Maximum Octane

How familiar are you with your personal auto policy? 

This week, on the second and last part of the two-part series on insurance, Richard Sharman joins us again to talk about everything you must (or at least should) know about your auto policy. From how it looks and what it's written on it to State limits coverage and exclusions, Richard unravels every detail you must be aware of to avoid getting caught off guard when accidents hit. 

Plus, Richard goes through an auto policy declaration page, comprehensive and collision limits, and what happens with medical bills if you hit your car while driving an uninsured passenger. We also talk about deductibles and exclusions and what you should know before handing your car keys to an internal customer to get something for you real quick. 

So buckle up and get your reading glasses because today, we dive right into the small prints of your personal auto policy. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Do States have coverage limits? (3:39)

What happens when someone gets hurt in your vehicle (6:31)

What are comprehensive and collision limits? (8:38)

Does carrying the minimum protect you from being sued for larger amounts? (14:55)

A quick auto policy breakdown (21:03)

Some details of exclusions under liability to others (24:06)

Let's connect:

LinkedIn

Facebook

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most shop owners and virtually anyone who gets insurance are reluctant to go through policies' thousands of small print pages; they kind of "just trust." 

In today's episode, we are educated by Richard Sharman on all things insurance. Richard is an Executive Coach at ATI with over 40 years of experience in the auto collision industry and insurance claims professions. He explains what to look for in policies' tiny print, how to spot the best collision shop and the importance of having a claim set. 

We also learn how to evaluate if we are either under or over-insured, about stackable and non-stackable deductibles, and the use of recycled parts in repairs. Plus, we go through many real-life examples of how insurance companies respond, the number of estimates we need to provide to insurance companies when an accident happens, and so much more. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Do you know if you are over or under-insured? (3:28)
• Who's to blame when a disadvantageous policy is sold to you? (5:47)
• Why you should have a claim set (9:39)
• What happens if a palm tree falls into your car (13:02)
• Can they use recycled parts to repair your vehicle? (23:40)
• A bit about policyholders' duties (29:24)

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When investing in our business, we should look at three main components: improve our marketing, how the company looks, and most importantly, how it operates. Almost every shop owner ignores a crucial part of that third component: developing internal customers. 

Today, Chuck Lafferty visits us to share his thoughts on the importance of developing our team members, why it is crucial, and the best ways of doing so. Chuck talks about his journey as a leader and the learnings he got along the way that made him realize the importance of developing employees. 

We also discuss the true meaning of servant leadership, what type of internal customers are harder to develop, the importance of having our teams under constant development, and so much more. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About Chuck and his journey and growth as a leader in the automotive industry (3:43)
• Why developing your internal customers is the best kind of investment (8:31)
• Pulling people out of production to grow the business (11:41)
• The importance of fluent communication and feedback (21:14)
• Is it possible to develop "a rock"? (26:43)

Connect with Chuck:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When new customers visit a shop, the unwritten rule is to give them the best treatment possible, providing that potential new client with a WOW experience. If the experience is satisfying enough, the new customer will undoubtedly recommend that shop to friends and close ones. Still, what about the second, third, or fourth time that same customer visits the shop? 

In today's episode, Charlene Parlett joins us to unravel precisely where most business and shop owners fail when creating memorable customer experiences. 

Charlene is an Executive, Leadership, Confidence, and Life Coach, passionate about helping business owners and their clients reach their dreams and accomplish their goals. Charlene is also a Certified Profit First Professional and an eternal student who loves to keep herself constantly learning. 

Throughout our conversation, Charlene shared a few examples of where most business owners drop the ball regarding client satisfaction and retention. We discuss the FWE (Forever WOW Experiences) approach and what should happen when customers visit our shop for the second time after a unique first experience. Charlene also shared her thoughts on providing internal customers with five-star experiences, some examples of businesses providing solid FWEs experiences, and so much more. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• What is the FWE, and why should most businesses incorporate and systemize it (8:27)
• Why customers should enjoy the same experience every time they visit our store (10:13)
• Where do most business and shop owners drop the ball (16:28)
• Consistency is critical in customer service (24:03)
• You can't provide five-star treatment if you don't know how it looks like (27:19)
• How much is the extra cost of delivering WOW experiences? (32:54)

Connect with Charlene:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The life of an auto repair shop owner is so fast-paced, so full of thousands of things to think about, that even if they try to squeeze in a couple of hours a week for marketing, they never can. 

Meet Dave Martin, second-generation owner of Martin's AUTO REPAIR, a shop that has been in business for the last 51 years. After many years of thinking about investing more time and money in marketing and never finding a slot in his schedule to do it, he made a life-changing decision.  

In this episode, we explore why most shop owners decide to "leave marketing for when they have more time" and why marketing vibes are taboo (ish) in the industry. Dave shares his experiences marketing his business, how he solved the issue of never having time for it, and some of the most creative campaigns he ran at Martin's AUTO REPAIR. 

We also talk about setting the expectations correctly before starting a marketing campaign, the importance of measuring ROIs, and so much more. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About Dave and his role in the community (4:41)
• Why do most shop owners feel they don't have time to market their businesses (8:47)
• Consistency is everything in marketing (10:34)
• How to create realistic expectations for your marketing strategies (16:31)
• Thinking outside of the box and creating unique experiences for your customers (19:59)

Resources:

• Martin's AUTO REPAIR website
• Parker's Crazy Cookies website

Connect with Dave:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode proposal is slightly different as we still deal with Hurricane Ian's aftermath. The first sensation that comes to mind is gratitude for staying healthy and being so blessed. I've been lucky enough to stay safe, to have plenty of water and food, and to have my house barely touched by the Category 4 storm, with only minimal damage. 

Still, as the city stands on its feet again, I thought it was a good idea to bring up some interesting facts that we only realize when things like a natural disaster force us to. 

We go through the importance of checking and being on top of our insurance details. What should we be looking at, what are our deductibles, and how can we prepare so we are not surprised in the future? It is also a great chance to look at those who keep things going, recognize the underrated value of blue-collar workers, encourage our kids to work in the trades, and stop overestimating the importance of college degrees. Lastly, I invite you to ignore the cynical version of society we know and find and praise the real heroes, the good people. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why it is crucial to pay attention to our insurance's details (3:18)
• The underappreciated work of blue-collar workers and their job (5:15)
• The heroes we deserve, and need (7:57)
• About the need to spread positivity and actively look to help others (12:40)

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many shop owners' retirement plan is getting out of their business feet first. That is a plan, but it is not a good plan. Retirement is unavoidable, it may feel far away from now, but it'll come, and spoiler alert, it is not cheap. 

In this episode, Jim Groves joins us to talk about the endgame, a sensitive subject that many business owners prefer to ignore or leave for later. Jim is a Sales Manager at ATI and a Senior Business Consultant and Instructor with over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry. 

Throughout our conversation, Jim shared his thoughts on why business and shop owners should include building their retirement plans in their daily operations. He explained why it is so easy to be dragged by getting things done and forgetting about retirement and why it is not a good idea to "leave it for later."

Jim also shared some real-world examples of how retirement might be a little bit more expensive than we think, the difficulties we might find in the future if we don't prepare ourselves properly, and much more. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• How prepared are we for retirement? (2:53)
• Leaving your business feet first is not a really good plan (4:03)
• Who will pay for your hobbies when your business' revenue is not there? (9:10)
• Retirement might be closer than you think (13:24)
• When is the best time to start putting money aside for your retirement (18:19)
• Have you thought about what a dollar from today will buy in 15, 20 years? (23:55)
• Ignorance about retirement is not bliss (31:23)

Connect with Jim:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As shop owners, the price we pay for coping with toxic employees is higher than we think. Meet Keith Katz and learn about his story of dealing with a toxic employee for almost a year, which affected his business and health and made him lose several valuable internal customers. 

Keith has been part of the automotive industry since 1981 and a shop owner since 1998, when he founded Quality Service Center in York, Pennsylvania. 

We delve into why Keith hired this toxic employee in the first place, the time it took him to realize how this person was affecting his business and his health, and the red flags he ignored he most certainly won't neglect again. Keith depicts some typical toxic behaviors every shop owner should look for, shared examples of how dealing with this person affected him personally and professionally, and the feedback he got after letting the toxic employee go. 

Keith also shared a beautiful message about friendship and an excellent example of how important it is to have someone in our corner, especially when we can't figure out why showing up at our own shop feels like torture. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• How did the story of Keith and his toxic employee start (4:28)
• The toxic environment's first victim. Keith loses a tenured internal customer (5:56)
• How to spot a toxic employee before it is too late (7:39)
• When toxic employees hold an entire organization hostage (12:19)
• Why some shop owners maintain a toxic employee (16:49)
• When we start hating going to work in our own shop (23:42)
• As shop owners, sometimes we have to remember who makes the rules (30:12)
• Sometimes, a friend's hug is all we need (32:58)

Resources:

Quality Service Center's website

Connect with Keith:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kenneth Martin joins us today to discuss a subject that is often treated as taboo by most shop owners and has the potential to literally take your business to the next level: metrics.

Ken is a Process Mastery Instructor, Consultant, and Analyst at the Automotive Training Institute. He has over 35 years of experience in the industry and has owned a collision repair center for 17 years. He is also an I-CAR state chairman for Arizona and an I-CAR National Advisory Council Member.  

In this episode, Ken shares why most shop owners should share their metrics with their internal customers and the multiple benefits of doing it. We learn why metrics are vital for businesses and why almost anyone is talking about them. Ken explains that by sharing our metrics with internal customers, we create a transparent and trustworthy environment and simultaneously increase their loyalty and productivity. 

Ken also explains how sharing metrics brings teams together as a whole, makes reaching goals and objectives easier, and avoids the proliferation of damaging assumptions about how businesses profit and margins. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why metrics are so vital for any company (2:18)
• What sharing metrics with your internal customers can do for your business (3:39)
• How sharing metrics can debunk wrong assumptions about you and your business (5:13)
• How to make your internal customers know their voice is heard in the company (8:55)
• How metrics can help you improve your incentives and compensations system (20:53)
• Ken shares his thoughts on unproductive habits and how to get rid of them (25:41)

Connect with Ken:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are thrilled to welcome the inspiring Mary Kelly to the show for the second time. In this opportunity, she uses her superpower of boiling complex issues into simple ideas to discuss the concept of service and how we should think of it, taking into consideration the global, social, domestic, and economic issues that affect our customers' lives. 

Mary is an accomplished writer and co-author of over 15 business, leadership, productivity, and personal finance books. She holds two P.h.Ds and two Master's Degrees, served 21 years on active duty in the Navy (retired as a Commander) and is a Hall of Fame Economic Leadership Speaker. 

In this episode, we highlight the importance of solving the relational issues that might be affecting the quality of our customer service and how to avoid creating mere transactional relationships with them. Mary draws several practical ways of solving real problems that business owners face daily in their relationships with internal and external customers.

Mary also shares her thoughts on "the war for talent," using the workplace to serve as our legacy, and using the customer's perspective when thinking of enhancing our customer service level. In addition, we discuss how challenging can be to assume the consequences of bad decisions as business owners, the importance of stepping up in that role regardless, and much more. 

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• What is going through a customer's mind when they enter our business (7:08)
• The importance of creating partnerships with our customers (11:21)
• Why some business owners turned complacent and lazy in customer service and how to avoid it (16:28)
• The massive difference a simple gift card can make (27:41)
• Making sure our issues don't turn into our customer's issues (35:38)
• About the courage needed to step up in the role of being our businesses' CEOs (42:37)

Resources: 

• Productive Leaders website
• Productive Leaders Access to Mary's Vault of Exclusive Content
• Books of Mary Kelly
• Productive Leaders Free-resources

Connect with Mary:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.