://leadsnearme.com/and APAC ATI which can be found at https://apacati.org/

In episode #2 "The Song That You Sing" Ryan Burton talks to Thomas Hays the Director of Technology & Director of Enrollment at Shop Fix Academy, he is also the host of Success Leaves Clues: An Automotive Industry Podcast. Thomas talks about his podcast, Shop Fix Academy and how to tune in to the "song you are singing" as a company.

Near Me Radio is sponsored by Leads Near Me a Marketing company for Auto Repair Shops https://leadsnearme.com/and APAC ATI which can be found at https://apacati.org/

*Find Success Leaves Clues: An Automotive Industry Podcast here: https://slcautopodcast.com/

Episode #1 of Near Me Radio a podcast for Auto Repair professionals features Jeff Bragdon owner of Service Masters Auto Repair in Clearwater FL & Draper UT. In this episode "Nice Shop Owners Finish First" Jeff talks about growing from 1 shop, a $280,000 per year operation, to a $2M a year shop, being an MSO, local networking & being generous. The show also features Chris Knuth talking about APAC ATI a non profit with a unique plan to find new techs for shops.

Near Me Radio is sponsored by Leads Near Me a marketing company for auto repair shops https://leadsnearme.com/and APAC ATI which can be found at https://apacati.org/