Brian Sump is the Owner and President of Urban Autocare, Klasse Auto Rentals, and Avalon Motorsports. His passion is to transform the automotive industry through innovation and training and to create opportunities for his team to grow. Brian has an engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines, played for the St. Louis Rams, and is currently a Co-pastor at a church in Westminster, CO.

In this episode…

If you own or manage a tire and auto repair shop, what’s your biggest challenge? Is it overcoming mistakes — dealing with customers? What do you do when you tell customers that the cost of necessary repairs are higher than what they can afford? If these are questions that resonate with you, you won’t want to miss this episode of Gain Traction!

Difficult customers are often not particularly difficult people, according to Brian Sump of Urban Autocare — they’re just people who may be going through a difficult time. It can be necessary to play the role of psychologist or psychiatrist because in difficult times, people are hurting emotionally and spiritually. They need their cars but may not be able to afford the cost of repairs. What’s an auto repair shop owner to do?

In this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge sits down with Brian Sump of Urban Autocare for a thoughtful discussion about what customers really want. They may say they want things like trust, quality, and integrity, but Brian says they really want two things: to not have come to a repair shop and to not get ripped off when they do. He talks about the importance of communicating with customers the consequences of not getting a repair, and a game plan for efficient use of their vehicle. Tune in!

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• Brian Sump details his journey from performing arts school, engineering school, and professional football to the automotive industry
• How Brian’s pro sports experience influenced his business career
• Why a functioning team is just as important in business as in sports
• How one instance of success can propel your daily performance to a higher level 
• Why Brian is particularly proud that Urban Autocare received the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics
• What repair shop customers really want

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Brian Sump on LinkedIn 
• Urban Autocare
• Avalon Motorsports
• Better Business Bureau Torch Awards for Ethics
• Learn Up & Learn Down article in Ratchet + Wrench
• The Tipping Point book by Malcolm Gladwell
• Magnetic Marketing book by Dan Kennedy
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn
• Tread Partners

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by Tread Partners. 

At Tread Partners, we provide digital marketing for multi-location tire dealers and auto repair shops. 

By using our strategy, branding, and marketing services, we help shops sell more tires and put more cars in bays.  

We’ve helped companies like Action Gator Tire, Colony Tire and Service, and Ulmer’s Auto Care Center bring extreme growth in paid leads, ROI, and searches. 

So, what are you waiting for?

Visit www.treadpartners.com or email [email protected] to learn more.